This Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread is the perfect sweet treat for a cozy fall day. Packed with pumpkin, warming spices, and lots of chocolate chips. This recipe is sure to become a family favorite!
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I'm fully embracing cozy fall days with this delicious vegan pumpkin loaf. Each bite is bursting with fall flavors like pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
It has a moist texture, is perfectly spiced, and has tons of pumpkin flavor, and melty chocolate chips. It's impossible just to eat one slice!
This dairy-free & eggless pumpkin chocolate chip bread is sure to make more than just one appearance in your kitchen during the holiday season!
Ingredients
Ground Flax: Ground flax mixed with water will gel up and become our egg substitute.
Vegan Milk: Soy milk mixed with apple cider vinegar creates wonderful buttermilk. But you can use almond milk or oat milk as well. It's a very small amount of milk.
All-Purpose Flour: Regular all-purpose flour is what I recommend. This recipe hasn't been tested with gluten-free flour.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda
Spices: I used a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger but if you have pumpkin pie spice- you can use that!
Pumpkin Purée: Make sure you are getting 100% pumpkin purée and not a can of pumpkin pie filling.
Olive Oil: I used olive oil but you can use a neutral oil like avocado, vegetable, or canola.
Light Brown Sugar: If you don't have light brown sugar, you can use half granulated white sugar and half brown sugar.
Chocolate Chips: Any vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips will work. Enjoy life is a wonderful brand to look out for- they have chocolate chips, mini chips, and chunks. If you prefer dark chocolate chips, that would be wonderful as well!
Helpful Equipment
This vegan chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe makes 1 loaf so you will need one 9×5-inch loaf pan.
A set of different-sized mixing bowls will come in handy but isn't necessary if you have a few bowls of different sizes already.
The loaf should cool in the loaf pan for 15 minutes and then be transferred to a wire rack to continue to cool.
How to Make This Recipe
Stir together the ground flaxseed and water in a small dish. Set aside to thicken. This creates a flax egg.
Whisk together the vegan milk and apple cider vinegar in a small dish to create buttermilk.
Soy milk is a wonderful choice when making buttermilk because of the high protein content but it will work with almond or oat milk as well.
Whisk together the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Stir together the pumpkin purée, vegetable oil, flax egg, and milk in a separate bowl.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine- the dough will be a little thick but that's what you want! Avoid over-mixing.
Fold in the chocolate chips using a spatula then transfer the dough to a prepared loaf pan.
Sprinkle the top with a few more chocolate chips and a little bit of brown sugar.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until the bread bounces back when lightly pressed or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes then transfer it to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Be sure to wait for it to cool completely before slicing.
Tips & Tricks
Avoid over-measuring the flour. To properly measure the flour, you’ll want to avoid scooping the flour out of the container or bag with your measuring cup.
Fluff the flour with a fork and then spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Avoid packing the flour into the cup and don’t bang the cup on the counter. This will make the flour settle and you’ll end up with too much flour which could result in a dense pumpkin loaf.
Avoid overmixing the batter! This batter is a bit thick but mix just until everything is incorporated and absolutely no more. Gently fold the chocolate chips and transfer it to the loaf pan.
Grease your loaf pan. You want the loaf to come out without breaking or sticking so do not skip this step.
Sprinkle sugar on top. I used light brown sugar but you can use turbinado sugar as well. This gives the loaf a nice crispy crunchy top and it's insanely delicious.
Let the bread cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. I know this is hard but it's so important. Cutting into the bread too early could result in a gummy texture.
Substitutions & Additions
Light Brown Sugar: If you don't have light brown sugar, you can use ⅓ cup granulated white sugar and ⅓ cup brown sugar. Coconut sugar will work as well.
All-Purpose Flour: I have not attempted this recipe gluten-free but if you give it a shot, let us know how it goes in the comments.
Spices: If you have a pumpkin pie spice blend, you can use that instead of adding the spices individually.
Vegan Chocolate Chips: Chopped nuts like pecans and walnuts would be a great substitution if you're looking for a treat that is less decadent and sweet.
Serving
This delicious vegan pumpkin bread is easy, moist, and perfect for the Holiday season.
Serve this classic vegan fall recipe as a breakfast or dessert for Thanksgiving, during a holiday party, or enjoy on a cool fall day.
I recommend making two because this is going to be a hit!
Storage & Reheating
Storage: Allow the loaf to cool completely and then wrap the loaf in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for 5 days.
Reheating: If you like to enjoy your pumpkin chip bread warm, simply microwave it or place it in a preheated oven until warmed through.
Freeze: Follow storage instructions and then place it in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight before enjoying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bake for 55 minutes and then start to check the doneness by gently pressing on the bread and seeing if it bounces back or if a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I baked mine for a total of 1 hour.
Cover the top with foil and continue to bake for the remaining time.
I don't recommend skipping the oil. Oil makes bread like pumpkin bread and banana bread have a tender crumb. You could attempt applesauce or vegan yogurt but I can't guarantee that your bread will be fluffy and moist.
Yes! This recipe freezes incredibly. I recommend making a double batch and freezing one so you can enjoy it the entire fall season.
Yes, the baking time will vary so keep an eye on them. Try 375F for around 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Leftover Pumpkin?
Recipe
Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Ground Flaxseed mixed with 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ cup Vegan Milk unsweetened
- ½ teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour properly measured
- ⅔ cup Light Brown Sugar more for sprinkling on top
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ¼ cup Pumpkin Purée
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- ½ cup Vegan Chocolate Chips more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Stir together the ground flaxseed and water in a small dish. Set aside to thicken. This creates a flax egg.
- Whisk together the vegan milk and apple cider vinegar in a small dish to create buttermilk. Set aside.
- Whisk together the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in a large mxing bowl.
- Stir together the pumpkin purée, vegetable oil, flax egg, and milk in a separate bowl.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir to combine- the dough will be a little thick but that's what you want! Avoid over-mixing.
- Fold in the chocolate chips using a spatula then transfer the dough to a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with a few more chocolate chips and a little bit of brown sugar.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until the bread bounces back when lightly pressed or a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Be sure to wait for it to cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
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Sonja says
Hi liv, what temp should this be baked at? I see the temp for muffins but not the loaf itself. Thanks!
Liv says
Thanks for catching that! My mistake. The recipe card has been updated. It should be baked at 350F 🙂
Sonja says
Thank you! Cooked perfect, this is an awesome loaf, I've made it a bunch of times, so good! I think the sugar is missing in the step by step instructions.
Liv says
That's great. I'm thrilled you've enjoyed it enough to make it more than once. Thanks, Sonja! 🙂