Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread
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!
This over-the-top Pumpkin Loaf is the perfect way to kick off the fall season.
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 recipes, adding a cream cheese layer elevates it to another level.
- It’s truly delicious!
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.
Expert Tips
- PRO-Tip: Make sure to purchase pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has additional ingredients that are not needed in this pumpkin bread recipe.
- Have your eggs and cream cheese at room temperature for easy incorporation.
- Don’t overfill your loaf pans. ¾ 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.
- If your bread is browning too fast and it’s still not done, you can tent it with some aluminum foil.
- PRO-Tip: Let the loaves cool for about 15 minutes before removing them from the pan. You’ll want the crust to solidify before inverting.
- Slice when loaves are cooled completely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bread that does not require kneading or rising time is considered quick bread. They rely on baking powder or baking soda for leavening instead of yeast. This cream cheese pumpkin bread is one example, along with muffins, most biscuits, and popovers.
We usually eat the slices plain, but smeared with creamy butter is another delicious option. You can also toast it if desired. Apple butter would be a nice seasonal topping to offer along with butter. Plus, if you love cream cheese, the spreadable version will give you a double fix!
Wrap traditional pumpkin bread in plastic and keep it at room temperature for 3-4 days. After that, it’s best to keep it in your refrigerator. If your bread is filled with cream cheese, keep it refrigerated. It can also be frozen, if wrapped airtight, for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
You May Also Like
- Pumpkin Sugar Cookies from Wine and Glue
- Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
- Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Roll
- Pumpkin Challah
- Cinnamon Crusted Pumpkin Bread
Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread
A classic, moist and tender pumpkin bread with a ribbon of sweetened cream cheese filling
Ingredients
For pumpkin bread:
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 cup oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups pumpkin
- 3 ½ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅔ cup water
For the filling:
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 tablespoons flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Grease two standard loaf pans. I also put a rectangle of parchment on the bottom of each pan and grease that as well.
- Combine sugar and oil. Add the rest of the ingredients in order. Mix till combined and set aside.
- Whip together filling ingredients till smooth and set aside.
- Pour a little more than a quarter of the batter into each pan (about 1 3/4 cups). Drop spoonfuls of half the filling over top of the pumpkin batter and then use a spoon or offset spatula to spread the filling to cover the pumpkin.
- Repeat with the second pan. Use the remaining batter to fill each about ¾ full. You can bake any excess batter in ramekins for muffins.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
Do not over-mix the batter or your bread will have tunnels.
There will be some excess pumpkin batter, so reserve enough to make 2-3 muffins so your bread pans do not overflow.
My bread pans are heavy duty and they took 1 1/2 hours to bake. Make sure to check and recheck your loaves with a toothpick so your bread is not underbaked.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 3816Total Fat: 163gSaturated Fat: 34gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 605mgSodium: 2672mgCarbohydrates: 550gFiber: 8gSugar: 358gProtein: 49g
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72 Comments on “Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread”
Just checking the calorie count (which i know doesn’t count on Christmas), but 3816 per slice/serving = 1/36 of the total loaf? Thanks for helping.
Hi, Bernadette, the nutritional app was calculating the calorie count of both loaves, not 1 serving. I updated and the new calculation is 217 calories per slice (if you get 16 slices/loaf). Thanks for pointing out that error and hope you enjoy!!!
Hi Liz, I just made your pumpkin read and the flavor is very good! My question is about the density of the batter. Mine came out quite thick and heavy. There was no pouring this batter, I was shoveling it from one container to another. It took about 2 hours to cook through and by that time the bottom and sides were rather dry. The ribbon and above were perfect. I followed your recipe exactly. Is the batter supposed to be that dense or did I do something wrong? I’d love to hear your thoughts as I plan to make this again very soon.
Hi, Jann,
That seems odd to me. I make this bread all the time (mainly without the cream cheese ribbon) and the batter has never been thick and heavy. Depending on the type of pan you use, the bread could take a little longer to bake. This recipe came from our neighbor growing up in the 70s, so it’s tried and true. I did a search and here is almost the same recipe from the Food Network….so you can see the proportions are correct (without the filling). I’m wondering if you were short with the water or oil measurement as that’s what could make the batter too thick? Good luck with your next attempt!!
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pumpkin-bread-recipe-1957866 (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pumpkin-bread-recipe-1957866)
You just made pumpkin bread THAT much better! Love the cream cheese layer!
Looks so good! Can’t wait to try it!
You had me at cream cheese filling.
This loaf is so pretty! I just adore the cream cheese swirl!
I’m a fan of anything pumpkin, throw cheesecake into the mix and it’s a total win! Can’t wait to try this bread, looks fantastic!