Batter Up? We Tried the New Pillsbury Pumpkin Bread Batter

I am skeptical of things that come out of tubes. Hand lotion, toothpaste, British people getting off the subway—you name it, not a fan. So, as you can imagine, I was not expecting a lot from this new Pillsbury pumpkin bread batter, which comes in a chorizo-lookin’ tube. I am a baker. I even have an Instagram for it and it has almost 100 followers—I’m basically an ~influencer~. Often, a product like a cut-and-squeeze bread batter can feel like an egregious insult to my craft, so when I tried this tube-born pumpkin spice bread from Pillsbury, hoooooo boy, was I miffed. You guys, it is SO good.

new pillsbury pumpkin bread review

New Product!

Pillsbury Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Bread Batter

Pros: This bread is insanely easy to make and the payoff for the amount of effort is fantastic. You literally just dump the batter into a pan, and an hour later you have a freshly baked, surprisingly delicious loaf of pumpkin bread. The cook time on the packaging was accurate (this can be tough with quick breads in loaf pans, but this one worked out great). Fresh out of the oven, the texture was really nice—crispy outside, and warm and dense but still fluffy on the inside. The taste reminded me of a pumpkin muffin from the bakery section of a gourmet grocery store; it’s not dry and it truly tastes like warm fall spices. This bread tastes like a hug from a warm fall sweater. Buy it.

Cons: The smell while cooking this loaf was a little concerning to me. It smells less like baking spices and more like a fall candle—that is to say, more like artificial pumpkin fragrance and less like literal cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, etc. If I’m being honest, the smell was a lot. But it’s not bad, just strong, so for most people this will be a nonissue. As for the taste, the nutmeg is a bit more prominent than I’d want it to be. I would have liked a bit more cinnamon and a little less nutmeg, but I am truly nitpicking here. This is an excellent pumpkin loaf, it’s easy to make, and it costs the same as one slice of pumpkin loaf at a local coffee shop. Is it as good as from scratch? Perhaps not. But it is as good as any mix out there and twice as easy. I may be rethinking my stance on tubes after this.

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

For some added context, I thoroughly coated my loaf pan with PAM before squeezing in the batter. I cooked the Pumpkin Bread for the max cook time (70 minutes) for my size loaf pan (9” x 5”) and let it cool for the prescribed hour and fifteen minutes or, as I like to call it, torture.


About the Author

Jessica Block

Jessica Block is a freelance contributor to Sporked, a comedian, a baker, a food writer, and a firm believer that Trader Joe's may just be the happiest place on earth. She loves spicy snacks, Oreos, baking bread, teeny tiny avocados, and trying new foods whenever she can. Also, if you give her a bag of Takis she will be your best friend.