Fall is in the air and with it comes everything pumpkin. I love just about anything with pumpkin in it and this Sour Cream Pumpkin Bread is one of my favorites.
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Can Never Have Too Much Pumpkin Bread
I sometimes go a little crazy with the pumpkin, but I have found that most of my family doesn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, they’ve seemed to embrace the pumpkin craze with me – especially this sour cream pumpkin bread recipe!
I love adding sour cream to my bread recipes because it not only tastes good but it tends to make the bread moist. This Sour Cream Pumpkin bread can be made ahead of time and frozen if you like so you can pull it out at a later time, warm it up and enjoy a delicious piece of bread anytime.
Sour Cream Pumpkin Bread for the Season
In the fall, this pumpkin bread recipe has become one of our family favorites. Whether the kids or grandkids have been out playing in leaves, just got back from a corn maze, or are about to head out on Halloween night, Sour Cream Pumpkin Bread has been a tradition to warm us all up and get us into the spirit of the season.
Cooking Tools/Utensils You Will Need
Two 9X5 Loaf Pans
- 👉 BUY – Amazon Basics 9X5 Loaf Pans
Medium-to-Large Mixing Bowl
Measuring Cups (both cups and spoons)
Hand Mixer (I like the portable ones!)
Try This Sour Cream Pumpkin Bread Recipe Today!
See the recipe ingredients and instructions below! Make this pumpkin bread recipe for your family and see what they think!
- 2 cubes of butter, softened (1 cup)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease and flour 2 9 x 5 loaf pans. (Any loaf pan around that size will work just fine)
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.
- Add the pumpkin and sour cream and blend well.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the mixture and mix together on low speed.
- Pour into prepared pans.
- Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean.
- Cool in pan about 10 minutes.
- Lightly run a knife around the edges of pan to help from sticking.
- Turn out onto a cooling rack.
- ENJOY!
- (If you want to freeze them, wrap them well in cellophane after they have completely cooled and place in freezer)
For other great pumpkin recipes, try our Pumpkin Spice Swig Sugar Cookies!
The Sugar n' Spice Gals have made it their mission to make cooking simple, delicious and fun.
Hi Robin!
Sounds yummy! I can’t wait to make this!
Can you please tell me what size loaf pans to use?
Thanks so much!!
Hi Kim.
So happy you asked about that. That detail will probably help with making the recipe 🙂 But I used 9×5 loaf pans. I just updated it on the recipe card. Thanks for commenting and visiting our site.
Mine baked in 50 minutes. Tooth pick came out clean. It’s cooling now. Can’t wait to try it!
This was like pumpkin pie in a muffin! I have been looking for a go to pumpkin muffin recipe and using your bread in muffin cups was PERFECT! By far the best I’ve ever had!
Seriously makes me so happy to hear! I’m probably going to have to go try making this recipes as muffins now. 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us.
How long did you bake them as muffins?
Yikes! Both of my loaves are rising around the edges but not in the middle…what did I do wrong? (They have only been in the oven about 20 minutes so I’m hoping the middle will rise since they have to bake for so long)
OHHH no. I’m so sorry. 🙁 I hope they weren’t ruined in the end. I have noticed when making sweet breads like this that it often cooks from the outside to the inside. Especially when I make banana bread. I just hope it evened out by the end of cooking for you.
If using the recipe to make in muffin tin how would the bake time and temp vary?
Hi Deborah,
So with the temp I would either keep it the same or bump it up to 350. As for cooking time, I would bake them for 25-30 mins, based off of banana bread muffins and pumpkin muffins I’ve made in the past. Just check on them because you wont want to over cook them, or you might lose how soft and moist they are, which is my favorite part. Hope this helps 🙂
-Becky
I followed the recipe as directed. It does not rise as much as other recipies I have tried although it is still very tasty. It seems a little buttery though. Is the 1 1/2 cups of butter correct or should it be 1 1/2 sticks?
