Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Name: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon ground cloves; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ½ teaspoon ground allspice; 2 cups granulated sugar; 4 large eggs (at room temperature); 1 cup canola oil; 1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling); ¾ cup water; 12 ounces chocolate chips ((2 cups), see Recipe Notes)

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Pumpkin puree, chocolate chips, and a warm pumpkin spice blend team up in this easy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. Sweet and spicy, it's an updated Fall classic recipe that's sure to please!

Sliced Pumpkin Bread on a wood tray surrounded by Fall leaves on a brown scarf from overhead.

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Why this recipe works
A time-tested (and tweaked) recipe
Recipe Ingredients
How to make chocolate chip pumpkin bread
Storage instructions
Quick bread presentation ideas
Questions asked and answered
More bundt and loaf cake recipes to try
Recipe
Comments

[October, 2021: I've reworked the recipe and updated this post with all new pictures. Enjoy!]

Why this recipe works

Easy, one bowl recipe that doesn't need a hand mixer
Rich pumpkin flavor complemented with bursts of chocolate
Can be adapted for different sizes and presentations

Ah, traditions…

They lend comfortable predictability to life, like a snuggly blanket on a chilly day.

I love food traditions at Thanksgiving. The menu must include roast turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce, and all the desserts (those are my specialty, as you might expect). And pumpkin scones (like these Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Scones) usually make an appearance for breakfast, of course.

I tweak tradition a little bit with my desserts, like Black Bottom Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie, Glazed Orange Cranberry Bread, and Southern Brown Sugar Pie, although Apple Pie is still a welcome classic.

Yummm... (pausing to wipe the drool off my keyboard)

One tradition I don’t touch is that my Father-in-Law won’t let me in the door for our family's Thanksgiving get-together unless I promise to bake him my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread (aka Pumpkin Chocolate Chip loaf). That’s upwards of 30 years now!

A combination of pumpkin, chocolate, and warm baking spices team up to create a moist, flavorful, sweet, and spicy pumpkin loaf with chocolate chips. These pumpkin chocolate chip loaves also make great gifts and ship well.

And if you're looking for something to sip alongside your cake slice, try this homemade Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe. Pumpkin goodness all around! Yum...

This is truly the best chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe there is, and it's sure to please your family!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I adore the flavour of pumpkin but can’t stand the texture, this perfectly hits the spot! I think I’ve just found my new go-to fall recipe!

- Lilly

A time-tested (and tweaked) recipe

This is the Pumpkin Bread recipe, given to me by a work friend years ago. You can see how well loved it is, and how I've adapted it over the years.

There was one year when I accidentally bought a large 29-ounce can of pumpkin purée, so I made Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaves (the recipe at the bottom of the image). I couldn’t let that extra pumpkin go to waste! Or you can use the extra purée to make pumpkin risotto.

Handwritten Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread recipe. — My old recipe...well loved and frequently adapted

Recipe Ingredients

You'll need the following ingredients to make this pumpkin bread recipe:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread ingredients portioned into glass bowls.

Ingredient Notes

A pumpkin chocolate chip bread recipe is a quick bread recipe, in the same family as muffins and many bundt cakes (see more for alternative quick bread presentations ideas). The recipe ratio for a quick bread recipe is 2 parts flour : 2 parts liquid : 1 part eggs : 1 part butter or oil (although those ratios will vary for specific recipes)).

Pumpkin purée: Pure pumpkin purée is not the same as pumpkin pie filling - the latter has sugar and spices that you can't control. Trust me, make sure you get the canned pumpkin purée (one 15-ounce can is sufficient).

Chocolate chips: Adding the chocolate chips takes a good pumpkin bread recipe and makes it great. You can substitute chopped nuts or dried fruit for the chocolate chips, if desired (but my Father-in-Law wouldn’t approve).

Pumpkin spice blend: A pumpkin spice blend of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice gives the pumpkin loaf recipe a distinctive flavor without overwhelming the sweetness from the sugar and chocolate.

See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

How to make chocolate chip pumpkin bread

This is an easy chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe to make. And only uses one bowl!

Step 1: Make the batter

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together in a large mixing bowl (photo 1).

Flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a glass bowl. — Combining to make the flour mixture

Stir in the sugar, eggs, canola oil, pumpkin purée, and water to the flour mixture, only until just incorporated (photo 2).

Adding sugar, eggs, pumpkin purée, canola oil, & water to flour mixture. — Adding sugar, eggs, canola oil, pumpkin purée, and water to the flour mixture

Fold in the chocolate chips, being careful not to over-mix the batter (photo 3).

Adding chocolate chips to pumpkin bread batter in a glass bowl. — Chocolate chips are the finishing touch

Step 2: Bake the bread

Pour the batter into two standard loaf pans sprayed with baking spray (photo 4). It's helpful to line the pans with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides, so that you can lift the loaf out of the pan later..

Bake at 350°F for 55 to 65 minutes, checking for doneness after 45 minutes. The loaves are done when center springs back when touched and a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Collage of Pumpkin Bread in a glass loaf pan before and after baking. — Pumpkin Bread before and after baking

Allow the pumpkin bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it using the parchment paper as a sling and cool completely on a wire rack.

Whole Pumpkin Bread on a wood tray surrounded by Fall leaves on a brown scarf from overhead. — Cooled, finished Pumpkin Bread

Storage instructions

Pumpkin bread will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. For longer storage, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.

Quick bread presentation ideas

Since a chocolate chip pumpkin loaf is considered a quick bread, you can change the size and presentation depending on which baking pan you use.

My recipe makes two loaves in a standard loaf pan or a glass baking dish (photo 2). You can halve the recipe to make one standard loaf, four mini loaves, 12 muffins, or 24 mini muffins (especially if you use mini chocolate chips.

Would you prefer to serve this as a cake instead of a loaf? Use a bundt pan, or halve the recipe and use a small bundt pan (like with this Sourdough Pumpkin Cake).

Check the Recipe Notes to see the baking times for the different pan sizes. And as with most quick bread recipes, don’t fill pans higher than ⅔ full or the batter can spill over.

Closeup of sliced Pumpkin Bread on a wood tray surrounded by Fall leaves on a brown scarf.

Questions asked and answered

Here are some questions you might have...

What is the difference between canned pumpkin and pie filling?

Canned pumpkin purée doesn't have any additives, just pure pumpkin. Canned pumpkin pie filling contains sugar and spices like cinnamon, clove, allspice, and ginger. Since you want to be able to control the amount of sugar and spices you use, it's best to avoid the pie filling for this recipe.

How many cups of pumpkin in a 15 ounce can?

It's a scant 2 cups of pumpkin purée. A 29 ounce can of pumpkin purée contains about 3½ cups.