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It’s that time of year again when the weather is getting colder, and pumpkin-flavored everything is everywhere! I always start fall off by making this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, which is filled with warm spices, lots of pumpkin flavor, and pockets of melted sweet chocolate chips.
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I have to say, this is the best pumpkin chocolate chip bread I’ve tasted. It’s very easy to make and has that pumpkin flavor everyone’s looking for this time of year! How easy? Well, this quick bread involves just mixing together dry ingredients, wet ingredients, and then whisking the two together. That’s it!
After making this bread, if you find yourself with leftover pumpkin you can definitely use it to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes, or even Pumpkin Pasta!
Recipe At a Glance
Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: Oven
Dietary Info: Vegetarian
Key Flavor: Pumpkin and chocolate
Skill Level: Easy
Why This Is So Good
- Moist, tender, and perfectly spiced. Pumpkin spice not only adds that warming flavor that’s synonymous with fall but also beautifully highlights the pumpkin’s natural sweetness. The pumpkin keeps the bread moist!
- Choc-full of chocolate. I didn’t hold back on the chocolate chip portion of this chocolate chip pumpkin bread, guaranteeing chocolate in every slice.
- Versatile. This bread is not just for breakfast; it can be a snack, a dessert, or even a treat with afternoon tea.
Ingredients to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
- All-purpose flour: The base for our bread, it gives the structure and body. Using all-purpose flour ensures that your bread will have a fine, tender crumb.
- Pumpkin spice: If I have 5 minutes, I’ll make my own pumpkin spice to have on hand for the whole season!
- Baking soda: This ingredient ensures that your bread rises perfectly!
- Salt: A half teaspoon is all you need to balance the sweetness of the other ingredients.
- Large eggs: Using room temperature eggs for easier mixing!
- Sugar: You’ll use granulated and brown sugar! They both add sweetness and moisture, but brown sugar also lends a caramel-y, molasses-y flavor.
- Canned pumpkin: This brings moisture and a deep, rich pumpkin flavor to the bread. Look for 100% canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Avocado oil: This neutral-tasting oil makes the bread tender. Feel free to substitute canola, grapeseed, or vegetable oil!
- Semisweet chocolate chips: You could use dark chocolate, white chocolate, or even chocolate chunks instead.
Popular Substitutions & Additions
- Add some crunch. Toss your favorite nuts—like walnuts, almonds, or pumpkin seeds—into the batter before baking. You could also just sprinkle them on top!
- Make your own pumpkin puree. If you have fresh pumpkins at hand, making your own pumpkin puree is a great way to elevate this bread.
- Alternative flour options. Feel free to substitute all-purpose flour with whole wheat or a gluten-free 1:1 baking blend.
- Brighten with citrus zest. Orange or lemon zest would pair well with the chocolate and pumpkin flavors!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Whisk it, mix it, bake it, and cool it: That’s all there is to making this easy pumpkin chocolate chip bread!
Tips for Making the Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
- Use room-temperature eggs. They mix more evenly into the batter, giving the bread a uniform texture.
- Prevent the bread from overbrowning. Cover the bread loosely with aluminum foil halfway through the baking time to avoid having a too-brown crust. This ensures the bread cooks evenly without the surface getting overly browned.
- Don’t overmix the batter. When combining the wet and dry ingredients, do not overmix the batter. Overmixing can lead to a more dense loaf of bread. Stir until there are no visible streaks of flour but not past that!
- Check that the bread is done before removing it from the oven. Insert a toothpick in the center of the bread to check if it’s done. The toothpick should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it but not wet batter.
- Cool the bread before slicing. Let the bread cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. This allows it to firm up and makes slicing much easier.
Frequently Asked Questions
After allowing your pumpkin chocolate chip bread to cool down completely, it’s best to store it in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. This will ensure that it remains fresh and prevents it from drying out. The bread will last for up to 5 days at room temperature and a week in the fridge. If you find yourself wanting to enjoy a warm slice of bread, there are a couple of options you can choose from. Preheat your oven to 350°F, wrap a slice in aluminum foil, and warm it for about 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, you can microwave a slice for about 15-20 seconds.
Absolutely! After it’s cooled down, slice it into individual servings, wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap, and then place them in a large freezer bag or an airtight container. It will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy a slice, thaw it in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours. You can then warm it up in the oven or microwave using the reheating instructions above.
To prevent the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom of the bread, toss them in a small amount of flour before folding them into the batter. This helps to suspend them throughout the bread.
