pumpkin bread recipe
TRADITIONS & RECIPES

Easy Pumpkin Bread Recipe: Baking with Boys (a fall tradition)

EASY PUMPKIN BREAD POST UPDATED IN OCTOBER 2020 WITH SERVING IDEAS AND AN EASY-PRINT RECIPE CARD!

Making this easy pumpkin bread has become a fall tradition for my boys and me.   The weather is starting to get cooler,  leaves are changing color, and pumpkin spice everything is everywhere.  Every year, we make this together — which usually involves fighting over who sifts vs. who pours, licking the batter before I say it’s OK, and a lot of flour on the floor.  Oh yeah, we devour the delicious treat, too (I even somehow justify that this is OK for breakfast!), and the house smells amazing for hours after we bake it.  I hope making this easy pumpkin bread becomes a fall tradition for your family like it has for mine, and that you can get through baking without it becoming a full contact sport.

pumpkin bread recipe
Easy pumpkin bread. So easy! So yummy!

If you’re like me, you love baking with your kids, but you cringe a little every time you deal with a fight over who will crack the egg (because it inevitably leads to shell in the batter or an actual battle between the kids) or dealing with savages begging to eat more of the batter laden with raw egg (note:  I begged my mom as a kid, too).  Here’s an easy pumpkin bread recipe that has NO EGGS, is fun to make, and is even more delicious to eat!

This recipe has a special place in my heart.  After my second son was born, I baked this for the first time with my 2 1/2 year old son on the first day my husband went back to work.  It seemed like a huge undertaking because it involves sifting (so advanced when you’re sleep deprived and suddenly have twice as many kids as you did the week before!) and what seemed at the time like lots of ingredients (I remember having to borrow a cup of flour from a neighbor the night before, to make sure I had enough!).  I measured all the ingredients in advance and put them in sealed containers so it would be quicker and easier for my toddler and me to just dump them into the bowl when we were making the recipe.  We’ve got it down to a science now, and the kids are 9, 7 and 4.  We measure together and then take turns pouring in the ingredients and mixing.  This year, the whole process went surprisingly well . . . until the very end, when I said, “Guys!  Smile with our freshly-baked pumpkin bread!” and I caught this full-on, spontaneous punch in a pic instead.

easy pumpkin bread recipe

Easy Pumpkin Bread Ingredients:

  • 3 1/3 cups sifted flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup oil (I use canola)
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2 cups canned pumpkin (I buy two 15-oz cans or one 16-oz can and have some left over) (I usually use this kind of pumpkin)
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (I use Nestle semi-sweet, but I’m sure any would be fine)

pumpkin bread recipe ingredients

And here’s all you do to make this easy pumpkin bread:

Grease THREE 9×5 loaf pans (I use butter).  Preheat oven to 350.  Mix dry ingredients together.  Add remaining ingredients.  Mix with spatula until smooth.  Fill each loaf pan approximately 1/3 full.  The recipe says to bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean — in my oven, they are done in just 35 minutes, so I recommend checking frequently after 35 minutes or so, since every oven is a bit different.  Cool on a drying rack, and then ENJOY!!!  (these are also great as mini breads or mini-muffins)

Don’t forget to grab a spoon and finish off every last drop of the batter — no raw eggs = gobble it up!

pumpkin bread yumminess
mixing pumpkin bread
pumpkin bread batter in pans
pumpkin bread batter in pans

 

Easy-print recipe card:

pumpkin bread recipe
Yield: 3 loaves

Easy Pumpkin Bread

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

DELICIOUS and SO SIMPLE TO MAKE!

Easy pumpkin bread recipe that calls for no eggs, and is fun to make with kids.

Ingredients

  • 3 1/3 cups sifted flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt (I skimp on this step and usually use just a pinch)
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup oil (I use canola)
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2 cups canned pumpkin (I buy two 15-oz cans or one 16-oz can and have some left over)
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (though I often throw in some extra!)

Instructions

Grease THREE 9x5 loaf pans (I use butter)
Preheat oven to 350.  Mix dry ingredients together.
Add remaining ingredients.  Mix with spatula until smooth.

Fill each loaf pan approximately 1/3 full.  The recipe says to bake
for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean -- in my oven, they are done in
just 35 minutes, so I recommend checking frequently after 35 minutes or so,
since every oven is a bit different.  

Cool on a drying rack, and then ENJOY!!!  (these are also great as mini breads or mini-muffins)





New! Serving ideas:

This easy pumpkin bread isn’t just simple to make, but is also a great way to delight your friends or family or guests. Here are some of the ways we love to serve it or gift it! How do you share your pumpkin bread?

  • Special (albeit sweet!) surprise breakfast treat for your kids on a weekday — nice and warm with the chocolate chips all melty and delicious
  • Sliced, warmed up, buttered
  • Sliced, room temperature, topped with apple butter or cream cheese … or apple butter AND cream cheese!
  • Cut into small squares and served “fancy” in petit four pastry cups — perfect for a dessert platter or brunch
  • Served as dessert, along-side brownies, fudge, cookies.
  • Brunch delight, alongside banana bread and apple muffins
  • Wrapped and gifted to a friend who needs a little pick-me-up
  • A great welcome-to-the-neighborhood gift!
  • A fun holiday gift, with package of a favorite coffee and a cute dessert plate or mug
  • Snack for school
Fun ways to serve or share this easy pumpkin bread

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23 Comments

  1. This seems like a fun baking to do with kids, I have 2 boys as well. While reading, I could imagine the fight that will occur while doing this. I will surely give it a try. Thanks for sharing.

    1. admin says:

      Good luck! Let me know if you try it!

  2. I love pumpkin bread but have never tried making my own. This looks like a great recipe, I may have to try making my own now!

    1. admin says:

      Yes! It’s easy!!! Enjoy!!

  3. Love the look of this recipe! Might give it a go one day. Thanks for sharing xx

    1. admin says:

      Yes! Let me know if you try it! 🙂

  4. Yum! I like how this recipe makes 3 loaves!! Great to freeze or share with friends! Love baking with kids too.

    1. admin says:

      Yes, we always used to freeze a loaf, eat a loaf and give a loaf to a friend. Now my boys gobble up all three on their own within just a few days!

  5. My husband loves pumpkin bread. I’ll have to try this!

    1. admin says:

      Yes, definitely!

  6. Fawn E Rosenbohm says:

    Yummy. My kids love to bake so this looks like a great recipe for us to try this fall.

    1. admin says:

      Yes, perfect for fall! We even eat it for breakfast sometimes, even though it’s not quite healthy . . .

  7. This looks so good! I usually use the boxed version from Trader Joe’s but you’ve inspired me to try it myself this year. Thanks for sharing!

    1. admin says:

      YUM!!! Let me know how it goes!

  8. Yummy! Love this recipe! Can’t wait to try!

  9. I’ve been looking for a pumpkin bread recipe! Will have to try this with my daughter. Thanks!

    1. admin says:

      Yum! Let me know if you try it!

  10. Kristen says:

    Huge fan of pumpkin bread! Never thought to put chocolate chips in it. I know that is such a crazy thought!

    1. admin says:

      Yes — it’s YUMMY!!!! I think sometimes the chocolate chips are the only reason my kids bake this with me!

  11. This bread looks so yummy!! I’ll definitely have to make this with my three boys!

    1. admin says:

      Yay for another 3-Boy MOB! Have fun!!

  12. Not sure how I missed this before, but it looks delicious and I love that it’s simple enough to make.

    1. Yes! So easy and yummy!

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