Moist pumpkin bread with a cream cheese swirl baked to perfection and served warm with some butter. This quick bread is an all time family favorite and the creamy cheese lay er really just sets this homemade pumpkin bread apart.
This is the best pumpkin bread recipe for the holidays and pumpkin season! I love to serve this dessert for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Yes, I think pumpkin can absolutely still be served at Christmas. Let's be honest, pumpkin flavor is great year round. Especially an easy pumpkin bread recipe like this one. It is truly the best pumpkin cream cheese bread.
This was inspired by my Homemade Cinnamon Banana Bread recipe on this site, and pairs well with this Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip.
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Ingredients
The ingredients to make this bread are pretty typical when it comes to baking with the obvious addition of pumpkin puree to help bring out that delicious pumpkin flavor!
- Butter
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Milk
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Pumpkin Puree
- Cream Cheese
- Confectioners Sugar
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Creating this dish follows some pretty typical baking strategies and in the end, you will get a fluffy, delicious pumpkin bread.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease the bread pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs one at at a time, mixing in between. Add in pumpkin puree and mix. Add in the vanilla and mix.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice to make a flour mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer with the wet ingredients. Mix well.
Combine powdered sugar, milk and cream cheese. Mix until combined and slightly fluffy. In a greased bread pan, pour half of the batter in between the two bread pans.
Add half of the cream cheese mixture into each bread pan and then cover with the rest of the remaining pumpkin batter. Using a skewer, swirl the cream cheese mixture into the pumpkin batter. Bake 50-55 minutes. Serve warm with butter.
Hint: use a skewer instead of a toothpick to mix the layer of cream cheese into the pumpkin batter. This will mix it much better than using a tooth pick and will give you a nice swirl of cream cheese.
Substitutions
- Flour - you can switch out the flour for a 1:1 gluten free baking flour if you need to convert this to a gluten free recipe.
- Cream Cheese - the cream cheese can be completely omitted if you do not want to add a cream cheese mixture, the pumpkin bread will still turn out just as good. You could also switch out the cream cheese for sour cream for a tangier version.
- Oil - add in vegetable oil to help create a fluffier bread.
- Pumpkin Spice - you can also use cinnamon if you do not have pumpkin pie spice. I definitely suggest pumpkin pie spice though to get that true pumpkin spice flavor.
Variations
There are a few ways you can switch up this recipe that will completely change the flavor profile.
- Banana - swap out the pumpkin for some over ripe bananas for a delicious banana bread.
- Deluxe - add some cream cheese icing or a vanilla glaze on top of the bread. The cream cheese frosting will add even more flavor to compliment the cream cheese filling.
- Zucchini - swap out the pumpkin for 2 cups of shredded zucchini bread for a summery alternative.
See this Banana Bread Recipe on my website!
Equipment
To make this recipe, you will need bread pans, mixing bowls, a whisk and a rubber spatula. You can also use a hand mixer or a KitchenAid if you have one! You will also need parchment paper if you are using that to coat your bread pan.
Storage
Wrap the leftovers up in tin foil or plastic wrap and they can be left on the counter for up to one week. You can also wrap it in a piece of foil and save it in the fridge for up to one week. You can also slice up the bread and save it in an airtight container.
These ingredients do stand up well to freezing. The finished bread can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Top tip
When your bread is done baking, to check doneness use a toothpick and stick it in the middle of the bread. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done. If the toothpick has any wet batter on it, the bread will need to bake a little longer.
FAQ
The less you swirl the cream cheese into the bread, the more thick your middle layer will be.
I use a nonstick cooking spray to keep my bread from sticking. I am very generous with how much I spray and have found that this works the best.
I use a toothpick and I stick it directly in the middle of the bread. If the toothpick comes out with batter on it, the bread is not quite done. If the toothpick comes out clean, you are good to go!
If you love this recipe, you might also love:
Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling Recipe
Equipment
- 2 bread pans
Ingredients
The Bread
- 3 eggs
- ½ stick butter softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup milk
The Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 ½ cup confectioners sugar
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs one at at a time, mixing in between. Add in pumpkin puree and mix. Add in the vanilla and mix.
- In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer with the wet ingredients. Mix well.
- Combine powdered sugar, milk and cream cheese. Mix until combined and slightly fluffy. In a greased bread pan, add one fourth of the pumpkin mixture into each bread pan.
- Add half of the cream cheese mixture into each bread pan and then cover with the rest of the pumpkin batter. Using a skewer, swirl the cream cheese mixture into the pumpkin batter. Bake 50-55 minutes. Serve warm with butter.
Notes
Nutrition
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Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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