Yes, I’m confused also. One recipe said 1 1/2 cups butter and this one said 2 cubs of butter?? Making right now. I used 1 1/2 cups of butter. 3 cubes! Still in oven. Smells so good. Should I cut the butter next time?
Thanks
Hi Charleen,
So we had accidentally put the wrong portions of butter on the recipe card, and made it yesterday again to check and see if 2 cubes worked better. We’re so sorry about the sudden change that you noticed after making the recipe. How did the 3 cubes of butter turn out? Was it too buttery, or did it still taste good? Hopefully your recipe wasn’t ruined. Thanks for stopping by and commenting 🙂
Thank you for your reply. The bread turned out great tasting. Very buttery. My grandchildren loved it. Best I’ve tried. Did have to bake longer. Still so moist. Making again tomorrow since it will be gone by thanksgiving. Going to use only 2 cubes of butter. This bread is a keeper. Happy Thanksgiving!
That really makes me so happy to hear, especially knowing that it wasn’t ruined 🙂 But ya we usually have to cook it for the full amount or a few minutes longer to allow it to rise completely! And ya when we make that recipe its gone by the next morning. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
When you say cubes, do you mean sticks??
Yes, it’s sticks! 2 sticks for 1 cup. It took me a few comments to realize that. I’m going to make tomorrow after this Hurricane Nate pushes through that is assuming we have power.
HI Teresa,
So we went and tested the recipe out last night and only used 2 sticks rather than 3. It ended up tasting fabulous with just the 2 sticks of butter. I believe you’re right and when we wrote up the recipe we put in the wrong amount of butter. I hope still ended up tasting ok for you 🙂 But next time you make it, you can refer back to the recipe card and it will be the correct portions this time. Thanks for commenting and hope you have a great week!
Is it better to use canned pumpkin pie mix or just plain pumpkin puree? I’m excited to try this recipe for a Friendsgiving I’m hosting on Thursday.
Hi Kelli,
It’s better to use just plain pumpkin puree, since you’ll be adding in all the yummy spices and sugar to sweeten it up! Hope it turns out fabulous for you and your Friendsgiving is a blast. And Happy Thanksgiving from us 🙂
Hi Robin and Happy Thanksgiving! I’m still learning a lot about baking. Should I use all purpose flour or can I use self rising?
Hi Lisa,
We always just use all purpose flour and it turns out great. I’m sure both would be just fine to use. Hopefully this helps and the recipe turns out great 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving
Oh my… AMAZING!!!!!!! I divided the recipe in half and in the first batch I added gluten free 1:1 flour mix and the second batch with all purpose flour. The gluten free batch turned out perfect!!!! My non-gluten free picky kids are devouring it as I write. Thank you for an amazing recipe that can please all tummies in my home! We will make this again and again!
Jenny,
Thanks so much for your comment. I’m happy to hear that the recipe works well with gluten free flour. I’m going to add that note into the recipe card for those who need to eat it glueten free! So happy you loved it, and thanks for stopping by our site 🙂
-Becky
I’m bummed but mine was a flop. I used the correct 2 sticks of butter, but they never rose in the middle (I made muffins). And there was so much butter melted at the bottom of each muffin that it was soaking in it. I did add almond flour instead, and I’m wondering if that had anything to do with it. I had a little batter left and put it in a rectangular tin, but the inner part of that one was also mushy.
It’s so crazy how delicate recipes can be. The crispy edges of the muffin taste good, but I’ll have to chuck the rest away. 🙁 I should have just used regular flour. I don’t think the almond flour absorbed the butter good enough. Thanks anyway.
Ahh I’m so so sorry to hear that 🙁 I’m wondering if since almonds have so much oil in them, that possibly the almond flour had oil which made the recipe have too much moisture. Thanks for letting us know that they don’t work with nut flour. Hopefully next time it’ll turn out for you!
Mine didn’t rise and we’re way buttery too. I followed recipe to the letter with all fresh products from the store.
