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.
Inspired by Starbucks. Not an official Starbucks recipe: the company has not published one, and nothing here claims to reproduce it. The coffee-shop pumpkin loaf, a slice of spiced pumpkin bread topped with pumpkin seeds, rides alongside the Pumpkin Spice Latte, which news reports marking its 20th anniversary say Starbucks tested in October 2003 and rolled out widely in 2004 (Fox 6 Milwaukee, via search results:). Taste of Home's test kitchen published a copycat that uses a whole can of pumpkin, honey along with sugar, a four-spice blend and pepitas on top; its own nutrition label comes to 202 calories a slice, close to our 201.
🇺🇸 This one is American
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.
🇬🇧 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.
Why it works the kitchen science
Honey and sugar
Honey holds on to moisture, so the loaf stays dense and moist for days, and it adds a faint floral note under the spices.
Pepitas on top
Scattered on the raw batter, they toast in the oven and give the soft loaf its crunchy, recognizable top.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, beat the pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, sugar, honey and vanilla until well blended, about 1 minute.
- Step 3
In a second bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Gradually beat the dry mixture into the wet just until combined.
- Step 4
Pour the batter into the pan and scatter the pepitas evenly over the top.
- Step 5
Bake 60 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. If the top darkens too fast, lay foil loosely over it for the last 15 minutes.
- Step 6
Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Keep wrapped at room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerated up to 1 week (Taste of Home).
Spiced Pumpkin Loaf with Pepitas, Inspired by Starbucks
Serves 16 · one 9 x 5-inch loaf · 1 hr 25 min total
Wet
- Half a 15-oz can (about 7/8 cup) pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 6 tbsp canola oil
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Dry
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
Topping
- 1/4 cup salted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, beat the pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, sugar, honey and vanilla until well blended, about 1 minute.
- In a second bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Gradually beat the dry mixture into the wet just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the pan and scatter the pepitas evenly over the top.
- Bake 60 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. If the top darkens too fast, lay foil loosely over it for the last 15 minutes.
- Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Keep wrapped at room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerated up to 1 week (Taste of Home).
Adapted from Taste of Home's "Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Bread" (recipe by Val Goodrich, tested by the Taste of Home Test Kitchen, updated August 5, 2025), halved from two loaves to one. Taste of Home cuts each loaf into 16 pieces; so do we. Inspired by, not official. Taste of Home. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Don't let the batter stand before baking; Taste of Home blames a sunken middle on batter that sat too long or on underbaking.
- Taste of Home's muffin version: 12 greased muffin cups at 400°F for 15 to 22 minutes (halved from its 24).
- Use canned pumpkin; Taste of Home says homemade puree is often too wet.
- For the full Taste of Home batch, 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.
- This is the coffee-shop recipe. Folklore: it is a copycat, inspired by, not official.
- The secret is cardamom. Disputed: one copycat blogger says cardamom is what other versions miss; Taste of Home's tested version uses none.
- The Pumpkin Spice Latte launched in 2003. Disputed wording: news reports say it was tested in 2003 and rolled out widely in 2004 (search results only).
- The pumpkin loaf came out with the latte. Folklore: we found no source for when the coffee-shop loaf first appeared.
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.
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.
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.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.