Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin bread filled with melting chocolate chips and bursting with autumn spices – is there anything more quintessentially fall than the smell of pumpkin spices drifting through the house?

I tasted pumpkin bread for the first time about 20 years ago, when one of my students shared her mom’s pumpkin muffins with me. The recipe below includes both traditional and gluten-free variations.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have no idea how I survived up until then without this awesomeness in our life, because pumpkin muffins have been a year-round (yes, pumpkin haters – year-round) favorite in our home ever since.

These muffins are moist, sweet, and packed with real pumpkin flavor. A spoonful of pumpkin pie spice (homemade or store-bought) brings out the classic fall flavors.

And while I’m a bit of a purist about some recipes, I have to admit that pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips added into the mix are truly irresistible.

The aroma of warm cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg wafting through the house as the muffins bake is one of the best parts of this recipe. Aside from eating the muffins, of course!

We can’t get enough pumpkin-based recipes during these last few months of the year. If you like these pumpkin muffins then you’ll love our Pumpkin Spice Waffles too.

Another easy hearty breakfast all of my kids love is Pumpkin Spiced Baked Oatmeal. It’s one of our favorite ways to eat oatmeal; and that’s saying something because we eat a lot of oatmeal around here.

And of course, no autumn lover’s season is complete without a few afternoons sipping homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes with a friend.

(Our homemade version is just as good as anything from a coffee shop but with real pumpkin instead of syrup!)

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

I’ve played with the recipe countless times adding all kinds of ingredients. If that’s your style, have at it. This recipe includes both traditional and gluten-free variations as well instructions for baking a loaf of pumpkin bread or a tray of pumpkin muffins.

Add in handfuls of chocolate or nuts, whatever makes you grin. Chocolate chips and walnuts are a delicious combination. Cranberries, raisins, and other kinds of dried fruit are also tasty.

For me, it’s all about the basic pumpkin bread with a handful of chocolate chips thrown in. Whether I’m eating this for breakfast or sneaking a muffin as an afternoon snack, the simple combination of pumpkin and spice all baked into a portable baked treat, just can’t be beat.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins, loaf pans or line with paper liners. Stir together the flours, sugar, spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. Add the pumpkin and mix until smooth. Stir in the eggs and the oil and mix again until combined. Stir in ½ cup chocolate chips.
3. Pour the batter into (2) loaf pans or scoop into muffin cups (about 2/3 full). Scatter the remaining chocolate chips over the top of the muffins or loaves.
4. Bake muffins 16-18 minutes, loaves for 50-55 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.
5. Let the bread cool completely and store in an airtight container for a few days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

If you’d like your gluten-free muffins to be more perfectly smooth on top, add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the flours in the recipe. Most of the time, I couldn’t care less if mine look cracked or imperfect, so I skip the xanthan.

I have made the muffins both ways multiple times to test it, and the gluten-free muffins hold together perfectly without the xanthan.

Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

Pumpkin bread and muffins are certainly not just for fall. You’ll find a can of pumpkin in my pantry January – December. Because pumpkin bread is a delicious wonder that shouldn’t be relegated to holiday baking alone.

That said, you might also find me making Pumpkin Mousse, Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie, Pumpkin Coffee Cake, and endless other delicious things from a lovely little can of pumpkin puree.

Want to start your day with some more pumpkin deliciousness? How about Pumpkin Pancakes or this Pumpkin French Toast Casserole? Bring on the fall weather, I’m ready for it all.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin muffins filled with melting chocolate chips and bursting with autumn spices are always popular. This recipe includes both traditional and gluten-free variations.

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Servings: 18 muffins, or 1 full loaf, plus 2 mini loaves and 6 muffins

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour*
• ▢ 1 cup light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 cup sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree or 2 cups cooked fresh pumpkin puree
• ▢ 3 eggs
• ▢ ⅓ cup light flavored olive oil
• ▢ ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips divided

*Gluten-Free Alternative

• ▢ 2⅓ cups brown rice flour
• ▢ ⅔ cup tapioca starch
• ▢ ⅓ cup potato starch

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease muffin tins, loaf pans or line with paper liners.
• Stir together the flours, sugar, spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the pumpkin and mix until smooth. Stir in the eggs and the oil and mix again until combined. Stir in ½ cup chocolate chips.
• Pour the batter into (2) loaf pans or scoop into muffin cups (about 2/3 full). Scatter the remaining chocolate chips over the top of the muffins or loaves.
• Bake muffins 16-18 minutes, loaves for 50-55 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean. Let the bread cool completely and store in an airtight container for a few days or freeze for up to 3 months. Enjoy!

Notes

If you’d like your gluten free muffins to be more perfectly smooth on top, add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the flours in the recipe. I couldn’t care less if mine look cracked or imperfect, so I skip the ingredient that adds nothing else to the flavor or texture. I have made the muffins both ways to test it, and the gluten free muffins hold together perfectly without the xanthan.

Nutrition

Calories: 263kcal · Carbohydrates: 45g · Protein: 4g · Fat: 8g · Saturated Fat: 3g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g · Monounsaturated Fat: 4g · Trans Fat: 1g · Cholesterol: 28mg · Sodium: 142mg · Potassium: 152mg · Fiber: 2g · Sugar: 27g · Vitamin A: 3720IU · Vitamin C: 1mg · Calcium: 34mg · Iron: 2mg

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{originally published 9/26/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 9/29/22}

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