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!
Table of Contents
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!
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from Judy Mahaffa.
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!
Lately, I’ve been baking quite a bit for family and friends. My husband, who can be a picky eater at times, suggested Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins since we had several cans of pumpkin in the house. After reading through several recipes in books and online, I decided to try your recipe. These muffins are outstanding – very moist and full of flavor!! My husband loved them. I will definitely be baking these again!
Woohoo! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Gale!
These muffins were so so yummy! My family loved them so much!
Woohoo! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Sarah!
Have you tried making with mini muffin tins? If so do you know what the cook time would change to?
Hi Jackie! Unfortunately I haven’t tried that so I’m not sure what the bake time would be. Let me know if you give it a shot!
Will Share this recipe. So yummy. Thank you for posting it.
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it, Karen!
Hi Kelly! I found this recipe a couple years ago and have been making pumpkin muffins for Thanksgiving weekend ever since. They are a big hit with the family! I get 16 muffins from my batter, as I try not to overfill the cups. Muffin liners stick a little but work out much better than scrubbing the pan :) Thanks for all your great recipes. Happy Thanksgiving!
Love hearing this, Deborah! I’m thrilled you’ve been enjoying the recipe! Happy Thanksgiving :)
Well, the title accurately describes these pumpkin muffins! These are the best I’ve ever had and they are addicting. Now to go exercise. Lol
Ha! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Melody!
Is that 282 calories per one muffin? If so, I wish I had know before I devoured two
Hi Claire – Yes, the Estimated Nutrition Information provides nutritional info for one muffin.
Kelly,
Can you sub all the spices for Pumpkin Pie Spice (since all of those individual spices are in it)? If so, what would the measurement be?
Thanks!
Definitely, Lauren! I’d recommend 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
When do you add the water?!
Hi Sarah! The water is added during the fourth step: Alternately add the dry ingredients and water to the bowl, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
What size can of pumpkin?
Hi Teri! You’ll need 1 cup so a 15 oz. can of pumpkin will be more than enough.
Not sure if it’s too late to ask a question here, but how many muffins does this recipe make? I’d like to make some mini muffins for a group!
Hi Haley! It makes about 14 muffins.
Could you make this into a bread?
Definitely! Or just add chocolate chips to my recipe for Pumpkin Bread :) https://www.justataste.com/pumpkin-bread/
These were delicious! I cut the sugar to 3/4 c to make them healthier for my kids and they were still plenty sweet, especially with the chocolate chips. They devoured the whole batch (with some help from me and my hubby) the same afternoon I baked them. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you all enjoyed the recipe!
I look forward to pumpkin desserts in the fall and winter. I made these and they were awesome. Everyone in my house loved them. So moist and so easy to make.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Stephanie!
I have all of the ingredients except the ground ginger.. is there anything i should do to replace it or is it necessary in this recipe?
Hi Jo! It’ll definitely enhance the pumpkin flavor, but it’s not essential :)
These muffins turned out amazing! My boys and myself love them. So moist! Will be perfect for breakfast this week!
Woohoo! Love hearing this, Selena!
These are amazing and exactly what I was looking for today – I used coconut oil instead of butter and they still turned out fantastic – thanks!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Trish!
I want to make these because I recently bought some sugar pie pumpkins and pureed them but I’m not sure how to use that fresh puree over canned. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Karis! I’ve never tried this recipe with fresh pumpkin purée but my #1 tip would be to make sure you remove as much liquid as possible, as fresh pumpkin purée tends to contain a lot more liquid than the canned variety. Hope that helps!
My new go-to recipe! Moist, delicious and a huge hit with my kids. Thanks Kelly!
Excellent! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Becky!
Can you use muffin liners or will the muffins stick to them?
Definitely! Use any type of muffin liner.
Amazing!! Yummo!! Bravo!!
I just made these muffins this morning since I had left over canned pumpkin. These are AMAZING! Great job on the recipe!
