The best pumpkin bread for fall baking! Healthy and light Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread is made using whole wheat and yogurt, packed with wonderful pumpkin flavor and warm spices – plus delectable dark chocolate chips!
Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Fall is just the best season for baking. All my favorite ingredients come out to play: pumpkin, cinnamon, chocolate – and this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread has all three! This is a simple bread recipe that really packs in the pumpkin flavor, while some easy ingredient substitutes keep things nutritious and light!
This recipe uses whole wheat flour and yogurt for a moist and healthy pumpkin bread that’s super hearty and great for breakfast or a light snack! Like my Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread and this Apple Zucchini Bread, it’s a healthy, guilt-free recipe I’ve come back to time and time again. With or without chocolate chips, I love the soft, chocolatey texture and moreish fall flavors – it’s truly the best pumpkin bread, ever!
What You’ll Need
Are you ready for the shortest ingredient list? Not only is this pumpkin bread healthy to eat, it’s the most simple to make using a handful of pantry staples.
- Plain Yogurt: Yogurt keeps this recipe light and gives the pumpkin bread extra moisture and tanginess.
- Pumpkin Puree: Fresh or canned pure pumpkin puree, and not pumpkin pie filling! You can even make your own Slow Cooker Pumpkin Puree.
- Eggs: You’ll need 3 large eggs for this recipe.
- Sugar: You can use either a sweetener or regular granulated sugar.
- Vanilla: Use pure vanilla extract for the best, most natural flavor.
- Ground Spices: You’ll need cinnamon and nutmeg, either freshly ground or pre-ground, for those warm fall flavors! Pumpkin Pie Spice will also do the trick if you have some handy.
- Whole Wheat Flour: Healthier and high in nutrients, whole grains are a source of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
- All-purpose Flour: Balancing all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour means the best bread texture, without losing nutritional value!
- Chocolate Chips: Dark chocolate (70% cocoa) has a great semi-sweet flavor plus extra antioxidants!
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
I’m a huge fan of quick breads. Keyword: Quick! This recipe will make one decent sized, chocolatey loaf of pumpkin bread, or two smaller loaves (perfect for freezing and saving!), in little to no time. All you need is one pan, a bowl, a whisk, some pantry ingredients, and these easy steps to make the magic happen:
Combine the Batter Ingredients: Gather your wet ingredients like the yogurt, pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla, and whisk these together in a bowl. Then cream in the sugar (or sweetener), cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt until everything is well mixed.
Add the Flour: In the same bowl, add both the all-purpose and whole wheat flours to the mixture and stir until the dough is thoroughly combined. Going half and half means extra nutrition from whole grains, while still getting that great lightness from the regular white flour.
Add the Chocolate Chips: Fold in the chocolate chips, or if you prefer, you can use dark baking chocolate chopped into chip-sized chunks! Save a handful of chips to add on top.
Transfer to a Pan and Bake: Pour the batter into a loaf pan greased with cooking spray and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over top. Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
Once the pumpkin bread is fully baked and out of the oven, let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then invert it on a rack to cool completely.
Pour yourself a cup of coffee, forget about the laundry, and enjoy a slice (or 2, or 3…) with a slathering of butter and a drizzle of honey. Delish!
Tips for Success
Line the Pan with Parchment Paper: For easy removal after baking, line the bottom of the pan and longer sides with parchment paper trimmed to the correct size. Give it a spritz with cooking oil before pouring in the raw bread dough!
Don’t Confuse the Pumpkin Puree: I can’t stress this enough! You’ll need 100% pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling for that great pumpkin flavor.
Use Only Whole Wheat: Instead of half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour, use only whole grains for the added nutritional value.
Mix in Ideas
Let your creativity shine, sugar! Try out these ingredient suggestions for mixing into the bread dough, either alone or in addition to the chocolate chips:
- Crushed nuts (pecans, walnuts, macadamias, etc.)
- Cranberries
- Raisins
- Banana slices
How to Store Pumpkin Bread
Your pumpkin bread will need to cool completely before storing. Afterwards, it will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days outside of the fridge, or an additional week or so in the fridge.
Can I Freeze This?
Freezing and defrosting your pumpkin chocolate chip bread is so easy to do! Wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap or seal in a freezer bag (or other freezer safe container) and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the bread overnight before you plan to serve it.
More Pumpkin Recipes to Try
‘Tis the season… for pumpkin! Here are some more recipes to try for fall baking:
- Best Ever Pumpkin Muffins
- Healthy Homemade Pumpkin Pie
- Chocolate Pumpkin Peanut Butter Fudge
- Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls
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TOOLS AND INGREDIENTS USED IN THIS RECIPE
Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sweetener or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine yogurt, pumpkin, eggs, sweetener, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt; whisk until completely incorporated.
- Add flours and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Fold in 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into previously prepared loaf pan.
- Add the remaining chocolate chips over the top and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
- Remove from loaf pan and set over a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Cut and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
My favorite thing to eat and make this time of year! Especially with a hot cup of coffee. YUM!
Yum….so delicious! Those chocolate chips on top look divine!
I love the combination of pumpkin and chocolate. And for breakfast sounds so decadent!
Yummy, I want to sink my teeth into a big fat slice right now!
I love the addition of chocolate to pumpkin! This bread look incredible!
I just can’t wait to make this chocolate pumpkin bread. It looks so delicious in those images. My kids going to love making it with me:)
I appreciate this lightened up version but I am also interested in the original recipe. I’ve tried to find it within the archives but it doesn’t seem to exist. Can you help? Thanks!
Nice chocolate twist, most pumpkin recipes start and end with pumpkin, so love this choc-addition! Thank you for this recipe!
can i use coconut flour instead of whole wheat flour?
Hi! I have never tried this recipe with coconut flour, but what I do know is that you have to use less coconut flour…something around 1/3 cup coconut flour for 1 cup all purpose flour. You will also need more eggs. I am not sure if one more is good enough for this bread, but you’ll have to play around with the recipe to get the right texture and taste. I hope this helps. đŸ™‚