These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are soft, moist, and warmly spiced, with melty chocolate chips in every bite. Made with pumpkin puree and just the right balance of sweetness and cozy fall spices, they're an easy autumn treat for breakfast, snacking, or tucking into lunchboxes. Vegan-adaptable!
Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree. ~ Emily Bronte
These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are everything I crave when fall arrives: soft, tender, full of cozy spices, and studded with melty chocolate. I love that they’re not overly sweet, allowing the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to really shine.
A little orange zest is my secret ingredient here. It brightens the warm spices and makes the chocolate taste even more delicious. Use homemade pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin for an easy shortcut. These muffins stay beautifully moist for days, making them perfect for fall breakfasts, afternoon snacks, and lunchboxes.
For more cozy pumpkin baking, try our popular Double Spice Pumpkin Bread.
Why you’ll love these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!
Moist and tender. Pumpkin puree gives these muffins an incredibly soft, velvety crumb-and helps them stay moist for days.
Warmly spiced, not overly sweet. Cinnamon, ginger, and cloves bring all those cozy fall flavors, while keeping the sweetness in check lets the pumpkin really shine.
Make them your own. Add chocolate chips, chunks, nuts and orange zest for a decadent, bright twist. They’re also easily adaptable with gluten-free flour or flax eggs for a vegan version.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – Creates a soft, tender crumb. Whole wheat pastry flour or a gluten-free flour blend can also be used.
- Baking soda and salt – Help the muffins rise and balance the sweetness.
- Warm spices – Cinnamon, ginger, and cloves give these muffins their cozy fall flavor.
- Eggs – Provide structure and help the muffins rise. For a vegan version, substitute 2 flax eggs plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (see recipe notes).
- Pumpkin puree – Keeps the muffins incredibly moist and tender. Use canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Olive oil – Adds moisture and richness without making the muffins heavy. Avocado oil works well, too.
- Brown sugar – Adds sweetness and a subtle caramel flavor. You can also use regular sugar or coconut sugar.
- Maple syrup – Adds a little extra sweetness and a lovely depth of flavor. Or sub with more sugar.
- Vanilla extract – Rounds out the warm spices and chocolate.
- Chocolate chips or chunks – Use semisweet or dark chocolate. Chunks create delicious pockets of melted chocolate, while chips distribute more evenly throughout the muffins.
- Orange zest – My secret ingredient! Optional, but highly recommended. It adds a bright, fragrant note that beautifully complements the pumpkin, warm spices, and chocolate.
*See the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and measurements.
How to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Step one. Dry ingredients. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
Step two. Wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk eggs until smooth; add pumpkin puree, olive oil, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and orange zest. You can use a mixer for this; however, it goes pretty quickly by hand.
Step three. Combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the chocolate chunks. Stir together until just combined; do not over-mix.
Step four. Scoop. Scoop the batter into an oiled muffin tin, filling each cup mostly to the top. If using paper liners, oil them really well. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips if desired.
Step five. Bake! Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the internal temp reaches 200°F. Let them stand 5-10 minutes, then move to a wire rack.
Chef’s Tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together just until combined. A few small lumps are fine! Overmixing can make the muffins dense or tough.
- Use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pure pumpkin gives these muffins their lovely moisture and flavor without adding extra sugar or spices.
- Fill the muffin cups generously. Filling them nearly to the top creates beautifully rounded muffins. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top before baking.
- Check for doneness. Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter. Avoid testing directly through a melted chocolate chip.
- Try the orange zest! It’s optional, but the bright citrus aroma is wonderful with the warm spices and dark chocolate.
Storing & Reheating
To store: Let the muffins cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 5-7 days. Place a paper towel in the container to absorb excess moisture and keep the tops from getting soggy.
To freeze: These muffins freeze beautifully! Once completely cooled, transfer to a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months for the best quality.
To reheat: Thaw at room temperature or warm briefly in the microwave until soft and the chocolate is slightly melty.
Serving Suggestions
Serve them on their own, or with butter or vegan butter, and a drizzle of maple syrup. My husband loves these with a pat of butter, but I feel they are rich enough. Serve with a warm cup of masala chai or our London Fog Latte.
More Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
Hope you enjoy these cozy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins! If you make them, let us know how they turn out in the comments and leave a rating below. We love hearing from you! Enjoy ~Tonia!
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Baked, baking recipes, Dessert, Fall Dessert, fall recipes, pumpkin recipes, snacks, treats
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are soft, moist, and warmly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Made with pumpkin puree, melty chocolate chunks, and a hint of orange zest, they're an easy fall breakfast or snack that's not overly sweet. Vegan and gluten-free adaptable!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (feel free to use a GF flour blend)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 extra-large eggs (or sub 2 flax eggs, plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder- see notes)
- 14–15 ounce can of pumpkin puree (or 1 1/2 cups homemade pumpkin puree)
- 1/2 cup mild olive oil (substitute avocado oil or melted coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, coconut sugar, or regular sugar (see notes)
- 1/2 cup of real maple syrup (or substitute with more sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest, optional, but elevates.
- 1 cup chocolate chunks or chocolate chips, more for the top
- Optional Additions: toasted pumkin seeds or walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, dried cranberries, dates… You get the idea!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease a muffin pan or line it with muffin liners ( I also oil these).
- Dry Ingredients. In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
- Wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until smooth; add pumpkin puree, olive oil, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and orange zest.
- Combine. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients along with chocolate chunks. Fold in until just combined; do not overmix.
- Scoop. Scoop the mixture into an oiled muffin tin, fill mostly to the top. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top if desired.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes until golden and puffed in the center, and a toothpick comes out clean. The internal temperature is 200 F. The muffins should spring back when touched.
