Today’s Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread is an adventure in indulgent fall flavors! Moist and spiced pumpkin bread layered with a rich cream-cheese swirl and baked to golden perfection. An easy marbled pumpkin loaf that's fall baking at its best!
The BEST Pumpkin Bread Recipe!
I say this with total confidence! This is the recipe that, several years ago, transformed me into one of those pumpkin recipe junkies. Absolutely, from Pumpkin Spice White Russians to Autumn Spice Cake, the warm fall spice combination is one I use over and over. However, this recipe is still one of my most requested desserts from family and friends in November.
Why You Will Love It
- Rich Pumpkin Flavor + Creamy Cheesecake Filling: A rich, irresistible contrast.
- Simple ingredients and straightforward steps. this easy pumpkin cream cheese bread recipe is perfect for both beginners and experienced bakers.
- Fall Favorite: Ideal for guests to swoon over at Thanksgiving or even combined with enjoying a warm cup of coffee or tea on a cozy fall day.
- Delicately Sweet: It’s not overly sweet, but sweet and well spiced.
- Beautiful marble/swirl looks impressive without extra fuss.
What you will need
Below is an overview of what you will need to make this recipe along with notes on substitutions I am aware of.
Flour - All-purpose flour works best, though cake flour can be used for a finer crumb. Sift before measuring to prevent lumps.
Pumpkin Purée - Use 100% canned pumpkin purée, not pie filling (which contains sugar and spices). Fresh sugar pumpkin purée also works beautifully - I've tested both.
Cream Cheese - Use original, full-fat cream cheese for a smooth swirl. Avoid whipped or light versions; they add too much moisture. If using a European-style cream cheese, drain through cheesecloth overnight.
Sour Cream: You can use either lite or regular sour cream, which adds moistness. Greek yogurt is a great substitute.
Sugar: A blend of white and light brown sugar creates balanced sweetness and moisture. Dark brown sugar adds deeper flavor but slightly more density.
Vegetable Oil: I prefer using blended vegetable oil for its neutral flavor, but canola oil works too. I have not used my muffin applesauce trick to lighten them.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: Use your favorite store-bought mix or make your own with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
Parchment Paper: Line your loaf pan for easy removal and cleaner edges - no more flipping and risking a broken loaf.
And here are my go-to ingredients for a never-fail crumb topping:
Visual Recipe Guide
The full instructions with ingredient quantities are in the recipe card at the bottom. This is a visual guide to illustrate the recipe flow and help with any troubleshooting, for beginner bakers.
You'll start by making the pumpkin batter and the cheesecake batter separately. The above photo is what they should look like when ready to add to the pan. While you technically don't have to marble them, I find that it adds a lovely visual appeal to the bread, making each slice look as good as it tastes.
Layering Marbled Pumpkin Bread
To achieve those nice, distinct, and chunky layers, there's a specific technique to follow:
- Start with a small layer of pumpkin batter on the bottom-just enough to cover the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Then, alternate large spoonfuls of the pumpkin mixture and cream cheese filling. The cream cheese layer is thinner, so it will spread a little. (Photo 1)
- Lightly marble the top with a knife to fill in gaps and ensure an even layer, making sure the edges are well-filled. This helps create a uniform swirl of cream cheese throughout the pumpkin loaf. (Photo 2)
- Now, dollop the rest of the pumpkin and cream cheese fillings over top. (Photo 3)
- Again, lightly marble the top to achieve an even, smooth surface, but be careful not to swirl too much-this helps maintain those chunky layers you want for the perfect ribbon effect. (Photo 4)
Expert Tips & Troubleshooting
- I also have a muffin pumpkin bread version of this recipe that is equally delicious!
- Don’t over mix the layers of pumpkin and cream cheese. You want them to have distinct differences. A few passes of the knife will do fine for marbling.
- Resist cutting until it has cooled. I know it’s hard!
- If top browns too quickly, tent it with foil.
- If you like extra cinnamon flavor, you can add it to the bread or in the crumb topping.
- I’ve never had a problem with it sinking or underbaking but do check your oven temperature with a thermometer if you have that problem.
- Use pumpkin puree (usually in the canned section), not pumpkin pie filling which has sweeteners and spices added.
More Fall Inspired Recipes to Love
- Caramel Apple Crisp Bars
- Autumn Spice Cake
- Gourmet Chocolate Covered Apples
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Apple Crumb Cake
- Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Frequently asked questions
Very easily! Let it first cool completely, then wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze. When you’re ready to eat the frozen bread, set it on the counter overnight to thaw.
yes, you certainly can and it doesn’t make a huge difference other than the texture to the top.
You can check to make sure a toothpick comes out clean but I check most bread and cakes by touch. Once you get the hang of it, I find it to be a little more reliable than the toothpick test.
First, I jiggle the pan to see if there is any jiggle in the bread. If there is, give it 10 more minutes. Secondly, I press my fingertips very gently in the center. If the center feels spongy and springy, the cake is done.
In a small bowl, mix together:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Once it has completely cooled, slice it in 1-inch slices. Because of the cream cheese layer, refrigeration is safest for storage. Wrap the loaf or slices tightly in plastic wrap or foil, then place in an airtight container. Let it come to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavor.
Happy Baking!
