Published Date: October 2, 2022
Last Updated: October 2, 2022
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Cream Cheese Pumpkin bread is a flavor packed loaf of pumpkin spiced goodness. A tender and moist loaf with layers of sweet cream cheese filling will have you reaching for a slice for breakfast, snack, and dessert!
Why You’ll Love This Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Fast. While this Cream Cheese Pumpkin bread does take a little under an hour to bake, you can prepare it and have it in the oven in less than 10 minutes.
Easy. Mix the bread batter, create the sweet cream cheese filling, layer, and bake. Just a few simple steps for an easy pumpkin bread recipe that turns out every time.
Delicious. If you’re a pumpkin spice fanatic, this is exactly the fix you need for breakfast, snack, or an after dinner treat.
Versatile. Add a variety of fillings for a recipe that keeps on giving.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This recipe has more ingredients than a lot of my recipes typically do, but if you’re wanting to bake something from scratch, that tends to happen. All of the ingredients in this recipe are pantry staples, except for maybe the canned pumpkin purée and pumpkin pie spice. If you’re like me, however, these things are always a staple in my kitchen in the fall, so you’ll likely already have them on hand as well.
Flour
Sugar– Many recipes call for a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar for pumpkin bread, but I prefer to use only granulated sugar to prevent over caramelization and bitterness.
Oil– This helps keep the bread moist and delicious.
Eggs– Prevents the bread from becoming too dense while binding all of the ingredients together.
Salt– Helps to balance the sweetness in this recipe.
Baking Powder– Helps the bread rise while baking, creating a light, fluffy loaf.
Water– Thins the bread batter so it can be easily poured.
Vanilla
Pumpkin Purée– Make sure you grab plain pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie mix.
Pumpkin Pie Spice– This is the real star of the show. For that pumpkin spice flavor you love, don’t skimp here. If you REALLY love a spiced dessert bread, you can double the amount of pumpkin spice the recipe calls for.
Cream Cheese– Mixed with sweet powdered sugar and vanilla, cream cheese becomes the smooth and rich filling inside of the pumpkin bread.
Powdered Sugar
How To Make Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread
Step 1: Mix together wet ingredients. Combine Sugar, Oil, Eggs, Water, Vanilla, and Pumpkin Puree in a bowl until it creates a smooth, pourable batter.
Step 2: Mix together dry ingredients. Add Flour, Salt, Pumpkin Pie Spice, and Baking Powder in a separate bowl.
Step 3: Combine wet and dry ingredients. This is where you need to begin to use caution with your mixing. While incorporating your wet and dry ingredients in one bowl, use a silicone spatula to fold it all together. Combine just enough that there are not any lumps or pockets of dry ingredients remaining, but DO NOT OVER MIX. This will cause your pumpkin bread to become tough.
Step 4: Create the sweet cream cheese filling. Soften your cream cheese and add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Stir well so it is smooth an easily pourable with no clumps of powdered sugar remaining.
Step 5: Layer the cream cheese pumpkin bread. Line your loaf pan with parchment paper. You’ll notice in my picture below, I didn’t use it on my first attempt at this bread. Don’t skip this step. I promise no matter how well you grease your pan, it will still be much more simple to remove this tender cream cheese pumpkin bread if you use parchment paper.
Place 1/3 of the pumpkin bread batter in the bottom of the loaf pan. Add 1/2 of the cream cheese filling on top of the pumpkin batter. Place 1/3 more bread batter on top of the cream cheese filling. Repeat this step one more time. Your layers should be
Bread Batter
Cream Cheese Filling
Bread Batter
Cream Cheese Filling
Bread Batter
Step 6: Bake and enjoy! Once your layers are complete for your Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread, place the loaf pan in the oven and bake. When the cooking time is complete, allow the bread to rest in the loaf pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, gently pull up on the parchment paper to remove the loaf from the pan. Allow to cool to room temperature before slicing.
Tips And Tricks
Don’t over mix the batter. This bread recipe should be very delicate and not at all chewy. To keep the texture perfect, fold the wet and dry ingredients until they are just barely mixed to prevent it from becoming tough when baked.
Use parchment paper. Y’all, this recipe took some testing because I just couldn’t figure out how to get it out of the loaf pan without it falling to pieces. While the crumbs are still quite tasty, I was wanting BREAD. To completely avoid sticking and to make removing the loaf from the pan a breeze, line the baking dish with parchment paper before adding the batter.
Add some crunch. If you’re a fan of texture, you can add chopped pecans or chocolate chips to the batter. To prevent the chocolate chips from completely losing their shape during baking, always use frozen chocolate chips.
Skip the filling. For a dairy-free option with all of the fall flavors you love, just omit the cream cheese filling. The pumpkin bread will still be moist and delicious and packed with flavor.
Double it up. This recipe makes one loaf of Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread, but the recipe can easily be doubled to share with friends or freeze for later.
How Long Does It Last?
In my house? You can expect a loaf of this to last about a day—if you’re lucky. But that’s because my kids and husband crave sweets like no people I’ve ever met.
In your home, you can expect this pumpkin bread to last up to 4 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
To Freeze Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread
If you’re wanting to double the recipe to freeze a loaf for later, you can use the double wrap method and expect it to last for up to 6 months.
To prepare the pumpkin bread for the freezer, tightly wrap the unsliced loaf in plastic wrap. This will help hold in the moisture. Once it is wrapped in plastic wrap, wrap it in aluminum foil and then place it inside of a freezer safe container or freezer bag. This will keep the bread from becoming tough or freezer burnt.
If you love this Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread as much as I do, make sure you share it with your friends on Facebook and Instagram so they can try it too! Don’t forget to share it on Pinterest so you can make it again soon.
Mix together wet ingredients. Combine Sugar, Oil, Eggs, Water, Vanilla, and Pumpkin Puree in a bowl until it creates a smooth, pourable batter.
Mix together dry ingredients. Add Flour, Salt, Pumpkin Pie Spice, and Baking Powder in a separate bowl.
Combine wet and dry ingredients. This is where you need to begin to use caution with your mixing. While incorporating your wet and dry ingredients in one bowl, use a silicone spatula to fold it all together. Combine just enough that there are not any lumps or pockets of dry ingredients remaining, but DO NOT OVER MIX. This will cause your pumpkin bread to become tough.
Create the sweet cream cheese filling. Soften your cream cheese and add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Stir well so it is smooth an easily pourable with no clumps of powdered sugar remaining.
Layer the cream cheese pumpkin bread. Line your loaf pan with parchment paper. You’ll notice in my picture below, I didn’t use it on my first attempt at this bread. Don’t skip this step. I promise no matter how well you grease your pan, it will still be much more simple to remove this tender cream cheese pumpkin bread if you use parchment paper. Place 1/3 of the pumpkin bread batter in the bottom of the loaf pan. Add 1/2 of the cream cheese filling on top of the pumpkin batter. Place 1/3 more bread batter on top of the cream cheese filling. Repeat this step one more time. Your layers should be: bread batter, cream cheese filling, bread batter, cream cheese filling, bread batter.
Bake and enjoy! Once your layers are complete for your Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread, place the loaf pan in the oven and bake at 350F for 50 minutes.. When the cooking time is complete, allow the bread to rest in the loaf pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, gently pull up on the parchment paper to remove the loaf from the pan. Allow to cool to room temperature before slicing.
I'm married to my high school sweetheart and we have three amazing sons.
I love carbs, cheese, and all things spicy and deep fried. There's nothing that makes me happier than a full kitchen table and a family with a full belly!
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