Easy Streusel Pumpkin Bread

by erika Published: Sep 30, 2023 Modified: Oct 13, 2024 312 Comments

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This is my dream streusel pumpkin bread recipe–soft, moist and perfectly spiced with a decadent crumbly streusel on top for contrast! It’s easy to make, no mixer needed!

a stack of pumpkin bread slices with a streusel top on a white background.

Ever since the pumpkin bread bake off in 2017, I’ve been loyal to my favorite recipe of the bunch. Tartine’s pumpkin tea bread is so incredibly moist with a tight, cake-like crumb and a crunchy sugar top. Perfumed with cinnamon and lots of fresh nutmeg, it’s virtually perfect to me. I’ve happily made this recipe at least once a year for the last 5 years!

This year, I had an urge for an streusel pumpkin bread. With the added decadence on top, I wanted a slightly less rich base. I considered making one of my other bake off favorites (All Recipes or Epicurious), but realized I wanted a hybrid of my favorites:

Plushness of Epicurious and All Recipes
The robust volume of Smitten Kitchen’s towering loaf
A more judicious use of oil than Tartine
Spice flavor profile of Tartine
A new streusel topping!

Here’s how I came up with my new favorite pumpkin bread recipe

Using the Tartine recipe as a base, I made the following adjustments:

Increased flour to 2 cups: While I was hesitant to increase the flour to 2.25 cups a la Smitten Kitchen, I knew an additional 1/3 cup of flour would help absorb the extra pumpkin. It would also help provide more structure and volume for a higher rise. To compensate, I increased the baking soda to 3/4 tsp (same as Smitten Kitchen).
Increased pumpkin to 1 15 oz can: I’d always rather use up an entire can of pumpkin than have a few tablespoons leftover. This adds a LOT more moisture, so I made a few more adjustments.
Reduced vegetable oil: I wanted a plush crumb but not as rich as Tartine’s. All Recipes is an example of a recipe that remains quite plush with 1/2 cup oil per loaf. I found 3/4 cup gives a rich, plush crumb that’s not as greasy (especially with the added pumpkin).
Reduced eggs: I always prefer baking with fewer eggs if possible ($$). With so much additional pumpkin, I reduced the eggs from 3 to 2. (I sanity checked this with Easy Gay Oven’s recipe, which is similar to Smitten Kitchen’s but uses 2 eggs. Butternut Bakery’s recipe uses a similar flour amount to Tartine, a whole can of pumpkin and also uses 2 eggs.)
Updated the spice mix: I kept the 5 tsp of cinnamon, but reduced the fresh nutmeg to 1 tsp. I also added 1/4 tsp of ground ginger and reduced the cloves to a pinch. (This is a personal preference–you can definitely add more if you love ginger, nutmeg or cloves.)
Added more brown sugar: I slightly increased the sugar to compensate for the additional pumpkin. For a more depth of flavor, I used 1 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.

With all these updates, I hope you’ll agree this is a perfectly tender, moist and spiced pumpkin bread. The large volume of batter leads to an incredible rise out of a 9×5 loaf pan. Combined with the buttery streusel topping, it’s one of the most bakery-worthy things I’ve baked!

picking up a slice of pumpkin streusel bread.

Recipe ingredients

To summarize, here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this easy streusel pumpkin bread:

ingredients for pumpkin streusel bread: flour, oil, spices, brown sugar, sugar, butter, pumpkin, leaveners, salt and eggs.

Pumpkin puree: Look for 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
Oil: You can use any neutral oil like vegetable, canola, grapeseed or avocado. You can sub in olive oil as well, though I recommend using one with as neutral a flavor as possible. Several readers have reported that using melted butter also works well!
Spices: In this recipe, I use powered cinnamon, ginger and cloves with freshly grated nutmeg. If you don’t have whole nutmeg, you can of course sub powdered nutmeg (I’d use a tiny bit less). But I urge you to try fresh grated nutmeg if you can find it! I didn’t like nutmeg before I tried grating it fresh.
Kosher salt: I always use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If using fine sea salt or table salt, you can use a little less than the specified amount. If using Morton salt, cut the amount in half.
Sugar: Granulated sugar helps sweeten and soften the crumb.
Brown sugar: I’ve tried the loaf with both light and dark brown sugar. One baker noted that all dark brown sugar kind of overpowered the spices, so I recommend using light brown sugar if you have it! But in a pinch, either type will work.
Unsalted butter: This is only needed for the streusel. To keep the ingredients streamlined, you can make the streusel with 3 tablespoons of oil instead. But I think the flavor is much better with butter. If you only have salted butter, that will work too!

