THE BEST PUMPKIN BREAD

Best Pumpkin Bread that is soft and delicious because it is made with canned pumpkin, vanilla and butterscotch pudding mixes. This pumpkin quick bread recipe is also topped with a delicious cream cheese glaze!

Pumpkin Bread is one of those things that I love making every fall and this particular recipe is simply the best one that I have ever tried! I think it’s because there is a lot of pudding involved which yields an amazing texture every single time. Recently I began adding a cream cheese drizzle on the top just because it is pretty, and let’s face it – this bread tastes kinda like cake anyways so we might as well add some frosting! If you really want to splurge, add some chocolate chips in the batter also and turn it into Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread!

Be sure to check out our updated collection of Delicious Pumpkin Recipes!

Pumpkin Bread is the perfect gift for neighbors and friends and I love this recipe because you can make 2 large loaves or even 5 small loaves to share! Although once you start eating, it gets harder to share – I always have such good intentions about taking a loaf to friends or neighbors but then we all start slicing off a little bit of our loaf and it’s usually gone within hours!

How do you make the Best Pumpkin Bread?

Our Pumpkin Bread recipe is unique because there are two different kinds of pudding mix in the batter! Vanilla and butterscotch pudding mixes are both used, and the flavors from both are perfect in this bread.  You can also use both vanilla or both butterscotch – it’s so easy to change up the flavor just a little bit by swapping out the pudding mixes! I love baking with pudding mixes because they add a lot of flavor and tend to make baked goods moist and soft. Just make sure to use the Cook & Serve pudding mixes. I have tried using instant pudding mixes in this recipe and it just doesn’t turn out very well.

This pumpkin bread recipe uses canned pumpkin, applesauce and calls for a lot of eggs which I believe is another reason why this bread is so moist and the consistency is so perfect every time!

How many loaves of Pumpkin Bread does this recipe make?

One of the reasons that I love this recipe is because you can make 2 large loaves of Pumpkin Bread, or 5 mini loaves of bread from one batch! I usually make the smaller loaves so that I can share with friends and neighbors. A lot of times, I make one large loaf and two smaller loaves. That way, we can keep the big one (of course!) and share the other two with some friends! The larger loaves bake for 55-60 minutes and the smaller loaves bake for 40-45 minutes.

Can you make this Pumpkin Bread recipe healthy?

Quick breads are not known for being super healthy – we all know that they are pretty much cake in bread form, but there are some things that you can do to make this pumpkin bread a little bit healthier! You can swap out some or all of the oil with more applesauce. This does change the consistency a little bit, but the bread will still taste great and will have less fat and calories! You can also swap out some or all of the white flour with whole wheat flour. You can also reduce some of the sugar. I would start by reducing the sugar by about 1/2 cup and if you still think the bread is sweet enough, you could try reducing that even more the next time around.

Another thing that you can do to make this Pumpkin Bread healthier is just to leave off the cream cheese glaze. The bread is still wonderful even without it!

What are the ingredients in Pumpkin Bread?

• 15 oz can pumpkin
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup cinnamon applesauce (or you can use regular applesauce and add 1 tsp cinnamon to the batter)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 small box (3 oz) cook and serve vanilla pudding
• 1 small box (3 oz) cook and serve butterscotch pudding
• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cream Cheese Glaze

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp milk, plus more if needed for desired consistency

How do you make this Pumpkin Bread recipe?

1. In a large bowl whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, applesauce and oil.
2. In another large bowl, mix together all of the other ingredients.  Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until combined.
3. Pour the mixture into greased loaf pans.  You can either make two large loaves or five 5.75X3 inch pans.  I actually made one large loaf and two smaller ones and it worked out great.  Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes (larger pans) or 40-45 minutes (smaller pans), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Place the pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing the loaves from pans.  Cool completely on wire racks and then drizzle with the Cream Cheese Glaze if desired.
5. To make the Cream Cheese Glaze, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes and then add powdered sugar. Mix well for about a minute and then add the milk, mixing on low speed until smooth. If you need to thin the glaze a bit in order to drizzle it, add a little more milk and mix until you have the perfect consistency. I just drizzled mine with a spoon but you could put it in a squeeze bottle too. Enjoy!

