With over 300 5-star reviews, this persimmon bread recipe has become a long-time reader favorite. The texture is super moist and fluffy, it's the perfect combination of spices, and not too sweet.
Here's what people are saying about the best persimmon bread they've ever had:
Want the complete scoop on baking with this fruit? Read my thorough persimmon guide.
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🌟Why You’ll Love This Persimmon Bread Recipe
🧾Ingredients for Persimmon Bread
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🧡 Pro Tip 🧡
Use very ripe and mushy persimmons for your puree. The riper they are, the sweeter they taste. Also, the mushiness of the ripe persimmon makes it so the persimmon can be evenly distributed throughout the batter. Discard as much of the persimmon skins as possible when baking for the smoothest texture.
👩🍳How to Make Persimmon Bread
Before starting, you will need to have three bowls ready: 1 large, 1 medium, and 1 small. You will also need your pureed Hachiya persimmon pulp.
🧡 Pro Tip 🧡
To make sure your bread retains its moist texture, let the bread cool completely in a sealed environment. Use a plastic bag or large resealable container. Then, leave the bread overnight and enjoy it in the morning.
📋Persimmon FAQs
Fuyu persimmons come into season around September and can linger into December. Hachiya persimmons tend to arrive later, usually from October through late December.
Persimmons are wonderful for baking. When they ripen to become mushy and sweet, they're so easy to incorporate into different batters from persimmon cookies to persimmon pancakes.
Fuyu persimmons are small, squat, and can be enjoyed like apples – skin and all. When ripe, they're sweet, slightly tangy, and perfect for snacking on.
Hachiya persimmons are longer and heart-shaped with a bright orange color. They're incredibly astringent when not fully ripe. You must wait until they're soft and ripe to eat them, or else they'll taste sharp.
Absolutely! Persimmons can be enjoyed raw, and are extra delicious when ripe. Simply peel the skin (if it's an astringent Fuyu) and slice it into wedges. You can also use them in salads, baked desserts, or even as a topping for yogurt.
They are not that similar. Apples are sweet and often have a tart edge, whereas persimmons are sweet with more of a honeyed flavor with warm spice, Unripe Hachiya persimmons are super astringent and sour, so wait until they ripen for a sweet taste.
Persimmon Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature, plus more for greasing your loaf pan
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 cup persimmon puree Hachiya preferred
Instructions
- Preheat to 350F. Lightly grease your 9x5x3 loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl sift the dry ingredients. Flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla extract.
- With a hand mixer or standing mixer slowly pour the egg mixture into the creamed butter and sugar. Mix well.
- Add the persimmon. Remove from mixer.
- With a spoon or rubber spatula, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients ⅓ at a time. Mix with a rubber spatula until just incorporated.
- Pour into loaf pan*. Optional to top with thinly sliced persimmons.**
- Cook 48-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely. I let it cool overnight and have it for breakfast!
Video
Notes
- Use very ripe and mushy persimmons. The riper, the sweeter. Also, the mushiness of the ripe persimmon makes it so the persimmon can be evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Note that the batter is very wet, so don't be concerned with this texture.
- For zero sticking when baking, I use a non-stick loaf pan.
- Fuyu or Hichaya? Although I prefer to eat slightly under-ripe Fuyu persimmons for snacks on the go, the over-ripe hachiya works best in the batter of this recipe. I use sliced Fuyu persimmons for the top of the bread.
- Discard as much of the persimmon skins as possible when baking for the smoothest texture.
Glenda
I was given some persimmon pulp and didn’t know what do with it. So glad I found this recipe! Really easy to make (especially for a beginner baker) and the flavor is so yummy! The only thing I noticed is that the color isn’t as dark as the video image when the bread is cut (mine was more of a pumpkin/lighter brown), and the texture isn’t really closed/thick or “gooey” like banana bread. Mine came out more like a cupcake texture. Any suggestions on how to improve? Would love to try making it again! 🙂
Candice
Hi Glenda, I'm so glad you like it! If you're getting a cupcake texture, it is possible you didn't fluff the flour before scooping it (this would yield too much flour in your batch). Flour can pack together, and fluffing it before scooping it is necessary to measure it properly. I'm glad you asked... this should be an easy fix for you!
Carolyn Chenoweth
Hi! I haven't tried the recipe yet but from all the comments, I am sure to extremely enjoy this recipe! Additions, substitutions are right up my alley! I have learned that coconut flour substitute in recipes, I believe, absorbs more of the moist ingredients, so will keep that in mind when substituting flour, I think cassava flour also absorbs more wet. I wanted to learn how to pronounce "hichaya" persimmon and learned that the correct spelling is "hachiya." Will give this recipe 5-stars in advance! Thank you, Candice! Don't know what I would do without rated recipes on-line!
Nikki
Came up short on persimmons so added one banana and it was awesome! I only had a 8x4 pan and pulled it at 40 mins
Kay
This looks yummy! Our tree is finally producing again, so I’m going to try this in a few days. I’ve got about a gallon of the fruit in the fridge, just waiting to be “squished out”.
Kenny Martin
Can I use "American" persimmon pulp for this recipe? Thank you!
Candice
Yes, as long as you wait until it is completely mushy and looks like it's rotten.
LisaJ
Only took half an hour to cook to completely dry with a skewer. Good thing I was putting some cheese toast in the oven or it would have been very overdone
Candice
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for letting us know! It is possible that your persimmons were not ripe enough, since that is where most of the moisture for this bread comes from. The recipe will cook faster without that extra moisture you get from really mushy persimmons. It isn't currently persimmon season in the US... may I ask where you got your persimmons from, if you used dried, if you used puree, and what kind of persimmons you used?
I am just surprised since there are over 200 reviews on this recipe and I've made it at least 3 dozen times myself.
I'd love to help you figure out what happened, so more information will be helpful.
Thank you,
Candice
David rezits
I’m not Lisa but I was educated with your response and will definitely consider all those factors when I make your recipe in the near future
Autumn
Really delicious recipe. I don’t like persimmons but I love this loaf cake. I like the recipe exactly as is (minus the fruit slices on top) but I’ve also made it with oil when I was out of butter and it turned out amazing. I’ve also made it without cloves when I ran out and it was still delicious. This one is going in my personal recipe book, I highly recommend it!
Candice
I'm so glad you love it and have made it so many times, Autumn. Thank you for sharing your success making it with oil instead of butter... enjoy!
Amber
Great recipe! I used coconut oil in place of butter and brown sugar rather than regular because that’s what I had on hand. The balance of spices and persimmon flavor is delish. It was gobbled up immediately!
Candice
Glad to hear it was enjoyed, Amber... thank you for sharing!
Michele
Delicious and very moist. I added walnuts and raisins. Delicious!
Candice
Thank you for sharing, Michele... I'm glad you liked it!
Bethann
Lovely recipe—amazing aroma and flavor. I added 2/3 cup chopped walnuts (tossed in 1Tbsp flour so they wouldn’t sink to the bottom of the loaves). Because I wanted to give some of the bread as gifts I divided the batter into 3 mini loaf pans (baked 35-37 minutes). Next time I’ll add dried cranberries, too. Thank you for sharing the recipe. 💜
Candice
So glad you liked it, Bethann... thank you for sharing the cook time for 3 mini loaf pans!
Cindy
Hi Bethann - may I ask what are the dimensions of the mini loaf pans?