I Tried the Most Popular Pumpkin Bread Recipe on the Internet

When it comes to selecting recipes for our celebrity recipe showdowns, the first place we turn to is Google. Searching Google helps us find the most popular recipes on the internet so we can test the ones people are actually making in their own kitchens. Currently, the pumpkin recipe holding the top spot is from the food blog Once Upon a Chef, run by chef and cookbook author Jenn Segal. It has over 2,500 reviews, a 5-star rating, and countless comments singing its praises. Needless to say, I was eager to give it a try.

Get the recipe: Once Upon a Chef’s Pumpkin Bread

Once Upon a Chef’s pumpkin bread is a bit more involved compared to some of the other recipes I tested. (You’ll have to bust out your electric mixer for this one.)

Start by prepping two loaf pans with butter and flour. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl beat together butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, then pumpkin purée. (Once Upon a Chef notes that the mixture might look a bit grainy at this point, which mine did, but not to worry.) Add your dry ingredients to the wet and mix on low speed until a smooth batter forms.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for a moment, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This pumpkin bread has a strong nutmeg and clove-forward flavor that verged on being a bit too spicy for me — although the spices didn’t mask the pumpkin flavor, which I appreciated. I also liked that the bread wasn’t too sweet.

The only negative is that the bread has a slightly drier texture compared to the other breads I tested. All of the other pumpkin breads used oil, but this recipe called for butter, which seemed to give it a slightly drier, more cake-like texture compared to the denser pound cake texture I’m used to. I did, however, like the flavor the butter added to the breads, so it’s a bit of a tradeoff.

Overall this is a solid recipe; it just didn’t really stand out among the others. I could see it being really good with some fun additions like chocolate chips or nuts, though.

1. Reduce the amount of nutmeg and cloves added if you’re sensitive to spice. This recipe calls for a teaspoon each of both nutmeg and cloves, which gave the bread a strong, subtly spicy flavor. If you’re interested in a more mild pumpkin bread, use less.
   
2. Line your loaf pans with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Although this recipe has you butter and flour your loaf pans, lining the bottoms with parchment paper will give you added insurance that nothing will stick.
   
3. Freeze your extra loaf for later. This recipe makes two loaves of pumpkin bread, so unless you plan to eat both within a few days, go ahead and wrap the second one in plastic wrap and stash it in the freezer. Your future self will thank you.
   
   Rating: 7/10

Have you ever made Once Upon a Chef’s pumpkin bread recipe? Tell us what you thought!