A warm spiced brown butter pumpkin bread! The brown butter takes the flavors of the spices over the top in this simple pumpkin bread recipe. The best part? You don’t need a mixer or any special equipment!

BROWN BUTTER PUMPKIN BREAD.

That is the mic drop to all pumpkin bread recipes. But before we hop to it, let me start by apologizing to you if you aren’t a fan of pumpkin. First, I brought a harvest pumpkin soup to you and now, spiced brown butter pumpkin bread, the nerve.

This brown butter pumpkin bread is the more elevated, highly sophisticated, older sister to the basic pumpkin bread recipe. We’re swirling the brown butter with all sorts of spices, vanilla, and making an uber tender and moist pumpkin bread. To be honest with you, when I first started developing this recipe, I was a little worried whether the pumpkin flavor would be able to stand up to the toffee notes of brown butter and all the spices I wanted to load this pumpkin bread up with. And if you’re looking for a recipe for pumpkin loaf that lets all that pumpkin flavor shine through, this is it.

Pumpkin was made to be had with brown butter.

Not going to lie, this is the second addition to my brown butter bread family. The first was a maple pecan banana bread that so many of you have made and enjoyed and shared pictures with on Instagram and have made me crave it all over again! So today, we’re swapping out the bananas for a full can of pureed pumpkin. 

I know, most recipes call for roughly ½ a can of pumpkin puree for a loaf, but can I tell you a secret? I despise having half a can of leftover pumpkin stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Too many times, I’ve labeled the box with the full intent of usage, popped it in the cooler thinking I’ll revisit it. Only months later do I find it forgotten in the back and laden with frost burn begging to be chucked. And tossing out half a can of pumpkin puree just isn’t for me either. I hate the thought of wasting food.

So there I went, scooping an entire can of pumpkin puree into one loaf of pumpkin bread, praying it wasn’t pudding when it came out of the oven. And boy am I glad I did!

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE BROWN BUTTER?

• Stainless steel (or a light-colored) saucepan. This allows you to be able to monitor the color of the butter easily. Preferably one that has a thick-bottom. 
• cold butter, cut into 8 slices

HOW TO BROWN BUTTER FOR BROWN BUTTER PUMPKIN BREAD:

1. Start by slicing the butter into thick slices and adding it to your saucepan. Place the saucepan on the stove and allow for the butter to melt. Once it’s completely liquid, stir the butter by grabbing the handle and swirling the saucepan. You’ll notice that it starts to foam, keep going, you’re doing it right.
2. Once the butter starts to smell like hazelnuts and looks light-medium brown, remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately pour the brown butter into a medium bowl. You don’t want to leave the butter in the hot saucepan as it will continue to cook the butter.

KEY POINTS:

• Slicing the butter makes for it to melt and brown more evenly
• Swirling the pan occasionally allows for the browned milk solids to sink to the bottom.
• Use your nose as the guide. Once you smell a nutty aroma, take the pan off the heat and allow the butter to cool in a different bowl.
• When in doubt, less is more. It’s better to under brown your butter than to over-brown it. Once it gets too dark, you’ll have to toss it out and start over. So if this is your first time browning butter, keep a close eye on it!

DO I HAVE TO USE BROWN BUTTER TO MAKE BROWN BUTTER PUMPKIN BREAD?

No, you can use melted butter in place of the browned butter if you do not like the toffee-like scent and taste of brown butter.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO  MAKE BROWN BUTTER PUMPKIN BREAD?

• brown butter
• all-purpose flour
• spices
• salt
• leavening agents (baking soda/baking powder)
• brown sugar
• granulated sugar
• eggs
• pumpkin puree
• vanilla extract

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST SPICED BROWN BUTTER PUMPKIN BREAD:

1. Brown the butter. Pour the brown butter into a bowl and allow for it too cool.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine: all-purpose flour, spices, salt, and leavening agents.
3. Once it’s cooled to room temperature, add in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and pumpkin puree. Then, add the eggs and vanilla extract. Finally, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Work out the flour pockets, but do not overmix.
4. Pour the batter into a prepared 9×5 baking loaf pan and bake the bread in a 350ºF oven or roughly 55-62 minutes or until the bread is cooked through. You can check by inserting a toothpick into the center. You want it to come out mostly clean without any wet batter. Allow the pumpkin bread to cool on a baking rack for at least an hour before removing from the pan!

OTHER TIPS TO MAKE HOMEMADE BROWN BUTTER PUMPKIN BREAD:

• If you don’t have allspice, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves, you can swap all the spices for one tablespoon of pumpkin spice mix. Since the quantities used to make pumpkin spice are different, it won’t have as much of a spicy punch, but it works well as a substitute if you simply don’t keep all the individual spices on hand!
• leftover pumpkin bread can be kept at room temperature for two days. Keep in mind that this bread is super moist, so if it’s warm where you live, it’s best to refrigerate the bread.
• serve this with a warm mug of coffee — it’s the best way to eat brown butter pumpkin bread

We are a participant in both the RewardStyle and Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, which are affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and through RewardStyle.