This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Oregon Chai®. The opinions and text are all mine.
This Chai Spiced Pumpkin Bread is SUPER moist and packed with warm fall spices. It’s made with chai tea latte concentrate in the batter to make it extra yummy! It’s the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever made.
In fact, it’s so nice, I made it twice. Literally, it’s in the oven right now baking because I couldn’t bear to sit here and write this post knowing that the original loaf was all gone.
Here are the things I love about this recipe.
- It will make your house smell AMAZING whilst it bakes.
- It’s SUPER moist, thanks to a special trick that I’ll get to in a bit.
- Each loaf uses a half a can of pumpkin, meaning you can use the WHOLE CAN to make two loaves and not have any extra pumpkin lingering around in your fridge threatening to go bad.
- It has warm, rich flavors from both the chai tea latte concentrate and the addition of brown sugar.
- And speaking of brown sugar- adding brown sugar helps create the most crispy, sugary crust on the top.
First, let’s talk about the chai tea latte concentrate used in this pumpkin bread. Because I’m about to literally put it in ALL my fall baked goods.
Most pumpkin bread recipes require that you add water to the batter. Instead, I used Oregon Chai® Tea Latte Concentrate to help thin out the batter AND add a ton of concentrated spices and sweetness to the mix.
And now that I’ve BAKED with the stuff, I don’t think I’m going to stop! It would be awesome added to pumpkin pancake batter, banana bread, muffins, GINGERBREAD… oh boy.
Back to the pumpkin bread.
And back to the trick to keeping it extra moist.
Are you ready?
It’s super simple. Use oil, not butter. That’s it! It’s a tip I picked up from Cook’s Illustrated. They tested baking a cake with olive oil and with butter, and found that butter was dryer after one day, whereas the olive oil cake stayed moist.
The reason?
Butter solidifies at room temperature; olive oil does not. This will help make the cake, or in this case pumpkin bread, seem more moist even after days out at room temperature. Voila!
I used canola oil for this because of its neutral taste, but olive oil would also work.
But while we’re on the topic of butter, I do recommend serving this pumpkin bread warm, spread with a generous amount of salted butter. Yum yum yum.
Or if you want to get real fancy, you could serve it with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon!
I think this would be delicious with some grated orange zest mixed into the batter. Or maybe a compound butter made with orange zest!
And it’s great for an indulgent breakfast (maybe with a chai latte!) or for dessert.
Finally, I recommend using a glass loaf pan. A dark colored loaf pan will retain heat more and may cause the bread to overcook on the outside. Just make sure you grease it really well and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing it, otherwise you run the risk of it sticking or falling apart.
You can keep this pumpkin bread at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
For an extra boost of flavor, try making your own pumpkin pie spice mix.
And be sure to check out this recipe for Ultra-Moist Healthy Banana Bread!
Other Pumpkin Recipes
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili
- Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
- Pumpkin Fettuccini Alfredo
- Pumpkin Oatmeal
- Pumpkin Oat and Nut Muffins
- Dark Chocolate and Cranberry Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
Here’s the printable recipe for Chai Spiced Pumpkin Bread! Happy baking!
Chai Spiced Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
- 9" x 5" Loaf Pan
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup canola oil plus more for greasing pan
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (about half a can)
- 1/2 cup Chai Tea Latte Concentrate (such as Oregon Chai)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan. I like to use a basting brush to make sure the oil coats all the parts of the pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar (3/4 cup), white sugar (3/4 cup) and the canola oil (1/2 cup) using an electric mixer on high speed for about 30 seconds (until sugars are fully coated in the oil).
- Add the 2 eggs. Mix together for about one minute on high speed until it starts to get fluffy.
- Add the 1 cup canned pumpkin and Chai Tea Latte Concentrate (1/2 cup). Mix until well combined on high speed (about 30 seconds).
- Add the baking soda (1 teaspoon), baking powder (1/2 teaspoon), cinnamon (1 teaspoon), pumpkin pie spice (1 teaspoon), and kosher salt (1 teaspoon). Mix again until fully combined (30 seconds to a minute).
- Add the flour (1 2/3 cups). Using a wooden spoon, mix until only just combined, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
- Add the batter to the prepared loaf pan, using a rubber spatula to get all of the batter out and to smooth out the top.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 65-70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes in pan, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling almost completely before slicing into 8 pieces.
Notes
- Double it: This recipe can easily be doubled to make two loaves. If you do this, use one full can of pumpkin- even if it's not quite two cups, it will still be fine.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Lola
I really want to make this bread!! But I don’t have access to the chai tea latte mix. Could I sub in brewed chai tea or possibly some actual loose tea for it? Thanks for the recipe!! (I’m in Ontario, Canada)
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hi! You can make your own chai concentrate – basically, you brew chai, let it reduce, and add sugar until it’s dissolved. Chai concentrate is different than regular brewed chai or loose tea. It’s chai, reduced a bit so it is more potent in flavor, so when you add milk to it for a latte, the flavor isn’t watered down. The bread uses chai concentrate for this flavor – it adds that concentrated chai flavor, and also sweetness. Definitely do NOT add loose tea in here – that won’t work!
