I turned my best Pumpkin Bread Recipe (with a streusel topping) into a moist Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread and the results were amazing! This perfect pumpkin has a cream cheese layer baked inside and it tastes just like cheesecake! This Cream Cheese Swirled Pumpkin Bread is going to be your new go-to recipe for fall!
The Best Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread
While my mind is not quite ready for all things fall yet, my tastebuds sure are. My taste buds are desperately craving all things of pumpkin spice flavor and this incredibly moist pumpkin bread with a layer of cream cheese swirled inside of the bread is the fall flavor I want all season long.
It takes two of my culinary love–the cheesecake and homemade pumpkin bread–and turns them into one easy pumpkin cream cheese bread that’s made with pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and a tangy cream cheese filling that’s pretty much the same recipe as my classic cheesecake recipe.
It’s full of fall spices and cozy dreams and it’s the one recipe I knew I needed to kick off the fall season with over here. This truly is the best cream cheese pumpkin bread recipe because it’s easy, moist, and so, so flavorful.
What Makes This Swirled Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread So Special:
- It’s such a moist pumpkin bread recipe (I know, I know–that word is like fingernails on a chalkboard to a lot of people, but it’s pertinent here).
- Both the cream cheese filling and the pumpkin bread are recipes my mom made when we were kids so they are truly tried and true recipes.
- This pumpkin cheesecake bread uses really simple ingredients you probably already have on hand!
- The cream cheese swirl is also really pretty and sometimes that goes a long, long way.
I am a huge pumpkin bread lover so after you try this cream cheese version, try this Pumpkin Crumb Cake Bread, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, and Pumpkin Banana Bread next!
Ingredients:
Pumpkin Bread ingredients are fairly straight forward and simple to begin with, and this pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling version is just as simple.
- All Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Allspice
- Cloves
- Ginger
- Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil
- Pumpkin Puree: Make sure you use pumpkin puree not “pumpkin pie filling,” which is often right next to the canned pumpkin puree at the grocery store.
- Water
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Cream Cheese: Personally, I think Philadelphia Cream Cheese is the only cream cheese in the world. I’ve never found another brand of cream cheese that has the same texture and tanginess, but you can use any brand you like best.
- Powdered Sugar
How To Make This Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread From Scratch:
This is a summary of how to make this delicious pumpkin bread with cream cheese inside, but you can jump to the recipe card below and find the printable version with all of the directions.
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and all spices. Add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar and whisk until combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients (a well is important because it helps distribute the wet ingredients without over-mixing the dry ingredients).
Step 2: Add the oil to the dry ingredients, and mix with a rubber spatula until combined. The pumpkin batter will be very, very dry–that’s okay!
Step 3: Add in the eggs, 2 at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Step 4: Lastly, add in the pumpkin puree, water, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Set pumpkin mixture aside.
Step 5: Make the sweet cream cheese filling by combining cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs together. Mix well with an electric mixer. Set cheesecake filling aside.
Step 6: Grease two 8×4 loaf pans (or you can use two 9×5 pans) well (with either baking spray or lining with parchment paper). In each pan, pour about 1/4 of the pumpkin batter and spread in an even layer. (So, if you’re using one 9×5 pan, you would put half of the pumpkin batter in the bottom of the pan, spoon all the cream cheese filling on top, and top with remaining pumpkin batter.)
Step 7: Divide the cream cheese filling evenly between the two pumpkin loaf cakes and spoon cream cheese mixture on top of the pumpkin bread batter (this will make really pretty ribbon of cream cheese filling when the bread is sliced). Pour or drop spoonfuls of the remaining pumpkin batter on top of the cream cheese filling in each pan, and spread until the cream cheese filling is covered.
Step 8: Put the pumpkin bread in the oven to bake.
Step 9: You might need to tent a piece of foil over the bread if the top is browning too quickly but the center is still uncooked.
Step 10: Once a cake tester comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs stuck to it, pull the bread out of the oven and allow it to cool 10-15 minutes in the pan. Then, remove from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Pumpkin Bread Storage Tips:
- Due to the cream cheese filling, any leftovers should be refrigerated in an airtight container.
- You can freeze pumpkin bread by letting the baked breads cool to room temperature. Then wrap each loaf tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in airtight containers or ziplock bags for up to 3 months.
Can I Add Chocolate Chips?
- Sure! The only thing that could make this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread better is chocolate chips, because let’s be honest, chocolate chips make everything better. You could add both regular sized chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips, and you could do semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips.
Can I Use Low Fat Cream Cheese?
- Definitely not! Low fat cream cheese has a much different flavor and it won’t yield that rich, creamy cheesecake filling we really want in this cream cheese pumpkin bread recipe.
Other Pumpkin Recipes and Pumpkin Treats To Make Next:
- Pumpkin Scones
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones
- Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake
- Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Final Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Baking Tips:
- Room Temperature Ingredients: The eggs and cream cheese should be at room temperature. The cheesecake pumpkin filling will be super chunky if the cream cheese is not room temperature.
- Parchment Paper: I’m a big believer in using parchment paper to line my loaf cake pans. It really makes it so much easier to get the bread out of the pan!
- Cool: Due to the cheesecake filling, I really like this cream cheese bread straight out of the fridge. It’s still very moist and it really enhances the cream cheese flavor.
- 3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
- 4 eggs, large
- 1 (15) oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2/3 cup water
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two 8x4 bread pans (I place parchment paper in the bottom and grease with baking spray). Alternatively, you can use one 9x5 loaf pan as well.
In a large bowl, whisk all purpose flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger together.
Next, add in granulated sugar and brown sugar and whisk until combined.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients (this helps the liquid disperse better into the dry ingredients) and add in the oil. Using a rubber spatular, mix just until the oil is combined (the mix will be dry).
- Add in the eggs, 2 at a time, mixing after each addition (again, the mixture will be dry).
- Add in the pumpkin puree, water and vanilla extract, mixing until well combined. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, beat cream cheese (with an electric mixer) until fluffy. Then, add in granulated sugar and beat until combined. Lastly, add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Divide half of the pumpkin batter between the two bread pans (about 1/4 of the batter in each pan). Then, divide the cream cheese filling evenly between the two pans. Spoon the filling on top of the pumpkin batter and gently spread in an even layer. Next, divide the remaining pumpkin batter evenly between the two pans and gently spread over the cheesecake filling.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. (Tent a piece of foil over the top of the bread if the top is getting done faster than the center.)
- Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing loaves from the pans, placing them on a wire rack to finish cooling.
- You can serve warm or at room temperature once it has cooled, but I prefer to serve this chilled due to the cream cheese filling. And, all leftovers must be stored in the fridge.
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