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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
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 Video
Recipe Notes
- You can skip the glaze but it’s so good!
- Bread can be frozen without frosting.
Recipe Nutrition
Favorite Biscuit Recipes
Last Updated on August 26, 2023
If the center is uncooked and the outside over cooked, it could be because you are using a loaf pan that is made of a different material.  Glass and metal pans conduct heat differently.  The thickness, color, and coating such as  non-stick coated are also factors that may require you to adjust the temperature and/or bake time. We would need to know the bakeware used.  Based on the photos it looks like non-stick metal. Typically, for glass decrease 25F plus adjust cook time up or down depending on the recipe: length of time in oven is another factor.  There are different adjustments based on metal type: dark, light, shiny, coated. This is why you find  specific adjustments for each recipe on boxes of commercial cake mix. Perhaps someone can experiment and offer the temperature and time variations for this recipe?
Would it be alright to use pumpkin pie mix instead of puree?
I know the recipe calls for puree, but I have alot of pumpkin pie mix..
Yes, but you can omit the spices…and possibly the sugar/egg? I’ve never worked with the pie mix. I’m assuming it’s already spicy and sweetened?
Ok so I just made this and here is what I did after following the recipe to a T- put in oven for 20 min., Then covered very loosely with tin foil for another 30 min., Then cooked another 10 minutes without the tinfoil. Seems to be cooked through but still gooey in the center as the recipe says but it came out to an hour cooking time total. Also, the gooeyness is pretty gooey, so if you don’t like soggy textured bread, this might not be for you. Taste is great, ends were amazing because they were cooked the most.Â
After reading the recipe and noting the complaints of burning. I have found that if the pan is dark such as most nonstick pans, the food has a tendency to burn quickly. My solution is to reduce the heat. Great sounding recipe and I will try it soon. I just wonder why the Flaky biscuits will not work?
I’ve just never tried the flaky. I think they are harder to cut in half without falling apart!
I think also, it depends on how much of the pumpkin puree mix you’re putting in between the biscuits. I have yet to make this- but from my understanding and experience in baking it seems like they would be doughy in the center still if you put too much of the puree! Not sure if this will help anyone but just putting it out there!
So true! I used the same amount each time (about a tablespoon).