The BEST Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

This healthy pumpkin chocolate chip bread is super moist, wholesome, studded with semi-sweet chocolate chips, and packed with pumpkin pie spice flavor! Bake this on a cool fall day to warm up your house, and then enjoy it for breakfast, snacks, or a healthy dessert. Serving with coffee? That goes without saying ;).

this recipe

Friends, believe it: A moist, SUPER flavorful, but also healthy pumpkin chocolate chip bread is 100% possible. This pumpkin chocolate chip bread is made with unrefined flour and sugar, but is still so rich with that pumpkin spice flavor and tender crumb. When it's still slightly warm, it's the perfect complement to butter on top and a cup of coffee on the side. So like... let's make this right now?!

This Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread is...

1. SUPER moist and dense, with a tender crumb.
2. Made with spelt or whole wheat flour instead of refined flour.
3. Sweetened with maple syrup instead of refined sweeteners.
4. Loaded with pumpkin pie spice!
5. High in vitamin A (because pumpkin).
6. Perfect for upcoming holiday gifts and serving to guests.
7. Deeeelicious with morning or afternoon coffee.

Ingredients You'll Need

To make this healthy pumpkin chocolate chip bread, you'll need:

• Spelt flour - whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour will also work!
• Pumpkin pie spice - for those cozy fall flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
• Baking soda - just your average leavening agent.
• Salt - to balance out the sweetness and bring out flavor.
• Butter - makes a rich, flavorful, moist bread.
• Maple syrup - for natural sweetness and a lovely taste of maple.
• Molasses - totally optional, but I tried adding just 1 tablespoon recently and OMG do it.
• Eggs - for structure, leavening, and rich flavor.
• Pumpkin puree - pumpkin bread's featured ingredient, of course!
• Vanilla extract - for a hint of warm vanilla flavoring.
• Chocolate chips - semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate... pick your favorite! Any chocolate will be utterly delicious in this pumpkin bread.

Now... How to Make the Best Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

First of all, did I mention this a no-mixer-required sort of situation? That means healthy and simplified baking. And while I do love my mixer and the things it helps me produce (read: COOKIES)... I also love not lugging that thing out all the time!

So, for this pumpkin chocolate chip bread, it really comes down to:

• Combining dry ingredients in one bowl (flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice)...
• Wet ingredients in another (pumpkin, maple syrup, eggs, melted and slightly cooled butter, vanilla)...
• And then merging the two to form a pumpkin-y batter that you'll want to eat with a spoon.

Success Tip: Bring eggs, maple syrup, and any other cold ingredients (except butter -- you'll be melting and slightly cooling that) to room temperature! This will help the ingredients combine evenly to form a smooth, uniform texture. Also, when dairy and eggs are at room temp, they form an emulsion that traps air, which expand while baking in the oven, yielding a fluffy, tender bread.

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I think you know what's next 😉 CHOCOLATE CHIPS! I used semi-sweet for this batch, but you will not be sad with dark or milk chocolate chips. Stir those gems of chocolate-y goodness right in...

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Next, transfer the batter to your prepared bread pan. It'll be pretty thick, so you can spread it with a spatula to make sure it's even. No need for perfection here 🙂

Bake at 350 for 55 - 60 minutes, and you will be eating this healthy pumpkin chocolate chip bread in REAL life. And I promise you, it will not disappoint!

Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread FAQs

1. Can I freeze pumpkin chocolate chip bread? Yes! Allow it to cool after taking out of the oven, then freeze in an airtight container for up to three months. I love making this ahead for holidays, freezing, and thawing when I'm ready to use it!
2. How do I store pumpkin chocolate chip bread? You can store in an airtight container at room temp for up to a week. *If* it lasts longer than that (;)), I recommend putting it in the fridge since the moisture will begin to collect in the container, and it will mold. Hey, at least we know for sure that it's super moist pumpkin bread, right??
3. Can I substitute different kinds of flour? The kinds of flour I have used successfully in this pumpkin chocolate chip bread recipe are spelt flour, whole wheat flour, and white whole wheat flour. I have not test other flours, but if you do, please let me know how it goes!
4. Can I substitute coconut oil for butter? YUP. I use both interchangeably all the time, and I LOVE the results. Just follow the same instructions for the butter in this recipe: use melted and slightly cooled coconut oil, which you'll combine with your wet ingredients.
5. Can I make muffins? Heck yeah! This recipe makes approximately 16 muffins depending on how full you fill the cups. For the muffins, preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with parchment paper liners (or spray with cooking spray). Bake at 425 for five minutes, then reduce heat oven temperature to 350 degrees for 16-17 more minutes (total time is 22-23 minutes). This is a tip I learned years ago from Sally's Baking Addiction, and I have never gone back! That initial burst of heat makes the muffins nice and tall, just like a real bakery muffin. So yeah, basically we're professionals now.

Last, but not least, my spelt flour banana bread is another super delicious way to bake with spelt flour and natural sweeteners. So, if you have some overripe bananas sitting on your counter attracting fruit flies that should NOT be alive because it's October for goodness' sake, that one's for you.

More Fall Treat Favorites...

Some other fall treats you might like are:

• Salted Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups
• Easy Blender Maple Pumpkin Pie (pie filling in a blender = SO EASY)
• Almond Butter Apple Crisp with Oat + Spelt Topping

In the meantime, say hello to your coffee's new best friend...

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