Did my best with this recipe but the bread just did not rise. And it’s super moist in the middle. Maybe it was just too moist with sour cream…
How much butter did you use? We made an error on the recipe originally and typed in too much butter on the online recipe. It should call for 1 1/2- 2 sticks of butter instead of 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) of butter. This will make it not rise and really gooey in the middle. If you are making it with the right amount of butter and it still turns out gooey in the middle you probably just need to cook it longer. Cooking times can very based on pan size, type, and elevation. If you take it out too soon then it will sink in the middle and be gooey inside. Hope that helps 🙂
Can you sub pumpkin pie spice for the spices listed? If so, how much would you use?
Hi Cynthia,
Substituting with pumpkin spice may make it taste a tiny bit different just because there is a mixture of more spices in the pumpkin spices than what we call for in the recipe. But all the spices included in pumpkin spice wouldn’t hurt this recipe. It probably would turn out tasting just as yummy. I would say doing anywhere between 2-3 tsp, since the recipe calls for 2 1/2 tsp of spices in all. Hopefully it turns out great 🙂
-Becky
These turned out amazing! I made muffins and they came out perfect. I also used 1 1/2 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice instead of the nutmeg and cloves. I will definitely be using this recipe again! Thank you!
Hi Sherrey,
We Love hearing that. I will definitely have to try making them as muffins next time. 🙂
Thanks for commenting.
-Becky
I didn’t have any cloves, so I put in 1 teaspoon of ginger instead…delicious! I also added chopped walnuts.
OMG this recipe was so Delicious and super moist. I agree it doesn’t raise as much as other quick bread recipes I have made but it didn’t affect the texture or taste at all. I also made this recipe into muffins/cupcakes and frosted with cream cheese frosting…oh my yummy..
Do you think I can use light sour cream in place of regular sour cream?
Delicious loaf!! I halved the recipe as I did not have enough pumpkin for 2 loaves. I used double the spices (as was suggested) and also added raisins and pumpkin seeds. I sprinkled the top of the loaf with cinnamon sugar prior to baking.
Very good…will make again.
I’m considering making this pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving, as it has awesome reviews! The recipe calls for butter; do you recommend using real butter or can margarine be used? Oftentimes the two are interchangeable. Also, have you tried making this bread with whole wheat flour? Thank you so much!
I’m a 70-year-old man trying to be a baker, and trust me, it’s not my strong point. But I persevere and try different recipes for all kinds of breads; some successfully but most times not. I’ll bookmark this one for sure. I used three 8×4″ (approximately) disposable aluminum pans which worked out great. Just kept checking on them until the middles were done.
I took one loaf out after 75 minutes and after 20 minutes, I had sunk. when I cut into it it was raw and doughy looking. The other loaf which was a slightly bigger pan I had in the oven for nearly 2 hours and it still doesn’t look done. I checked and double checked the recipes and nothing was missing. Do you know where I went wrong?
Hmmm I’m not sure. We have followed this recipe several times this month and it has turned out perfect each time. I hope you’re able to figure it out because it really is the yummiest pumpkin bread I’ve ever tried
These were AMAZING!!!! I didn’t have any sour cream on hand so I substituted equal parts Greek Yogurt (2%).. and they turned out just fine! 🙂 🙂
So moist and delicious and easy. I used half the cloves and subbed with ginger.
I just made this and it was amazing! I could eat the whole loaf!
I may have eaten at least half the loaf in one sitting the other day. It’s definitely our favorite and we are happy you enjoyed it
I really love this recipe… Its so moist it could pass for cake… In fact , I’m making it in a cake pan for a coffee cake for breakfast….
It’s awesome!
My boyfriend Loved it! I loved it too!
Thank you!
I have been making this recipe for a couple of years now. Hands down it is the best pumpkin bread I have ever had. My grandchildren love it so I make it in the small aluminum loaf pans and freeze so I always have some for them when they come to visit!!
Also a good friend and I have been trying to find the BEST recipes for all different things and this is on the list for pumpkin bread!! Thank you for sharing
I cut the sugar in half, added chocolate chips and baked in a bundt pan. It turned out beautifully! Really delicious and so easy.