Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Bread is a great fall baking recipe. Pumpkin spice bread is swirled with a pecan cinnamon sugar streusel and topped with more streusel. Great homemade bread for breakfast, dessert, or a snack.

Loaf of Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Bread in the baking dish from the top view

This Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Bread is full of warm, fall spices with a cinnamon streusel swirl and topping.

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Table of Contents

Why You Will Love This Recipe

One of my favorite breakfasts growing up was a cinnamon streusel coffee cake, specifically because of the streusel!

I thought a delicious pumpkin bread, already full of warm spices, would be a great pairing to a cinnamon streusel that reminded me of my childhood.

Fall is my absolute favorite season! And the arrival of fall means that pumpkin-spice-everything is everywhere.

This Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Bread recipe will fill your house with smells of cinnamon and pumpkin spice when it is baking.

I shared my quick and simple recipe for how to make your own pumpkin spice, and a friend asked for a pumpkin bread, so I got to it!

It is just an amazing scent (don’t you just love fall baking?).

It also makes it rather difficult to be patient enough for this pumpkin bread recipe to cool before diving in and having a slice. The streusel is my favorite part, which is also why I add a layer of it through the middle of the bread.

Slices of Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Bread on a board in a row

Ingredients

To make this homemade bread recipe, this is what you need:

Unsalted Butter
Brown Sugar
Granulated Sugar
Ground Cinnamon
Walnuts or Pecans
Flour
Pumpkin Puree
Pumpkin Spice
Large Eggs
Vanilla Extract
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Salt

The cinnamon streusel is made of sugar, butter, cinnamon, and chopped nuts. And this is the magic of the recipe!

Pumpkin Spice – I love to use my own homemade blend which allows you to also adjust the spice ratio as preferred!

Equipment

These are the tools you need for the recipe:

Bread Loaf Pan
Nonstick Spray
Large Bowl
Medium Bowl
Small Bowl
Spatula
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Liquid Measuring Cups

Pumpkin Puree vs Pumpkin Pie Filling

It is important to use a pumpkin puree and not a pie filling for this recipe.

Pie filling has other flavors, spices, and ingredients added so that it is ready to be used in baking without any adustments.

Since we want to control our flavor profile, and add the spices ourselves, we want the plain pumpkin puree.

Modifications and Substitutions

Pecans can be swapped out for walnuts.

Dark brown sugar is fine instead of light brown sugar.

You can make the bread in a different size pan, or even a cupcake tin. Just keep an eye on it as it bakes and adjust accordingly (less time the smaller it is).

Slices of Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Bread laying next to half a loaf on a board

Kim’s Tips

I use pecans in this recipe because they are a great flavor pairing with the pumpkin puree. You could also use walnuts.

I also like to leave the pecans in a rough chop, not too small. This gives great texture to the bread and streusel. If you are not a fan of chunks of nuts, just chop them finer.

Since we have a streusel in the middle, it can be easy to think the bread is undercooked when really you are just hitting the streusel layer. Test the bread several times and try to aim just above or below the layer to check for doneness.

FAQs

Why is my pumpkin bread bitter?

Too much butter, baking soda, or baking powder was used.

How can I tell if my pumpkin bread is done?

The bread will puff up into a dome on top with a crack.
When you stick a cake tester or toothpick in the middle, it will come out clean or with crumbs and not be wet.

Why doesn’t my pumpkin bread cook in the middle?

It was not cooked long enough.

Can you put bread back in the oven if it’s not done?

Yes. Try to do so as soon as possible.

What happens if you forget baking soda in pumpkin bread?

The bread will not rise as much, it will be denser, and flatter looking.

Can you freeze homemade pumpkin bread?

Yes! Make sure it is completely cooled and then wrap very well, either intact or in sliced, and freeze up to 3 months.

Find more of our pumpkin spice inspired recipes here!

Learn how to make your own pumpkin spice blend here!