This 3-ingredient pumpkin bread is so simple and foolproof that you won’t believe how good it tastes. All you need is a box of spice cake mix, a can of pumpkin puree, and some confectioner’s sugar.
No eggs, oil, or butter are required. Just mix everything together, pour into a loaf pan, and bake! You’ll end up with a moist and fluffy pumpkin bread that’s loaded with warm spices. This 3-ingredient pumpkin bread is perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert. It’s also vegan-friendly and can be made gluten-free if you use a gluten-free cake mix.
Plus, it’s a great way to use up leftover pumpkin puree from your fall baking. Ready to make this easy 3-ingredient pumpkin bread? Let’s get started! 3-ingredient recipes (or fewer) are by far my favorite way to bake and cook. I don’t like to spend hours in the kitchen, and my kids like easy recipes they can try to make themselves.
So this spice cake mix pumpkin bread became a staple in our house this fall. After enjoying our 3-ingredient pumpkin muffins, we tried the recipe into a loaf pan, skipped chocolate chips, and tried our simple royal icing without meringue powder on top. The bread is so fluffy and moist packed with pumpkin spice flavors, and the icing adds the lovely sweetness you expect from a good loaf.
Ingredients and Substitutions
All you need to make a 3-ingredient pumpkin bread recipe are:
- Pumpkin Puree – I like pure organic pumpkin puree. The can is a 15-ounce one and includes nothing other than pumpkin. No added sugar, no added oil. Don’t confuse it with pumpkin pie filling that is sweetened and won’t work for this pumpkin bread recipe.
- Spice Cake Mix – This mix is usually designed to make a pumpkin spice cake, but here I am showing you how to turn this into a simple pumpkin bread. I love the brand Duncan Hines, the flavor of their cake mix is exceptional, and while the cake mix instructions ask for eggs and milk, you don’t need those to make pumpkin bread with their mix.
- Powdered Sugar – You can skip the pumpkin bread glazing, but it adds a lovely and melt-in-your-mouth texture that we adore.
How To Make 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Bread
This pumpkin bread is perfect for a lazy Fall morning if you crave something sweet and want a simple bread ready in less than an hour. It takes under 5 minutes of prep time, but baking pumpkin bread is always a bit of a long process. If you undertake pumpkin bread, they get gummy in the center, so be patient and expect a good hour and a half before enjoying a piece of this bread.
Making The Bread Batter
- Before you start, line a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the entire content of the spice cake mix bag.
- Then, add the can of pumpkin puree.
- Next, use the paddle attachment of your stand mixer or a rubber spatula to stir and bring the two ingredients of pumpkin bread together.
- Stir until the batter is smooth, thick, and moist, with no spot of flour left. If using a stand mixer, set the speed to medium speed – speed 2 of a KitchenAid.
- Stop when no flour lumps or spots can be seen.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and spread it evenly. If you like the top of the pumpkin bread smooth, lightly oil your hands and rub the top of the bread to smoothen the batter. You can sprinkle chocolate chips or nuts on top of the bread. I didn’t because we prefer to glaze the bread later.
- Bake the pumpkin bread on the center rack of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes. The time depends on the spice cake mix brand you use as well. The best way to check if the bread is cooked through is to insert a toothpick right in the center of the load. It should come out dry, with no more crumb on it. If it comes out sticky and wet, it means you need extra baking time.
- Remove the bread from the oven and pull it out from the pan using the two pieces of hanging parchment paper.
- Place the baked pumpkin bread on a cooling rack for a few hours to reach room temperature.
Glazing Options
The glazing is optional, but we enjoy the moist texture it adds to the bread. After the bread has cooled down completely, prepare the icing.
- In a small bowl, stir powdered sugar and tap water. If you like flavors in your icing, try stirring an extra 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Stir until the icing is thick but still runny. Add a few more drops of water to thin it out or more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
- Drizzle all over the pumpkin bread. If you prefer a thick frosting made out of cream cheese, try my 2-ingredient cream cheese frosting recipe.
Serving Suggestions
Slice the bread into 12 slices and serve plain or with some of the following:
- Butter
- Jam
- Peanut butter or salmon butter
Storage Instructions
Pumpkin bread is moist and better stored in an airtight container in the fridge. They last for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze slices in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. Thaw the bread the day before at room temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are my answers to your most common questions about this easy recipe.
You can add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or chopped walnuts or pecans to the pumpkin bread batter. Then, stir with the last ingredient until evenly incorporated.
Yes, you can make a 2-ingredient pumpkin bread without glazing. The bread itself is sweet enough and delicious.
Yes, you can use a yellow cake mix bag, but it doesn’t contains pumpkin spices. It means you will have to stir one tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice into the cake mix before adding the canned pumpkin puree.
Most of the time, moist pumpkin bread is undercooked. You can foil the top of the bread and keep baking until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Yes, canned pumpkin and canned pumpkin puree are the same things. You can swap one for the other in a recipe without seeing much difference.
Pumpkin bread gets soggy when in contact with air. Store the bread wrapped in foil or in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge.
Pumpkin bread is dense and contains more moisture than other types of bread. Therefore, if the center doesn’t cook, it can be that your ratio of dry to liquid ingredients is incorrect. On the other hand, it can be that you added fewer dry ingredients, didn’t pack the flour very well in the measuring cup, or used a smaller cake mix bag as the one recommended in the recipe.
Another option is adding too much pumpkin puree or using homemade pumpkin puree with higher water content. Finally, you can wrap the top of the loaf pan with a piece of foil and keep baking at a lower temperature – 325°F (160°C) until the center dries out.
More 3-Ingredient Recipes
Here are some more simple recipes with 3 ingredients for you to try.
3-Ingredient Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1 bag Spice Cake Mix (18.25 ounces)
- 1 can Pumpkin Puree (15oz)
Glazing
- ⅓ cup Powdered Sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons Water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper and the sides of the pan with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the spice cake mix and canned pumpkin puree.
- Stir until the batter is thick and smooth with no lumps of dry ingredients.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Glazing
- Cool down for a few hours on a cooling rack before glazing.
- In a small bowl, whisk powdered sugar and one tablespoon of water. Stir to form a smooth thick glaze. Add more water if too thin or more powdered sugar to thicken it. If you like, flavor the glaze with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Drizzle on top of the cooled bread.
Storage
- Store the bread in the fridge for up to 4 days. Cover with foil to keep the pumpkin bread moist.
- Freeze whole or slices for up to 1 months, in a sealed container.
Good quick way to make a tasty treat.