Last Updated on October 22, 2021 by Chenée Lewis
Easy pumpkin bread with sour cream and brown sugar! This moist pumpkin bread recipe is a fall favorite, and the maple brown butter glaze is irresistible! If you like this easy pumpkin bread, you'll love my 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins, my Pumpkin Pecan Dump Cake, and my Pumpkin Mousse Pie!
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Easy Pumpkin Bread with Sour Cream and Brown Sugar
Everyone needs a go-to simple, easy pumpkin bread recipe for fall weekend mornings, and this one is mine! Pumpkin bread, when it's done right, is moist, fluffy, and full of warm fall flavors. This easy sour cream pumpkin bread is all that and more! It's easy, quick, and consistently amazing! Plus it's all drizzled in a maple brown butter glaze that is just heavenly. Top that with some roasted pepitas and it's the perfect fall treat!
Because it's a quick bread recipe, this easy pumpkin bread is ready for the oven in just a few minutes. We're using melted butter, so no electric mixer needed. This sour cream pumpkin bread recipe is an ideal recipe for beginner bakers because you don't need any special skills or tools and it still comes out amazing! The only added step is browning the butter for the glaze, and I guarantee you it's worth it! Trust me -- you'll be enjoying this easy pumpkin bread recipe throughout the season!
How do you keep pumpkin bread moist?
This pumpkin sour cream quick bread stays moist thanks to sour cream, pumpkin purée, and melted butter! Sour cream adds fat and creates a soft, yet dense texture, and the pumpkin adds a lot of moisture with tons of pumpkin flavor! I love the addition of melted butter as well to make this moist pumpkin bread recipe so flavorful.
Ingredients for the Best Sour Cream Pumpkin Bread
- baking spray - I like to use baking spray, the kind that contains flour, to grease my loaf pan.
- all-purpose flour - I definitely recommend weighing it out with a food scale. It's easier than using measuring cups and much more accurate! For this recipe, you'll need 256 grams of flour.
- pumpkin pie spice - if you don't have a store-bought blend, you can use 1½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon allspice.
- baking soda - gives our sour cream pumpkin bread the lift that it needs!
- salt - there are so many amazing flavors in this easy pumpkin bread recipe, and salt helps to bring those out.
- eggs - they should be room temperature. That will help keep our sour cream pumpkin bread tall and fluffy!
- brown sugar - I used dark brown sugar, which made the final product more caramely and less sweet. I just like the depth of flavor in dark brown sugar and this is a recipe that definitely benefits from that! But light brown sugar works just as well, and yields a slightly sweeter sour cream pumpkin bread.
- pure vanilla extract - make sure you use real vanilla -- it makes a big difference in the flavor.
- melted salted butter - I like to use salted butter because it adds flavor and that's usually what I have on hand -- if you prefer to use unsalted butter, just add an extra ¼ teaspoon salt to your dry ingredients.
- sour cream - this should also be room temperature. Sour cream adds moisture, depth of flavor, and interacts with the baking soda in the dry ingredients to help the pumpkin bread rise.
- canned pumpkin purée - I haven't tried this recipe with fresh puréed pumpkin, so if you do try it let me know how it worked in the comments below!
Maple Brown Butter Glaze
Then, to top off your pumpkin bread, you'll pour on the most DELICIOUS maple brown butter glaze. If you recognize the ingredients for this glaze, that's because it's based on the glaze for my banana pecan pancakes! I couldn't wait to use it again because it's incredibly easy and it's good enough to drink! Here's what you need for the glaze:
- salted butter - this is what we'll use to make the brown butter for our glaze. If you've already checked out my Brown Butter Appreciation Post then you're a pro at browning your butter and you can skip those steps in the instructions below!
- powdered sugar - like the flour above, it's best to measure powdered sugar with a food scale (you'll need 160 grams). If you do measure it by the cup, be sure to sift prior to measuring.
- maple syrup - this is the key to this glaze! Without maple syrup you'd still have a pretty delicious brown butter glaze, but that maple flavor just takes it over the top!
- pure vanilla extract - just to round out the flavors in this yummy glaze!
- roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) - I love the flavor of pepitas as a snack, and on this sour cream pumpkin bread they add a great nutty flavor and a bit of a crunch! You can feel free to omit them, or swap in your favorite nut or seed to top this easy pumpkin bread!
Equipment
This easy sour cream pumpkin bread is just that -- easy! You don't need anything special to make it, not even an electric mixer! Here are a few of the tools you will need:
Tips and F.A.Q.
Most likely, you added too little flour, or too much pumpkin. Be sure to use a a kitchen scale to measure your flour by weight.
A can of pumpkin will give you a little more than 1.5 cups, so when you use one for this recipe, you'll have a few tablespoons of pumpkin left over. 
Yes it is! You want to make sure the ingredients on the can of pumpkin are 100% pumpkin, and that it's not pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin pie mix.
Yes, pumpkin bread can stay fresh at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Once it's completely cooled, you can wrap it in plastic wrap to store for later. If you're giving it as a gift, I would suggest wrapping your pumpkin bread in parchment paper. 
More Pumpkin Recipes to Try
- Vegan Pumpkin Smoothie
- Pumpkin Blondies with Apple Cider Glaze
- Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls
- 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Mousse Pie
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
- baking spray
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour - (256g)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) pumpkin pie spice - see note*
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (2 ml) salt
- 2 large eggs - (room temperature), beaten
- 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar - dark or light
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (114 g) salted butter - melted
- 1 ½ cup (368 g) pumpkin puree - canned
- ¼ cup (58 g) sour cream - room temperature
Maple Brown Butter Glaze
- 4 tablespoon (59 ml) salted butter - cut into chunks (see note)
- 1⅓ cup (160 g) powdered sugar – sifted - 160g
- 3-4 tablespoon (44 ml) pure maple syrup
- 1½ teaspoon (7 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon (44 ml) roasted, shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) - optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with baking spray. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to help with removal of the loaf.baking spray
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and brown sugar until smooth. Add in vanilla, melted butter, pumpkin, and sour cream, and whisk well until smooth.2 large eggs, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ½ cup salted butter, ¼ cup sour cream, 1 ½ cup pumpkin puree
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in dry ingredients until they are just barely combined.
