2-Ingredient Pumpkin Bread

2-ingredient pumpkin bread is a box of spice cake mix stirred into a can of pumpkin purée, baked in a loaf pan at 350°F (175°C) for 45 to 60 minutes. That’s the whole recipe. No eggs, no oil, and you ignore the instructions on the back of the box.

It’s a cake-mix hack, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. If you want the same loaf without the box, the from-scratch version is further down, and so is how to turn a whole pumpkin into purée.

What you need

• 1 box spice cake mix (15.25 oz)
• 1 can pure pumpkin purée (15 oz). Pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
• Optional: cinnamon sugar for the top

That’s 2 ingredients. The sugar is decoration.

How to make 2-ingredient pumpkin bread

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a loaf pan and line it with parchment, leaving some hanging over the sides so you can lift the loaf out.
2. Stir the dry cake mix and the pumpkin together until there are no dry streaks. Don’t add the eggs, oil or water from the box. One of the recipe blogs that ranks for this puts that bit in capitals, and it’s right to.
3. Spread the batter into the pan. It’s thick and sticky. A spoon with a light coat of cooking spray makes smoothing the top easier.
4. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean. Ovens and pans vary, which is why the recipes that rank for this range from 45 to 60 minutes. Start checking at 45.
5. Cool it in the pan for 10 to 20 minutes, then lift it out onto a rack.

Why is my pumpkin bread gummy in the middle?

Usually one of two things. It came out too early, or the pumpkin was too wet.

The batter is dense, so the outside can look done well before the middle is. Use the toothpick, not the clock, and give it the full cooling time, because it keeps setting as it cools. If you made your own purée, it may be watery. Strain it first (Part 1, step 6 of the from-scratch recipe below).

Can you use a different cake mix?

Yes, but spice cake is doing the heavy lifting on flavor. With a plain yellow or white mix, you’ll want to add your own pumpkin spice (cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice).

Pumpkin bread from scratch, starting with a whole pumpkin

This is the loaf for anyone who’d rather not open a box. It starts with a real pumpkin and ends with one loaf. Give it about 3 hours plus cooling time, most of it the oven doing the work.

You’ll need:

• 1 small cooking pumpkin, 2 to 3 pounds
• A little cooking oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup vegetable oil, plus a little for the pan
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Part 1: Make the pumpkin purée

If you’ve never used the canned stuff, here’s what you’re aiming for. Canned pumpkin purée is just cooked, mashed pumpkin with nothing added. It’s smooth, thick and orange-brown, and it sits in a mound on a spoon rather than running off. Yours should look the same. For step-by-step photos and how much one pumpkin makes, see how to make pumpkin puree from a whole pumpkin.

1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) with a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Cut the pumpkin. Lay it on its side and slice off the top with the stem. Cut it in half from top to bottom, scoop out the seeds and stringy insides with a spoon, then cut each half into wedges about 3 inches wide. (Keep the seeds, they roast well. See below.)

3. Roast it. Put the wedges skin-side down on the sheet and brush the cut flesh lightly with oil. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until a fork slides in easily.

4. Cool and scrape. Let the wedges cool for about 10 minutes, just until you can handle them. The flesh separates easily from the skin. Discard the skin.

5. Mash or blend until smooth. A food processor or blender is quickest, but a potato masher and some patience works too.

6. Check how wet it is. If it’s watery and runs off a spoon, tip it into a fine sieve and let it drain until it’s thick like canned. Wet purée is the usual cause of a gummy loaf.
7. Measure out 1½ cups for the loaf. A 2 to 3 pound pumpkin gives roughly 2 to 3 cups of purée, so there’ll be some spare for the freezer (see below).

Roast the seeds while you’re at it. Rinse the seeds in a colander until the stringy bits are gone, then pat them dry. Toss them with a light coat of oil and a pinch of salt, spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 325°F (165°C) for 20 to 30 minutes, until they’re light golden and crisp.

Part 2: Bake the loaf

1. Turn the oven down to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 8×4 or 9×5-inch loaf pan.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off rather than scooping, so you don’t pack in extra.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the 1½ cups purée, eggs, sugar, ½ cup oil, milk and vanilla until smooth.
4. Combine. Tip the dry mix into the wet and stir until just combined. The batter is thick. Stop as soon as the flour disappears, because overmixing makes a tough loaf.
5. Bake. Spread the batter in the pan, smooth the top and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until the top springs back when pressed and a toothpick in the middle comes out clean. Start checking at 45 minutes. If the top is browning well before the loaf is done, lay a piece of foil over it for the rest of the bake. A wide, shallow pan bakes faster than a tall loaf pan, so if you use a round cake pan, start checking earlier.

6. Cool completely in the pan before slicing.

Using a can instead? A 15-ounce can is roughly 1¾ to 2 cups, so you’ll have a little left over from the 1½ cups this loaf uses.

How to freeze pumpkin purée

Made more than one loaf’s worth? Freeze it. The National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) says to cool the mashed pumpkin by setting the pan in cold water and stirring now and then, pack it into containers leaving ½ inch of headspace, then seal and freeze.

Tip: freeze it in 1½-cup portions and each bag is one from-scratch loaf. There’s more on freezing it in our pumpkin puree guide.

Don’t can it. NCHFP says pumpkin should only be pressure-canned in cubes, and its instructions say plainly: do not mash or purée. Its canning FAQ adds that home canning is not recommended for mashed or puréed pumpkin. The freezer is the safe way to keep it.

How to store pumpkin bread

Wrap it once it’s fully cool. It’ll sit on the counter for a couple of days, and slices freeze well if you want to pull out one at a time.

Want the bread without the box?

If you’d like a real bread routine that fits a normal week, that’s what The Micro-Bakery Handbook (US$16.97) is for: a small-jar starter fed once a week, 3 loaves worked around your days, and an artisan crust from a lidded casserole dish instead of a Dutch oven. It’s built to work gluten-free too.

Know someone with a can of pumpkin and no plan? Send them this.