Elevate The Flavor Of Pumpkin Bread With Some Nutty Additions

What food encapsulates the fall season better than a freshly baked loaf of pumpkin bread? While there may be several mistakes to avoid with canned pumpkin, it's pretty easy to make a delightful snack bread with a small assortment of ingredients like flour, eggs, pumpkin, and warming spices. The best part is that the bread's mellow flavor can accommodate a variety of mix-ins. For instance, nuts provide this seasonal staple with crunchy texture and a range of earthy, sharp, and buttery flavors.

Peanuts are the nut with the most protein per serving, easy to find, and affordable, but feel free to get creative with more than one variety. For added depth, stir some chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds into your batter. Hazelnuts, pine nuts, and pumpkin seeds (though not technically a nut) are also worthwhile options. You can also use nuts to make a wide range of delicious toppings. Combine your favorite variety with oats, butter, brown sugar, and a bit of flour to create a tasty streusel. 

For a more simplified topping, just sprinkle your prepared batter with chopped nuts before baking. In the oven, the nuts take on a richer, more roasted flavor that pairs well with the spiced bread. You can also top your loaf with candied nuts (like these bacon candied apple spiced nuts) after baking and cooling. Once you decide to use these crunchy snacks, you may be inspired to add even more ingredients.

Pumpkin bread with nuts is even better with fruit, chocolate, or even cream cheese. For starters, you can make a hybrid dessert – the fall ingredient that your banana bread deserves is pumpkin puree, so try making banana-nut pumpkin bread. You could also stick with the autumn theme and swap out bananas for fruity applesauce.

You can also upgrade pumpkin bread with dried fruit. Not only does the fruit give this spiced snack an extra sweet taste, but once baked in the batter, it rehydrates and becomes perfectly chewy. Combine varieties like cranberries, figs, and chopped dates and fold the fruit directly into your recipe, or sprinkle on top along with the nuts for a colorful twist. You can also include chocolate chips or chopped chocolate for added sweet appeal.

Alternatively, give your pumpkin bread an extra-rich consistency by incorporating cream cheese. To keep things simple, just slather each freshly-baked slice with sweetened cream cheese and top with toasted nuts. You can also make a tasty filling by whisking together softened cream cheese with one egg and a bit of flour and sugar. Once you pour your batter into your pan, add the prepared cream cheese mixture on top and swirl with a butter knife before baking. A freshly-baked pumpkin loaf made with a tangy, velvety swirl and toasted nuts is sure to satisfy your taste buds.