Home » Bread » Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread

Name: Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 36
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 cups sugar; 1 cup oil; 4 eggs; 2 cups pumpkin; 3 1/2 cups flour; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 2 teaspoons salt; 2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon cloves; 1/2 teaspoon allspice; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 2/3 cup water; 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature; 1/2 cup sugar; 2 eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 6 tablespoons flour

posted by Liz Berg on September 24, 2017 (updated 11/21/22)

Jump to Recipe

If you’re a fan of pumpkin bread, you’ll be thrilled with this kicked up Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread with a ribbon of cheesecake!

Why You Must Make

What happens when you spread a layer of cream cheese in the middle of your pumpkin bread batter? A marvelous ribbon of cheesecake appears in every slice. This cream cheese-filled pumpkin bread is a moist, spicy quick bread with a sweet surprise in the middle!

Instead of spreading butter or cream cheese on your slices of pumpkin bread, each slice comes with a layer of sweetened cream cheese!
If you love pumpkin bread, adding a cream cheese layer elevates it to another level.
It’s truly delicious!

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread slices stacked on a white dessert plate

How to Make

Preheat the oven and prep the pans.
Make the pumpkin bread batter, then make the cream cheese filling batter.
Pour a bit more than a quarter of the batter into each pan, then drop spoonfuls of the filling over the pumpkin batter.
Spread the filling to cover the pumpkin batter.
Then divide the remaining pumpkin batter over the filling. Don’t overfill the pan as you’ll want room for the bread to rise.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the loaf comes out clean.

I actually made a triple batch of this classic, moist pumpkin bread and a double batch of filling. One plain loaf for Nick, the cream cheese naysayer. And two for the cream cheese fans. Bill won’t touch pumpkin except in pie, so one less palate to factor into the plan.

I thought of swirling in the filling, but marbleizing has never been my forte. Be sure not to overfill your pans (I may have a wee bit of experience with this situation!) and try to estimate when half the pumpkin batter is in the pan before adding the cream cheese mixture.

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread on a white ceramic board with sliced pieces

Expert Tips

Have your eggs and cream cheese at room temperature for easy incorporation.
Don’t overfill your loaf pans. 3/4 full is the goal.
Use leftover pumpkin bread batter to make muffins. Use a muffin tin or ramekins to bake them.
These loaves can take up to an hour and a half to fully bake. It depends on the weight of your pan and how your oven works.
Start checking at the one-hour mark by inserting a toothpick into a couple of spots on each loaf. If it comes out clean, your loaf is done. If not, continue baking and checking every 10 minutes or so.
Let cool for about 15 minutes before removing the loaves from the pan. You’ll want the crust to solidify before inverting.
Slice when loaves are cooled completely.