Pumpkin Swirl Bread

Oh. My. Stars. This Pumpkin Swirl Bread has it all! Amazing pumpkin spice flavor, a sprinkle of walnuts and raisins, plus an indulgent swirl of sweetened cream cheese – it’s amazing! You’ll absolutely love how easy it is to make and how cravably delicious the flavors are.

Easy Pumpkin Swirl Bread with Cream Cheese

This recipe for pumpkin bread is literally everything you could want in a warm, yummy loaf. The base of the recipe is a deeply flavorful, richly textured quick bread with a heaping helping of pumpkin puree for moistness.

In addition to that, a generous amount of crunchy chopped walnuts, luscious raisins, and pumpkin spice adds taste and texture.

Finally, a sweet cream cheese filling is swirled through the loaf. The result? A quick bread that you’ll turn to again and again. Everyone will love this pumpkin bread recipe.

What is Quick Bread?

Quick breads are breads that don’t require yeast. Instead, they use baking powder or baking soda for leavening. That’s why they’re quick!

Yeast breads typically require a lot of kneading and rising, but quick breads come together much more quickly, no kneading or rising required. Some are savory and sandwich-y, like Irish soda bread. Others are more like a dense loaf cake: think banana bread, zucchini bread, and of course this yummy pumpkin bread!

Recipe Ingredients

For the Bread:

• Canned Pumpkin: You can substitute homemade pumpkin puree, but don’t use pumpkin pie filling, which is different and contains a lot of other ingredients.
• Granulated Sugar
• Light Brown Sugar: You can substitute raw sugar for any or all of the white and brown sugar.
• Egg Whites: You’ll need 3 egg whites. To easily separate the whites and yolks, bring the eggs to room temperature first. Cold eggs are harder to separate.
• Milk: You can use any milk or milk substitute that you like.
• Canola Oil: I typically use this oil for this recipe, but you can also substitute other oils, melted butter, or even applesauce. The texture and flavor may vary depending on the substitute.
• Flour: Any all-purpose flour is fine.
• Baking Powder
• Pumpkin Pie Spice, Nutmeg, and Salt
• Chopped Walnuts: Optional.
• Raisins: Optional.

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

• Cream Cheese: One 8 ounce block, softened
• Sugar: White or raw sugar is fine.
• Egg White

How to Make Pumpkin Swirl Bread

How to Make the Pumpkin Bread

1. In a large bowl beat pumpkin, sugars, 3 egg whites, milk, and oil until well incorporated.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, pie spice, salt, and nutmeg; slowly beat flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Beat until completely combined.
3. Stir in walnuts and raisins.

How to Make the Cream Cheese Filling

1. In a separate bowl combine cream cheese, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 egg white; beat until completely blended.

How to Bake Pumpkin Swirl Bread

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour a 9×5-inch nonstick loaf pan.
2. Spoon half of the pumpkin batter into the previously prepared loaf pan. Spoon cream cheese filling over the batter. Top with remaining pumpkin batter.
3. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
   Remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in foil, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tips for the Best Pumpkin Bread

• Don’t Over Mix. Unlike with yeast breads, where kneading thoroughly is crucial, quick breads do better when they’re mixed until just combined. Otherwise, you’ll over-activate the gluten in the flour, creating a tough texture instead of a tender, moist texture.
• Center Your Oven Rack. Since the pumpkin bread will bake for an hour or even more, you don’t want it too near the top or bottom of the oven. Putting your oven rack in the middle will keep the top and/or bottom of the loaf from getting overdone.
• Let it Cool. We all love bread fresh from the oven – in theory, at least. However, moist breads like this one tend to fall apart if you try to slice them right out of the oven. Instead, try thoroughly cooling the loaf before slicing, and if you want it warmed up, place slices in the toaster briefly before serving!

How to Store Leftovers

• Because of the cream cheese filling, this bread should be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly or sealed in an airtight container to avoid absorbing odors and flavors from other foods.
• Pumpkin Swirl Bread will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Can You Freeze Pumpkin Swirl Bread?

• Yes, you can! To freeze, wrap in a double layer of plastic wrap, or plastic wrap and foil, or place in a freezer bag, pushing out as much air as possible before sealing.
• This bread will keep in the freezer for up to six weeks.

More Easy Desserts to Try

• Pumpkin Bars
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Crescent Rolls
• Easy Apple Crumble with Graham Crackers and Marshmallows
• Dutch Apple Slab Pie
• Homemade Banana Pudding