I’m feeling rather sheepish about this Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.
You see, I’ve been baking and perfecting this particular recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip bread for almost seven years, but in more than three years of blogging, I’ve never shared it.
This pumpkin chocolate chip bread is positively wonderful, the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever baked or eaten, and a recipe I became known for during the years I worked at Target’s corporate headquarters. Yet, for a variety of invented reasons, I procrastinated publishing it.
My first invented reason was I thought it would bore you. Do you really need another recipe for something so basic as pumpkin chocolate chip bread, when so many recipes already exist?
Of course, all of my co-workers who raved that this was the best pumpkin chocolate chip bread they’d ever eaten (and begged me to bring it for team breakfast in July) had already tried many versions of pumpkin bread too, yet they still insisted I make this one in particular. Clearly, this pumpkin chocolate chip bread recipe has something unique to offer
Then, I told myself that it was too early for pumpkin. My Pinterest feed disagreed. It’s a pumpkin palooza every time I log in. My second excuse fell flat.
Finally, I came to the real reason that I was hesitant to share this pumpkin chocolate chip bread recipe: it had been too long. I’ve been baking this pumpkin chocolate chip bread at least three times per fall since 2008, yet after three years of blogging, I hadn’t posted the recipe. Are you familiar with the sentiment that longer you wait to call an old friend, the more hesitant you become to do so? That is how I felt about this pumpkin chocolate bread.
Why I Love This Healthy Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
Well, I’m picking up the phone at last. All my delaying has accomplished is to keep this incredible pumpkin chocolate bread recipe from your life, an omission I now recognize as borderline criminal. This pumpkin bread is everything, everything pumpkin bread can and should and must be.
It’s is incredibly moist and tender, uses an unapologetic amount of pumpkin (none of this “half-cup” business found in most recipes—I want my pumpkin chocolate bread to taste like pumpkin and not leave me with an awkward amount leftover in the can), and it smells and tastes like fall.
Like my Healthy Pumpkin Muffins, the spices are warm and rich, the oats add an incredible texture that you’ll never want your future pumpkin bread to be without.
Plus, the melty dark chocolate chips raise the pumpkin bread satisfaction level from “high” to “transcendent.”
One fact I will divulge to you about this pumpkin chocolate bread that I never mentioned to my co-workers is that it’s healthy. The recipe is 100% whole grain, contains a moderate amount of sugar (especially when compared with standard pumpkin bread recipes), and contains only a scant 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (by comparison, I found some popular pumpkin bread recipes that contained four times as much). Because this healthy pumpkin bread recipe has SO MUCH PUMPKIN, it’s insanely moist on its own, no excess oil required.
How to Store and Freeze Pumpkin Bread
- To Store. Store leftover pumpkin bread in an airtight container lined with paper towels for up to 4 days at room temperature or 7 days in the refrigerator.
- To Freeze. It can be frozen, wrapped tightly and placed in a ziptop bag, for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature prior to serving.
More Tasty Pumpkin Breads and Muffins
- Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Paleo Banana Bread
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Healthy Pumpkin Bread
I’m sorry I waited so long to share this wonderful recipe for healthy pumpkin bread with you. Let’s both devour a few extra slices to make up for lost time. It’s one of my favorite things to bake in the fall, and I hope that you love it as much as I (and my former co-workers) all do. Have a slice or three, call an old pal, and forgive me?
Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats, plus additional 1-2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted and cooled coconut oil light olive oil, or canola oil
- 1/3 cup non-fat milk , unsweetened almond milk, or unsweetened soymilk (plus 1 1/2 tablespoons)
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
- 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips (I love Ghirardelli, plus additional for sprinkling on top)
Instructions
- Place rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x5-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 cup oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large, separate bowl, beat together the eggs, brown sugar, and oil on medium speed until combined. Add the milk and pumpkin and beat again until evenly combined. Add the dry ingredients, then gently stir them in by hand, just until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top, then sprinkle with oats and chocolate chips. Bake the loaf for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a cooling rack, then let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Gently turn the loaf out onto the rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Store leftover pumpkin bread in an airtight container lined with paper towels for up to 4 days at room temperature or 7 days in the refrigerator. It can be frozen, wrapped tightly and placed in a ziptop bag, for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature prior to serving.
- You will have a small amount of pumpkin leftover. Try it mixed into oatmeal with a bit of maple syrup, cinnamon, and pecans or walnuts for a lovely fall breakfast.
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If you wanted to make this gluten free could you sub almond or coconut flour instead of the whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour?
Hi Stephanie! Sadly, no. Those two flours behave very differently than wheat flour. I’d suggest a 1:1 flour substitute baking blend like this one. I’ve never tried it, so it would be an experiment, but you can certainly play around!
Hi Stephanie, may i know if u had tried to sub almond or coconut flour instead of the whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour? Did it go well? Thanks:)
This turned out to be a delicious bread.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the bread, Christine! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how it turned out.
