This Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread is a perfect seasonal treat. It's sweet, full of wonderful spices, real pumpkin, and dark chocolate bits. Yum! Also, it's made with WHOLESOME ingredients, without refined sugars. Guilt-free and incredibly delicious! So easy to make too. It's a tasty dessert you don’t want to miss this season.
It's November and fall is in full swing. The leaves have all fallen, covering parks and playgrounds with gorgeous colors. The streets are wet from the morning fog, and the air is moist, full of seasonal scents. Days are short and what else to do around the house, than to bake some sweet seasonal treats to accompany outside moods.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies are quite popular at the moment with my boys. And since I have homemade Homemade Pumpkin Puree stocked in my fridge and a big jar of Pumpkin Pie Spice, the only logical thing for me to make next is our favorite seasonal classic. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.
This Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread is not only sweet, moist, and full of seasonal spices and chunks of dark chocolate, but also very nutritious. It's made with all good-for-you ingredients and low on unnecessary calories. A guilt-free treat you can enjoy with your family all season long. Just irresistible! Plus, It's super easy to make!
Pumpkin Bread ingredients
For this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread recipe, you will only need a few simple ingredients:
- WHOLE GRAIN FLOUR: I used whole grain Spelt flour here. It is one of the staples in my pantry. I use it often in my baking as a substitute for all-purpose wheat flour. Spelt flour is an ancient grain with a nutty and mildly sweet taste. It’s packed with nutrients – especially fibers.
- COCONUT OIL: I like to use unrefined extra virgin coconut oil because it’s full of nutrients and very light.
- MAPLE SYRUP: To sweeten this pumpkin bread, I used pure maple syrup. You are welcome to use honey if you like. Maple sirup gave subtle sweetness yet didn’t overload pumpkin bread with added sugar calories.
- PUMPKIN PUREE: Pumpkin puree is not only sweet and flavorful, perfect for seasonal baking but also loaded with nutrients. Pumpkin is packed with vitamins and minerals, and especially high in beta-carotene, a potent antioxidant that our body turns into vitamin A which is essential for a strong immune system and helps fight infections. (1) I’m always making pumpkin puree at home. It’s cheap and naturally more flavorful than the store-bought canned stuff.
To spice things up, I used my own Pumpkin Pie Spice mix. It's a blend of warm seasonal spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. It’s aromatic, sweet, and perfectly scented. It is filled with Autumn flavors and the perfect addition to this delicious pumpkin bread.
To make things really interesting and even more irresistible, I also tossed in some dark chocolate chips. Dark chocolate paired so nicely with pumpkin flavor and spices. Melting pieces of dark chocolate in a warm pumpkin bread is so sooo unbelievably good and satisfying. I used dark chocolate made with 80% raw cacao that is made without refined sugars. You can find those in healthy food stores.
Other pantry ingredients you’ll need:
- Eggs
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
How to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
- Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 356F (180C).
- Grease 9x5 loaf tin and line with a strip of baking paper on the bottom (this will make removing the loaf easier). Set aside.
- Prepare and measure all ingredients using measuring cups.
- Place whole grain flour in a small mixing bowl. Add in baking powder, baking soda, a pinch of salt, and Pumpkin Pie Spice mix. Mix everything with a spatula.
- In a large mixing bowl combine pure maple syrup, pumpkin puree, and melted coconut oil. Use the whisk and mix it until you get a nice and even texture.
- Add in 2 eggs, one by one, and stir using the whisk.
- When the batter looks thick and well blended, add in the dry ingredients. Use the spatula to mix everything until fully combined. Don’t overmix the batter!
- Stir in chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips and fold everything together. Spread the batter evenly in a lined loaf tin.
- Bake 40-45 minutes (until a toothpick inserted into the center come out almost clean).
- Remove from the oven. Allow pumpkin bread to cool in the tin for a few minutes before carefully lifting it out. Cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, slice, and serve.
Pro tips
- To check whether pumpkin bread is done, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center. If the toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs on it, the bread is ready to come out of the oven.
