Easy Pumpkin Bread {With Cake Mix}

Quick and easy pumpkin bread recipe with maple glaze, homemade with simple ingredients. Starts off with cake mix. Perfect dessert for Fall and Thanksgiving parties!

The maple glaze for pumpkin bread is what truly takes this dessert over the top! It should not be omitted at all!

Also, if you truly love pumpkin, don't miss out on this Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe (5 Ingredients). It's to die for!

What is pumpkin bread?

Pumpkin bread is a type of moist quick bread that's made with pumpkin puree. Additional ingredients like nuts and chocolate chips can be mixed into the batter. It can be glazed or frosted, once cooled and is a popular Fall and Thanksgiving dessert.

How to make best pumpkin bread?

1. Prepare batter.
2. Bake.
3. Cool.
4. Glaze.
5. Enjoy!

How do you know when pumpkin bread is done?

A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Why did my pumpkin bread not rise?

There could be a few different reasons:

• Inaccurate measurements- You must use measuring cups and measuring spoons to ensure the recipe works the way it is supposed to. Baking is science, after all.
• Batter was over-mixed- It's okay if there are some lumps in your bread batter. If you over-mix, too much gluten forms in the batter that prevents it from rising properly and it also affects the texture and makes it very dense and rubbery.

Moist pumpkin bread with fresh pumpkin vs. canned pumpkin

Either can be used. I prefer canned pumpkin since it's readily available and less work for me.

Variations

• Healthy vegan pumpkin bread- This is the 2 ingredient recipe, where you just add a cake mix and pumpkin puree and then bake. No eggs are added. It is denser than my recipe but some people love it.
• Pumpkin chocolate chip bread- Stir in ½ cup chocolate chips (that have been tossed in flour first) in the batter near the end.
• Pumpkin banana bread- Reduce the quantity of pumpkin by half and replace that with mashed bananas.
• Pumpkin zucchini bread- Reduce the quantity of pumpkin by half and replace that with shredded zucchini that has been squeezed of excess water.
• Pumpkin cream cheese bread- Omit the maple glaze and replace that with Cream Cheese Frosting.
• Pumpkin bread muffins- This recipe is so versatile that it can be used in a muffin pan to make muffins too. No changes are necessary. Fill the pans halfway through.
• Add nuts- Such walnuts or pecans, if you like a but of crunch. Be sure to toss them in flour first before folding them into the batter.
• Add streusel topping- This is a classic choice. Its adds a lovely crunch on top and looks beautiful too. You can even add a drizzle of glaze on top, if you like.

Tips and Techniques

• Don't over bake- because that will make the bread dry. It can also prevent it from rising and even lead to the bread sinking.
• Don't add oil or water- A bread is dense compared to a cake, which means those 2 ingredients should not be added in this recipe.
• Grease pan- Make sure you grease it first and then flour it to prevent the bread from sticking to the pan.
• All ingredients should be at room temperature- That's because they blend together smoothly and evenly.
• Adjust amount of pumpkin pie spice- This is based on your preference. You can even omit it if the amount of spices in the spice cake mix is enough for your liking.
• What flavor of cake mix to use? I recommend spice cake mix but you can use a golden cake mix or yellow cake mix. However, you would have to add a decent amount of pumpkin pie spice and other Fall spices to really get that pumpkin flavor to shine through.
• DON'T OMIT GLAZE- I cannot stress this enough. That really takes this bread over the top!

More Pumpkin Desserts

• Easy Pumpkin Donuts (With Cake Mix)
• Easy Pumpkin Fudge (With Gingersnap Crust)
• Easy Pumpkin Truffles
• Easy Pumpkin Cake (With Cake Mix)
• Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

Recipe