Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These easy pumpkin chocolate chip muffins have been in my kitchen arsenal for years upon years. I ate them when visiting a friend’s house and I immediately asked for the recipe and we have been enjoying them ever since. I hope your family loves them as much as mine does.

Many years ago, I got this recipe from a friend and since then it has been a regular breakfast bread in our home. Every year, before a new school year begins, I make a ton of these muffins to have in the freezer.

There is something about the pumpkin and spices that is warm and comforting. The sweetness is subtle, though, and doesn’t overpower the other ingredients.

Even though pumpkin makes us think about fall, these are a terrific treat any time of year. Just make sure you split them and put a pat of butter on them. Delish!

Why you’ll love these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins taste great any time of the year, but when fall hits it feels so right to bake with pumpkin. The spices make this recipe feel extra cozy and the chocolate gives the sweetness that is expected with a breakfast bread.

This pumpkin muffin recipe makes a lot of muffins, which means you will have plenty to eat some when they are fresh and also freeze some or share with a friend.

The pumpkin in this recipe isn’t overpowering, which I love. It is a subtle and creamy pumpkin flavor.

Pumpkin muffins can be made as regular muffins, mini muffins, or even a bread loaf!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Ingredients

• Flour– I use all purpose flour for this recipe
• Sugar– You can use a sugar substitute, but I recommend regular cane sugar
• Baking Soda, Salt, Baking Powder– The soda and powder cause the bread to rise and the salt works to bring out the sweetness in the muffins
• Spices– Cinnamon and Pumpkin Spice give so much flavor and bit of bite to these muffins. If you don’t have pumpkin spice on hand, no worries. You can omit it all together or substitute with Nutmeg.
• Butter– I use a sweet cream butter, but you can use whatever butter you have on hand. A kitchen oil, such as, avocado oil or coconut oil can be used, also.
• Water– These muffins are extremely moist and the water makes this batter very thin. Don’t worry, though. They will cook up fluffy and delicious.
• Eggs– We need something to bind all of these ingredients together and give structure. The eggs will do just that for these muffins.

Steps for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1. Cream the sugar, butter, and eggs together in a stand mixer. Add the pumpkin and mix.
2. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice to the mixture and combine.
3. Pour in the water and mix once more.
4. Fill greased muffin tins and bake in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the muffins.

Can I freeze Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins?

All breakfast breads can be frozen and these muffins freeze beautifully. It is best to let them fully cool and then you can put them in a plastic ziplock to freeze them.

They stay good for 3-4 months in the freezer. Allow muffins to come to room temperature before eating.

Can these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins be made into a bread loaf?

If you would rather have a loaf of pumpkin bread, grease a bread loaf pan with butter and pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

The bake time will be determined by how high you fill the loaf pan. I fill mine 2/3 high and it requires an hour of bake time. If you fill yours lower, it’ll bake faster. If you fill it higher, it’ll require extra baking time.

Variations for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

• Add Nuts- Add nuts for a bit of chew to these muffins. I prefer walnuts or pecans.
• Dried cranberries- Cranberries give this sweet muffin a tartness and a hint of “chocolate cherry” flavor when the cranberry and chocolate chips are mixed.
• Chocolate chunks- Chocolate chips are are a great addition to a pumpkin muffin, but chocolate chunks allow the muffin to have a substantial amount of chocolate in each bite.
• Shredded Carrot- You can shred 1/2 cup of carrot and press the liquid out of it with a towel. Add it in when you add the pumpkin to bake a pumpkin-carrot breakfast bread.
• Top your muffins with pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins with Streusel

These muffins are amazing alone, but you add a streusel on top?? Downright divine! This streusel is a basic streusel you can use on most breakfast breads.

1. Add 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup old fashioned oats to a medium mixing bowl.
2. To that mixture, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder.
3. Add 5 tablespoons of melted butter to the bowl and mix well.
4. Top precooked muffins with the streusel and bake according to muffin instructions.

Is Pumpkin pie filling the same as Pumpkin puree?

You will need to use a pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin for this recipe. Pumpkin pie filling is different and contains spices already.

You want to have plain pumpkin for this recipe.

Other Breakfast Bread Recipes

The Best Banana Bread

I know lots of people say they have “the best” recipe, but this recipe truly is. The first time I perfected it, it was like all other banana bread recipes faded into the distance. It is moist and has the perfect, subtle sweetness.

Orange Scones

Orange scones aren’t, technically, a breakfast bread, but they are too good not to share and they are bread-like. These scones marry the citrus from oranges with the sweetness of the sugar and it’s delightful. You must try this recipe.