This was so yummy and I was pleasantly surprised how moist it was! I split the batter between 3 small pans and sent one of to my daughter in college in her care package.
YAY Dominique, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for giving it a try and reporting back!
SO GOOD! Perfect for thanksgiving. Thank you, thank you, thank you
Whoooo hoooo! So happy to hear that Sarah!
I am just done baking this superb loaf ! It is scrumptious moist so good . I added sliced almonds and instead of the chocolate chips I used raisins with clove and powder ginger . I like a lot of spices I also baked my fall sugar pumpkin . This is the best . Thanks
Brigitte, I am so so sooo happy to hear this! Thanks for taking time to leave this wonderful review!
Perfection, at last. Moist and perfectly sweetened. Thanks so much!
YAY Rachel! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave this wonderful review—I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I just made this bread and it is wonderful! I didn’t have whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour on hand, so I had to improvise. I used equal parts of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour, which, I’m sure, altered the texture of the bread. It was a tiny bit chewy, but that certainly wasn’t a deal-breaker. This bread is so moist and full of flavor, with just the right amount of sweetness. Even my husband, who has a serious sweet tooth, liked it. I want to try this again using whole wheat pastry flour. Glad I found this just in time for the holidays!
Nena, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the bread. Thanks for taking the time to share this review and your experiments too!
This recipe sounds amazing and I can’t wait to make it – almost exactly what I was looking for. My child has an egg allergy and I’m wondering your thoughts on leaving the egg out of this bread. Would it bake okay without the egg since there is so much pumpkin? Or should I add another binder like applesauce or banana? Appreciate the help! I can’t wait to make this for my family.
I’m actually searching for such a recipe because my husband brought home a delicious chocolate chip pumpkin bread from work and we couldn’t share with my son due to his allergy. :)
Hi Laura, I’d recommend trying a flax egg replacement for this. Leaving the eggs out entirely would cause problems with moisture, rising, and texture. I haven’t tried the flax egg myself, so it’d be an experiment, but I hope it turns out well if you give it a try!
This was a favorite of ours all last fall and winter. Healthy and delicious! In fact, we much prefer it to the traditional high fat and sugar versions. The oats are a great addition. Glad fall is back, making this again now!
Thank you for taking the time to share this kind review, Lindsay! I’m so happy to hear that you’ve enjoyed this recipe!
I doubled this to share with family — everyone’s loved it so far. Easy, healthy, and delicious – thank you!
I’m so happy this recipe was a hit, Erin! Thank you for taking the time to share this kind review!
Love this recipe! I appreciate that it doesnt have a lot of oil in it. Other recipes I’ve found call for a CUP of oil. Love this alternative. Very moist and flavorful. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that this was a hit, Andrea! Thank you for taking the time to share this kind review!
This turned out beautiful and very tasty! It was more ‘crumbly’ then most loafs though. When you cut into it, you lose half your piece. However, still healthy and good if you don’t mind having a slice that doesn’t look or hold together perfectly.
I used sliced almonds, brown sugar, and chocolate chips on the top instead of the oats. The added crunch was really nice.
I’m so happy to hear that this was a hit, Kristen! Thank you for taking the time to share this kind review!
Made as written. Loved it. The addition of the oatmeal gave it a more toothsome feel that I like. Will up the spices next time.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Julie! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
So good! Used Lankanto golden sugar and lilys stevia chocolate chips to lighten the sugar a bit but so wholesome and just the perfect amount of moisture!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe, Sarah! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Looks amazing but any way to avoid wheat flour with an alternative?
Hi Michelle! Since regular flour reacts very differently in baking than alternative flours, I can’t recommend a swap. However, you may enjoy my Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffins instead.
I made two versions of this loaf. one was GF, the other was pretty close to the recipe instructions, I just halved the amount of sugar.
For the GF version I used Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose GF mix. I also used half the amount of pumpkin (I ran out of the stuff) and replaced the other half with apple sauce. I also halved the sugar amount. I baked the GF loaf for about 60 minutes, and the other loaf for 55 minutes.
both loaves came out delicious. The GF version was sooo moist! but it was cooked and did not fall apart when sliced. I think the only change I will do is to lessen the amount of chocolate chips to half a cup. I am not used to sugar as much as most people. Thanks for the recipe! finally I found a recipe that can work as GF or not and I have not need to make two completely different batches. My children can have gluten but I cannot tolerate it. Great recipe!!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Carmen! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Will this work with regular whole wheat flour? The one I haven’t doesn’t specify pastry. Thanks!
Hi Joyce! Your bread will be more dense and have a more pronounced wheat flavor, but it will still be delicious! You could also try doing part whole wheat and part all-purpose flour. I hope that helps!
Can I use all purpose flour instead of whole wheat? I’ve previously made your paleo recipe, and just want to try this w the oatmeal.
Hi Pamela! That swap should work fine. I hope you enjoy the recipe!