Pumpkin Bread with Toasted Walnuts ~ a moist pumpkin quick bread studded with toasted walnuts makes a perfect fall breakfast or coffee break treat.

I’m lobbying for year round status for my favorite versatile ingredient…pumpkin!
It’s one of my most treasured foodie joys, and I hate to see it treated like a fall fad. Why should banana, zucchini and carrot be welcome in March and not pumpkin? Food bloggers get a lot of flak for overdoing this particular orange squash, and I understand that sometimes we go a bit too far… but I really think it’s a food worth celebrating. And if it can’t be a year round pleasure then I say indulge with abandon while it’s PC to enjoy it.
Today’s understated recipe illustrates my point. This quick bread has just the right amount of sweetness, earthy pumpkin flavor, light spice, tender crumb, and strong walnut presence. It has the perfect crumb, actually, and I think that’s largely due to the pumpkin. It’s heaven any time of the day, but I have a fondness for it at breakfast. Slather it with butter or cream cheese if you want.
Eat it warm from the oven or cold form the fridge. If you have a toaster oven, you’re golden.
This bread is a celebration of two things, really — pumpkin and walnuts. I used walnut oil to bring that nutty message home, and lots of the freshest walnuts I could fine. Shell them yourself for the best taste…second best is a bag of walnut halves. The bigger the pieces the fresher the nuts will be. I like to toast them and then give them a rough chop once they’ve cooled.
So who’s going to sign my petition to spring pumpkin out of seasonal ‘jail’?
Some of my other favorite pumpkin recipe on the blog ~
Pumpkin Bread with Toasted Walnuts
Equipment
- 9×5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup (heaping) walnut halves, the bigger the pieces the fresher the flavor
- 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup walnut oil, you can substitute vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Set oven to 375F
- Spread the walnut out on a dry baking sheet and toast for about 15 minutes, just until you start to smell them…let them cool a bit before giving them a rough chop.
- Whisk together the pumpkin and the eggs. Then whisk in the sugar, oil, buttermilk, vinegar and spices.
- Sift in the in the flour and baking powder and mix just until combined. Fold in the walnuts. Don’t over mix.
- Turn the batter into a 9×5 loaf pan that has been sprayed with oil and lined with parchment paper with ends that extend beyond the top of the pan. This just makes it easier to remove the cake from the pan.
- Bake for about 55 minutes to an hour, or until the cake has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it.
If you want to get pumpkin loaf year round respect change its name to something like
Chi walnut bread or loaf use gara masala blend of spices. Or chi spice blend with pepper. Wouldn’t you love that for a snack?
Catheryn Smith
I am so excited to make this recipe! I am a huge pumpkin flavor fan and look forward to every autumn (my favorite season!) so I can make pumpkin recipes! One question – what if you don’t roast the walnuts? Is the flavor just less intense? Thank you!
I’m with you on that, Lauren! Roasting the nuts just give them a little extra flavor and crunch, it’s not necessary, though. Enjoy!
Duh. Saw the loaf pan size rereading the recipe! Sorry.
No I edited the recipe after your comment! I need my readers to spot those issues, it helps everybody ๐
Two questions. What size loaf pans and can a cup of milk soured with a tablespoon of white vinegar be used to replace buttermilk (using the appropriate amount of milk called for in the recipe?)
That’s a standar 9×5 loaf pan, Maria, and yes, you can substitute homemade buttermilk, or even plain whole milk in this recipe!
I have added walnuts to banana bread before, but I bet it is amazing in pumpkin bread too.
I am loving this! Your photos are so alluring too. I want to crawl into one of them and snuggle up to a slice of this beautiful bread!
Thanks Toni, I got so sick of the flat light in my dining room that I’ve taken to photographing right on the kitchen counter, next to the sink, and low and behold, I like the light better. It’s a lot more convenient, too!
You just stay right up there on your pumpkin soapbox! I love the stuff and buy up cans of pumpkin whenever I can find them. I’d eat this for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. It sounds like you balanced everything perfectly.
I love that you added walnuts – I wish I could get my kids on board with nuts
Hey Heather — I bet you could process the nuts until they’re finely ground and add them in, they’d never notice!