Here’s a recipe for homemade chai concentrate from scratch – https://masalaandchai.com/chai-concentrate/
But if you want an easier version, here’s what I would do: Brew chai as usual, leave the teabags in, and leave it to simmer uncovered on the stovetop until the liquid has reduced – about 15-20 minutes or so. Then, stir in some sugar until it’s dissolved.
Hope that helps! Good luck!
Lola
Thanks so much for the info! Super helpful!!
Linda
Absolutely fantastic! Moist and full of flavor none of which over power the other. This is my family’s most requested sweet bread.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Yehudis
Elizabeth, thank you for posting a picture of cake with a cracked top! Makes me feel less pressured to bake photogenic food instead of just delicious and healthy :)
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hah! I can NEVER get a pumpkin bread, or a banana bread, to not crack. I like it – it gives it character :-)
Sharon Butler
WOW!! My family loved this recipe so much that I’ve thrown away other pumpkin bread recipes in my file!! I doubled the recipe using the entire can of pumpkin. The only things I added was 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/2 C chopped walnuts, and 1/2 the flour was whole wheat flour. This bread is soooo moist and spicy that I’ll be making it over and over again! Simple to make and I did bake the loaves in glass to prevent overbaked edges! Thanks for the recipe AND all your tips!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy you liked it!!
Jamie
Soooooo good! I was a little worried because the batter seemed very wet, but it baked up very nicely and the flavor is outstanding. I doubled the recipe and baked in mini-loaf tins for 35 mins. I will definitely make this again (and maybe add in some pecans or walnuts for a little crunch).
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks! So glad you liked it :-)
Janice G
Great recipe and definitely a keeper. The only thing I did different was to use a stoneware loaf pan. It did take a bit longer to bake but it turned out beautiful. Nice balance of spice and not overly sweet. This will be my go to recipe for pumpkin bread from now on. And my daughter has also happily discovered hot chai lattes.
Elizabeth
So happy you liked it, and that your daughter has discovered the joy of hot chai tea lattes! They are my favorite this time of year. Thanks so much for the comment!
Susan Schechter
A recipe that requires me to go to the store for a specific product that is a mixture of things I already have at home is a non-starter.
Elizabeth
Thanks for the feedback! I always love hearing about why people like or don’t like a recipe. It’s funny, I actually almost always have a box of this chai concentrate hanging around, so for me, it wouldn’t be an extra trip to the store! If you don’t want to go to the store to get it, you can definitely just use water as a sub (maybe throw in a little bit of extra sugar and spices, to make up for the lost flavor). In the blog post, I explained how I actually used the latte concentrate as a sub for water, which most pumpkin bread recipes call for. Anyway, if you try it (with or without the chai concentrate), I hope you like it! Have a great day :-)
Emilie
Hi Elizabeth ! I’m from Montreal (Canada). I just baked your AMAZING pumpkin bread. I made it with the Starbucks Chaï latte concentrate and I added some dried cranberries.
I doubled the recipe to obtain two breads. It’s a little bit messy with the mixer at high-speed when you double it. That’s a lot of liquid. Lol. My kitchen is a real mess ahahaha !!!
But your recipe is a keeper !!!
What an amazing bread with these spicy hints. My whole kitchen was smelling the autumn.
It’s very very very good !!!!! (Did I say it was good ?!)
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! LOVE the addition of dried cranberries!
Keith Ground
How much fresh pumpkin would be required
Elizabeth Lindemann
You’ll still need 1 cup of fresh pumpkin puree- here’s how to make your own! https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11184/make-your-own-pumpkin-puree/
Vivian Schneider
This recipe “reads” delicious! What is your opinion to use melted coconut oil? Or is it kinda like butter and solidify at room temperature in baked goods?
Elizabeth
That’s such a great question! My guess is that it would be similar to butter, since it solidifies at room temp. That said, it would totally work in the recipe- it might just seem a bit dryer after a few days than it would with canola oil. I recommend melting it in the microwave before mixing up the batter. If you want an unrefined oil, I think extra-virgin olive oil would be great, too!
Sandy
Can Oregon Chai Tea concentrate unsweetened substitute for the original? I, too, always have boxes of this tea in my house. Would like to try because this recipe sounds wonderful. Thank you so much for the tip about butter and oil.Sandy
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yes, that should work! The bread will be a little less sweet but it should work just fine.