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 both to warm up your house and make it smell like a fall dream. Then enjoy it for breakfast, snacks, or even dessert. Serving with coffee or a cozy chai tea highly recommended.
Friends, believe it: A moist, SUPER flavorful, yet nourishing pumpkin chocolate chip bread is 100% possible. This pumpkin chocolate chip bread is made with spelt flour or whole wheat flour and sweetened with pure maple syrup, but is still so rich with that pumpkin spice flavor and tender crumb. When it's still slightly warm, you can't go wrong with a bit of butter and a cup of coffee on the side for the most cozy and nourishing fall treat.
Oh, and did I mention no mixer required? Let's make this bread!
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Ingredients You'll Need
To make this healthy pumpkin chocolate chip bread, you'll need:
- Spelt flour
- Pumpkin puree - Be sure it's not pumpkin pie filling (which is already sweetened and prepared for a pumpkin pie). We'll get to use the whole can of pumpkin in this recipe.
- Maple syrup
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Chocolate chips - You could go without these too, but they're just so good.
Substitutions & Variations
Try some of these swaps if you're short on ingredients or have different dietary needs and preferences.
- Spelt flour - If you don't have access to spelt flour, try another whole wheat flour in the same amount. I've tested this recipe with whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour (pastry flours yield more tender baked goods), and white whole wheat flour, all with great success!
- Maple syrup - I adore the flavor of maple in this bread, but agave syrup and honey would both work as well.
- Nuts - Fold ½ cup of chopped walnuts into the bread batter for a delicious nutty flavor and crunch. I add walnuts into my white chocolate chip walnut pumpkin bread as well, which is another delicious variation on this pumpkin bread recipe!
How to Make This Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Step 1: Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice into a bowl and whisk to combine.
Step 2: In a separate, whisk together the melted and slightly cooled butter, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla extract, optional molasses, and pumpkin puree. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined (no visible flour left), taking care not to over-mix.
Step 3: Fold in your chocolate chips and any other add-ins.
Step 4: Transfer the batter to a parchment-lined or buttered loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. If the top appears to be browning too quickly, loosely set a piece of foil on top halfway through baking. Let the loaf cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then carefully lift it out and let it cool completely before cutting into it.
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.
Pumpkin Bread FAQs
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!
You can store in an airtight container at room temp for up to a week. I recommend putting it in the fridge after a couple days since the moisture can begin to collect in the container, causing the bread to go bad more quickly.
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, give that one a try too.
More Fall Treat Favorites...
Some other fall treats you might like are:
Print📖 Recipe
The BEST Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
A super moist and wholesome fall treat, this healthy pumpkin chocolate chip bread is delectable! Enjoy as a snack with coffee, make it with your kids as a fun fall activity, or share with guests at holiday gatherings. YUM!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 55
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 thick slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups spelt flour (whole wheat or white whole wheat work beautifully)
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 stick butter (or ½ cup coconut oil), melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- optional: 1 tablespoon molasses
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or milk or dark chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Prepare to bake: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.
- Mix together dry ingredients: In a bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix together wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine butter, maple syrup, eggs, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and molasses (if using). Whisk everything together until uniformly combined.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients: Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until just combined. Add chocolate chips to pumpkin bread batter and stir.
- Bake pumpkin bread: Spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes. To avoid the top of the bread from getting overdone, loosely place some tinfoil over the top for the first 30 minutes of baking, and then remove.
- Allow to cool: Remove pumpkin chocolate chip bread from the oven and allow to cool before slicing and enjoying with some butter and a warm cup of coffee!
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