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PS. If you make this recipe, leave a COMMENT AND A STAR RATING in the comments section at the bottom and be sure to take a photo and tag it #cravingcreative on Instagram! I appreciate you for taking the time to read about me and my family recipes.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar packed
- ¼ cup Granulated White sugar
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- ¼ cup Sour Cream light is fine
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon Pumpkin Spice
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- Parchment Paper Optional
Cream Cheese Swirl
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened to room temperature
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 5 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Orange Zest optional
Crumb Topping (Optional)
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 3 tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 6 tablespoon Butter, melted salted or unsalted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 5×9 bread loaf pan with Parchment Paper to make it easier to pull out.
Pumpkin Batter
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the 1 Large Egg, 1 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree, and 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract until smooth for the Pumpkin batter. Add the ½ cup Light Brown Sugar and ¼ cup Granulated White sugar and mix until smooth. Stir in the ¼ cup Vegetable Oil and ¼ cup Sour Cream.
- In a separate bowl, combine the 1 cup All Purpose Flour, 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder ½ teaspoon Baking Soda, 1 ½ teaspoon Pumpkin Spice, and ¼ teaspoon Salt. Add the mixture into the wet ingredients batter, 1 cup at a time and mix between additions.
Cream Cheese Swirl Batter
- In a separate bowl, make the cream cheese topping. Combine 8 oz Cream Cheese and ½ cup Granulated Sugar. Use an electric mixer or stand mixer to beat until creamy. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter, and it's smooth before the next step.
- Mix in 2 Large Eggs, 5 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, and ½ teaspoon Orange Zest until smooth.
Crumb Topping (Optional)
- In a small bowl, add 3 tablespoon Light Brown Sugar, 2 tablespoon Granulated Sugar, 1 cup All-Purpose Flour,1 teaspoon Baking Powder and 6 tablespoon Butter, melted. With a spoon or your hands, mix the ingredients, breaking up any large lumps.
Layering and Baking
- In a bread loaf pan (5×9), spread out just enough pumpkin batter to cover the bottom. Dollop spoonfuls of alternating pumpkin and cream cheese batter. Lightly swirl with a knife, making sure to push into the edges. Dollop the last halves of the pumpkin batter and cream cheese bread. Lightly swirl with a knife but do not over mix. You want some chunks.
- Sprinkle the crumb topping onto the pumpkin bread batter. Very lightly press a little into the batter, just enough to keep them from rolling to the edges when baking.
- Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until the cake has crowned and the center is clean with a toothpick or by touch. Remove from the oven.
- Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. When the pan is cool enough to handle, release the sides with a knife and either pull with parchment paper sides or turn over on a wire rack to completely cool before serving.
Recipe Notes
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Deb says
Mine just flopped too. It wasn’t finished at 45 so put it in for 10 more and it still jiggled in the middle so put it in for 10 minutes more and still wasn’t ready. This happened to me with banana bread too. I’m so confused as to what is going wrong. It looks like you have the same metal pan. It looked perfect and the just kept sinking.
Rachel says
I am so sorry to hear that. There are a few things that could cause breads and recipes to sink in the middle. Have you checked the calibration on your oven? Even something like putting the bread too close to the front of the oven can change the temperature slightly for baking items. Another thing could be using old baking powder or baking soda, or agents that have been exposed to the air too long.
DeAnna Catherine says
The bread and crumb part was great but the cream cheese mixture was a rubbery weird consistency after baked. Not sure if that was the idea or if I made a mistake. Looks just like the pic though- Would most likely leave it out next time.
Laura says
I left a comment two weeks ago, and it seems not to have been posted. Recipe calls for 2 EGGS in the cream cheese mixture but the directions say “add EGG”. I made it with the stated two eggs and it was a mess. There is no way you can “dollop” the mixture as it is a flowing liquid. I baked this mess for an extra twenty minutes, cooled it for twenty minutes, then lifted it out using the parchment paper. It flattened out like a pancake and was a complete disaster. Is it one egg or TWO? I find it interesting that my first post was not published. I will be surprised if this review will show up. A response would have been nice, too.
Rachel says
I am sorry, I did not see a previous comment, so it’s possible it went to spam or got filtered out (I have automatic software). Regardless, I am very sorry that this did not work out and hope I can find the problem even if it is the recipe instructions. I have personally made this recipe for over five years, and it has been highly requested and tested. The cream cheese batter should be about the consistency of sour cream since it has both flour and 8 ounces of cream cheese in it. I am only trying to be helpful in asking these questions. I have had some recipe conversion problems with certain countries in Europe because the Cream Cheese has a much higher moisture content than our American version. Is that a possibility? Have you calibrated your oven recently? I find that is the most likely culprit as it is very common. One of my double ovens runs 25 degrees cooler than the other for example, and I run a separate oven thermometer for all recipe development. Does the batter not look like the photos in the post before adding to the pan?
Matteo says
Made two of these this morning, forgot the sour cream and I didn’t put in the oil because I thought the batter seemed very wet. Also added additional spices because we like it that way, it came out fantastic, moist and tasty. Added additional nutmeg, ginger, all spice, cinnamon, cloves and included the pumpkin spice.
Thank you for the great recipe.
Celeb Networth says
Thank you for sharing the nice article! I hope to see more updates from you.
Meredith @ The Palette Muse says
I can’t think of anything better than pumpkin and cheesecake together! This will be happening this weekend at my house…
Jen | Baked by an Introvert says
Love the cheesecake marble on top of this cake. Pumpkin and cream cheese go so well together!