How to make a streusel pumpkin bread

To start, we’ll follow Butternut Bakery’s tip to make the streusel first and refrigerate it while we make the bread. Chilling it helps the moist crumbs dry out a bit and remain in crumb form while the loaf bakes.

Step 1: Make streusel topping and refrigerate while mixing the pumpkin bread batter.

pumpkin, sugars and oil in a mixing bowl.

Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, oil, sugars and eggs.

spices being mixed into the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Step 3: Sprinkle the leaveners and spices over the wet ingredients and whisk to combine.

Step 4: Fold in the flour until you have a thick and vibrant batter. It’s okay if there are a few lumps!

pumpkin bread batter in a parchment-lined loaf pan.

Step 5: Pour batter into a prepared pan.

pumpkin bread batter topped with streusel in a parchment-lined loaf pan.

Step 6: Top batter with chilled streusel and bake for 65-80 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

slices of pumpkin streusel bread on a cutting board.

FAQ

Can I make this pumpkin bread with butter instead of vegetable/canola oil?

Yes! I’ve had some readers use melted butter in place of the vegetable oil and this swap works well. I wouldn’t recommend using coconut oil unless you can find refined coconut oil, which won’t lend coconut flavor like unrefined coconut oil. (I have not tested this swap myself.)

Can I adapt this recipe to muffins instead of a loaf?

Yes! This recipe should yield 12 standard muffins. Bake in a greased muffin tin or paper liners at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

I recommend to start checking for doneness at 24 minutes and tack on additional time as needed until a toothpick comes out clean or with a just a few moist crumbs.

Tips and Tricks

Use a 9×5″ loaf pan: This recipe is designed for a generously domed loaf baked in a 9×5 pan (standard size). If you only have an 8×4″ loaf pan or smaller, the batter + streusel may overflow the pan. I recommend filling it 2/3 of the way with batter and using the remaining batter for muffins.
Line the pan with parchment: The most important part of this recipe is to line your loaf pan with parchment. The parchment should be long enough that it reaches over the top of the long edges. Having a sling will allow you to easily pull the loaf out of the pan once it’s baked so you don’t have to invert it and risk ruining the crumb top!
Use a light-colored loaf pan: Lighter-colored loaf pans run a lower risk of overcooking the outside like a dark colored pan. I love my Williams Sonoma gold touch loaf pan.

How to store streusel pumpkin bread

Because pumpkin bread is so moist, it will keep well at room temperature (covered tightly) for 1-2 days. If you’re storing it for more than 2 days, keep it in the fridge, wrapped well.

To freeze, let the pumpkin bread cool to room temperature. Wrap in foil and place in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 1 month!

For more fall baking inspiration, try these

If you try this recipe, I would so appreciate it if you could leave a star rating and review to help others find this recipe! Happy baking!

a hand picking up a slice of pumpkin bread on a white background.

Easy Streusel Pumpkin Bread

Erika Kwee

This streusel pumpkin bread is perfectly moist with a plush crumb, buttery streusel and a good amount of spices. This mash up of all my favorite recipes has led to my favorite pumpkin bread! This bread will get even better after a few days–the spices and flavors will deepen.

4.83 from 171 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 15

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 9×5″ loaf

Ingredients

For the streusel

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 tbsp light or dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

For the pumpkin bread

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch ground cloves
2 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

For the streusel

In a medium bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 6 tbsp light or dark brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp kosher salt. Pour in 1/4 cup melted butter and stir until just combined and crumbly. Set in the fridge to chill while you make the pumpkin bread.

For the pumpkin bread

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9×5 loaf pan, then line with a piece of parchment. It should be long enough that it sticks up along the long sides of the loaf pan so you can lift the pumpkin bread out later.
In a large bowl, whisk together 15 oz pumpkin puree, 3/4 cup vegetable oil1 cup light brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Once combined, whisk in 2 large eggs one at a time.
Sprinkle 1.5 tsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp baking soda3/4 tsp kosher salt over the pumpkin mixture and whisk to combine thoroughly. Repeat with 5 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground ginger and pinch ground cloves. Finally, fold in 2 cups all-purpose flour until fully combined (but don't overmix to prevent overdeveloping the gluten).
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the streusel over the top. Place pan on a baking sheet in case of overflow and place on the middle rack (remove the rack above if needed–this bread will rise a good amount!).
Bake 65-80 min or until an inserted tester comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay). Mine usually takes closer to 80 minutes. If the top is browning too fast, cover loosely with foil.
Let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Trim any overflow on the side as needed, then remove from pan and let cool completely.