Yes, you can make muffins using this batter! Divide the batter evenly into a greased or lined muffin tin, and bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
I’m all in for pumpkin season as long as it involves this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. It’s such an easy recipe that you can whip up in 10 minutes and offer to your friends and family for a cozy, comforting fall treat! I even like to double the recipe and freeze it, so I always have it on hand.
More Quick Bread Recipes:
- Lemon Blueberry Bread
- Peanut Butter Banana Bread
- Chocolate Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Strawberry Banana Bread
- Date Bread
- Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
If you try this feel good Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
This pumpkin chocolate chip bread was originally published on October 5, 2019 and has recently been updated with a more traditional quick bread recipe. If you loved the original version, you can still find it in the notes section of the recipe card! I’ve also updated the images and included step-by-step instructions to help make the recipe.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups canned pumpkin
- ½ cup avocado oil
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously coat a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugars until well combined. Add the pumpkin pumpkin and oil and continue whisking until well blended. Fold the dry ingredients in with a rubber spatula. When only a few streaks of flour remain, add the chocolate chips and fold until combined.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before removing from loaf pan.
Notes
- You can substitute whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour, but the texture will not be as moist.
- To make this gluten-free, use an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix, but again the texture will not be as moist. Do not substitute only almond flour or only coconut flour though.
- You can substitute the sugar for coconut sugar
- You can substitute homemade pumpkin puree but I think the taste is better with canned pumpkin.
Instructions Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan or coat with nonstick spray. Set aside. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin, oil and applesauce in another large bowl. Pour the dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil after 30 minutes to prevent the top and sides from getting too brown. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
How would you suggest I use frozen squash? Defrost first and roast, roast from frozen or steam? Thanks for the help!
I would roast the frozen squash without thawing it first then put it in a food processor to make a puree. I have a guide to making homemade pumpkin puree you might find helpful: How to Make Pumpkin Puree I hope it turns out amazing!
Thanks for answering Yumna! I did read your guide but it only contained info about fresh pumpkin if I remember correctly. I will give it a shot next week 😀
I made this for our neighbors and they said it was the best pumpkin bread they ever had! I plan to make it for more gifts this Fall and also try it with gluten free flour. Thank you for adding another delicious recipe to my rotation!
Aww thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear your neighbors loved it!!
So delicious!
Thanks, Gayle!
YUM, this was just perfect. I usually like the Starbucks pumpkin bread (I saw you have that recipe too, so I will try that next!) but this is different with the chocolate, and so smooth. The kids love it too, so it’s a win because it has pumpkin in it!
Yay, thank you!! The chocolate chips make it more kid-friendly for sure, so happy you all enjoyed it!
Wow so moist and so good! This was nice and easy, which definitely helps!! I subbed avocado oil for grapeseed oil
Yay, so happy you liked it and found it easy to make!!
Hands down, the best version of this type I have ever had! My family loved it and today, I’m making more!
That’s amazing to hear! Yay!!
Hi! I made the pumpkin bread today. It was delicious! My family loved it. I wanted to send you a thank you. The time you take to share so much content with us is greatly appreciated. Have a wonderful thanksgiving with your family!
Aww thank you so much!! I really appreciate that!
Girl it was SO gooooood!
I used coconut oil instead (not having grapeseed oil). I have to make another my husband liked it better than my banana bread. SOOOOOO delicious!!!! Thank you!!
That’s so awesome!!! Banana bread’s got some competition in the house!
It was totally delicious. I make my own squash pure, I used left over squash baked at home and it turned amazing. Super moist!!! As soon as I bake more squash, I will leave some to make it again.
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Indeed, best pumpkin bread.
I love everything pumpkin and all the fall treats that you are making. Going to have another slice of the delicious pumpkin bread.
What kind of oil can I use instead of grape seed? What can I use instead of applesauce? Can I use vegan choc chips? If I read your substitution post correctly I can use vegetable oil and more pumpkin? Same measurements? Any difference in cooking temp or time?
Hi there, yes, you can use any type of neutral oil or coconut oil instead of grape seed oil. Also, instead of applesauce you can use the same amount of oil or you can use the same amount of pumpkin. There’s no difference in the cooking temperature or time. Hope it works out!
Looks so good but it has so many ingredients that are so high for my diet do you have any lower and healthy version?
Hi Kat, yes, it’s more of an indulgent bread. I have a few other types of breads on my blog, but not pumpkin ones, that are lower in calories if you’d like to check them out.
And I use almond flour instead?
Pumpkin-anything is awesome. This recipe is awesome!
Thanks Ali!