This easy chocolate pumpkin bread is soft and tender, with subtle flavour of pumpkin, aromatic spices and heaps of chocolate. Perfect, quick and very straight-forward autumnal bake to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee.
The best part of this simple recipe is that you don't even need an electric mixer! Just a couple of bowls and a kitchen whisk is all that's required!
If you love baking with pumpkin as much as I do, this simple and quick chocolate pumpkin bread is a must try. It is insanely delicious, comes together in less than 10 minutes and makes a perfect tea-time snack or after dinner treat!
As well as my Pumpkin Loaf Cake or these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, this chocolate chip bread recipe is just ideal to enjoy on a crisp morning or a rainy fall afternoon, and it will make your kitchen smell heavenly while it bakes!
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Ingredients
Whilst the ingredient list includes mainly simple kitchen cupboard essentials, I've made some notes below to help you make this easy chocolate pumpkin bread. I've also added some substitutions where I can, to help you swap some ingredients too.
- Flour - I use self-rising flour, which already includes rising agent and salt. You can also use plain, all purpose flour instead. If plain flour is being used, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon baking soda to it.
- Cocoa - To turn our pumpkin bread into chocolate pumpkin bread! I recommend sifting the cocoa powder to get rid of any lumps.
- Spices - Cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice and ground ginger. If you prefer, you can also go with pumpkin pie spice instead.
- Pumpkin puree - I'm using store-bought canned pumpkin puree (not the pumpkin pie filling). It's widely available in most supermarkets in the UK (be sure to check international isle, as it's often placed there). Homemade pumpkin puree will also work great here.
- Soft light brown sugar - I like this type of sugar in pumpkin recipes, as it adds more mellow, caramel-y flavour to bakes. You can use granulated sugar or a mixture of both instead.
- Olive oil - Using olive oil will give this pumpkin bread its wonderful moist, light and tender texture. Vegetable oil or coconut oil will also work.
- Buttermilk - To improve the texture and create even more tender crumb in this quick bread recipe. You can substitute buttermilk for plain yoghurt or kefir.
- Chocolate chips - Use milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips, or a mixture of both! Chopped chocolate or chocolate chunks will work too.
Scroll to the bottom of this post for the recipe card and the full list of the ingredients.
Instructions
This pumpkin chocolate bread recipe is very quick and really simple to make, just follow my easy instructions below:
Combine the flour, cocoa powder and spices in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl whisk pumpkin puree, sugar, olive oil, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla.
Tip the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and fold to combine. Add chocolate chips (reserve small amount for the topping).
Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan and scatter extra chocolate chips on top. Bake for 50-55 minutes.
Hint: Make your own buttermilk by combining same amount of milk (60ml) with ½ teaspoon of fresh lemon juice. Stir and set aside for 3-5 minutes. Use as per the recipe instructions.
Variations
- Gluten free chocolate pumpkin bread - Swap the self-rising flour for good quality gluten-free self-rising flour.
- Vegan pumpkin bread with chocolate - This recipe can be made vegan. Simply swap buttermilk for vegan version (or use vegan yoghurt). Instead of eggs, add extra 4 tablespoons of pumpkin puree.
- More chocolate - For even more decadence, you can add an extra layer of chocolate spread in the middle or on top of this easy pumpkin loaf. You can also add chocolate glaze on top, yum!
- Chocolate pumpkin muffins - You can turn this chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe into muffins! Divide the batter into muffin cases and bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Add some nuts - Throw a handful of chopped hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans into the cake batter for an extra texture and flavour.
- Add a glaze or frosting - Instead of adding chocolate chips on top of your bread, try adding chocolate glaze or cream cheese frosting. This Glazed Pumpkin Spice Bread recipe is also a great alternative to try out!
Storage and Freezing
Store this easy chocolate pumpkin loaf cake at room temperature for up to 4 days. Keep it in an airtight container or wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, to prevent it from drying out too quickly.
You can also freeze it for up to 1 month. To freeze, allow the bread to cool completely, then wrap it in a double layer of clingfilm and place in the freezer. You can also slice it and freeze individual slices. Thaw at room temperature.
Top Tip
This recipe works really well with other type of squash too! Butternut squash or delicata squash puree are delicious swaps. The other great swap is using cooked, mashed sweet potato instead of pumpkin puree.
Frequently Asked Questions
If the bread is under-baked, it will form a gummy, soggy layer in the bottom. It takes roughly about an hour to bake this pumpkin chocolate loaf. I normally start checking mine after 50 minutes. Stick to the baking times from the recipe card, and always test the bake by inserting a skewer in the middle. It should come out clean, without a sign of wet batter attached to it (some melted chocolate from chocolate chips is fine).
This is very likely due to some of the proportions of the ingredients being changed. Be sure to stick to the recipe, and follow it exactly. Don't cut out on the sugar, use the specified amount of salt and spices, etc.
There could be a few reasons why it came out dry. Certain types of flour can absorb more liquid than others, resulting in dry bake. If the oven temperature was too high, your chocolate bread is also at risk of coming out dry. Try adding more liquid to the batter next time (extra buttermilk or extra pumpkin puree), or cut the amount of flour by 1-2 tablespoons.
To pin this recipe and save it for later, use the button on the recipe card or on the photos above.
If you try this recipe, or any other recipe on Anna Banana, please take a moment to rate the recipe and/ or leave me a comment. I love hearing from you, but it also helps other readers who are thinking of making the recipe.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
- 1 lb loaf tin
- baking paper
- 2 large mixing bowls
- whisk
Ingredients
- 165 g self-rising flour
- 50 g cocoa powder sifted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 250 g pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 125 g soft light brown sugar
- 120 ml olive oil or vegetable oil
- 60 ml buttermilk room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 150 g chocolate chips milk or dark, or both
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 170°C. Lightly grease 1 lb loaf tin and line with a strip of baking paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine together the flour, sifted cocoa powder, cinnamon, mixed spice and ground ginger. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, olive oil, buttermilk and eggs.165 g self-rising flour, 50 g cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon mixed spice, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, 250 g pumpkin puree, 125 g soft light brown sugar, 120 ml olive oil, 60 ml buttermilk, 2 large eggs
- Tip the dry ingredients into the bowl with pumpkin puree mixture and fold until just combined. Do not overmix. Add 100g of chocolate chips to the batter and fold until combined. Pour the batter into prepared baking tin and scatter the remaining chocolate chips on top.150 g chocolate chips
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, until well risen and toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the baking tin (use the overhang baking paper to lift the bread from the baking tin), allow to cool for another 10-15 minutes, slice and enjoy!
Please note that all my recipes are developed and tested in metric grams. I recommend that you use digital scales for a more accurate results. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in October 2017. It has been updated with new photos, revised recipe and tips in September 2023.
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