Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

We taste tested two homemade Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread recipes to decide on a winner: It’s the Great Pumpkin Bread-Off! See which one won!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

It’s the Great Pumpkin Bread Off, Charlie Brown!  

My friend Kathleen and I like everything pumpkin. Our favorite season is fall, and as soon as September rolls around, we break out our Bath & Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin lotion and look forward to the pumpkin-filled treats to come.

We both love this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread we found years ago at Breadsmith, but this year I found out that the location near us had closed. I had one recipe for pumpkin bread that I’ve made a few times, and another one saved to make, so we decided to have a Bread-Off (rather than a Bake-Off) with the two recipes. We held the contest on our way to the apple orchard – which has the best cinnamon apple donuts ever by the way! It was a sugary day to say the least…   UPDATE: These Homemade Apple Cider Doughnuts blow those out of the water!

The Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread Recipes

I’m mixed on my feelings about having chocolate chips in pumpkin bread – on one hand the combination of chocolate and pumpkin is a great; on the other, I think the chocolate distracts from the purity of the pumpkin. In the end, I decided to include chocolate chips in both breads, so the experiment was controlled. I should also mention that only I knew which bread was which and what components went into the breads; my two tasters (Kathleen and Bob) knew nothing going into it 🙂  

Each original recipe makes 2 large loaves, so I just cut the recipes in half and made 1 loaf of each. The first time I made pumpkin bread, I used applesauce instead of the oil – to be honest, it wasn’t nearly as good. I’d rather use the oil and just eat less!

I cannot even tell you how hard it was for me to find the pumpkin puree!!! So hard that this bread-off almost didn’t happen. I went to two of the big chain grocery stores with no luck, and finally found some organic pumpkin puree at Whole Foods (for $3 a can – what the?!) Dominick’s had canned pumpkin pie mix, but no thank you – I prefer to spice my pumpkin myself!  

One of the recipes recommends making the bread a day ahead for best flavor. I’ve tried this before and happen to agree, so that’s what I did with both loaves. As I was making the breads, I realized that these recipes are veeerrrry similar, and that made the tasting a little difficult. However, I think we were able to declare a winner. See below for the results!

Pumpkin Bread Contest Results

Pumpkin Bread A RESULT: Both tasters liked this bread. They both noted that it has good spice and was very moist.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread B RESULT: Both tasters again agreed that this is a moist bread. Kathleen thought it had more of a “pumpkin” taste, perhaps because it didn’t have the same ‘spiciness’ as the other bread.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread cut open on plate

OVERALL RESULTS: Although these breads are almost too similar to compare, the winner is Bread A – the Downeast Pumpkin Bread. Overall, the tasters felt it had more of the “spice” one looks for in a pumpkin bread. I think that’s because this bread has the spices added individually, rather than the premade pumpkin pie spice blend. Maybe that’s why it has 5/5 stars from over 2,721 reviewers on Allrecipes!!!

I made the Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread without chocolate chips for our Holiday Open House, and it was so delicious! With out without chocolate chips, this pumpkin bread is so good.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I haven’t tried it myself yet, but I’ve had good luck substituting Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour for all purpose in baked goods.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread Pin

Looking for More Quick Bread Recipes?

Check out my other quick breads:
Pineapple Carrot Bread
Poppy Seed Bread
Cranberry Christmas Cake
Ultimate Banana Bread
Zucchini Bread
Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Looking for more Pumpkin Desserts?

I LOVE Pumpkin desserts in the Fall! Check out my favorite Pumpkin sweets:
Pumpkin Chocolate Tart
Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Black Bottom Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
Pumpkin Spice Magic Bar Minis
Pumpkin Scones
Pumpkin Cornbread
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Waffles

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Meghan
Starting with a recipe for Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread, this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread is a moist, flavorful pumpkin quick bread with the spices of fall. Add chocolate chips or leave them out.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 2 large loaves

Equipment

  • two 9-inch loaf pans

Ingredients
  

  • 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 3 cups white sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.
  • In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, and sugar until well blended.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices, and then stir in the chocolate chips if using.
  • Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pan.
  • Bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. This will depend on the size of the pans and your particular oven. Loaves are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.com
You’re Gonna Bake It After All
bakeitafterall.com
Keyword bread, dessert, fall, pumpkin


10 thoughts on “Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread”

  • Oh I like this bread off! I am going to keep that recipe on hand, I love me some pumpkin bread! I added chocolate chips to a muffin version for the first time last year and I was pleasantly surprised…but I think I like pure pumpkin better!

    Thanks for entering my giveaway, good luck! 🙂

  • I'm with you on the love for pumkin Meghan! Both breads look amazing! I sent Eric last week to get some pumpkin puree for my pumpkin chip muffins and he had the same problem you did finding it. He went to several stores and when he finally asked, the store manager said it was a bad year for pumpkin! How sad! I've had to ration my one can from last year for now!
    I def.agree with Melissa, Great Harvest makes an amazing pumpkin chocolate chip bread.

  • I love your comparison posts and they both look so good! I haven't been able to find pumpkin here and it's completely frustrating!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating