Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Walnut Bread

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It’s fall my friends! And you know what that means – pumpkins. Pumpkins everywhere.

Jack O’ Lanterns decorating porches for Halloween. Squashes decorating tables for Thanksgiving. And mini pumpkins decorating any other little nook in your house just because they look so darn cute.

But even though pumpkins are adorable for a week or two, they don’t stay adorable forever. If you let them sit for too long, they turn into a nightmarish mush.

Don’t let that happen to your pumpkins! Why not make a tasty bread this fall instead?

This pumpkin chocolate chip walnut bread is amazing. It has all the wonderful flavor of pumpkin as well as a few spices that bring out that cozy fall feeling. And of course, the walnuts and the chocolate chips just transform this bread from a tasty snack into a delicious dessert.

This recipe lets you use your own homemade pumpkin puree from scratch if you feel ambitious. But feel free to crack open a can of pumpkin puree if the fall season has you feeling more snuggly and cuddly than creative.

Pumpkin chocolate chip walnut bread comes together in just over an hour – so you don’t have to wait long to enjoy this tasty treat. Feel free to serve this bread for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert. It makes for the perfect side to any seasonal meal you might have this year.

Time

Prep time:   15 Minutes
Rise time: None
Cook time:   55-60 Minutes
Total time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes

Ingredients

If you want to make pumpkin chocolate chip walnut bread in its full glory, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• 220 Grams (1 3/4 Cups) All-Purpose Flour
• 4 Grams (1 Teaspoon) Baking Soda
• 5 Grams (2 Teaspoons) Ground Cinnamon
• 0.5 Grams (1/4 Teaspoon) Ground Cloves
• 1 Gram (1/4 Teaspoon) Ground Ginger
• 0.5 Grams (1/4 Teaspoon) Ground Nutmeg
• 4 Grams (3/4 Teaspoon) Salt
• 2 Large Eggs
• 109 Grams (1/2 Cup) Vegetable Oil*
• 150 Grams (3/4 Cup) White Granulated Sugar
• 100 Grams (1/2 Cup) Light Brown Sugar
• 60 Grams (1/4 Cup) Milk
• 340 Grams (1 1/2 Cups) Pumpkin Puree
• 85 Grams (1/2 Cup) Milk Chocolate Chips
• 58 Grams (1/2 Cup) Chopped Walnuts

*You can also use canola oil or melted coconut oil

Keep in mind that you don’t have to use all of these ingredients to make delicious pumpkin bread. You can skip the chocolate chips and the walnuts. You can even drop the cloves, ginger, and nutmeg if you want. If you’re feeling creative, you can swap the milk with orange juice, which sounds odd, but it works surprisingly well in this recipe.

Additional Equipment

You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to make pumpkin bread this fall. However, you do need a few kitchen essentials:

• 9-Inch by 5-Inch Baking Pan
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Large and Small Mixing Bowls
• Mixing Spoon
• Wire Cooling Rack

And don’t forget to wear oven mitts! Your bread will be hot out of the oven.

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Instructions

Pumpkin chocolate chip walnut bread is essentially a quick bread, so it doesn’t require any rise time. Instead, it uses baking soda to give it some lift and will spring up in the oven.

Because you can pull the recipe together fast, you will want your oven ready to go as soon as you are done mixing. So, start by adjusting your rack to the lower third position of your oven to prevent browning your bread too much, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius).

Mix Your Batter

As your oven preheats, whisk together your flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.

In a smaller bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, and sugars. Add in the pumpkin and milk, and stir until everything is well combined.

Add the wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and stir them together until just incorporated. Don’t worry about the lumps. You don’t want to overmix or your bread will sink in the middle.

Gently fold in the chocolate chips and the walnuts.

Pour the batter in to a lightly greased baking pan.

Bake Your Bread

Put your bread in the oven for 30 minutes and then tent your loaf with aluminum foil to minimize browning.

Bake your bread for another 30 to 35 minutes. Insert a toothpick – if it comes away clean, you’re done! A few moist crumbs are fine. Because this recipe has chocolate chips, you might have to check multiple parts of your bread to see if your toothpick is clean.

Let your bread cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before turning it out and slicing.

You can freeze pumpkin chocolate chip walnut bread for up to 3 months. Simply thaw overnight in your refrigerator and then bring your bread to room temperature before serving. Leftover bread can stay fresh for about 3 to 4 days at room temperature and up to 10 days in the refrigerator.

Just the Basics

Secrets to Success

Pumpkin chocolate chip walnut bread pretty much bakes itself. You just stir the ingredients together, pop it in the oven, and before you know it, you’re done.

But if you want picture-perfect bread, you do need to keep in mind a few things.

First, don’t overmix. If you over mix, your bread will sink in the middle.

Second, pay attention to the consistency of your batter (and your pumpkin puree if you make your own). Although the batter should be wet, it shouldn’t be liquid. If you have a runny batter, your bread will have a hard time rising and will sink in the middle. Add an extra tablespoon or so of flour if needed, and consider dabbing your puree with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture.

Third, spray the bottom of your pan with grease to keep your bread from sticking. But don’t worry as much about the sides. Your bread will use the sides of your pan as support during the baking process, and if the sides are too slick, your bread will sink in the middle.

Even if your bread sinks in the middle, however, your bread will still taste amazing. You can still enjoy your bread while you perfect your baking skills.

Nutritional Information

Pumpkin chocolate chip walnut bread tastes heavenly, but it is a calorie-heavy dessert. Here’s what the nutritional information for a single slice:

Keep in mind that I managed about 12 slices in a loaf. You can opt for smaller or larger slices and that will alter your calories per piece. Also, you can save on calories if you choose to make pumpkin bread without chocolate chips or walnuts. I’ve tried it without, and this recipe still makes great bread.

Did You Try It?

Pumpkin chocolate chip walnut bread is a fantastic recipe to make during the fall and winter seasons. It definitely makes a repeat showing at Thanksgiving and Christmas in my house.

But I would love to hear about your experience with this recipe. Did you try it and love it? Did you use all the ingredients or do you prefer to skip the nuts or the chocolate chips? Do you swap cloves, ginger, and nutmeg for pumpkin spice? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!