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Pumpkin pull-apart loaf is a flaky breakfast danish that you bake up easily, using refrigerated biscuit dough and pumpkin puree. It’s an easy brunch recipe, but it also makes the perfect snack or easy pumpkin dessert recipe!
Easy Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread
Every year this happens: August 1 hits and I start thinking about back-to-school which leads me to thinking about things happening in the fall…which leads me to thinking about pumpkin recipes. You see, pumpkin recipes for a food blogger are like the kids going back to school: the promise of something new and exciting. Pumpkin recipes are the beginning of something wonderful; the start of the fourth quarter, also known as the holiday season.
So, in the hopes that if you build it, he will come I’m posting a pumpkin recipe in August to bring on fall. And because I made this weeks ago and I just want to share it NOW! If you revolt, well then, oh well. Pin it for later and come back when you’re wearing a scarf and boots.
Pumpkin Pie for breakfast
A few years ago I made Pumpkin Danish (also posted in August, BTW) and everyone went nuts for it. I can see why, it’s a great recipe. When I was looking back at some old pumpkin posts, I remembered that one and decided to do another breakfast recipe using that pumpkin pie filling. Enter: Pumpkin Pull-Apart Loaf.
This is a simple recipe using biscuit dough and pumpkin puree – it’s like pumpkin bread meets pie!
Ingredients Needed
- Pumpkin Puree – not pumpkin pie mix
- Grands! Biscuits or similar product – not the flakey kind, they’ll fall apart
- Pumpkin Spice – to give that pumpkin spice flavor we all love so much.
This is an easy recipe, great for breakfast or dessert (or snack or lunch or ….). You start with a can of biscuits (I used Grands). The “pull-apart” is created when you slice each biscuit in half and stack them (with filling in the middle), then bake them in a loaf pan. You can pull apart the layers, hence the name.
I’ve also made pull-apart loaves with bacon, with cinnamon rolls, and from scratch. I love them – they’re so much fun (and, in the case of this one, so easy!)
Half the work is done for you when you make this pumpkin pull-apart loaf, since you’re starting with biscuits.
How to make Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread
- The pumpkin mixture is just some canned pumpkin puree mixed with an egg for binding, sugar for sweetness, and spices. I used pumpkin pie spice because it’s just easier than pulling out all the other spices (I’m so lazy).
- Slice the biscuits in half horizontally. I also dipped each slice of biscuit in cinnamon sugar.
- Sandwich the biscuit halves with the pumpkin mixture.
- Place stacked biscuit and pumpkin halves into a loaf pan and bake until golden and baked through.
- Make a simple cinnamon glaze for the top of the pull apart.
Easy Pumpkin Pull-Apart Loaf
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (183g) pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie mix
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 large egg
- 1 can 8 count Pillsbury Grands Biscuits (homestyle or buttermilk, not flaky)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Glaze:
- ½ cup (57g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) heavy whipping cream or milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8×4 or 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray (use the kind with flour for best results).
- Stir together the pumpkin puree, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and egg. Set aside.
- Open the can of biscuits and slice each in half horizontally. Stir together remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Coat each slice of raw biscuit dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Lay one slice of dough flat. Spread some pumpkin mixture on top, then place another biscuit piece on top. Add more pumpkin mixture and continue stacking, spreading, and layering until you’re out of biscuits and pumpkin. Place carefully into the pan.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden and the center is cooked through. Cool before glazing. Note: the center shouldn't be raw, but will be moist and gooey. If the top starts to brown too fast, cover with foil and reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
- To make the glaze: whisk the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and heavy whipping cream until a smooth sauce forms. Drizzle over loaf, pull apart, and serve.
- Store loosely covered for up to 2 days.
Recipe Notes
- You can skip the glaze but it’s so good!
- Bread can be frozen without frosting.
Recipe Nutrition
Favorite Biscuit Recipes
Could the problem be with using dark loaf pans over non dark loaf pans? Many recieps have a different baking time with the different pans.
I made this and noticed it wasn’t quite done so I put it in about 5 minutes longer until the end looked like they might be close to burning. I brought it to a BBQ and the middle was completely raw! I had to toss the whole thing. I followed the directions, and I know all ovens are different, but I’m not sure what happened here.
Hi Stephanie, I just added a note to the recipe about this. I’m not sure why it’s happening because I’ve made it twice with success. Ovens cook differently, and I think the expectation of the center needs to be appropriate too. It’s going to be gooey but not completely raw. If you try it again (which I hope you do!) you can reduce the oven temperature and try covering the top with foil if it starts to brown too much. Those are the only things I can think of that will help it to not over cook on the top and be underdone in the center. The center will be soft and gooey but shouldn’t be like a raw biscuit.
Thanks for your reply, Dorothy! I had a chance to watch your video after I had made the recipe, and it looks like I did everything the way you did. I used Libby’s pumpkin, and I know my stove works great because it’s new and I’ve had the best luck baking with it. The centers were very doughy, so after I wrote the comment, I tried putting it back in the oven (never a good idea, but what the heck?). The centers cooked a bit more, but were still doughy. Then, I let the bread sit for hours. I kept looking at it, and finally decided to give it another try–the centers weren’t doughy anymore, and everything seemed to be fine, except the glaze was still too liquidy (maybe because I used 2% milk to make it?). At any rate, it’s now fine and we’re enjoying it! I guess I just need to let it bake longer and sit longer.
Hey making these right now been in the oven for well over 25 minutes and still look doughy. Don’t normally have problems with the temp of oven. Anybody else have this problem?
I’ve just added a note to the recipe to talk about this, because I’m getting this complaint. I have made the bread twice and not had this problem. Two things you can do to help the browning are reduce oven temp to 325°F and loosely cover the pan with foil. That will help it not get overdone on top if you’re having problems with the center. That said, it is going to be gooey and soft in the center. It shouldn’t be raw dough, but it’s going to be gooier and softer than a regular bread because of the way it’s put together and the pumpkin.
I made this recipe this morning and it didn’t come out as anticipated (I followed the recipe exactly, with the only “change” being that I used milk, as suggested, instead of cream). The biscuits didn’t get even close to being done in the middle, the pumpkin didn’t set up at all, and the glaze made a thin mess all over everything! I tasted some of the end pieces, which came the closest to being done, and the taste is great. But there’s no way I could serve this to my family. :o(
That is so strange! Both times I made this mine cooked through (the very center was a little doughy but not raw). Did it need more time in the oven? The first time I made it it was done in 18 minutes, the second time it took about 23 (why the difference, I have no idea). All ovens are different, however. What brand of canned pumpkin did you use? I use Libby’s (I’m not sure if that could cause a difference?) Mine didn’t run all over or anything. I just know I’ve done it twice with success, so I’d love to troubleshoot with you.