- Transfer to prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for about an hour, or until a toothpick entered into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Maple Brown Butter Glaze
- Heat a light-colored sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add cubed butter and melt, whisking regularly. Butter will start to foam and milk solids will begin to separate. Your brown butter is done when milk solides are a deep caramel color and the butter gives off a nutty aroma. Immediately remove from pan to a heatproof container, scraping brown bits along with it. Let cool slightly.4 tablespoon salted butter
- Whisk together brown butter, maple syrup, and vanilla.1⅓ cup powdered sugar – sifted, 3-4 tablespoon pure maple syrup, 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 4 tablespoon salted butter
- Sift in powdered sugar and whisk until smooth, adding a 1-2 teaspoon of additional maple syrup as needed to achieve desired consistency. Pour over cooled pumpkin bread, top with toasted pumpkin seeds, and let set.3 tablespoon roasted, shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PIN this moist pumpkin bread recipe for later!
Nancy
Accidentally thawed out my pumpkin puree, container was labelled kidney beans. Had some sour cream to use up. Searched for pumpkin sour cream loaf and this recipe popped up. OMG it is so easy to make, baked perfectly for 1 hr, moist, tasty and the icing was delicious!!!!!
Chenée Lewis
I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks so much!
Suzanne
The recipe in the ingredients for the Brownbutter glaze says 4 TLB butter but in the instructions below
It states 1/2 cup browned butter, so I was a little confused. I used the 4 TLB….
I haven’t actually eaten it yet as I just took it from the oven. It smells delish however.
Chenée Lewis
Hi! Yes you would use 4 tbsp of butter for the glaze -- I fixed the recipe card so it should be clearer now. Hope you enjoyed the bread!
Judy McManus
Very good recipe.. the only thing is you can't pour the melted butter and maple over the bread. It is more of a frosting that has to be spread over the loaf.
Chenée Lewis
Thanks for the feedback! I haven't had that issue, but I should have mentioned in the recipe that you can add a little extra maple syrup to get the consistency you want. I'll make that change 🙂
Britney
Five stars isn’t enough for this recipe! It is literal perfection! The pumpkin loaf is so moist and tasty and the brown butter frosting is just beyond delicious. I am over the moon for this recipe!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much!! I'm so glad you enjoyed!! 🙂
Mila Clarke Buckley
The glaze SENT me! I loved this addition to this already delicious pumpkin bread! Saving to make this again!
Chenée Lewis
The glaze is truly everything!! I'm so glad you enjoyed!!
Christy Hoover
I am a fan of maple everything. I added just a touch of cinnamon to the glaze (my family consists of cinnamon freaks) and it was a nice addition. .
Chenée Lewis
Ooh yeah cinnamon in the glaze would be fantastic!
Tamara
That maple brown butter glaze definitely took this bread over the top! Such amazing flavors. I cannot wait to make this again for our Thanksgiving brunch.
Chenée Lewis
Thank you! This bread would be fantastic for Thanksgiving brunch!
Jazz
The glaze took this pumpkin bread over the top. I'm officially a fan!
Chenée Lewis
Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Taneisha Morris
Absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe! The pumpkin bread on its own is already so delicious, but when you add the maple brown butter glaze it brings this recipe up a whole other notch!!! So yummy!
Chenée Lewis
Oh yes! The glaze makes it even better for sure! Glad you liked it!
Krysten
The maple brown butter glaze takes this pumpkin bread to a new level! I used to order pumpkin bread from Starbucks all the time, but this recipe has saved me! Love it! So moist and delicious.
Chenée Lewis
Thanks! I love adding the nutty flavor of brown butter!
Barry J.
I'll never buy another slice of pumpkin bread from Starbucks again! This was so easy to make, including the maple brown butter glaze. My new go-to breakfast (and snack) for my busier work days.
Chenée Lewis
I'm so glad you liked it! No Starbucks necessary 🙂
Marta
The salted butter is an absolute must in this recipe. The way it combines with the sweet maple flavor made my family so happy.
Chenée Lewis
I agree! It adds so much flavor and keeps it from being too sweet!
Immaculate Ruému
This bread is so rich and decadent. It was perfect timing running into this recipe, gave me something delicious to do with my pumpkin. Thank you!
Chenée Lewis
I'm so glad it worked out for you! Thanks!
Robin
I so appreciate the extra steps you provide to guide us non-bakers. And I don't even need a hand mixer? I am all in!
Chenée Lewis
Yes! that's the best part of making this bread!
Jessica
I was a little bit nervous about a pumpkin bread with glaze being too sweet but as usual, Chenee nailed it with this one. It's perfectly spiced, just the right amount of sweet and looks gorgeous covered in this amazing glaze. Great recipe!
Chenée Lewis
Aww thank you so much! Yeah I think the salted browned butter in the glaze helps to keep it from being too sweet. I'm so glad it worked out for you!
Samiah Nicole
This pumpkin bread is so delicious! I loved the spongy texture and the flavor is so good. I really enjoy a simple recipe and this is one that I’ll keep in my rotation for sure!
Chenée Lewis
Thanks! I'm so glad it worked out for you!