Welcome the fall season with this soft and moist pumpkin walnut bread! Packed with pumpkin flavor, this pumpkin loaf is drizzled with the best maple glaze. Plus, you can make it in 1 bowl!
Cozy sweater weather and pumpkin season to me means it is time to make a loaf of pumpkin bread! Based on my pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting, this moist and fluffy pumpkin bread is made in just 1 bowl.
I've topped it with a delicious maple glaze, but you can keep it plain or use my cream cheese frosting if you want to make it extra decadent.
You don't need any fancy equipment to make this pumpkin walnut bread, just a bowl (or two if you're making the glaze!) and a whisk. This quick bread is perfect with a hot cup of coffee as an afternoon snack!
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Why you'll love this recipe!
- This is a really simple and easy recipe. It's oil based which helps make it super light and fluffy. It's also made in just 1 bowl!
- I've added a whole cup of chopped walnuts, so you get walnuts in every bite. You can swap it out for pecans if you prefer!
- The pumpkin bread is drizzled in a maple glaze which is made in 1 bowl. You can swap it out for cream cheese frosting or just sprinkle some sugar on top to get a sparkly top.
Ingredients Needed
- Canned Pumpkin: make sure you're using 100% pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Sugar: I'm using white sugar for this recipe.
- All Purpose Flour: I've only tested this recipe with all purpose flour. If you're based in the UK this is plain flour!
- Spices: I'm adding lots of warm spices here to bump up the pumpkin pie flavor! This includes cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of black pepper (trust me on this!)
- Walnuts: you can swap these out for pecans if you prefer.
- Oil: use a neutral oil like vegetable oil, sunflower oil or canola oil. You don't want anything with a strong flavor.
Substitutions
- Nuts - swap out the walnuts for pecans, mini chocolate chips, or leave them out entirely.
- Fruit - turn this into a pumpkin cranberry bread by swapping out the walnuts for dried cranberries or raisins!
- Spices - swap out cardamom for ground ginger.
- Maple Glaze - don't add the maple glaze and add a cream cheese frosting.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350ºFahrenheit. Grease and line a 8.5x4.5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, sugar, vanilla extract and oil until smooth.
Step 2: Add in all of the dry ingredients - the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Use a rubber spatula to fold until it's smooth.
Step 3: Mix in the chopped walnuts.
Step 4: Pour batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake in the oven for 65-75 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean! Let the bread cool completely in the pan.
Step 5: In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the glaze ingredients. I recommend sifting the confectioners' sugar first so the glaze is smooth!
Step 6: Take the pumpkin bread out of the loaf pan once cool and drizzle the glaze over.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Kitchen Scale: I always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, especially your flour! It is so easy to add to much flour making your pumpkin bread super dry and dense.
- Loaf Pan Size: I'm using a 8.5x4.5-inch loaf pan, not a 9x5-inch loaf pan. I prefer this slightly smaller one because it gives you taller loaves! If you use a 9x5 loaf pan it will need less time in the oven so keep an eye on it. It also won't be as tall.
- Don't Over-mix: use a rubber spatula and not a whisk to mix in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Make sure not to over-mix the batter! Mixing too much will make the bread dense.
- Chopping Walnuts: Make sure the walnuts are in small pieces, if they're too big they might sink to the bottom!
- Foil on Top: If the top of your pumpkin bread is getting too brown you can cover it with aluminum foil!
- Use a Light Metal Pan: I recommend using a light metal pan, if you use one that's dark metal then the outside of the loaf will cook faster and be much darker!
- Muffins: to make a muffin version of this recipe check out my pumpkin muffins with streusel.
What do I do with the leftover canned pumpkin?
This recipe doesn't use a full can of pumpkin puree, so here are a few suggestions on what to do with leftovers!
- Make a pumpkin pie smoothie.
- Bake up a batch of chewy pumpkin white chocolate chip cookies!
- Have pumpkin spice lattes at home with this pumpkin spice syrup from my pal Kayla!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you cut into your pumpkin bread and it's soggy, you might not have baked it for long enough in the oven! Also make sure you're using the right size pan, as that will change how long it needs in the oven.
Check the expiration date on your baking soda and baking powder. If they're out of date, or you didn't add enough to the batter. The bread will rise in the oven and then fall back down, so check on the expiration date and make sure you close the lid properly when you're not using them!
The spices that you have added to the pumpkin bread might be old, so the taste isn't as strong. I recommend using new or fresh spices and storing the opened spices in the dark and away from warmth (so not next to your oven!)
Storage
Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To freeze, tightly wrap slices of pumpkin bread in plastic wrap and then foil. Place in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let come to room temperature before eating.
Try these pumpkin recipes next!
Have you made this recipe? Please rate the recipe below! Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @alpineella and Pinterest!
Recipe
Pumpkin Walnut Bread with Maple Glaze
Equipment
- 1 8.5x4.5 inch loaf pan
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread
- 1 ⅓ cup canned pumpkin
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 8 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- pinch ground pepper
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
Maple Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius. Grease a 8.5×4.5" loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Add the baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Mix until completely combined. Add flour and stir, stopping when you no longer see streaks of flour.1 ⅓ cup canned pumpkin, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 8 tablespoons neutral oil, 1 ¼ cup white sugar, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground cardamom, pinch ground pepper, ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, 2 cups all purpose flour
- Mix in the chopped walnuts.1 cup walnuts
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, tap on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Use a butter knife to draw a line down the middle of the loaf, this will help create a weak spot in the loaf and give a nicer looking crack down the middle of the bread.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 65-75 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean! Let the loaf cool completely in the loaf pan.
Maple Glaze
- Whisk all of the maple glaze ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth. If the glaze is too thin, add more confectioners' sugar. If it's too thick then drizzle in some more heavy cream.1 cup confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, pinch salt, 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Pour the glaze on top of the cooled loaf pan and enjoy!
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