- Cool. Let muffins cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before popping them out and cooling on a wire rack.
Notes
For the best results, do not use pumpkin pie filling.
Vegan Option: Use flax eggs- mix 2 tablespoons ground flax with 6 tablespoons water, and let this stand 15 minutes. Add this to the wet ingredients. Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking POWDER to the dry mix (in addition to the baking soda).
Winter squash. If desired, use 1 1/2 cups pureed squashes such as butternut, Hubbard, buttercup, honey nut, and yams instead of pumpkin.
To make brown sugar, mash 1/2 teaspoon molasses with 1/2 cup granulated sugar with a fork.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 242
- Sugar: 17.3 g
- Sodium: 200.3 mg
- Fat: 10.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.8 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3.4 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
Loved these. Did have to let them cook a bit longer than recommended.
Glad you enjoyed Beverly!
I made these muffins with some leftover pumpkin from my Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I also made your chocolate, cherry muffins with chipotle chili so I decided to sub walnuts for the chocolate in this recipe. They were soooo good and I loved the pumpkin seeds on the top! thank you…
Wonderful, glad you gave them a try!
I love this recipe and your site is my go to for new and delicious foods! I did notice when i doubled the recipe (pressing 2x) everything in the recipe doubled except for the pumpkin puree measurement in cups. Would hate for someone to miss that the recipe not turn out when it is sooo good! Thank you
All fixed- thanks Michelle 🙌
So moist and full of fall flavor! I live in sunny Florida so love a recipe that incorporates oranges…chocolate & oranges are a perfect match. I used GF flour and melted coconut oil and they are perfect!
So glad you enjoyed these Nance! Appreciate your review.
Made these vegan. Adding the extra baking powder works perfectly 👌. They are light and delicious 😋
Great to hear Jennifer!
My family loves these muffins with dark chocolate chips! How would recipe be adapted to make a loaf?
You might check out our recipe for Pumpkin Bread!
Loved the muffins! Very moist but not too sweet, cupcake like texture.
Glad you enjoyed these Emily!
best muffins ever. love them !
So glad to hear this Mary!
Sylvia, I am so happy you reposted this recipe! I bought canned pumpkin recently and will definitely make this yummy treat again!
Nice to hear Diane!
hey there, use the jump to recipe button at the top or scroll all the way down the post to the recipe card, it’s all in there. 🙂
These are good muffins, I was slightly worried about the amount of liquid, but these turned out terrific. Seeds on top are a great touch.
Awesome Tracie, glad you gave them a try! Thanks for the rating and review.
Could I cut back on sweeteners?
I would cut back on the brown sugar and leave the maple syrup to keep the texture in balance.
Thanks. I am no baker and need all the help I can get.
For sure! Let us know how it turns out. 🙂
These muffins are so good! Love the medley of flavors! Perfect for my wife’s birthday breakfast. Now, looking at feastingathome.com for dinner recipes!!
Hey Tad! Thanks so much for the review. Yay for birthday celebrations and husbands that cook!
Forgot to mention: Added whole cranberries I had in the freezer and chopped Deglet Noor dates—such a nice mix of sour to balance the sweet!
Ohhh…yummy. Sounds perfect!
So yummy and flavorful! Made them for my husband’s birthday as a breakfast treat— he was most appreciative!
Yay! So happy you enjoyed.
Using the full amount of coconut sugar and just one tablespoon of maple syrup, my family loved these. I skipped adding the chocolate, but I have leftover homemade pumpkin puree, so I plan on trying the recipe with walnuts or dried cranberries as suggested.
Great to hear Jamie!
Came out great! Couple of notes from my kitchen:
1) I used a standard cupcake pan, added 1c walnuts and the yield was 19! Bonus for me.
2) I don’t usually have cloves, and have been buying the pumpkin spice blend (TJs), which works for most recipes like this. Also, cardamom! Underrated.
3) ran out of maple syrup, maybe added 1/4c, barely. Do I need more liquid, though? They came out fine!
Love your site, as the mom of two millennials (also vegetarian), it’s great to have so many tasty options. Way better than in the early 80s, when I was digging deep into whiskey barrels of uncooked beans and nuts, and filling my own jars … oh never mind!
Haha Elle, I totally grew up in the bulk food section, digging in those barrels with my mom! Love your notes about the muffins, so glad you are enjoying the site!
Delicious! Took longer to bake than stated. Very moist. I think I will try 1/3 cup oil and each of the sugars for the next round, along with whole wheat pastry flour to adjust moistness.
Nice Tina, love to hear how it goes!
Where do you buy pumpkin purée from please?
Hi Yvette, Our grocery stores here in the US carry various brands of pumpkin puree in a can. We have a recipe on the blog for making your own. If you do not have sugar pie pumpkins available you can use butternut squash or other types of squash will work too.
I made these vegan and Oh Em Gee they’re soooo good!
Easy, fail proof recipe. Thank you <3.
P.s.. as already stated..the part about 'flax egg' is missing from the recipe notes..
hooray! So great to hear Jennifer. Recipe is updated. 🙂
Please post if you have tried these with a bit less sweetness.
Looks great.
I have made them less sweet, they start to lose flavor in my opinion. You should experiment tho!
I am definitely going to try these soon.😊
Just wondering though, about the flax eggs and baking soda. The recipe says, “see notes”, but I don’t see anything related to those ingredients. By the way, I absolutely love your recipes!!! They never disappoint! Thank you so much!
Opps! Thanks Heather- it is in the notes now. 🙂
Could I use almond flour?
We have not tried it with almond flour- some adjustments may need to be made.