Pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting is super moist and flavored with warm fall spices. It’s topped with candied maple streusel and cream cheese frosting. This pumpkin loaf cake makes the perfect fall breakfast, snack, or dessert!
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This flavorful pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting is packed with pumpkin puree and full of pumpkin spice flavor. It’s topped with maple glazed nut streusel and luscious cream cheese frosting!
If you’re looking for more pumpkin recipes, try my pumpkin banana muffins, pumpkin carrot cake cupcakes, and my pumpkin olive oil cake.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Pumpkin makes this loaf moist and delicious like my pumpkin spiced scones.
- I love to top mine with a crumbly walnut streusel for extra cozy flavor and crunch.
- Cream cheese frosting is luscious. It makes the bread extra tasty!
- This pumpkin bread loaf is perfect for breakfast or dessert just like my chocolate and carrot cake recipe and cinnamon swirl banana bread.
- You don’t need a mixer to make the batter Mix it up by hand. It’s so easy.
Ingredients
Here are some useful notes on the ingredients for this pumpkin loaf cake recipe.
- Pumpkin puree- Use 100% pure canned pumpkin puree. Don’t confuse pumpkin puree with pumpkin pie filling. I have not tested this recipe with homemade pumpkin puree. If you have leftover pumpkin, try my chocolate pumpkin pie, peanut butter and pumpkin cookies and pumpkin spice biscotti.
- Oil- I recommend canola or vegetable oil. Oil makes this pumpkin iced pumpkin loaf super moist.
- Ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger- These warm spices enhance the pumpkin flavor just like in my cinnamon swirl apple fritter bread.
- Brown sugar- Light or dark. Make sure your brown sugar is fresh. Brown sugar adds moisture and warm molasses flavor.
- Milk- Use whole, room temperature milk.
- Butter- Use unsalted, room temperature butter for the frosting.
- Cream cheese- Use full fat, room temperature block style cream cheese. Cream cheese makes the frosting tangy and luscious just like the cinnamon cream cheese frosting in my carrot cake loaf cake.
Please see recipe card for a full list of ingredients and their measurements.
Substitutions
- If you want to skip the maple glazed walnuts step, you can! Just use regular walnuts and add an extra tablespoon of brown sugar in place of the maple syrup.
- If you don’t have ground nutmeg or ground ginger, use extra cinnamon in place of either spice.
- You can make this bread nut-free! Swap in an additional 1/4 cup of flour and an extra tablespoon of brown sugar in place of the nuts.
Instructions
Here are the instructions on how to make and bake this pumpkin bread.
Step 1: (Photo 1 above) This step is optional. Combine the nuts, cinnamon and salt in a hot skillet over medium heat. Add the maple syrup and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until the nuts have toasted and the syrup caramelizes. Spread walnuts evenly on parchment paper.
Step 2: (Photo 2 above) Mix the melted butter, flour, granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon and the cooled, chopped walnuts together. Set aside.
Step 3: (Photo 3 above) Whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla.
Step 4: (Photo 4 above) Fold half the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients followed by the milk. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
Step 5: (Photo 5 above) Pour the batter into a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Top with the streusel.
Step 6: (Photo 6 above)Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for about 1 hour.
Step 7: (Photo 7 above) In a small mixing bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. Add the cinnamon and powdered sugar. Add the milk and beat til combined and creamy.
Step 8: (Photo 8 above) Drizzle frosting over the cooled bread.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Feel free to leave out the candied walnuts completely. You could use raw walnuts plus an extra tablespoon of brown sugar to the crumble. To make this loaf nut free, substitute the nuts for 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and a tablespoon of brown sugar.
Yes! Add 3/4 cup regular or mini chocolate chips.
Store unfrosted pumpkin loaf in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Store frosted pumpkin loaf in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Expert Tips
Tip # 1: Use pure pureed pumpkin for this pumpkin streusel loaf and not pumpkin pie filling.
Tip #2: Avoid overmixing. Mix the batter just enough that the dry ingredients are combined with the wet. Stop mixing as soon as you no longer see any bits of flour.
Tip #3: To see if the cake is done, stick a toothpick in the center of the cake. It will come out clean with no crumbs.
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Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Maple Walnuts (optional)*
- 1/4 cup walnuts roughly chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon or use pumpkin pie spice
- pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Streusel Topping
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup maple glazed walnuts cooled and chopped (recipe above)*
Pumpkin Bread
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup brown sugar light or dark
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup whole milk room temperature
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese full fat, room temperature
- 2 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon optional
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
Instructions
Maple Walnuts (optional)*
- In a small bowl, toss the walnuts with 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon and a small pinch of salt. Add them to a dry skillet on medium heat. Add the maple syrup and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or a heatproof spatula for 3-4 minutes until the nuts are toasted.