- You can add some chopped nuts to the batter if you like - walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts.
- Make sure you use eggs at room temperature. Pull them out of the fridge before baking so they can rest for a bit. Or run the eggs under warm water to speed this process or set them in a bowl of warm water.
- Don’t overmix the batter!
- Grease loaf pans well. You want the baked loaf to easily come out of the pan.
- If the top of your bread is browning too quickly, cover it with a piece of aluminum foil on top. This will let the middle continue to cook while slowing the browning on top.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing it.
- Let it cool completely before slicing so it doesn't crumble.
Substitutions
- You can substitute whole grain Spelt flour with whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour.
- Substitute MAPLE SYRUP with honey or date syrup.
- If you’re about to use canned pumpkin puree for this recipe, look for 100% pure pumpkin puree, the one without added sugars or artificial flavorings. Also, double-check your can and make sure you have the pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling.
- This recipe calls for pumpkin puree (100% pure pumpkin), not pumpkin pie filling! Pumpkin puree is made with just pumpkin, while pumpkin pie filling has all kinds of ingredients and flavors added in. Double-check your cans and make sure you have the right stuff!
- Substitute coconut oil with avocado oil or ghee or butter.
Tips for storing
- Store in an air-tight container or cake carrier at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.
- HOW TO FREEZE: Place in a zip-lock bag and freeze up to three months. Thaw at room temperature before using.
This pumpkin bread will definitely delight you. It's so sweet, flavorful, and just so amazing. Is great for breakfast, brunch, snack time, dessert, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or anytime!
Enjoy!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole grain flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey
- 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil melted
- 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 356F (180C).
- Lightly grease loaf tin and line with a strip of baking paper on the bottom (this will make removing the loaf easier). Set aside.
- Prepare and measure all ingredients using measuring cups.
- In a small mixing bowl, add whole grain flour. Add in baking powder, baking soda, pinch of salt and Pumpkin Pie Spice. Mix everything with a spoon.
- In a large mixing bowl combine pure maple syrup, pumpkin puree and melted coconut oil. Use the whisk and mix it until you get nice and even texture.
- Add in 2 eggs, one by one, and stir using the whisk.
- When the batter looks thick and well blended, add in the dry ingredients. Using the spatula mix everything until fully combined.
- Stir in chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips and fold everything together. Spread the batter evenly in lined loaf tin.
- Bake 40-45 minutes (until a toothpick inserted into the center come out almost clean).
- Remove from the oven. Allow pumpkin bread to cool in the tin for a few minutes before carefully lifting it out. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once cool, slice and serve.
Notes
- You can substitute whole grain Spelt flour with whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour.
- Substitute MAPLE SYRUP with honey or date syrup.
- If you’re about to use canned pumpkin puree for this recipe, look for 100% pure pumpkin puree, the one without added sugars or artificial flavorings. Also, double-check your can and make sure you have the pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling.
- This recipe calls for pumpkin puree (100% pure pumpkin), not pumpkin pie filling! Pumpkin puree is made with just pumpkin, while pumpkin pie filling has all kinds of ingredients and flavors added in. Double-check your cans and make sure you have the right stuff!
- Substitute coconut oil with avocado oil or ghee or butter.
- Store in an air-tight container or cake carrier at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.
- HOW TO FREEZE: Place in a zip-lock bag and freeze up to three months. Thaw at room temperature before using.
Nutrition
More pumpkin recipes
If you’ve tried this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread recipe or any other recipe on Natalie’s Health, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you!
This post is originally published on November 26, 2019. It's updated on November 4, 2020, with more information.
This bread came out so moist! I loved the suggestion of adding hazelnuts. Tasty!
Yum! This bread was absolutely delish and it smelled so good in my kitchen as it baked!
Sounds delicious and I am definitely not going to miss it this season. Making it tomorrow
Never tried a pumpkin for bread. Gosh! I love this!!! Will try this out at the weekend
<3