Awesome! SO glad you enjoyed the recipe, Melissa!
Did not have chocolate chips, but made these without and they were absolutely marvelous. Husband ate several for breakfast. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I thought I had pumpkin puree, but it is the pumpkin pie mix. Can I use it and not add the spices?
Hi Christy! I can’t say with certainty if that will work, but my initial thought is that it should. However, because the pumpkin pie mix has sugar, you may want to reduce the amount of sugar called for in the recipe. Hope that helps!
This came out great. I didn’t add the water BC the dough seemed like the correct consistency, which I’m guessing is similar to banana bread. I may have used slightly less than a can of pumpkin which may have added the moisture difference. Reduced the sugar to one cup. Next time I would add 1/2 tsp salt, but it was a great, subtle spice blend overall. Chocolate chips were a nice touch.
So glad you enjoyed the muffins, Jacquei!
I love pumpkin but I don’t quite fancy spices in my cakes and other sweets (which is why I don’t really like fruit cakes which uses spice). I don’t think my kids will like the taste of the spices too. However, I am tempted to try this pumpkin cupcakes because they look so easy and yummy. Can I make do without the spices? Will it affect the texture? I don’t mind using a bit of cinnamon though. Another thing, is making my own pumpkin puree equivalent to the canned ones? hope to hear your reply soon! thanks.
Hi there! You could leave out the spices but I don’t think the resulting muffins would have very much flavor. The spices provide a really subtle flavor enhancement that goes great with the pumpkin.
i made these muffins and they are great but there to sweet. Should use 3/4 c. sugar
I made these muffins last week and they were amazing! Now my boyfriend is asking for either banana chocolate chip or plain chocolate chip. Does anyone know of a way to alter this recipe so the moistness is still there but there is no pumpkin included? :)
Awesome! So glad you’re enjoying the recipe, Ashley! I’ve never tried removing the pumpkin and replacing it with bananas but I’m going to test it out next week so stay tuned for the recipe!
Hi, thanks for your answer
Pumpkin and banana bread I’ve made with baking powder but did not get a good result. Is baking soda should be used? Because it is bad for health.
Hello and thanks
Remove baking soda in this recipe?
Hi Sahar! You definitely don’t want to omit the baking soda.
Do you have nutritional values available?
Hi Krista – I don’t provide nutritional info for any of my recipes because I am not a certified nutritionist so I wouldn’t be able to guarantee the info is 110% accurate.
Niurka, what temp and time did you set these at?
I’m excited to try these, but they’re taking longer than 20 minutes to bake. Just thought I’d mention it in case it happens to anyone else (and my oven typically gets thing done faster than most recipes).
Best muffins ever!! Used fresh mashed pumpkin instead of the pumpkin in a can and brown sugar instead of white sugar. They taste sensational. Thank you for the recipe
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Rebecca :)
Made these for a group last weekend! They were so moist and delicious- everyone loved them!
Woohoo! So glad you’re enjoying them :)
My new go-to-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffin-recipe. Considered only baking Half and eating the rest of the batter raw. New Year, New Pam: I’m trying to rid my life of the GMO nightmares that are pre=packaged muffins, pastries, cookies- All made in the factory, pumped full of Chemicals approved by..Who? Michelle Obama? Recovering Pop-Tart addict here. These Muffins are great but Texture is more like cupcakes- Great for dessert or…naughty breakfast. Used Dark chocolate chips You can’t even tell it’s dark.
One question: Do you use Cupcake Liners or Muffin Liners with the recipe? I , Personally used muffin liners and the texture came out more like cupcake or just cake.
Haha! So glad you’re enjoying the recipe, Pamela! :)
Kelly,
Thanks for the recipe. They look delicious. Do you know what the temp and time would be if I were using mini muffin pans? Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Julie
Hi Julie! I have never made mini muffins with this recipe, however the temp would still be 350F. I’m not certain on the bake time.
