Homemade Pumpkin Bread Recipe

This amazing Pumpkin bread recipe is incredibly easy to make and is loaded with chocolate chips and walnuts making it light, fluffy, and delicious!

I’m not sure there is anything I like more than fresh homemade bread.  If you love baking bread just as much as I do, then you absolutely have to try out my Naan or Pita Bread.

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin bread is a simple quick bread recipe that consists of a standard wet to dry ingredient mix that is mixed with pureed pumpkin and then baked.  Believe it or not, pumpkin bread has a rich history stemming back to Native Americans and Indians. 

The cultivation of gourd produce, and utilizing every single piece of food, led to the creation of gourd loaves of bread which is essentially how pumpkin bread was born.  You can also use fresh cooked-down pumpkin if you’d like to make this recipe completely from scratch.

How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Bread

Use these easy-to-follow instructions for making this amazing homemade pumpkin bread recipe:

Whisk together the melted butter and sugars in a large bowl until combined

Next, add in one egg at a time until it is whisked in.

Pour in the vanilla, oil, and milk and mix.

Add in the pumpkin puree and whisk until mixed.

Now, add in the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and mix in.

Whisk in the flour until combined.

Thoroughly fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips.

Top off with a little mixture of pepitas and brown sugar and bake at 350° for 75-80 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center, or until it reaches 197° to 198°.

Cool in the pan for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Why is My Pumpkin Bread So Dense?

Pumpkin bread can become dense if there is not enough hydration or wet ingredients in the recipe.  Another cause is overcooking the bread which can cause it to dry out.  Remember, it’s always easy to keep cooking if it isn’t done but impossible to take cooking time back.  Try backing off the total cooking time by 5-10 minutes.

You can counter this by adding more of one of the following ingredients:

1. ½ cup pumpkin puree
2. ¼ cup oil
3. A quarter cup of whole milk
4. ¼ cup melted unsalted butter

Why is My Pumpkin Bread Gummy?

Pumpkin bread can seem gummy or a little bit wet when the dry to wet ratio is off.  If you discover that your batter is way too wet, start by including a ½ cup of flour to help stabilize it a bit more.  The batter should be giggly, but not so thin that it will simply pour into the loaf pans without the assistance of a rubber spatula.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can make this pumpkin bread recipe up to 1 day ahead of time.

How to Store: Keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  This will freeze well covered for up to 3 months.  Thaw in the refrigerator until soft.

chef notes + tips

• You can just use oil, or just use milk, or a combination of both like I did in this recipe.   You can also swap out the milk for full-fat yogurt.
• Feel free to swap out the walnuts with pecans if you’d prefer.
• You can easily make 24 muffins using this recipe if you prefer pumpkin muffins instead.  Bake them for 25-28 minutes.
• Discard the use of chocolate chips if you do not want them.
• If you do not want the pepita-brown sugar topping, you can swap it out for a glaze.  Once the bread is completely cooled, make the glaze from my polenta cake recipe and pour it over the top.

More Bread Recipes:

• Zucchini Bread
• Banana Bread
• Cornbread Recipe
• Soda Bread
• Brioche

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!

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5 from 21 votes

This amazing Pumpkin bread recipe isvery easy to make and is loaded with chocolate chips and walnuts making it light, fluffy, and delicious!

Servings: 16

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 2 sticks melted unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ¾ cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup whole milk
• 3 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• pinch of sea salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• In a large bowl whisk together the butter and sugar until completely mixed.
• Next, add in 1 egg at a time until completely mixed in.
• Pour in the vanilla, oil, and milk until combined and then pour in the pumpkin puree and whisk them in.
• Now, whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until completely mixed.
• Whisk in the flour until it is combined and then thoroughly fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips using a rubber spatula.
• Divide the batter between 2 9×5 loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray.
• This part is optional but mix together 1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar with 1/2 cup of pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and evenly sprinkle it over the top of the bread loaves.
• Bake at 350° for 75-80 minutes or until browned and cooked in the center. If you press a toothpick in the center, it should come out relatively clean. It should have an internal temperature of 198°.
• Remove from the oven and set on a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

Chef Notes:

Make-Ahead: You can make this pumpkin bread recipe up to 1 day ahead of time.

How to Store: Keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This will freeze well covered for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator until soft.

You can just use oil, or just use milk, or a combination of both like I did in this recipe. You can also swap out the milk for full-fat yogurt.

Feel free to swap out the walnuts with pecans if you’d prefer.

You can easily make 24 muffins using this recipe if you prefer pumpkin muffins instead. Bake them for 25-28 minutes.

Discard the use of chocolate chips if you do not want them.

If you do not want the pepita brown sugar topping, you can swap it out for a glaze. Once the bread is completely cooled, make the glaze from my polenta cake recipe and pour it over the top.

Nutrition

Calories: 353kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 7gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 129mgPotassium: 315mgFiber: 4gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 7225IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 76mgIron: 3mg

Course: bread

Cuisine: American, Native American

Author: Chef Billy Parisi