Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting is moist, flavorful, and a perfect treat for a beautiful fall day. Fill your home with the mesmerizing smells of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin, topped with the not-too-sweet tang of fluffy cream cheese frosting.
There is no better way to invite fall into your home than with a little bit of pumpkin spice, and this recipe truly just takes it to another level.
Start with a simple pumpkin bread, perfectly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and then top it with a sweet, but not too sweet, fluffy cream cheese frosting. The pairing is perfection!
If you’ve never made pumpkin bread before, it’s one of those super easy breads to make, similar to banana bread, zucchini bread, or even these applesauce cookies. The addition of pumpkin puree makes the bread chewy and moist, almost more like a cake than bread.
This is just the recipe you need for an easy and delicious treat to get you in the mood for fall! If you want another easy pumpkin recipe, try this Pumpkin Dip with Cool Whip.
The base for this recipe comes from my Aunt Denise, who has been making this bread for years! Her original Pumpkin Bread Recipe (without Cream Cheese Frosting) is also delicious!
Why Make This Recipe
- Easy Recipe: Pumpkin bread doesn’t call for any kneading or waiting. Just mix, dump and bake. This bread comes out dense and delicious every time!
- Layers of Flavor: The cream cheese frosting on top of this pumpkin bread is what takes this treat from good to melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Pumpkin and cream cheese are such an amazing duo.
- Perfect for Fall: Baking this pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting will fill your home with warm, delicious smells. There is nothing more fitting for fall than pumpkin!
Ingredients for Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
Pumpkin Bread Ingredients
- Pureed Pumpkin: I recommend canned pumpkin. I have never tested this recipe with fresh pumpkin. Be sure you use pureed pumpkin and NOT pumpkin pie filling.
- Eggs: Eggs bind all your ingredients together.
- Granulated Sugar: Sugar is necessary to balance the flavors. This is a sweet bread!
- All-Purpose Flour: No fancy flour is needed for this recipe, but you could substitute a gluten free 1:1 flour if necessary.
- Vegetable Oil: Oil adds a bit of extra moisture to the bread. You could substitute coconut oil, canola oil or any neutral oil instead.
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Spices: Pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and cinnamon
Frosting Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: It’s always best to use unsalted butter to allow you to control how much salt you add. Let your butter soften to room temperature for easier mixing.
- Cream Cheese: I like the creaminess of full fat but you could use reduced fat if you want to cut some of the fat. Make sure it is softened to room temperature for a smooth frosting.
- Vanilla: Vanilla extract balances out the flavors.
- Salt
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar is what gives your frosting stability and sweetness
Variations
This bread is easy to customize to your liking. Feel free to add some chocolate chips to make Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread, walnuts or pecans to the mix for another layer of flavor.
You can also switch up the cream cheese frosting on top. Try this delicious recipe with Marshmallow Fluff Frosting, Maple Cream Cheese Frosting or even Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.
Tools
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Bread Pan: I use a 9”x5” but you could also separate this recipe into two mini loaves
You can make this recipe in a 9x5x2” pan like I did, or you can split it up into two mini loaves or even muffins. Be sure to adjust your baking time accordingly. Smaller loaves will cook much faster.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Mix together your eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, water and pumpkin until well combined
Step 2: Add the dry ingredients and whisk to combine
Step 3: Divide your batter into one bread pan
Step 4: Bake for one hour until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Allow it to cool while you make your cream cheese frosting
Step 5: Make your frosting by whipping together cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy
Step 6: Add a thick layer of cream cheese frosting on top of your bread. Slice and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Don’t overmix your batter. It will make your bread tougher. Mix the dough just until combined–then stop. I recommend mixing in the dry ingredients by hand as well so you have more control.
- When you are making your frosting, allow all your ingredients to come to room temperature before you begin mixing. This will ensure your frosting reaches the perfect consistency much easier.
- Make sure your pumpkin bread is completely cool before you add your frosting. You don’t want your frosting to melt off the top!
How to Fix Dry Pumpkin Bread
There are a few reasons why your Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting may be coming out dry.
One reason may be too much flour. Be sure when you make this recipe that you are measuring your flour correctly. The batter should not be too thick.
A second reason your bread may be coming out dry is overmixing. Overworking the batter can cause it to become tough and chewy. Try mixing by hand for the best results.
The final reason could be baking too long. Near the end of your baking time, check your bread with a toothpick to be sure it is not baking for too long.
Recipe FAQs
Pumpkin bread is good at room temperature but because this bread has cream cheese frosting, it is best to store it cold.
Place leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
If you want to make this recipe ahead of time, I recommend baking the bread the day before serving and adding the frosting just before serving. Pumpkin bread freezes very well in a loaf or individual slices. Thaw in the fridge overnight to enjoy!
Pumpkin bread puffs up as it bakes and usually cracks down the center of the loaf. If the bread inside the center crack looks done, that’s a good clue that your loaf is done.
To be sure, use the toothpick method. Stick a clean toothpick in the center of your loaf. If it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, the loaf is done. If it comes out coated in batter, you need to bake longer.
It is possible to make this recipe dairy free. The bread itself is dairy free. To make your frosting dairy free, you will just need to use dairy free substitutes of the butter and cream cheese.
This recipe works best with canned pumpkin puree. Do not buy pumpkin pie mix as it has a lot of added ingredients that won’t bake up the same.
If you are someone who makes your own homemade pumpkin puree, you can absolutely use it in this recipe. Homemade pumpkin puree does tend to have more moisture than canned puree so you may need to squeeze some of that moisture out.
Did you enjoy this recipe? If so, check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
- Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Marshmallow fluff frosting
- Maple cream cheese frosting
- Brown butter cream cheese frosting
- Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Argentinian Beef Stew in a Pumpkin
If you tried this Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Bread Pan: I use a 9”x5” but you could also separate this recipe into two mini loaves
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup pureed pumpkin, *not pumpkin pie filling
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
Frosting Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, 4 Tbsp, softened to room temperature
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ¾ tsp vanilla
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Pumpkin Bread Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease and flour 1 bread pan. Set aside.
- Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Then add the sugar, vegetable oil, water, and pumpkin. Beat again until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, salt, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, cinnamon and all purpose flour. Whisk to combine.
- Dump the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat together in a large bowl.
- Pour the batter into the bread pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for approximately one hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the pumpkin bread to cool while you make the cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and softened cream cheese on high speed until smooth and creamy
- Add in the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, mixing between each addition until just combined.
- Add in the vanilla extract and salt and mix again.
- Beat on low speed for 30 seconds to combine, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes.
- Once your pumpkin bread is cooled, spread the frosting on top of the bread. Serve and Enjoy!
Notes
- Pureed Pumpkin: I recommend canned pumpkin. I have never tested this recipe with fresh pumpkin. Be sure you use pureed pumpkin and NOT pumpkin pie filling.
- All-Purpose Flour: You could substitute a gluten free 1:1 flour if necessary.
- Vegetable Oil: You could substitute coconut oil, canola oil or any neutral oil instead.
- Cream Cheese: I like the creaminess of full fat but you could use reduced fat if you want to cut some of the fat.
- Don’t overmix your batter. It will make your bread tougher. Mix the dough just until combined–then stop. I recommend mixing in the dry ingredients by hand as well so you have more control.
- When you are making your frosting, allow all your ingredients to come to room temperature before you begin mixing. This will ensure your frosting reaches the perfect consistency much easier.
- Make sure your pumpkin bread is completely cool before you add your frosting. You don’t want your frosting to melt off the top!
