Pumpkin Gingerbread is a the most sensational quick bread because it’s warm, sweet, & spiced with flavors that invoke cozy holiday memories.
It’s hard to think of two more iconic holiday recipes than Gingerbread Cookies and Pumpkin Bread and this amazing Bread Recipe brings the two together into one baked good. For another fun mashup try my Pumpkin Banana Bread.
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Gingerbread?
- You get all the warm flavors of gingerbread and pumpkin all wrapped up in one!
- The bread is perfect to eat for breakfast or dessert and makes a great gift!
Sabrina’s Pumpkin Gingerbread Recipe
This delicious recipe is sure to become your favorite bread to make during the holiday season. It takes inspiration from two favorite holiday dessert recipes for the perfect combination of cozy flavors. It’s a wonderfully rich quick bread that’s perfect for a dessert, breakfast, or sweet snack.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar , packed
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Molasses Icing:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon water , more as needed to thin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9×5 loaf pan with baking spray.
- In a large bowl whisk together dark brown sugar, sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs until smooth.
- Add in water, pumpkin puree, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- In a second bowl sift together flour, baking soda, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and baking powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk to combine.
- Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 65-75 minutes until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.
- Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from the loaf pan.
Molasses Icing:
- Add powdered sugar, molasses, and water to a bowl and whisk well until smooth.
- Drizzle over the pumpkin gingerbread bread.
Nutrition
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Note from Sabrina
Since this bread is a favorite of both adults and kids, I get requests to turn it into cupcakes regularly. To make this recipe into an easy, on-the-go breakfast treat, just bake the dough in muffin cups! Take the Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins out of the oven when baked through and starting to crack on top.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
Between the fresh pumpkin flavor, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, and molasses, the flavors baked into this perfect moist bread are going to be hard to beat. The other nice thing about this recipe is that is has a relatively low prep time of mixing the wet ingredients and then just adding the dry ingredients. The hardest part is waiting for it to bake for a little over an hour while the aroma fills the house. This bread would make a great seasonal gift for the neighbors!
Ingredients
- Bread Ingredients: For the most part, Pumpkin Gingerbread is made with simple ingredients. You probably have all the basic baking ingredients like brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder in your kitchen. So, you’ll only need to run to the grocery store if you don’t have the more seasonal ingredients like pumpkin, ginger, and molasses.
- Pumpkin: Canned Pumpkin Puree gives the bread its classic pumpkin flavor, and adds lots of moisture to the batter. If you have fresh pumpkin, you can also follow my recipe to make Homemade Pumpkin Puree.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and ground cloves are all classic seasonal spices, often used in pumpkin recipes. However, for this recipe, I’ve used more ginger than any of the other spices. That way, the ginger taste is front and center even though the other pumpkin spices are still represented.
- Molasses: The molasses in the glaze is just as important to this recipe as the ginger. Classic gingerbread cookies are made with ginger and dark molasses to flavor the chewy cookies. So, adding the glaze helps set this bread apart from traditional pumpkin bread.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes, this bread can be made ahead of time because it will last on the counter for up to 3 days or up to a week in the fridge. If you are wanting to make your own pumpkin puree you could even get that ready ahead of time so when it’s time to bake you can just toss it in. If you are planning on gifting this tasty bread, try to make it as close as possible to the time that you are gifting it so it’s fresh for the recipient.
Serving Ideas
- Breakfast: If you’re serving this Pumpkin Gingerbread recipe for breakfast, serve it warm and use a butter knife to spread butter or cream cheese over each slice. Then enjoy it with a cup of Cafe Latte or Hot Chocolate for an amazing Autumn morning treat.
- Dessert: To serve it as a dessert, you can eat the bread as it is. The molasses glaze and pumpkin make it plenty sweet for a dessert. But, if you’re in the mood for an extra bit of indulgence, you can serve a slice of bread with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.
How to Store
- Serve: You can keep Pumpkin Gingerbread at room temperature for up to 3 days. Just cover it with plastic wrap to help it stay moist.
- Store: You can also seal the delicious Pumpkin Ginger Bread in a ziplock bag with a paper towel at the bottom to absorb any excess moisture. Then keep the sweet bread in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freeze: As long as the bread is properly sealed, you can also keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Variations
- Healthy Pumpkin Gingerbread: To make a more Healthy Pumpkin Gingerbread recipe, you can replace the all-purpose flour with wheat flour. Whole wheat flour gives the bread more nutrients, and other health benefits, but it also won’t turn out as fluffy and soft. You could also use half wheat and half white flour to strike that healthy and tasty balance.
- Maple Syrup: If you don’t have molasses, you can use maple syrup as a substitute in a pinch. Just keep in mind that while it will taste delicious, it won’t taste as much like gingerbread.
- Decorative Toppings: You can sprinkle some decorative toppings like sparkling sugar, a dusting of ginger, or holiday sprinkles over the glaze before it sets.
- Molasses Cream Cheese Frosting: For a richer, dessert-like bread recipe, you can spread Cream Cheese Frosting over the top of the cooled bread. Just follow my recipe for with the addition of 2 tablespoons molasses whipped in.
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More Tasty Pumpkin Breads!
The deep molasses and bold ginger spices pair so remarkably well with the rich pumpkin puree. It bakes up dense, moist, and stays fresh for days. Thank you, Sabrina!
You’re welcome Michael! Thanks for taking the time to write such a kind review.