Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread is a tender and moist pumpkin loaf cake with swirls of cheesecake filling baked inside. This irresistibly delicious cream cheese filled pumpkin bread is sure to be a fall dessert staple. With it’s perfectly spiced pumpkin bread and tangy cream cheese layers, it’s nearly perfect.

The Best Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread

Today I’m sharing with you a fall pumpkin bread recipe that just might change your life. My mom’s legendary pumpkin bread recipe (with a streusel topping 😍) has been my favorite moist pumpkin bread for years. YEARS.

But you know what? I might’ve just knocked it out of first place with this pumpkin cream cheese bread, which basically tastes like the best pumpkin bread you’ve ever had with a layer of cheesecake swirled throughout.

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:

Fluffy and Moist: 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).
Classic: 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. Mom always knows best!
Pantry Staples: This pumpkin cheesecake bread uses really simple ingredients you probably already have on hand!
Stunning: The cream cheese swirl is also really, really pretty and sometimes that goes a long way.

Other pumpkin desserts I make again and again: Pumpkin Banana Bread, Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake, and Vanilla Pumpkin Bundt Cake.

Ingredients:

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:

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. 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). 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 wet.
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.

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.

Low-Fat Cream Cheese:

Nope! 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:

Final 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.