Oh pumpkin season! There’s a chill in the air, kids and adults alike are planning their Halloween costumes, and carving pumpkins are pouring out of the local market. Now’s the time for pumpkin bread, don’t you think?

Not all pumpkins are equal when it comes to cooking. Those large carving pumpkins? Probably best left to carving, and maybe salvaging the seeds to roast. Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are raised more for their durability than for their taste.

Pumpkin Bread

Most people use canned puréed pumpkin for baking recipes like this because of the consistent results. If you want though, you can easily roast up a sugar pumpkin, butternut squash, or kabocha pumpkin for its purée. You’ll get more roasted and caramelized flavor that way. Steaming also works, though you’ll miss the extra flavor from the roasting.

This pumpkin bread recipe is quite adaptable to different types of pumpkin purée and spice mixes. We took an old recipe from Fannie Farmer as a base and have made several changes to it over the years.

These days we use melted butter instead of vegetable oil (though you can easily use oil if you want), and we’ve added some ground ginger, grated orange zest, and molasses. We have also made a lovely optional glaze for the pumpkin bread—with orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Recipe updated, first posted 2006. If you are missing the original version of pumpkin bread we had posted, just swap out olive oil for the melted butter, and omit the ground ginger, molasses, and orange zest.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: Makes one loaf

You can easily double this recipe. If using the glaze, there is enough glaze for two pumpkin bread loafs.

We’re using melted butter in this updated version of the recipe. You could easily use light olive oil instead, same proportions. In our opinion, butter tastes better.

Don’t have molasses? You can sub the 1 cup of sugar and 2 tsp of molasses with 1 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar, packed.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups (200g) flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 cup (240 ml) pumpkin purée*
  • 1 cup (200 g) sugar
  • 4 ounces (1 stick, 112 g) butter, melted (can sub 1/2 cup light olive oil)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons molasses
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Optional Orange Glaze:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

* To make pumpkin purée, cut a small sugar pumpkin in half horizontally. Use a large metal spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy stuff. Place the pumpkin halves cut side down on a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 minutes to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don’t use for future use. Or, if you are working with pumpkin pieces, roast or boil them until tender, then remove and discard the skin.

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