Pumpkin Bread (Chocolate Chip Quick Bread)
King Arthur's super-moist oil-based pumpkin quick bread, made with canned pumpkin, nutmeg and vanilla, studded with chocolate chips and baked in one loaf pan.
Pumpkin bread is the pie's spices in a loaf: a moist American quick bread raised with baking soda, often studded with walnuts, raisins or chocolate chips (Wikipedia:). Pumpkin has been going into New England breads for a long time; Lydia Maria Child noted in 1832 that a little stewed pumpkin scalded with the cornmeal "improves" an Indian cake. Today's version leans on the can. King Arthur Baking's "Easy Pumpkin Bread", used as a county-fair baking contest recipe by University of New Hampshire Extension, calls for a whole 15-ounce can of pumpkin, oil instead of butter, and chocolate chips. We could not find a dated origin for the modern loaf (see What we could not source).
🇺🇸 This one is American
King Arthur's super-moist oil-based pumpkin quick bread, made with canned pumpkin, nutmeg and vanilla, studded with chocolate chips and baked in one loaf pan.
🇬🇧 The original
The English original is a lidded pie of sliced pumpkin layered with apples, herbs and spice, a 1600s recipe from Hannah Woolley. See the Pumpion Pie (Hannah Woolley's 17th-Century English Pumpkin Pie) recipe.
📖 Myth check: Is Canned Pumpkin Really Squash? →
Why it works the kitchen science
Oil, not butter
Oil stays liquid at room temperature, so the loaf stays moist and tender for days instead of firming up like a butter cake.
An overnight rest
Wrapped, the crust softens and the moisture evens out through the crumb, and the spices taste stronger the next day.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, beat the oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin and water until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Step 3
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon if using, and vanilla, and stir just until no dry flour remains. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Step 4
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
- Step 5
Bake 60 to 80 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, the same toothpick pushed 1/2 inch into the top finds no raw batter, and the center reads 205°F to 210°F. If the top browns too fast, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it after 45 minutes.
- Step 6
Cool in the pan 10 minutes, turn out onto a rack and cool completely, about 2 hours. Wrap tightly and leave overnight at room temperature before slicing (King Arthur).
Pumpkin Bread (Chocolate Chip Quick Bread)
Serves 12 · one 9 x 5-inch loaf · 1 hr 25 min total
Wet
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- Half a 15-oz can (about 7/8 cup) pumpkin puree, not pie filling
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Dry
- 1 2/3 cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- Optional: 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Add-in
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, beat the oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin and water until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon if using, and vanilla, and stir just until no dry flour remains. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
- Bake 60 to 80 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, the same toothpick pushed 1/2 inch into the top finds no raw batter, and the center reads 205°F to 210°F. If the top browns too fast, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it after 45 minutes.
- Cool in the pan 10 minutes, turn out onto a rack and cool completely, about 2 hours. Wrap tightly and leave overnight at room temperature before slicing (King Arthur).
Adapted from King Arthur Baking's "Easy Pumpkin Bread", as printed in University of New Hampshire Extension's fair entry sheet, halved from two loaves to one. King Arthur's recipe uses nutmeg as its only spice; the optional cinnamon is ours. The 205°F to 210°F internal temperature is from King Arthur's gluten-free pumpkin bread formula page, seen only in search results. The serving count is ours. UNH Extension. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Swap the chips for walnuts or raisins, the other classic add-ins (Wikipedia).
- Make muffins: fill 12 lined muffin cups and bake at 350°F about 25 minutes (our timing; check with a toothpick).
- Keep wrapped at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 months (our guideline).
- The full King Arthur recipe makes two loaves; double everything and use two pans.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Pumpkin bread is a colonial recipe. Folklore: pumpkin did go into early New England breads (Child, 1832), but today's sweet, soda-raised loaf with canned pumpkin is modern; we found no dated origin.
- Canned pumpkin makes a better loaf than fresh. Documented as test-kitchen advice: Taste of Home's test kitchen says homemade puree is often wetter than canned.
- The loaf must rest overnight. Folklore: King Arthur recommends it for flavor and texture; it is safe and good to eat the same day.
Every other pumpkin dessert
Pumpion Pie (Hannah Woolley's 17th-Century English Pumpkin Pie)
Before the custard there was this: slices of squash browned in butter and baked under a pastry lid with tart apples, raisins, currants, sugar, spice and a splash of sherry, adapted from a 1670s English recipe.
Calabaza en Tacha (Mexican Candied Pumpkin in Piloncillo)
Wedges of whole pumpkin, skin and all, simmered for two hours in a dark syrup of piloncillo, cinnamon and orange until they turn deep brown and glossy, the candied pumpkin of Mexico's Day of the Dead.
Doce de Abóbora em Calda (Brazilian Pumpkin Cubes in Syrup)
Neat cubes of pumpkin soaked briefly in limewater, then simmered for two hours in a light sugar syrup and left to steep overnight, so they turn glassy and sweet while staying firm, the Brazilian way.
Kabak Tatlısı (Turkish Candied Pumpkin with Tahini and Walnuts)
Thick blocks of pumpkin layered with sugar and left overnight to make their own syrup, then baked until candied and served cool with crushed walnuts and a drizzle of tahini, no water added.
Kabocha Purin (Japanese Kabocha Pudding with Caramel)
Japan's custard pudding made with sieved kabocha squash, baked in a water bath over dark caramel, chilled and turned out so the caramel runs down the sides.
Sangkhaya Fak Thong (Thai Coconut Custard Steamed in a Whole Squash)
A small kabocha hollowed out, filled with coconut cream, palm sugar and egg custard scented with pandan, steamed until set, chilled and cut into wedges that show a yellow custard heart in an orange shell.
Classic American Pumpkin Pie
The Thanksgiving pie: a smooth custard of pumpkin puree, eggs, heavy cream, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a par-baked all-butter crust, pulled from the oven while the center still wobbles.
New England Squash Pie (Lydia Maria Child, 1832)
The old Yankee custard pie made with roasted winter squash instead of pumpkin, cooked with milk, sweetened with molasses and a little sugar, spiced with plenty of cinnamon and ginger, and baked in an open crust.
Southern Sweet Potato Pie
Silky sweet potato custard made with brown sugar, butter, sour cream, extra yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg and an optional splash of bourbon, baked in a crust lined with a thin layer of caramelized brown sugar.
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
All the spice of pumpkin pie in a light, mousse-like filling: a cooked pumpkin custard set with gelatin and folded with whipped cream, piled into a toasted walnut and graham cracker crust and chilled, no baking of the filling.
Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cups
Classic pumpkin pie filling baked without the crust in six ramekins in a water bath, so it is in the oven in 10 minutes and ready in about 45, with the silky texture of the pie and none of the rolling.
Spiced Pumpkin Loaf with Pepitas, Inspired by Starbucks
A tender, heavily spiced pumpkin loaf sweetened with sugar and honey, scented with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger and topped with crunchy pepitas, in the style of the coffee-shop pumpkin loaf. Inspired by, not official.
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