Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These easy pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are moist and fluffy, full of pumpkin spice flavor and are such a treat with the addition of two kinds of chocolate chips. They are the perfect muffin recipe to make in the fall!

Looking for more pumpkin recipes? Try my pumpkin coffee cake muffins, pumpkin scones, pumpkin chocolate marble muffins or pumpkin cream cheese cinnamon rolls.

This recipe was first published on 09/05/2022.

Now that it's September we can dive right into all things fall and pumpkin. Because pumpkin everything is what we live for every year and pumpkin muffins are always a good idea to make. It's a versatile recipe that you could make for either breakfast, dessert or a snack!

If you loved just my basic pumpkin muffins then these are a little bit of an extra special treat with the addition of semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips.

Since this recipe does not use a full can of pumpkin I highly suggest using what's left to make a batch of pumpkin scones or some pumpkin snickerdoodles.

These pumpkin muffins are so quick and easy to make. You don't need any fancy tools, just a bowl, whisk and a muffin pan.

Jump to:

• Why I Love These Pumpkin Muffins
• Ingredients
• How To Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Storing, Freezing and Re-Heating
• Pro Tips
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Why I Love These Pumpkin Muffins

• Mixer: No fancy tools required, you can make this recipe without a stand mixer.
• Pumpkin Flavor: These muffins have the best pumpkin spice flavors and use ¾ cups of pumpkin puree.
• Moist: I can't even describe how super moist these muffins are. Straight out of the oven they are amazing with some butter.
• Recipe: This recipe is beyond easy and takes only 30 minutes.
• Snack: They make such a good after school snack! Especially since you can freeze them and reheat so easily.

Ingredients

Here is a brief rundown of what ingredients you will need to make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Be sure to refer to the recipe card, below, for the full list of ingredients and amounts, as well as the instructions.

• Neutral Flavored Oil: Opt for a neutral flavored oil like sunflower oil, canola oil or vegetable oil. Stay away from olive oil as it will make your muffins taste different. Oil makes the muffins really really moist, like in these double chocolate muffins.
• Brown Sugar: The brown sugar will also add sweetness but also some of that deep molasses flavor.
• White Cane Sugar: Added for sweetness.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla makes all baked goods taste better!
• Eggs: Add 2 eggs for structure.
• Buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk you can substitute milk, however the buttermilk makes the muffins really moist. All muffin recipes need a liquid. I also use buttermilk in these pumpkin cream cheese muffins.
• Pumpkin Puree: Not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling, make sure to read the label on the cans that you are getting pumpkin puree (it has no spices, just pure pumpkin).
• Flour: All purpose flour is the flour of choice, but if you need a gluten free option try Bobs Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Leavening agents used to lift the muffins and give them volume. Make sure your baking powder and baking soda aren't expired before you start the recipe.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice and Cinnamon: The two main spices for the pumpkin flavor. Pumpkin pie spice is made up of cinnamon, ginger, all spice, cloves and nutmeg.
• Chocolate Chips: You'll need both semi-sweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips.

How To Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep Work. Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure it's up to temperature before you put your muffins in the oven.

For the best looking muffins, with a dome top, you always want to start the muffins off at a higher temperature then decrease it after 5 minutes. This gives the muffins an initial lift.

Gather all your ingredients.

Making the Batter. To a large mixing bowl add the oil, brown sugar, cane sugar, vanilla, eggs, buttermilk and pumpkin puree. Mix together until smooth.

Place a sifter over the bowl and to it add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir together.

Stir in the semi-sweet chocolate chips and the milk chocolate chips.

Baking. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and fill them up with about ¼ cup of batter in each. If you use a large spring release scoop you'll end up with even shaped muffins.

Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven, cool and serve.

Storing, Freezing and Re-Heating

Storing: Store these pumpkin muffins in a large ziploc bag. You can store them on the countertop or in the fridge. They are best eaten within 5 days of making.

Freezing: Double bag the muffins in a freezer ziploc bag. Double bagging them helps to keep frostbite off of them.

Re-Heating: To reheat your muffins all you need to do is put them in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds. If you are re-heating them from frozen I would set them on the counter to thaw first, then re-heat in the microwave.

Pro Tips

I've made a lot of muffins, like...a lot of muffins! My absolute favorites are my blueberry crumb muffins and my family can't get enough of these pumpkin chocolate marble muffins. So I definitely know a thing or two on what and what not to do when baking muffins. Check out my pro tips.

• Over-mixing: This is a #1 culprit for tough muffins, don't overmix the batter. It doesn't need to be mixed over and over.
• Oil/Butter: Using oil makes muffins super moist but using butter makes them taste better. I have a whole post comparing oil and butter in muffins. In my opinion I would rather use oil for a moist muffin.
• Cookie Scoop: If you've been wondering how bakers get perfect looking muffins with beautiful tops then you need to invest in a large cookie scoop. The 3 tablespoon size is perfect for muffins.
• Oven Temperature: For perfect muffin tops start your oven temperature off higher then decrease the temperature. I start my muffins at 425 for 5 minutes then decrease to 375 for the remainder.