🎃 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Indulgently moist, perfectly spiced, and naturally clean

👇  Jump to Recipe  

Since stepping into retirement, one of my favorite morning rituals is enjoying the quiet peace of the house while something delicious bakes in the oven, usually with my handsome boxer, Tango, curled up right near me. And, if it’s warm enough, he will definitely be outside sunbathing on the deck! 

The smell of pumpkin pie spice is truly out of this world! What’s better than the scent of fresh pumpkin muffins baking in the oven on a crisp autumn day? It just makes me feel comfy and cozy. Today, we are filling the kitchen with those cozy fall aromas with this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe.

I love using King Arthur oat flour to achieve a beautifully thick, moist slice of bread or a collection of fluffy morning muffins. This batter offers total flexibility: you can scoop it out into 12 perfect portions that freeze beautifully, or bake it up as one gorgeous loaf to enjoy throughout the week (see notes after the recipe for the bread instructions).

Beyond being delicious, this pumpkin dark chocolate chip recipe is packed with clean, wholesome ingredients. It gives you all the cozy fall vibes, and it’s naturally sweetened with unrefined coconut sugar and maple syrup. Because it is totally free of refined sugars, it delivers the perfect soft texture and rich flavor in every single bite.

Whether you grab a muffin for breakfast or pack one for a quick afternoon reset, this easy recipe is about to become a favorite, year-round baking staple. If you decide to share these, take it from my own experience, you will instantly become the most popular person in the room. I used to bring these into work, and they were always a massive hit with my co-workers, especially Caryn and Greg!

Let's head to the kitchen.

🌿 Ingredient Spotlight: Wholesome Staples for a Better Bake

I love recipes where nearly every single ingredient gives back to your body. Instead of empty fillers, this cozy pumpkin recipe relies on simple, real-food pantry items that keep you feeling energized and satisfied. (Okay, the chocolate chips are there for pure joy, but balance is key!)

Here is a look at the key players in today’s recipe (yes, my husband watches a LOT of football and SportsCenter, which is clearly rubbing off on me 🤪 🏈):

🌾 King Arthur Oat Flour: To keep this recipe completely gluten-free and rich in fiber, we skip standard white flour entirely. Oat flour provides a beautifully soft crumb, steady blood sugar support, and slow-burning energy to power your morning.

🎃 Canned Pumpkin Puree: More than just a delicious seasonal flavor, real pumpkin is a natural powerhouse for digestive health. It adds incredible moisture to our batter while delivering an exceptional boost of antioxidants and Vitamin A.

🥚 Large Eggs: Whole eggs provide high-quality protein and act as the perfect binder for our gluten-free oat flour, giving the loaf or muffins a stable texture that won't crumble.

🫗 Botticelli Buttery Baking Olive Oil: This is my absolute favorite oil for healthy baking. Using this specific olive oil infuses the batter with heart-healthy fats, adding a luxurious, buttery richness that rounds out the spices perfectly.

🍂 Pumpkin Pie Spice: This warm spice blend does more than just smell like autumn. Cinnamon is famous for its anti-inflammatory properties and its ability to naturally assist with blood sugar regulation. Try my quick and easy Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend Recipe by Sue

🍯 The Sugar Duo: Combining unrefined coconut sugar with a touch of pure maple syrup allows us to use less sweetener overall. It yields a perfectly moist crumb with a deep, caramel-like complexity without any sharp blood sugar spikes.

🍎 A Quick Teacher Lesson: If you caught my last post for our Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies, you know that my former high school health students always remembered my favorite nutrition phrase: “It keeps your colon rollin’!” Well, this recipe is no exception. Between the King Arthur oat flour and the real pumpkin puree, this delicious treat packs a serious whole-food fiber punch that your gut will thank you for.

Here's the recipe ~ I hope you love it 🩷

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🎃 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

prep time: 10 min. cook time: Muffins 25-30 min. yield: 12 muffins

🖨️  Print Recipe

🛒 The Clean Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup King Arthur oat flour (138 g)

• 1/3 cup coconut sugar

• 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2  tsp fine sea salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup pure pumpkin puree (244 g) (Pure pumpkin, not pie mix)

• 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup

• 1/4 cup Botticelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Baking (or any healthy baking oil)

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

The Mix-Ins

• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (60% to 72% dark baking chips recommended; reserve a small handful for topping)

  
  

🥣 Easy Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prep and Oven Setup: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and spray a standard 12-count muffin tin with a healthy oil spray, or use paper liners.

2. Whisk the Dry Mix: In a small mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together all of your dry ingredients: the oat flour, coconut sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and sea salt. Ensure all small sugar clumps are broken up. Set aside.

3. Blend the Wet Mix: In your medium mixing bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients: the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, healthy baking oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until completely smooth and emulsified.

4. Combine into Batter: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to fold everything together just until a uniform, thick batter forms.

5. Fold in the Fun: Gently fold in most of your semi-sweet chocolate chips, making sure to reserve a small handful to press into the tops right before baking.

6. Rest is Best: Let the batter rest in the bowl at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping. This gives the gluten-free oat flour a chance to fully absorb the wet ingredients, which helps the flavors deepen and ensures your muffins or loaf rise beautifully!

7. Scoop & Top: Scoop the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Before popping them in the oven, sprinkle a couple of extra chocolate chips onto the top of each muffin. Gently press them into the batter so they stick.

8. Bake to Golden Perfection: Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops are beautifully puffed and golden.

1. Cool: Let rest for 10-15 minutes to finish setting, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

2. Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator lined with a paper towel for up to 7 days. They also freeze beautifully.

