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!

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.

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.

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 Option

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.

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

📖 Recipe

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.

Print Pin Share SaveSaved!

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 slices

Calories 329 kcal

Equipment

• 2 9-inch loaf pans

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• ⅔ cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ 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.
  15 ounces canned pumpkin puree, 4 eggs, 1 cup vegetable oil, ⅔ cup water, 3 cups white sugar
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices, and then stir in the chocolate chips if using.
  3 ½ cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 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

Nutritional information is only an estimate and will vary based on your ingredients and substitutions.   

You're Gonna Bake It After All

bakeitafterall.com

Nutrition

Calories: 329kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 4gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 250mgPotassium: 135mgFiber: 2gSugar: 30gVitamin A: 2.803IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 2mg

Keyword bread, dessert, fall, pumpkin

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!