Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread makes a tasty fall breakfast OR dessert! This dairy free pumpkin bread recipe is full of pumpkin flavor and studded with dark chocolate chips. Makes 1 loaf.

Love pumpkin baked goods? You’re gonna adore Vegan Pumpkin Muffins, Praline Pumpkin Upside Down Cake and Spiced Pumpkin Sugar Cookies!

The photos and recipe for this recipe were originally published on December 5, 2012. The photographs, along with the text and recipe, were updated on September 28, 2020.

After making Michelle’s Pumpkin Spice Pancakes, I had a little pumpkin leftover and no idea what to do with it.

And as someone who has always been a little wary of pumpkin—not on purpose, of course—but because of bad pumpkin pie experience due to my dislike of copious (or even small) amounts of nutmeg, it was a struggle to figure out what needed to be done with the rest of the tasty gourd.

Long story short: I got several sugar pumpkins from our CSA, decided to roast them, did some internet research, was inspired to create a pumpkin bread recipe… and the rest is history.

Why I love this recipe:

For starters, this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread is wonderfully moist, fluffy and flavorful. We have the pumpkin puree and the applesauce in the recipe to thank for that.

Also, you wouldn’t necessarily think that this bread would be super flavorful, considering you’ve just got a little bit of cinnamon in the recipe, but is sings when paired with the other ingredients.

It keeps well in the fridge when covered, and we like to slice it in the mornings and toast it in our toaster oven for an ooey, gooey pumpkin-y breakfast.

Other breakfast recipes with pumpkin puree: Easy Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Nutella Swirl | Cranberry Pumpkin Cold Brew Coffee Drink | Mini Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips | Vegan Pumpkin Biscuits with Maple Butter | Easy Pumpkin Spice Bread

Need fall flavor inspiration? I’ve got you covered! My Fall Recipe Index has all my favorite fall recipes in one place.

What do I need to make Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread?

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• Loaf pan (mine is 8″ x 4 ½” x 2 ¾” high)
• A large mixing bowl and a smaller bowl
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula

In addition to these tools to make this bread, you’re also going to need some ingredients.

Everyone stocks their pantry and fridge differently, so I wanted to list these out here for you so you can know what you’ve got on hand (and what you need to get the next time you’re at the store:

• Pumpkin puree—not pumpkin pie filling, as that’s pre-sweetened and spiced
• Granulated sugar
• Unsweetened applesauce—since we’re adding in sugar, we don’t need our applesauce to make this bread sweeter
• All-purpose flour—I prefer to use unbleached, but if you’ve got the regular kind, that works!
• Baking soda and baking powder
• Ground cinnamon
• Kosher salt
• Bittersweet or dark chocolate chips. (I particularly love Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips, but you do you! However, if you’re serving this to someone who does not eat dairy, read the ingredients on your chocolate chip bag to ensure there is no dairy in them.)

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How do I make Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread?

This pumpkin bread recipe is actually surprisingly simple!

First and foremost, preheat your oven. Also, spray a loaf pan with nonstick baking spray, and set aside. This will ensure that your homemade pumpkin bread comes out of the pan without issue. (You could also line your loaf pan with parchment paper, but I’m a lazy baker and go the nonstick spray route.)

Now get out a smaller bowl and a large bowl. You’re going to eventually mix everything into the larger one.

First up, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into the smaller bowl. Stir them together until incorporated so the ingredients will be evenly spread throughout our Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. Set these aside for later.

Next, measure in the pumpkin, sugar and applesauce into the large bowl. Crack the eggs in, too. Whisk ’em all together until combined.

Sprinkle the flour mixture on top of the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to stir them until just combined. It’s OK if there are a few lumps in it, though, so don’t feel like you need to stir until it’s smooth.

Lastly, measure in the chocolate chips. Fold those in using the same rubber spatula, then pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Use the spatula to even out the batter, then sprinkle some more chocolate chips on top of the batter, if you’re feeling fancy.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the loaf is baked through.

Let the Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread cool completely on a wire rack before carefully removing from the loaf pan and slicing!

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Quick Tips and Tricks for the best Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

• Bake it on a Sunday afternoon to have pumpkin bread throughout the week!
• To store, wrap a completely cooled loaf in plastic wrap. Alternately, you can place it onto a plate and wrap that. Keep it in the fridge. (The loaf is really moist and will keep longer if you have it in the refrigerator.)
• Slice the loaf into individual slices when you want to eat it instead of ahead of time. Reheat/toast in the toaster oven for an especially epic breakfast.

Let’s bake, friends!