Aren’t your pictures of mini muffins?
Nope! Regular size :)
Great recipe- I made these yesterday. I misread the directions amd added a whole 15 oz can of pumpkin and they still came out good- just very very moist! They were a hot with the whole family- I added flax seed and chia for a nutritional boost. :).
Tastes great!! Made it as pumpkin bread since I didn’t have a muffin pan, with pieces of the pumpkin that I carved for Halloween :D. Thanks for the recipe!
Yum chocolate chip and pumpkin muffins?!?! I’m in! Can’t wait to try thanks for sharing.
Can I use milk chocolate chips?
Absolutely! I hope you enjoy them, Gayle!
Could you substitute pumpkin pie spice for the spices?
Definitely, Kylene!
I have been in a total “pumpkin baking” mood lately. Came across your site and thought “WOW those look delicious!!”. I baked them to see if they really are “the best” as you say, and I totally agree! So easy and simple to make. Boyfriend loved them too which is a big plus. Thank you for sharing! I will definetly be checking in to see more of your recipes :)
–Ellie
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Can you please tell me what size can of pumpkin is needed? I plan to bake these muffins this weekend. Thank you.
Hi Denise, There are different size cans of pumpkin, however this recipe calls for 1 cup (which you can get out of a 15-ounce can).
I made these but the mix was thick. I used Chobani pumpkin flavor yogurt to replace the butter and did half coconut flour and half wheat flour, and replaced the sugar with honey. U think all he substitutes had a lot to do with the thick mix?
Hi Amber – Yes, the reason the batter was thick was due to your substitutions. Substituting yogurt for butter and honey for sugar, plus the flour substitutions, will result in an entirely different recipe, as the fat content and texture will be affected. Hope this helps!
I made these tonight – amazing! Thanks for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Just made these tonight using a gluten free flour mix and it was /delicious/. I used mini chocolate chips but left them off the top and they turned out perfect. Fluffy and not overly powerful in pumpkin or chocolate flavor. My kids ate them up! Thanks for the recipe. I’ll be using this one again and again.
I made these yesterday after I found the recipe. They are delicious. All three kids and the husband agreed. Only thing I would like to do is try to decrease the butter by substituting something healthier. But to be honest, if it didn’t work I would go back to making them just like the recipe states!
We made them yesterday. They are delicious! I bake them as mini cupcakes for 18 min. My kids love them! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I’ve used the same pumpkin bread/muffin recipe for years, but when I saw your recipe I knew it was time to make a change. I made these last week for a couple of my friend’s and they loved them as did I. I can’t wait to bake them up again!
It’s officially fall now & I love pumpkin recipes! Those muffins look amazing!
I made these this past weekend – OMG – they are AMAZING! They were very moist and the chocolate/pumpkin combo is so yummy. I will definitely be making these again and again! Does anyone know if they would freeze well?
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I’ve never tried freezing them, but let me know if you give it a go :)
My family would go nuts for these muffins!
Does chocolate actually go well with pumpkin? It doesn’t seem like a good flavor combo to me, but maybe I am wrong. I will have to try!
I’m not “chocolate” person and I can’t have nuts due to kidney problems….could I just leave out the c. Chips without causing an inbalance with the other ingredients ? Will the recipe still work without the chips ??? Thank you.. I love many of your other recipes . BK.
Hi Kelly! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. I baked it yesterday and I’m so happy with the result, it’s moist and delicious! It’s a keeper. I love everything you cook and bake. I’ve never been disappointed.
Yea for pumpkin!!!
I love pumpkin muffins so much. These look lovely!
I love the pumpkin-chocolate combo! Perfect for fall!
Yes yes yes yes! Can’t wait to make these! (mouth is watering)
Looking for a quick and easy pumpkin muffin recipe, this one seems perfect! Not over loaded with spices, I’ll save it and attempt to recreate it later!