🍞 Want to Make Bread Instead?

The best part about this batter is it's total flexibility! If you prefer a gorgeous, sliceable quick bread to enjoy throughout the week rather than individual muffins, follow these simple adjustments:

• Lower the Temperature: Preheat your oven to 325°F (163°C). (Tip: Lowering the temperature to 325°F is essential, especially if using a ceramic or glass loaf pan. This will help prevent the outer edges from over-browning before the dense center cooks through).

• Prep the Pan: Line a standard 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a bit of an overhang on the sides for easy removal.

• Fill and Top: Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and press your reserved chocolate chips into the top.

• Bake Time: Bake at 325°F for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If using an instant-read thermometer, look for an internal temperature of 200–205°F (93–96°C) in the very center.

• Cooling: Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then use the parchment handles to lift it out and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

💡 How to Customize the Sugar Levels

If you want to lower the sugar counts for a future batch while keeping this recipe entirely whole-food based, here are some easy adjustments you can make. Sue's Baker Tip: When choosing your chocolate, remember that the higher the cocoa percentage, the less sugar it contains!

• Swap the semi-sweet chips for Ghirardelli 60% Bittersweet Chips. This swap bumps up the rich cocoa flavor, keeps your grocery cost low, and drops the sugar content a bit.

• Buy a standard 85% dark chocolate bar and rough-chop it into chunks. This reduces your chocolate sugar profile and creates beautiful "pools" of chocolate for photography.

• Swap the chips for cacao nibs for 100% pure chocolate flavor, zero sugar, and a spectacular crunchy texture.

🩷 Sue's Kitchen Tips: 

• 🌾 The Fluffiness Factor: Using King Arthur Oat Flour gives this bake an incredibly light, soft crumb. Weighing the flour (138 grams) is highly recommended over scoop-measuring to ensure the batter stays perfectly hydrated. No scale? Use a spoon to fluff the flour into your measuring cup before leveling with a knife.*** Scroll down to: Shop this Recipe for the kitchen scale that's in my kitchen.

• 🧼 The Non-Stick Syrup Trick: Spray your measuring spoon with a quick mist of avocado oil or cooking spray before pouring your maple syrup. The sticky syrup will slide out completely clean!

🐾 Tango's Kitchen Tips:

I love me some pumpkin! Please feel free to get a head start on the dishes by letting me lick the pumpkin spoon. 🎃 I know, no muffin or batter bowl licking for me with those silly chocolate chips in the mix. It’s ok, I know I’ll get some dog friendly treats later. All I have to do is look at my mom with my cute face and ears and she melts and gives me treats.

Psssst ~ in case you missed our last recipe, I shared a big secret... My mom told me she’s going to be sharing a canine snack that contains pumpkin 🎃 But don’t tell her I told you, or she may hold back on some belly rubs 🤫

Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Wellness & Boxer Wags! 🐾

🛒 Shop This Recipe: My Kitchen Favorites

To help you get the exact same soft and pillowy results in your own kitchen, here are the direct links to the specific tools and ingredients I used for this batch! You can check out my full, extended list of kitchen essentials anytime over on my Shop My Favorites page.

🥣 Baking Essentials

• ​Mason Cash Nautical 2 Quart Batter Bowl 

• Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl: 

• High-Flex Silicone Spatulas:

• Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Muffin Pan, 12 Cup 

• If You Care FSC Certified Unbleached Large Baking Cups, 60ct, 3pk 

• Tonal Green Fluted Ceramic 1-Lb. Loaf Baking Dish

• Instant-Read Kitchen Thermometer:

• Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale  

  
  

🌾 Pantry Staples

• King Arthur Fine Oat Flour

• Libby's 100% Pure Canned Pumpkin: 

• Botticelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Baking 

• Coconut Sugar 

  
  

💬 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: I don't have oat flour in my pantry. Can I make my own?

A: Yes, absolutely! Making your own oat flour is incredibly easy. Simply add old-fashioned rolled oats into a high-speed blender or food processor and blend on high for 30 to 60 seconds until it turns into a fine, powdery flour.

Q: Can I swap the oat flour for regular all-purpose flour or almond flour?

A: I don't recommend a direct 1:1 swap. Oat flour absorbs much more liquid than all-purpose flour and behaves completely differently than almond flour. To keep the soft, pillowy texture of this bread exactly as intended, it is best to stick with 100% oat flour.

Q: How do I make sure this recipe is 100% gluten-free?

A: Oats are naturally gluten-free, but they are often processed in facilities that handle wheat. If you are baking for someone with a gluten allergy or Celiac disease, just make sure your bag of oat flour is explicitly labeled Certified Gluten-Free.

Q: Can I use pumpkin pie mix instead of pure pumpkin puree?

A: No, make sure to use 100% pure canned pumpkin. Canned pumpkin pie mix contains added sugars, water, and spices that will completely throw off the liquid balance and sweetness of this specific batter.

Q: I don’t have a Tango, does that mean I have to wash the pumpkin spoon myself?

A: Unfortunately, yes 😜

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From my kitchen (and Tango’s supervisor corner) to yours, happy baking. Let me know in the comments which version you tried!

Enjoy,

~ Sue & Tango 🩷 🐾

Wellness & Boxer Wags | wellnessandboxerwags.com

Peace in our hearts • Love in our actions • Health in our minds & bodies • Happiness in our spirits • Balance in everything

P.S. It was definitely a sunbathing day for Tango when I made these. Although, he stopped by the kitchen a few times to supervise and to lick the pumpkin spoon 😋

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