This pumpkin cream cheese bread is moist and fluffy and is filled with a swirl of cream cheese filling and is loaded with pumpkin spice flavor.
Pumpkin cream cheese bread is a delicious and moist treat that combines the flavors of pumpkin and cream cheese.
This delectable bread is perfect for pumpkin season and fall, with its warm spices and creamy filling.
Whether enjoyed as a breakfast option or a sweet snack, this bread is sure to satisfy your cravings for a taste of autumn.
I adapted this recipe from my pumpkin bread recipe which has been made by dozens of readers and made it even better!
If you like pumpkin desserts, check out my pumpkin cheesecake cookies, chewy pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting, banana pumpkin muffins, pumpkin muffins.
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Why this recipe works
- Cream cheese filling- this pumpkin bread is filled with a rich layer of cream cheese filling. It is like a cheesecake baked inside a pumpkin bread.
- Texture- the texture of this bread is moist and tender with a soft crumb with a creamy cheesecake filling.
- Simple- this bread might look difficult to make, but it's actually quite easy! It comes together in one bowl and uses simple ingredients.
- Flavor- this delicious bread has a strong pumpkin flavor with pumpkin spice and cinnamon along with the rich and creamy cheesecake filling.
- Grab-and-go snack or breakfast- this bread is great to grab as a quick snack or grab-and-go breakfast for fall when you're in a rush.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
Pumpkin puree- we like making our own pumpkin puree from fresh pumpkins. You can use either canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree, make sure that you strain the extra liquids from your fresh pumpkins.
Baking soda – to allow the bread to rise. 1 teaspoon of baking soda is what you will need for this recipe. Don't replace baking soda with baking powder!
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this bread.
Brown sugar- adds a nice texture and a rich flavor to the bread.
Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.
Cinnamon- Cinnamon is a must in pumpkin desserts unless you are allergic. Use ground cinnamon for this.
Pumpkin pie spice- If you don't have pumpkin pie spice on hand, make a homemade mix of pumpkin spice. There are plenty of recipes on Google.
Eggs- you will need 2 large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract is what you will need for this recipe.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the cream cheese filling
Cream cheese– you will need to get your cream cheese to room temperature. Use full-fat cream cheese for this.
Vanilla extract- vanilla extract adds extra flavor. For extra vanilla flavor, use vanilla bean extract or an actual vanilla bean!
Sugar- we used granulated sugar for this recipe. You can use caster sugar as well.
Egg- use 1 large egg and make sure that it is at room temperature.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prep a loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract and mix with a whisk or an electric hand mixer until well combined. Set aside while you make the pumpkin bread batter.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, kosher salt, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, cinnamon, vegetable oil, melted butter, and brown sugar, and mix with a whisk until combined.
Add the flour, and baking soda, and mix with a whisk until just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible. Don't overmix.
Pour ½ of the batter into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and smooth it out with a spatula. Pour the cream cheese mixture and smooth it out into an even layer.
Top the cream cheese layer with the other ½ of the pumpkin bread batter and smooth it out with a spatula.
bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted into the bread and comes out clean without wet batter.
Allow the loaf to cool for at least 30 minutes, slice, and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter, and cream cheese. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Use high-fat cream cheese or the well-known Philadelphia cream cheese. Using full-fat cream cheese ensures that your filling will be rich and easy to add between the layers of the pumpkin bread.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the loaf cool for at least 20 minutes so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
Faq's
If your pumpkin bread is soggy in the middle, it is most probably because you underbaked the bread. This can be easily fixed by baking the bread for an additional 10 or so minutes.
We like making our bread with fresh pumpkin puree, but this is a personal preference. Using fresh pumpkin puree makes these extremely tender and moist.
Usually, fresh pumpkin puree contains more liquids which makes these extra moist and melt in your mouth delicious. However, canned pumpkin puree will give you pretty much the same result.
We use all-purpose flour for this. Cake flour will work great as well.
Yes. If you would like to consume less sugar or less sweet pumpkin bread, reduce the amount of sugar by ⅓ cup.
Storing
This bread will last up to 2 days in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezing
This bread is very easy to freeze. After baking, let it cool to room temperature, transfer it into a freezer-friendly Ziploc bag, or wrap it tightly with a plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To thaw: place it in the refrigerator overnight or place it a room temperature for a few hours.
Substitutions
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Dairy-free- you can make this cake dairy-free by replacing the butter with vegan butter or using your favorite dairy-free cream cheese frosting.
Variations
Pumpkin pie filling- If you want pumpkin pie flavor in this bread, you can swap the pure pumpkin puree with pumpkin pie filling.
Since pumpkin pie filling has a lot of added flavors and sweetness added to it, use ⅓ cup less sugar and reduce the spices as well.
Add-ins- make this recipe your own and add your favorite add-ins: chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, chocolate chunks, banana slices, chopped fruit, etc.
Spiced- feel free to add or remove some of the spices from this bread and make it your own. You can add more cinnamon or use less.
Serving Tips
I love serving this pumpkin bread at room temperature by itself next to a cup of hot coffee or tea, especially on the colder days. You can spice it up and serve it in several ways:
- Plain
- Maple syrup drizzle
- Butter
- Pumpkin butter
- Freshly made whipped cream
Equipment
- Mixing bowls- best glass mixing bowls.
- Whisk set- our favorite copper whisk set.
- Loaf pan
- Canned pumpkin puree
More pumpkin recipes
Pumpkin Pie With Graham Cracker Crust- This pumpkin pie with graham cracker crust is the easiest pie ever and is so delicious. It has an easy 3 ingredient graham cracker crust filled with a creamy and flavorful pumpkin pie filling.
Chocolate Pumpkin Bread- This chocolate pumpkin bread is rich and full of chocolate flavor, with a hint of pumpkin and a soft and gooey texture.
Pumpkin Tiramisu- This pumpkin tiramisu is made with pumpkin mascarpone cream, layers of ladyfingers soaked in coffee, and topped with cocoa powder.
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Moist Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread
Ingredients
Pumpkin bread
- 1 cup Pumpkin puree pure
- ¼ cup Butter melted and cooled
- ⅓ cup Vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon Pumpkin pie spice
- ¾ cup Brown sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ⅔ cup Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
Cream cheese filling
- 4 oz Cream cheese room temp
- ¼ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 Egg
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prep a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract and mix with a whisk or an electric hand mixer until well combined. Set aside while you make the pumpkin bread batter.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, kosher salt, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, cinnamon, vegetable oil, melted butter, and brown sugar, and mix with a whisk until combined.
- Add the flour, and baking soda, and mix with a whisk until just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible. Don't overmix.
- Pour ½ of the batter into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and smooth it out with a spatula. Pour the cream cheese mixture and smooth it out into an even layer.
- Top the cream cheese layer with the other ½ of the pumpkin bread batter and smooth it out with a spatula.
- bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted into the bread and comes out clean without wet batter.
- Allow the loaf to cool for at least 30 minutes, slice, and enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter, and cream cheese. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Use high-fat cream cheese or the well-known Philadelphia cream cheese. Using full-fat cream cheese ensures that your filling will be rich and easy to add between the layers of the pumpkin bread.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the loaf cool for at least 20 minutes so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
Rachel
Hi is it okay to use self-rising flour? If so, I know I would leave out baking soda..but would I adjust the amount of flour? I'm also giving it a try with pumpkin pie mix, so will add less spices and sugar.
RichandDelish
Hi, I recommend not skipping the baking soda, reduce it to 3/4 tsp instead of 1 tsp. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