More amazing quick bread recipes that we love:

• • Sweet Coconut Quick Bread
  • Best Zucchini Bread recipe
  • Easy Lemon Quick Bread
  • Yogurt Banana Bread recipe
  • Dutch Apple Quick Bread
  • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Quick Bread
  • Caramel Banana Nut Bread
  • Best Ever Pumpkin Bread
  • Lemon Buttermilk Quick Bread
  • Caramel Apple Quick Bread
  • Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread
  • Peppermint Chocolate Quick Bread
  • Cranberry Orange Quick Bread
  • Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread

AVOID SUNKEN BREAD

The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!

THE BEST PUMPKIN BREAD

Pumpkin Bread that is soft and delicious because it is made with vanilla and butterscotch pudding mixes and then it is drizzled with a cream cheese glaze!

Print Pin Rate

Course: bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: best pumpkin bread

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 large loaves

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

• 15 oz can pumpkin
• 6 eggs lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup cinnamon applesauce  or you can use regular applesauce and add 1 tsp cinnamon to the batter
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 sm. box 3 oz cook and serve vanilla pudding
• 1 sm. box 3 oz cook and serve butterscotch pudding
• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cream Cheese Glaze

• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp milk plus more if needed for desired consistency

Instructions

• In a large bowl whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, applesauce and oil.  
• In another large bowl, mix together all of the other ingredients.  Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until combined.  
• Pour the mixture into greased loaf pans.  You can either make two large loaves or five 5.75X3 inch pans.  I actually made one large loaf and two smaller ones and it worked out great.  Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes (larger pans) or 40-45 minutes (smaller pans), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  
• Place the pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing the loaves from pans.  Cool completely on wire racks and then drizzle with the Cream Cheese Glaze if desired.
• To make the Cream Cheese Glaze, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes and then add powdered sugar. Mix well for about a minute and then add the milk, mixing on low speed until smooth. If you need to thin the glaze a bit in order to drizzle it, add a little more milk and mix until you have the perfect consistency. I just drizzled mine with a spoon but you could put it in a squeeze bottle too. Enjoy!

Video

📫 Save this recipe! Send it to your email! 📩

I consent to receiving emails from this site.

Tried this recipe?Mention @jessicalovesbutter or tag #jessicalovesbutter!

How do you store Pumpkin Bread?

Pumpkin Bread can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days as long as it is wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

Did your pumpkin bread sink in the middle?

Here’s how to help your pumpkin bread not sink in the middle after it’s baked. This happens to me occasionally too! Often it’s because I’ve over mixed the batter. Quick bread (referring to a bread recipe that doesn’t use yeast) does not like to be stirred too much, so try to just barely mix all the ingredients together. Another culprit could be overfilling the pan. The bread pan should be only half full each time. As always, make sure your baking powder isn’t too old- it should only be on your shelf for 6-9 months before purchasing new.

Can you freeze Pumpkin Bread?

I have not yet tried to freeze this bread (I have 4 kids so it usually disappears pretty quickly!) but I think it would freeze beautifully. I would freeze it before adding the drizzle/frosting on top and then add that once the bread is thawed.

Here are more recipes with pumpkin to try:

• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
• Apple Pumpkin Bread
• Gingersnap Pumpkin Cookies
• Pumpkin Apple Butter recipe
• Spice Pumpkin Caramels
• BEST Pumpkin Recipes Ever
• Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze
• Layered No-Bake Pumpkin Pie
• Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

Best Pumpkin Bread is moist and delicious with two different kinds of pudding mix in the recipe and a yummy cream cheese glaze drizzled on top. This pumpkin quick bread recipe is easy to make and is perfect for fall.