Savor the flavors of fall with The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. They’re moist, packed with pumpkin flavor and studded with semisweet chocolate chips. Best of all, you’ll only need 30 minutes from start to finish to make them happen in your home!
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As soon as the leaves change color and the temperatures drop a bit, it’s pumpkin’s time to shine! These chocolate chip pumpkin muffins are some of the first things I make when autumn hits: They’re so easy and delicious.
Moist, packed with autumnal flavor and studded with semisweet chocolate chips, this single-serving version of my all-time favorite pumpkin bread recipe is a baking homerun, a breakfast touchdown and a snack slam dunk. Best of all, you’ll only need 30 minutes from start to finish to make them happen in your home.
This recipe even has DIY pumpkin spice, which is way easier than it sounds. It’s just ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. Yup, that’s it!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fast and easy. These pumpkin spice chocolate chip muffins are ready in just 30 minutes.
- Moist and tender. Pumpkin purée adds moisture to the muffins, making them incredibly soft and tender.
- Warm spices. A blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves infuse the muffins with a cozy, aromatic quality that’s perfect for autumn.
- Freezer-friendly. You can store the muffins in the freezer for a few months.
- A great breakfast, snack or treat.
- Flour: Flour gives these muffins structure. If you’re gluten-free, try swapping in Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour.
- Spices: This recipe has you make your own pumpkin spice blend, using ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. However, instead of using these individual spices, you can use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
- Unsalted butter: Butter adds richness and moisture.
- Sugar: Sugar makes sure these muffins are sweet, but also adds moisture.
- Vanilla extract: A hint of vanilla tastes wonderful with the pumpkin.
- Eggs: Eggs also add structure and moisture to the muffins.
- Canned pumpkin: Pumpkin purée is what makes these muffins so fun for fall. Avoid using pumpkin pie filling. Just like my mini pumpkin cream cheese loaves, canned pumpkin works best, though you can use freshly prepared puree if that’s what you have on hand.
- Water: Water also adds moisture here!
- Chocolate chips: Chocolate chips offer little pockets of chocolatey joy.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Getting these muffins in the oven will take you just 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven. Heat the oven to 350ºF and grease a muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda, salt and spices.
- Cream the butter and sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the pumpkin.
- Add the dry ingredients and water. Add the dry ingredients and water to the bowl of the stand mixer, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Add the chocolate chips. Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter (reserve ¼ cup for the tops of the muffins!).
- Fill the muffin tin. Fill each muffin tin about 2/3 full, then top the muffins with the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips.
- Bake. Bake the muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, then cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pro Tip: Use a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins to check for doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean, the muffins are finished. If there’s any wet batter sticking to the muffins, they need more time.
- Use Room Temperature Butter: Room temperature butter is easy to cream, which adds in air and helps to make sure the muffins aren’t dense. You’ll know your butter is at room temperature when you can easily indent it with your finger.
- Crack the Eggs Into a Separate Bowl: I don’t recommend cracking your eggs directly into the stand mixer’s bowl. Instead, crack them into a separate bowl. This makes sure no bits of shell end up in your muffins and that the eggs are properly incorporated into the batter since you’ll be adding them one at a time.
- Use a Portion Scoop: A portion scoop is an easy way to evenly divide the batter between the muffin tins.
- Use a Hand Mixer: If you don’t own a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer to make this recipe. Make sure to still cream the butter and sugar together until it’s light and fluffy (it may take longer with a hand mixer).
- Skip the Liners: By skipping foil liners and baking the muffins right in the tin, you’ll get better browning all around the sides, which means more flavor.
To maintain freshness, store the pumpkin muffins in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag at room temperature for up to 2 days. If stacking the muffins, separate each layer with a sheet of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together.
You can freeze the muffins for up to three months. Just wrap each muffin in foil, then place them into a zip-top freezer bag.
Frequently Asked Questions
For moist muffins, make sure you use enough fat (like butter or oil). You should also avoid overbaking the muffins, which will dry them out.
In my pumpkin muffin recipe, there are 43 grams of carbs per muffin.
I love topping pumpkin muffins with extra chocolate chips. However, you could use chopped pecans, pumpkin seeds or chopped walnuts instead.
- Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
- Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies
- Pumpkin Pie Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a muffin pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the pumpkin.
- Alternately add the dry ingredients and water to the bowl, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Blend the batter well, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Stir in 1 cup of the chocolate chips then fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle the tops of the batter with the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips then bake the muffins for 18 10 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Kelly’s Notes
- Room temperature butter is easy to cream, which adds in air and helps to make sure the muffins aren’t dense. You’ll know your butter is at room temperature when you can easily indent it with your finger.
- I don’t recommend cracking your eggs directly into the stand mixer’s bowl. Instead, crack them into a separate bowl. This makes sure no bits of shell end up in your muffins and that the eggs are properly incorporated into the batter since you’ll be adding them one at a time.
- A portion scoop is an easy way to evenly divide the batter between the muffin tins.
- If you don’t own a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer to make this recipe. Make sure to still cream the butter and sugar together until it’s light and fluffy (it may take longer with a hand mixer). By skipping foil liners and baking the muffins right in the tin, you’ll get better browning all around the sides, which means more flavor.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
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Recipe adapted from Judy Mahaffa.
These are one of my go-to muffin recipes. My kids absolutely love them! I love the spices and pumpkin. Thank you!
Thrilled you’re enjoying the recipe, Brooke!
Grandson enjoyed these muffins. I make him muffins every Sunday to have each morning before school with his instant breakfast drink. He said I could make these again.
Thrilled he enjoyed them, Fran!
I am going to make this today! Do I buy a large can of pumpkin?
Thank you, and I will post how they turn out!
Hi there! What size do you mean by “large?”
Excellent recipe, nice and moist. My hubby loves them…says they taste better than Tim Hortons pumpkin spice muffins. And that’s quite a compliment. I only added a half cup chocolate chips and needed the full 20 minutes. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Marg!
Every hear when my bff and I get together for her birthday, I bake her something that is fall-ish . This recipe sounds perfect for us as we go out to coffee. Thanks
I hope you both enjoy the recipe! They are great for fall!
My ten-year-old son and I love this recipe. I use a little less sugar cutting it to 3/4 cup and I also put in a little brown sugar (1/2 cup granulated and a 1/4 brown sugar)
Love reading this, Suzanne!
Love love love these. Moist and delicious! Fast and easy too. This has become my grandchildrens most requested treat.
Yay! I’m so happy to read this, Barb!
My whole family loves this recipe and asks for it every fall!
I’m so happy to read this, Amy!
Love these muffins. Definitely my go to for an autumn pumpkin treat. I made them with gluten free 1:1 flour and they turned out perfectly. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Yay! I’m so thrilled you’ve been enjoying the recipe, Christina!
I’m just going to make these but I’m not sure when to add the water?
Hi LeeAnn! You’ll alternately add the dry ingredients and water to the bowl of your stand mixer with the wet ingredients (step 4). I hope that helps to clarify!
My go-to recipe for treats. Easy and absolutely the best. I know I’ve been making these since 2013 and friends/colleagues request them. They’re sooooo yummy! And turn out every time. Love love love them. Thank you!
WOWZA! I love reading this, Amanda! I’m so thrilled you’ve been enjoying (and sharing!) this recipe since 2013 :)
Deelish!!! Roasted my own pumpkin after Halloween! SOOO much pumpkin!!! Decided to use a cup on these and make them in an actual muffin pan (6 muffins in a pan). Baked @ 400 for 20 minutes. Perfect!!! Sooo moist! Made mini pumpkin muffins with the leftover batter… Baked those @ 350 for 15 minutes. Same level of moistness!!! Only used one cup of sugar and perfect sweetness for me! This one’s a keeper! Thanks for sharing!!!
This is what I love to read! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I’ve been making this recipe for a couple years now, and it’s our absolute favorite pumpkin muffin recipe! My girls love having this for breakfast, or for a snack!
Yay! I’m so happy to read this, Meg!
Awesome! Thank you
You are so welcome, Katherine! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
Made these last night, I did not have cloves or ginger (I need to fix that), so I just used pumpkin pie spice. But they came out delicious, definitely a keeper recipe
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Amy!