Trying out Libby’s Pumpkin Bread box mix

After our disaster a few weeks ago with Jello’s “pumpkin flavored” pie, I was overly excited to find Libby’s Pumpkin Bread box mix in the stores that includes a can of pumpkin puree. When I first found this box mix, I was at a Safeway out of state with no room in my luggage to take it home. I knew I had to get it as soon as I was home but when I got there, I went to my local Safeway and could not find this mix anywhere. I searched multiple stores for weeks until I finally found it on an end display in Walmart and the excitement had grown so much that I almost bought two but at $6.46 it wasn’t the cheapest box mix.

I grew up on Libby’s pumpkin puree, their can provides the best pumpkin pie recipe so I never buy any other brand of pumpkin puree. I love pumpkin bread and knowing that this will be made with actual pumpkin puree has my expectations sky high. Pumpkin puree in a recipe always makes for an amazingly moist pumpkin desserts.

This box mix has standard requirement; oil, eggs, water, and milk. Inside the box you get a full size can of pumpkin puree, bread mix, and icing mix. The first step is to combine the eggs, oil, water, and pumpkin puree. Once smooth, mix in the bread mix package. This was so fragrant and smelled like magic and fall in a bowl. It was the perfect combination of all the spices that pair beautifully with pumpkin mixed into a bread mix. The batter had a sweet, spicy, and pumpkin filled flavor.

The box provides you with many different baking size options. From bread loaf to cupcakes to a 9×13 sheet pan. I chose to use 9inch bread loaf pans, once I learned it made two loaves I was glad I hadn’t bought two boxes. I poured the batter into the greased pan and put them in the oven. It claimed it should take 60 to 65 minutes. Naturally, I started checking on the bread at 45 minutes but it actually took the full 60 minutes to be baked. When the middle was finally cooked, the edges seemed a little dark and were tougher than the middle. The accurate bake time is always impressive so I want to give a big thank you to Libby for not letting me down when it comes to bake time. I also want to mention they provided a designated bake time for every size pan you could use, given this one was accurate I expect them all to be. That had to take a lot of testing on their part but it is greatly appreciated by the consumers.

While the two loaves cooled, I prepared the icing mix by mixing the powder and milk together. It gives you the choice between water or milk but I recommend always choosing milk if you have it on hand. The icing had a pretty thin consistency and no exciting flavored, it essentially tasted like powdered sugar and milk. I poured the icing into a ziploc bag to use as a make shift piping bag and once the loaves had cooled, I drizzled the icing over the top. I started with a small amount of drizzle and made it pretty like the picture on the box but I had so much icing left that I kept drizzling until I ran out and at that point both loaves were fully covered. Lets face it, the icing is the best part so I prefer it this way. The icing set up pretty quickly and didn’t flood off the loaves of bread.

I cut into the first loaf and the edges were harder and put up resistance to cut through so I chose to taste test a middle piece. The bread was so soft and warm and the firm icing consistency was amazing. The icing didn’t have a flavor but did it’s job and made the bread sweeter and enhanced the pumpkin flavor. These would be amazing muffins and if you wanted to elevate it you could add a brown sugar streusel topping. This dessert would pair so well with a cup of coffee.

Libby’s pumpkin bread was soft and moist and had the perfect pumpkin flavor. I feel that the inclusion of pumpkin puree elevated this box mix so much that I wouldn’t even consider picking a different brand of pumpkin bread mix. This is the first Libby box mix I have seen in stores and I certainly hope it isn’t the last. I highly recommend picking this mix up when you see it in stores.

This recipe as prepared totals 5,656. Each loaf is 2,828 calories and if divided into 20 slices as suggested it makes each slice 141 calories.

Here are the links to products used today:
Rubber Spatulas – https://amzn.to/3JWDtAA
Oven Mitts – https://amzn.to/3JYq5Mg
Plastic Measuring Cup – https://amzn.to/4bDJIoV
Glass Measuring Cup – https://amzn.to/44IuX1B
Whisks – https://amzn.to/3AN05lX
*These are affiliate links meaning if you click on the link and buy the product, I will earn a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more.