Cake Mix Pumpkin Bread

This Cake Mix Pumpkin Bread comes together with just 5 ingredients – and is ready for the oven in less than 10 minutes! It doesn’t get any easier than this.

I do love baking during the holiday season, but a lot of times measuring out all of the individual ingredients is just… not going to happen. If I need to hold the baby and also make sure a pre-schooler and kindergartener “helping” aren’t going to sink the kitchen – I need REALLY easy.

And this Cake Mix Pumpkin Bread? Really easy for sure. It’s made with just 5 very basic ingredients, in a single bowl, in a snap. Even with a bunch of kids in tow, I can have it in the oven in less than 10 minutes!

Ingredients you’ll need

Ingredient notes

• Cake mix: I really like this recipe best with spice cake mix, but I’ve been having trouble finding it in my store lately. The bread works perfectly fine with yellow or white cake mix, too, you just need to add more pumpkin spice or it will taste boring.
• Pumpkin: Make sure to use pure canned pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling!
• Eggs: I’ve seen recipes without eggs for this type of bread, but I really like adding them because they make the bread fluffier and bigger.
• Spice mix: You can either use all pumpkin spice, or switch it up a little. Using half cinnamon, half pumpkin spice is very delicious, too. And adding extra ground ginger makes the bread spicier!
• Oil: I use a neutral vegetable oil here, but feel free to go the extra mile and use melted butter.

How to make pumpkin bread using cake mix

This is so simple: Throw all ingredients in a mixing bowl. This is what I have the kids do – it’s so simple, no need to even measure out the pumpkin, the whole can goes in.

Then, just mix until smooth. I always use a hand mixer because it’s quick and easy, but you can use a whisk if you don’t mind doing a bit of hard work.

This goes into a lined loaf pan, into the preheated oven – and one hour later, you’ll pull a real treat out of the oven!

Recipe tips

• With the cake mix being used, you really don’t need to worry about overmixing the bread like with breads made from scratch. Just mix on medium speed until the batter is smooth and no more dry cake mix is visible.
• I recommend using a food thermometer to test the doneness of the bread – it should register around 210°F in the center.
• Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer it to a cooling rack to cool completely. Don’t forget to carefully peel off the parchment paper, too, to keep the bottom of the bread from getting soggy.
• Feel free to use your favourite frosting on top of the bread – I used cream cheese frosting, but maple spice is really nice, too!

Storage instructions

Unfrosted, the bread keeps at room temperature well wrapped in a clean tea towel for 2 days. After this, it tends to turn dry.

If you frost the bread, you need to refrigerate it. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days.

You can warm slices of the bread in short bursts in the microwave, if you like!

You can also freeze the bread. Wrap the completely cooled bread well in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Label with the name and use-by date, then freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, just unwrap and leave on a wire rack on the counter overnight.

Watch the recipe video

How to Make Pumpkin Bread with Cake Mix from Nora Rusev on Vimeo.

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