Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

It's pumpkin season, and what better way to celebrate than with some delicious pumpkin cream cheese bread? I don't know about you, but as soon as the temperature starts dropping I find every excuse to bake any pumpkin recipe that comes my way!

This pumpkin cream cheese bread is perfectly moist, with a delicious combination of pumpkin, cinnamon, and cream cheese flavors. Trust me, it'll be a new favorite! If you're looking for another excuse to add more pumpkin to your list of fall recipes, check out this overnight pumpkin french toast casserole. For a more spring/summer vibe, take a look at my lemon raspberry bread.

How to Make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

First, preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Always leave enough time for the oven to sit for about 15 minutes between preheating and baking so that the oven's temperature can balance out. This ensures an even bake! Grease a metal bread pan with cooking spray and set it aside. I recommend using a metal pan instead of glass, I find that it cooks more evenly.

Prepare Pumpkin Batter

In a standing mixer, mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and unsalted butter on medium speed until well combined (about 2 minutes). Then add the egg and mix on medium speed until the egg is completely incorporated in the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through to get an even mix.

Next, add the pumpkin puree, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract to the pumpkin batter and mix on medium speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue mixing again until all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and fine sea salt. Add the whisked dry ingredients to the pumpkin batter and stir it in with a rubber spatula. Stir until there aren't any pockets of flour left, but don't overstir. Set the batter aside.

Cream Cheese Filling

In another bowl, add the softened cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla extract, then whisk the ingredients until smooth. This is easiest to do if the cream cheese is very soft. If it's not soft enough, you may need to use a handheld mixer. You don't want any chunks of cream cheese.

Add the granulated sugar to the cream cheese filling, and whisk until evenly combined. Then add the all purpose flour and whisk until there aren't any flour pockets left.

Assembly

Scoop about ⅓ of the pumpkin batter into the greased bread pan and spread it evenly on the bottom. Try to have the batter come up slightly higher on the sides so that you have a shallow bowl to spoon the cream cheese filling into it. If at all possible, try to keep the cream cheese filling from touching the sides of the pan.

Spoon about half of the cream cheese filling on top of the pumpkin batter layer, being careful not to let it touch the sides of the pan. Then spoon another ⅓ of the pumpkin batter around the perimeter of the pan to make another shallow "bowl" shape.

Add the other half of the cream cheese filling, again, being careful to not let it touch the sides of the pan. If you feel like there is too much cream cheese filling, feel free to leave some of it out. Just be aware that this may affect baking time. Then spoon the rest of the pumpkin batter on top--it doesn't have to completely cover the cream cheese filling on top.

Don't stress too much if the cream cheese filling touches the sides of the pan. The cream cheese filling will brown faster and potentially burn when touching the pan, so it's best to avoid it as much as possible--a little won't hurt.

Insert a butter knife into one end of the bread pan and create a wide squiggle from one end to the other horizontally. Be careful not to touch the bottom of the pan or sides with the knife. Then do the same vertically. This will create a swirl in the batter.

Bake the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

After the oven is done preheating and has had about 15 minutes to sit at temperature, bake the bread on the middle rack for about 60-65 minutes. Loosely place tin foil on top of the bread after 20 minutes so that the top doesn't burn. Check the bread at 55 minutes, some ovens are hotter than others and the bread may cook faster. Insert a toothpick into the middle of the loaf--if it comes out with crumbs and no wet batter, it's done.

Immediately remove the bread from the pan and let it cool on a cooling rack. Have it cool for about 20 minutes before cutting into it. Enjoy!

If you try out this pumpkin cream cheese bread or any of my other recipes, I’d LOVE to hear about it. You can leave a comment below the recipe. If you post a picture on Instagram, be sure to tag me! Getting any feedback on my recipes is both rewarding AND helpful as I write and edit recipes in the future.

Now get baking, and enjoy!