Easy One Bowl Pumpkin Bread ~ because that first craving for pumpkin is powerful. I clocked the prep for this delicious golden from-the-pantry quick bread at 15 minutes!

this pumpkin bread is made with a lightened-up spice blend
This classic pumpkin bread is everything you want when the urge for fall baking strikes ~ it’s easy, one-bowl, moist, simple, and delicious. It’s got a cozy, comforting texture and that soft, golden pumpkin-y glow that I just love this time of year. The recipe can be easily doubled if you want an extra loaf to bring into work or pack into lunchboxes.
The original recipe used nutmeg as the only spice. I liked the idea, because other spices like cinnamon and cloves can easily overpower, or you can end up with a very generic “pumpkin spice” sort of flavor. But, I couldn’t quite leave well enough alone, so I paired the nutmeg with a bit of ginger and a bit of cardamom. It’s a really nice, subtle blend that sets this loaf apart from the typical heavily-spiced pumpkin bread.
make this classic pumpkin bread your own
The recipe makes a simple, golden pumpkin bread from ingredients you undoubtedly already have in your pantry (canned pumpkin is absolutely a pantry staple ๐ Think of it as a blank canvas ready for your creativity!
- Add your favorite chopped nuts.ย Pecans and walnuts are traditional, but why not try hazelnuts or pistachios?
- Chocolate chips are a no brainer. ย I’m partial to dark chocolate.
- Dried fruit works so well in quick breads– try cranberries, or figs.
- Lay down a layer of green pepitas over the top of the batter before baking for a crunchy accent.
- Glaze the cooled bread with a simple confectioner’s sugar glaze. Create the glaze with milk or cream for a plain glaze. You can spice it with cinnamon or pumpkin spice if you like. You can also use maple syrup, orange juice, or any other liquid to create a flavored glaze.
- Drizzle the cooled cake with melted chocolate.
buttermilk is a key ingredient in this recipe
It keeps this pumpkin loaf extra tender and soft. Buttermilk, like yogurt or sour cream, is acidic. The acid actually helps to tenderize the gluten in baked goods like this quick bread. The buttermilk also helps the baking soda in the recipe do its job and rise the bread to make it light and fluffy.
no buttermilk in the fridge? make your own!
- Start with a cup of milk (or half and half, or even cream!)
- Add a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to the milk and stir.
- Let sit on the counter for 15 minutes and then use as directed in your recipe.
try grilling your pumpkin bread, New England style!
If you’ve ever lived in New England you’ll know that they enjoy their muffins split, buttered, and grilled. You can give this pumpkin bread the same treatment and it’s amazing!
more ways to enjoy pumpkin bread
- Turn this simple breakfast loaf into an unexpected fall dessert, I think it would be fantastic grilled and served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
- Serve drizzled with Salted Maple Caramel Sauce.
Easy Buttermilk Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
- 9×5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup canned pumpkin, about 1/2 can
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and butter a 9 inch loaf pan. Line the pan with parchment paper if you’d like for easier removal.
- Whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom to the same bowl and mix together until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for about 60-70 minutes, until risen and there is no more wet batter in the middle.
Can pumpkin pie spice be substituted for nutmeg, ginger and cardamom!
Yes, of course, use that if you like.
Made this with the baked pulp of a ginormous Georgia Candy Roaster squash from a neighbor’s garden. Not able to leave this so easy recipe alone I used local duck eggs and leaf lard. Took it to a friends for dessert. Buttered both sides of thick slices; fried them to a deep golden brown in a cast iron skillet; topped them off with vanilla caramel-swirl ice cream. Oh. My. Gracious. Me. Game changer!
This is the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever made–the texture is perfect, the color is gorgeous and it tastes amazing! I made some minor changes–sprinkled the top of the loaf with raw sugar just before baking, which created a slightly crackly crust, and increased the ginger because I had just opened a fresh jar and it smelled so delicious–but am looking forward to trying the recipe as written next time I make it. Thanks for a great recipe and a great blog!
Thanks for the nice review RP!
This recipe makes beautifully domed and delicious muffins! The recipe makes 12 muffins standard sized muffins. I used paper liners instead of greasing the pan, and filled them about 7/8 full. The muffins took about 20 minutes to bake in my oven. Love this recipe!
Made this in a round bundt pan twice this weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving as most people are not pumpkin pie fans. This is soooo good!
Great to know it can be make in a bundt! Did you double the recipe?
Made a single batch each time for the bundt pan and baked for 40 minutes. Aaand I made it again this weekend to celebrate a birthday. It really is a winner!
This 3rd time it got stuck in the bundt pan, which I had buttered before use and dusted with a bit of sugar. I only let it sit in the pan for 5 minutes after coming out of the oven before I turned it over. Do you know if this is the reason why it got stuck? This seemed to be the only change from the 2 previous tries.
Wow, you’re getting a lot of delicious mileage out of this pumpkin bread! I generally let my bundts sit for 15 minutes before turning out, so that could be your issue. I also find flour works better than sugar, so don’t know if that was part of it?
Time to bring this recipe back! This will the our thanksgiving dessert again this year.
Indeed the Buttermilk MADE the recipe! It’s the VERY BEST Pumpkin Bread I’ve ever made!!!!
It’s a keeper–for SURE!
I think we’ve set a record for the number of people who have made a recipe on the day it posted, thanks for your feedback Meg <3
I like to put a thick slice of any flavor quick bread in the toaster. Then slather with butter while it’s hot. Pumpkin bread is wonderful this way. I stand it up so that it’s easier to remove after it’s toasted. This of course doesn’t work if the bread has been glazed. I am going to try the New England way. That sounds delish.
That is one of the nice things about this bread, it’s so simple but that means you can toast and grill it…yum!
Goodness this is one beautiful loaf. I love your spice combination and bet it is so good. This is the perfect loaf for this time of year. Amazing texture that makes me want a slice now!
My family likes sweet breads with any flavours. Usually I make lemon or caramel plus apples bread, or I add wallnuts and chocolate. When I saw this one, I was very surprised, I’ve never made pumpkin bread before. Pumpkin is kind of a product not everyone likes… But this recipe is flawless. It smells and tastes magically. My friend asked me to do it one more time for the next weekend. Thank you a lot, I love your blog, the photos are always so appetizing and the recipes are really good and creative!
I’m thrilled this worked out so well for you, it’s such a simple recipe that really celebrates what’s wonderful about pumpkin ~ happy baking!
This looks so good and will be my weekend project ๐
hi! so made this today. and since we don’t have canned pumpkin in my country, i made it with grated pumpkin. Added some chopped walnuts too. I have no idea why, but before taking out of the oven i checked with toothpick, it was fine and took it out and it sunk in. Any thoughts why? Also how to substitute canned pumpkin with grated one?
Hey Miryam, you are quick! I think the issue may have been that your grated pumpkin was quite different from canned pumpkin. Canned pumpkin is very thick and moist, and concentrated, so I’m not sure how to adjust this recipe for grated squash. I would suggest you make a fresh pumpkin or squash puree, and then drain it a bit in cheesecloth to thicken it up to the consistency of canned pumpkin, which, like I said, is quite thick.