If you love my Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Bread recipe, you'll love this pumpkin bread recipe.
Pumpkin Bread is a hot seller in our house - even Ethan clamors to get a slice when I make it! But after a while, even this Mama gets tired of making the same ole' bread so I thought I'd switch it up a bit and began browsing online for a suitable recipe.
Then I stumbled upon this Down East Maine Pumpkin Bread in my grandmother's recipes. I'll always consider myself a Mainer at heart since I grew up there. I knew I had to give this awesome recipe a try, with a few classic Juggling Act Mama twists!
This great old Maine recipe meets all my must-haves for quick breads - it's delicious, easy-to-make, and freezes wonderfully.
Ingredients
- canned pumpkin puree (or make your own pumpkin puree)
- eggs
- vegetable oil
- vanilla extract
- apple sauce
- granulated sugar
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground cloves
- ground ginger
- brown sugar
- unsalted butter
Equipment
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Tips
- Be sure to purchase pure pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling.
- Using unsalted butter in the streusel topping allows you more control over the amount of salt. However you can use salted butter, just do not add more salt to the crumb topping.
Storage
Store bread in an airtight container. It can be kept at room temperature or in the fridge.
Downeast pumpkin bread freezes great! Once the bread is completely cooled, place it into a resealable freezer bag. Label and store for 1-3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
Serving Suggestions
This bread can be served warm with cinnamon honey butter or brown sugar butter. The rich flavor is also delicious with cream cheese frosting or even a little bit of whipped cream.
😋 Similar Recipes
If you love pumpkin, you'll want to check out these other delicious recipes:
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
- Creamy Pumpkin Hot Cocoa
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles
- Pumpkin French Toast Bake
Related: Delicious Pumpkin Recipes
Variations
Add a cup of chocolate chips or chopped nuts into the batter, or sprinkle it over the top of the loaf in place of the oat topping.
If you have pumpkin pie spice, you can add 3 teaspoons instead of the individual spices.
More Quick Bread Recipes
I love making easy quick bread for my family. It's less work than muffins, and stays fresher longer, in my humble opinion! Here are a few of my go-to- recipe favorites:
Enjoy a warm slice of pumpkin bread with a little bit of Texas Roadhouse butter while you fill up your Autumn Bucket List.
Not ready to make this great pumpkin bread recipe yet?
When you do make it, please come back and comment and leave me a 5-star rating below! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread
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Ingredients
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree or just shy of 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup apple sauce
- ⅔ cup water
- 3 cups white sugar
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Cinnamon Streusel Topping (optional)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F-degrees. Grease and flour three bread pans and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk together the rest of the wet ingredients, sugar, and spices.15 ounces pumpkin puree, 4 eggs, ½ cup vegetable oil, ½ cup apple sauce, ⅔ cup water, 3 cups white sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- Stir in the flour mixture a little at a time into the pumpkin mixture until well combined.
- Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
- Then, in a small bowl use a fork to combine the butter with the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon until it resembles a coarse meal. Sprinkle over the top of your loaves, gently pressing the mixture into the top of the bread.½ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ stick unsalted butter, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Bake for 50-minutes in the preheated oven until the loaves are slightly browned on the edges and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Gently turn out onto a wire rack so you don’t lose all the yummy topping.
Equipment
- Bread Pan
Danni says
This recipe is so good, I love the oat topping!
Bree says
Uh this isn't the famous Down East Maine Pumpkin bread recipe. You've altered it. should probably tell people that.
Angela Paris says
Hi Bree, I do note in my introduction of the recipe that I've made a few changes from the original. Using applesauce and less oil makes the recipe a bit healthier. The cinnamon streusel topping, while not traditional, is delicious, and also optional. Those are the only changes I've made to the original Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread Recipe as it was passed down to me from my grandmother.