Moist Buttermilk Pumpkin Spice Bread is a richly spiced homemade pumpkin bread that gets its its soft, moist texture from the buttermilk, not oil.
I love easy quick bread recipes like zucchini bread and banana bread. So every fall I look forward to making pumpkin spice bread.
One of the best things about pumpkin bread is how moist it is. However, many recipes call for a cup (or more) of oil to make pumpkin bread so moist.
Since pumpkin is already so great at adding moisture, I cut the oil and added buttermilk in for a super moist, super tasty loaf of pumpkin bread that won’t leave you with any heavy, greasiness.
How to make moist pumpkin bread
Here you’ll find instructions with step-by-step photos to help you make the recipe. The full recipe is given below.
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
Step 2: In a large bowl, stir together buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and oil until combined.
Step 3: Stir in eggs and vanilla until incorporated.
Step 4: Add dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.
Step 5: Stir in nuts if using.
Step 6: Pour batter into prepared pan.
Step 7: Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 8: Remove from oven, and let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and finish cooling on wire rack.
Recipe Tips!
- Flour: It’s important to properly measure the flour. Too much flour will give you heavy or dry pumpkin bread. The most accurate way to measure flour is by weighing it. If you would like to measure by volume, stir or sift the flour to break it up, lightly spoon into the measuring cup, and level.
- Spices: You can substitute an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice for the spices.
- Buttermilk: Full-fat or reduced-fat buttermilk will work. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute.
- Pumpkin: Be sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie mix.
- Oil: Vegetable oil, olive oil, or a similar oil will work.
- Pecans: Walnuts or even chocolate chips could be substituted for the pecans. If you prefer, you can just omit the nuts.
Storage
This pumpkin bread will stay fresh for two days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It will stay fresh another 1-2 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
You can also freeze the baked loaves of pumpkin bread or even slices of pumpkin bread. To freeze either the loaves or slices, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then place the wrapped loaf or slice in a freezer-safe container.
More pumpkin recipes!
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Buttermilk Pumpkin Spice Bread
Equipment
- 9×5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup buttermilk low-fat ok
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9×5-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and oil until combined.
- Stir in eggs and vanilla until incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.
- Stir in nuts if using.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the bread starts to brown too quickly, tent with foil.
- Remove from oven, and let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
- Remove from pan and finish cooling on wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Originally published on 8/24/16.
Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Ruth says
I made a double recipe. Looks like 3 baking pans are needed.
Kate says
Thank you for sharing that!
Therese says
I made this bread for Christmas gifts. Everyone says it is so good! The buttermilk makes it very moist.
Kate says
Thank you!
Sherry says
I want to make this, but I have a whole lot of pumpkin pie spice I need to use. Would 2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice give me similar results, or would you suggest using the spices above in the given proportions?
Kate says
You can absolutely use the pumpkin pie spice blend in place of the individual spices.
Cheryl says
This bread came out delicious! I added pecans and mini chocolate chips. Moist, tender crumb. I baked in mini muffin pans. Definitely will make again!
Kate says
Thank you!
judy says
The first photo looks crusty, the others look like a different loaf. Mine did not come out looking like the first photo, I’m thinking too much batter for the pan because top center was still doughy. Tasted good, though.
Kate says
Hi! I’m not sure why it looks like a different loaf, but it was the same loaf that was photographed on the same cutting board at the time. The other photos are just different angles. The reason why I give a time and then say “or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean” is because ovens can vary so much in their baking time. You may find that you need to bake the bread for longer than the given time. I just recommend tenting the bread with foil if it starts to brown before the inside has finished baking.
Trish says
Thought this recipe was a bit bland. It needed more of something but not sure what!
Kate says
With about 2 tablespoons of spice in the bread, I’m surprised that it was bland! You can certainly add more spice if you would like. Also, spices lose some of their flavor as they sit, so if your spices are older, they have lost some flavor.
Tara says
Made this today with fresh pumpkin from the backyard, and it was fantastic! The whole house smelled delicious for hours! I added extra cinnamon and nutmeg as well as a couple sprinkles of pumpkin pie spice just to really amp up the spice level. I also added chocolate chips to half the batter and white chocolate chips to the other half – hard to pick a favorite!
Kate says
I’m so glad that you liked it! I’m sure the chips added something extra to the bread.
Stella says
I wanted to try this recipe. The print function did not respond and there are hundreds of pop-ups. I’m giving it 5 stars because I assume that it is wonderful.
Kate says
Hi! Is the print button in the recipe card giving you errors? Unfortunately, from time to time, there are ads that show up that will say “print” or “print pdf”, and I want to make sure that it’s the actual print button that isn’t working for you.
Melissa says
Just made a double batch of this a couple days ago.
Gave one away and we feasted on the other.
Very moist and flavorful.
I will make again for sure!
Thanks for the yummy recipe
💞
Kate says
Thank you so much!
Maria van Houten says
Easy to make and delicious! I froze half and when taken out a week later if was just as delicious!
Kate says
Thank you!
Amanda says
Love this recipe! I make it every year for about 5 years now. My family loves pumpkin season because they know this recipe is coming out.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you like the recipe and have been enjoying it! Thank you for coming back to leave a comment!
Mary G says
Most delicious, moist pumpkin bread ever! And I’ve made a ton of different recipes. Never used buttermilk before and i love that there’s way less oil. Made exactly as recipe states. Thank you!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you like it!