Best Pumpkin Bread Mix for Quick and Easy Pumpkin Bread

It’s fall again, the time of year when the great pumpkin spice rises from the pumpkin patch, to shower just about every kind of food with its cinnamony goodness. And the most traditional (and authentic?) way to get that pumpkin flavor has gotta be pumpkin bread, a delicious love of hot, baked autumnal goodness that pairs nicely with some mulled cider. 

But with all your fall decorating, who’s got time to bake pumpkin bread from scratch? Luckily, there are several brands of pumpkin bread mix on the market which will give you a tasty gourd-focused treat in less than an hour. 

How we taste tested pumpkin bread mixes: 

We mixed and baked each pumpkin bread mix according to the directions on the box. This was not a short taste test. 

What we looked for in the best pumpkin bread mix: 

• Taste: The best pumpkin bread mix makes pumpkin bread that actually tastes like pumpkin. Not artificial pumpkin—real pumpkin. And we appreciated a balanced blend of spices, as well. 
• Texture: We want moist pumpkin bread—but not doughy pumpkin bread. It should be tender and just a little bit dense.
• Time: The whole point of buying a pumpkin bread mix is to have homemade pumpkin bread as quickly as possible. We looked for pumpkin bread mix that was easy to mix and baked quickly.

Best pumpkin bread mix, ranked

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Best Dessert Worthy

Pillsbury Quick Bread Pumpkin

Walmart

Despite this pumpkin bread mix’s name, it wasn’t actually quicker to prepare than any of the other mixes. However, it did create a tasty bread with an almost coffee-cake consistency. If you’re looking for pumpkin spice, this isn’t the best pumpkin bread mix for you. Instead, it’s more purely pumpkin focused, with just a hint of spice to round out the flavor. It’s also one of the sweeter mixes, which only adds to the coffee cake comparison. Overall, this mix creates something that’s more like a pumpkin dessert than a straight pumpkin bread. But, that’s not a bad thing. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

6/10

Sporks

Best Homemade Flavor

Krusteaz Multipurpose Baking Mix Pumpkin Spice

Walmart

This mix didn’t deliver as much pumpkin flavor as some of the other pumpkin breads, but that actually gave it a slightly more homemade flavor. However, the texture ended up a little more soft and crumbly than the others, and it didn’t hold its shape as well as some of the other breads. It resulted in more of a dense, wet loaf than a nice, spongy bread. Overall, it was tasty, but was lacking a little in the presentation.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Spice Flavors

Simple Mills Almond Flour Baking Mix Pumpkin Muffin & Bread

Walmart

This gluten-free pumpkin bread mix surprised me a lot, as it delivered a strong spiced flavor and a texture I couldn’t tell from the non-gluten free mixes. It also featured an almost molasses-y flavor, which really fit with its moist and dense consistency. It reminded me of Boston brown bread. And while I thought several of the other mixes were better pumpkin breads, this one was my personal favorite. (Man, I never realized how much I miss canned brown bread. Am I weird?)

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Gluten Free Mix

King Arthur Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread Mix

Amazon

I couldn’t tell this gluten-free pumpkin bread mix was gluten free.  It created a pumpkin bread with a good, solid pumpkin flavor, which probably comes from the “pumpkin flakes” in the mix, whatever those are. It’s light on the spice, but it delivers a really solid yet moist texture. It’s not only one of the best pumpkin bread mixes I’ve tried, but one of the best gluten-free bread mixes, too.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Libby’s Pumpkin Bread (Classic Pumpkin Bread Kit with Icing)

Walmart

If you’re looking for a pumpkin bread with real authentic pumpkin taste, this is the best pumpkin bread mix to buy. It includes an entire can of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin that you add into the mix. So, you get plenty of fresh, non-artificial pumpkin flavor. And the bread itself has a solid but not too dense texture. It also comes with a big packet of icing to decorate the top of your bread (or muffins), making this the best looking mix of the bunch. The only downside? It’s huge. This mix was designed to make two full 9” x 5” pans of bread, so you better be ready to eat a ton of pumpkin bread.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks