Best pumpkin cranberry bread that is incredibly moist. Serve as a Fall breakfast or dessert with a light glaze or frosting on top. To die for I tell you!
Let me share the most important tip in baking the moistest loaf of pumpkin cranberry bread! Once you have this down you can use this base and add anything else like chocolate chips or nuts. (affiliate links present)
- We started with our moist pumpkin bread recipe and went from there.
- If you haven’t tried this with dried cranberries, it’s beyond yummy.
- Let’s start with a good ol’ can of Libby’s Pumpkin to begin with.
If you like your hand mixer, by all means use that. I love my KitchenAid because it just makes baking so much easier.
I even got a pull out stand when we renovated our kitchen which I LOVE.
It stays on the shelf, you pull the levers up and it pops up at height level. Throw everything in, mix and there’s no moving necessary. Even my teenage girls bake more often with this now.
How do you make pumpkin bread from scratch with real pumpkin?
Use this same recipe here, but substitute the mixture after making pressure cooker pumpkin. I will say that you’ll need to add more seasonings like nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice to this though.
The biggest tip is to not over-bake it!! Bake just until the toothpick comes out MOSTLY clean, cool on cooling rack INSIDE the pan and remove when cool. It needs at least 30 minutes to rest inside the pan.
Baking it at a lower temperature is best too. Instead of preheating oven to 350, bake at 325 instead for a bit longer like our 2 ingredient pumpkin muffins. SO much better!
Why did my pumpkin bread sink?
The typical answer would be that it wasn’t baked long enough. If it is still overly moist in the center it will sink. Make sure to use a knife or toothpick to test before removing it. If batter comes out, bake longer.
Other reasons could be the leavening agent was expired, or not enough was used. Third, may be the batter sat out too long before baking it.
If you’ve made this favorite Fall loaf before, almost every recipe has the same ingredients. There isn’t a lot of variance really. Some use more cinnamon, or less nutmeg but the basics still remain.
The biggest difference between all the other pumpkin bread recipes and ours is how MOIST this one is once it is done!
Libby’s Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
- White sugar and pumpkin puree
- Eggs
- All purpose flour
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Vegetable oil
- Milk
- Baking soda
- 9×5″ loaf pan and I like a piece of parchment paper inside to lift it out easier. Or you can grease and flour inside so it slides out.
Great add ins to this are dried cranberries (not fresh cranberries), chocolate chips and/or chopped nuts. Walnuts are usually best.
I usually mix the wet ingredients in my mixture, and dry in a small bowl. This just makes one 9×5″ loaf pan so there isn’t a ton of batter. Prep only takes about 15 minutes so if you preheat the oven at first you’ll be set.
Time needed: 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
- Mix
In a large bowl add eggs, sugars, oil, milk and pumpkin. Mix on low until incorporated. Incorporate dry ingredients in another bowl and then add 1/2 of this into pumpkin mixture. Mix on low speed.
Add second 1/2 of dry ingredients and mix. Use spatula to make sure all dry is mixed in. Fold in dried cranberries. - Prepare
Time to preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper (one strip the length of the pan with ends hanging over is just fine) and pour batter in pan and bake. (makes 1 loaf)
- Bake
Put filled and prepared loaf pan on middle rack and bake bread for 1 hour 10 -15 minutes. Use toothpick when done, should come out mostly clean (a small bit of wetness is okay)
- Cool
Take out and leave in pan. Cool on cooling rack until room temperature or at least 25 minutes before removing. Lift out, remove paper and slice on cutting board.
I like to go just one step further and melt a bit of vanilla or cream cheese frosting. Pour some on top of each piece when served for a delicious dessert or breakfast treat during the holidays.
If you love this pumpkin dessert recipe, we have so many more to share with you too!
- One of our favorites is probably our pumpkin zucchini muffins.
- We have made pumpkin cake mix cookies with only a few ingredients before together.
- You can make pumpkin monkey bread for breakfast some time.
- Our Bisquick muffins are a quick morning treat too.
Have a cup of coffee with pumpkin coffee creamer on the side. Homemade is so much better and extremely easy to throw together for Christmas brunch or on the weekend.
Now, what are you waiting for??? If it’s Fall I know you’re ready to get “all things pumpkin” going on.
It is our favorite time of year as far as the weather outside goes, and the comfort foods are out of this world.
- You can print recipe below if you’d like to store it in your recipe book.
- Of course we love seeing you so feel free to come back time and time again to get the ingredient list.
- Once you understand how to keep bread moist you can take that information to other sweet breads too.
Want to see a few of my favorite things you might want to write on your Christmas list this year??!! 😉 Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!
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Does pumpkin bread go bad?
If stored properly: wrapped in plastic wrap and then stored inside foil or a freezer bag free from air it will last 2 days room temperature. If you put it in the fridge after wrapped it will last a week but will dry out easier.
- I suggest you leave it on the counter properly wrapped to keep it as moist as possible.
- If after 2 days it isn’t consumed, then put it into the fridge for up to 3 more days.
What’s the best way to freeze pumpkin bread?
As long as you wrap it properly with plastic wrap, and then store in an airtight freezer bag you can. When you’re ready to thaw it out, leave it on the countertop until it reaches room temperature. Then slice and enjoy.
If you want to know how to half a recipe to make less, read this post.
Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
Ingredients
- 1 can pumpkin 15 oz.
- 1 c sugar
- 1/2 c milk vitamin D is best
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 c vegetable oil
- 1/2 c brown sugar
- 1 3/4 c all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2-3/4 c dried cranberries
- 1 c vanilla frosting melted, optional
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl add eggs, sugars, oil, milk and pumpkin. Mix on low until incorporated.
- Mix dry ingredients in another bowl and then add 1/2 of this into pumpkin mix. Mix on low. Add second 1/2 of dry ingredients and mix. Use spatula to make sure all dry is mixed in.
- Fold in dried cranberries. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Line 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper and pour batter inside.
- Bake on middle rack for 1 hour 10 – 15 minutes. Use toothpick when done, should come out mostly clean (a small bit of wetness is okay)
- Take out and leave in pan. Cool on cooling rack until room temperature or at least 25 minutes before removing.
- Lift out, remove paper and slice on cutting board.