- Turn nuts out onto a sheet of parchment paper. Spread the nuts out. Allow nuts to cool and dry for a few minutes then lightly chop them.
Streusel Topping
- Combine the butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and prepared maple walnuts* in a bowl butter in a small bowl. Set aside in the fridge to chill while you prepare the batter.
Pumpkin Bread
- Set your oven rack to the lower third position. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray or grease the sides with butter and line with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and ginger. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla.
- Fold in half the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients followed by the milk. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Be careful not to over mix. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
- Take the streusel out of the fridge and use a fork or two forks to break it up into chunks of the same size. Cover the top of the batter evenly with the streusel.
- Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs on it when inserted into the center. Begin checking at about an hour and check it every five minutes or so until it’s done.
- Let cool for ten minutes in the pan on a wire rack and then remove it from the pan to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Once cooled completely, drizzle with frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a small mixing bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer til combined. With the mixer on low, add the cinnamon and powdered sugar followed by the milk. Beat til combined and creamy. Drizzle over cooled pumpkin bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
Zoe
My friend and I both agreed this is the best pumpkin bread we’ve had! So light and soft, so flavorful, so moist!!!!! I’m a huge fan of the Parsely and Icing pumpkin cake, so had high hopes for this one—and it nearly rivals the magnificence of the cake.
We made a couple of adjustments due to what we had on hand and preferences.
– homegrown, homemade pumpkin puree (game changer!)
– subbed almond extract (out of vanilla)
– didn’t use the full amount of sugar
– no walnuts in the streusel
We also chose not to make the icing — I’m sure it’s spectacular with it, but the bread itself is so good you just don’t need it!
I ended up making another batch the next day because we were going through it (and gifting it) so fast! In the second batch, I used vanilla – and, honestly, I may slightly prefer the almond extract in this recipe, weird combo but it worked.
Natalie
Hey Zoe, Awh thank you so much. I’m so happy you loved this pumpkin bread and so glad you are a fan of the pumpkin olive oil cake too!! :)I loved reading your recipe notes and love that you already made a second batch! Thank you for your review and for supporting my blog! Hope you have a great weekend!
Lela
Delish pumpkin bread recipe! I added chocolate chips because my partner loves them so I added 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chips. My loaf did take longer to bake than what the instructions specified but it made the house smell amazing nonetheless. Also had my friends and partner try it, 10/10 from them.
Natalie
Hi Lela!Thanks so much for making this pumpkin bread recipe and for your comment. I appreciate you sharing your recipe notes and so happy it was a hit with everyone! Have a fantastic week 🙂
Brittney B
This came out fabulously! Shared with a group and everyone was so excited to try it and loved it. A little time consuming on the first go round but I would def make again!
Natalie
Hi Brittney- Thanks for your comment and for making this pumpkin bread! I’m so glad it was a hit and great to hear you’d make it again 🙂 Have a great night! -Natalie
Deanna Hardison
Made this pumpkin bread today. It turned out beautifully. I did have to bake a little longer then what it said but none the less was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s definitely going to be my go to Pumpkin bread recipe from here on out.
Deanna Hardison.
Natalie
Hi Deanna, Thanks so much for making this pumpkin bread! Thanks for sharing your notes about the baking time and for taking the time to comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and grateful to hear it’s going to be your go to pumpkin bread recipe!!
Melinda Morgana
I made it twice, I’m literally fall in love with this amazing recipe ❤️
Natalie
Hi Melinda,
Thanks so much for making this recipe more than once! I love to hear that you love the recipe and appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment! XO Natalie
Barbara Ward
Just made this Pumpkin Bread! So Delicious!
Natalie
Thank you so much for trying this pumpkin bread recipe! I’m thrilled you enjoyed it! XO Natalie
Judy
Made this last weekend! I must say it was the perfect fall cake recipe. The cake disappeared very quickly. Delicious and everyone loved it. This will be my go to recipe and baking website for sure. Thank you very much 🙂
Natalie
Hey Judy! Aww so happy to hear this cake was a hit! Thank you for making it and thanks so much for your kind words about my website! Excited for you to try more recipes. Have a great rest of your week! -Natalie
Barbara Ward
Will be making this delicious sounding and looking Pumpkin Bread all month long!
Samira
This recipe looks amazing! Perfect for thanksgiving weekend! Looking forward to making it.
Natalie
Thank you so much Sam! I can’t wait for you to make it and know it’ll be a big hit with the fam! XO
Melanie Rose Bailey
Loved it!!! Made it with White Wings gluten free plain flour and it was amazing!
Natalie
Hi Melanie! Thank you so much for making this pumpkin bread! I’m so happy you enjoyed it and so great to know it worked well with gluten free flour too 🙂