I’ve been making these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for over ten years now, and they continue to be a favorite! Easy, fast, perfect!

There’s nothing quite like a good ol’ classic pumpkin chocolate chip muffin to get you in the mood for fall.

And this recipe is the best of the best.

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffin in muffin tin.

I’ve been making these muffins for over ten years, and they are still a family favorite. Although, wonderfully, now my kids are actually old enough to make the recipe themselves.

One bowl and super easy, these muffins are soft, moist, and pretty much perfect.

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffin with liner pulled down.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin

You can use canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree for this recipe. Either works great! Sometimes homemade pumpkin puree can be really soft and/or liquidy; drain off any excess liquid before using. 

The recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice. Don’t have it? No worries! There is a super easy and fast substitution in the notes of the recipe for mixing up your own pumpkin pie spice blend with a few pantry staples.

You can use any type of chocolate chips OR sub out the chocolate chips for another add-in (please don’t tell me if it’s raisins).

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffin split in half.

One Bowl Muffins

Just like a few other recipes I’ve posted lately, all the ingredients for these muffins get thrown into a bowl at the same time and mixed up. 

This might make you feel panicky, especially if you’ve been lectured in the past about carefully mixing muffin batter so that it doesn’t get jinxed or overmixed. 

Deep breaths! The pumpkin helps the muffins stay soft and moist even though we’re disobeying about ten different cardinal rules of muffin making. 

Mixing batter for pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

You don’t want to over mix, but you also don’t need to baby this muffin batter.

These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are not as fussy as lots of other muffin recipes, and they turn out great. Like, best-ever kind of great.

You can bake the muffins with paper liners or without – just grease the muffin tin before scooping in the batter. 

Scooping muffin batter into muffin liners.

Look at the perfectly domed top on that baked muffin! Talk about muffin royalty. These muffins are picture perfect and delicious! 

I’ve made a lot of pumpkin muffins over the years, and these are the best of the best!

You can leave out the chocolate chips (but why would you??) for a basic pumpkin muffin, and you also might be glad to know these muffins keep well for several days and freeze great. 

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffin in muffin tin.

Here are some other rave reviews for this recipe:

Angela: I just made these and they are wonderful!! Thanks so much!

Heather B.: My kids just said “Oh, these are so good. Best muffins you have ever made.” And I have made alot! Thanks!

Kristen: My family LOVED these and they all try to say they don’t like pumpkin. (Not to mention it is June and 100+ degrees outside but I am trying to have pumpkin fest around here.)

Brittany: These were absolutely delicious! I ate 3 of them right out of the oven, and then every time I ate more I microwaved them so they were warm like the first ones. Better than any pumpkin recipe I’ve tried! Thanks.

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffin in liner on white napkin.

FAQs for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Can I use the whole can of pumpkin?

The recipe calls for 1 cup of pumpkin puree BUT over the years many readers have reported back that using the entire can of pumpkin (without altering the other ingredients) works great!

Do these muffins freeze well?

They sure do! I slide the baked and cooled muffins in a single layer in a freezer gallon-size ziploc bag and freeze that way.

Can I use whole wheat flour?

This recipe works great with all-purpose or whole wheat flour (or half and half). I recommend using white whole wheat flour (red whole wheat flour is darker and might make the muffins more dense).

Can I leave out the chocolate chips or add something else?

Yep! They can be left out and/or other add-ins can be added.

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pumpkin chocolate chip muffin in muffin tin

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

4.77 stars (164 ratings)

Ingredients

  • 1 ⅔ cups (190 g) all-purpose or whole wheat flour (see note)
  • 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (see note)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup (227 g) canned pumpkin puree (see note about using the whole can)
  • ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, softened to room temperature or melted
  • 1 cup (170 g) chocolate chips

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners. Set aside.
  • Add all ingredients except chocolate chips to a large bowl and mix until no dry streaks remain. Stir in chocolate chips.
  • Scoop batter evenly into muffin tin filling muffin cups about 2/3 to 3/4 full.
  • Bake for 18-25 minutes until the tops spring back lightly to the touch. Remove from the muffin tin and let cool completely on cooling rack.

Notes

Flour: these muffins work really well with whole wheat flour or half white flour/half wheat flour; I use white whole wheat flour when baking (red whole wheat flour is darker and makes baked goods more dense and hearty).
Sugar: if you like your muffins less sweet, you can decrease the sugar by 1/4 cup.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: if you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use the following for this recipe: 1 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, pinch cloves.
Pumpkin:many people in the comments have said they’ve used the whole can of pumpkin with good results (without altering any of the other ingredients) – if doing so, you’ll probably get a few more muffins out of the batch.
Serving: 1 muffin, Calories: 264kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Sodium: 258mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 23g
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Recipe Source: from my friend, Mel B.
Recipe originally published Nov 2008; updated Oct 2020 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.