Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Bring on all the flavors of fall! This Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread recipe has been tried and tested countless times to ensure a perfect texture, rise and flavor. You're going to love it and I bet no one will know it's gluten free!

This recipe definitely comes out more and more in the fall, but my kids request it all year long.

This was inspired by our Perfect Pumpkin Bread recipe, but making it gluten free required a few extra tweaks beyond just swapping the flour. Try drinking this with our White Chocolate Mocha recipe for the ultimate afternoon treat!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

This pumpkin pie spiced loaf is a classic favorite during the holidays and your entire family will surely love it as much as mine.

• Salted Butter - or use unsalted butter and add ¼ teaspoon of salt to compensate.
  
• Light Brown Sugar - pack it in to your measuring cup to get the right amount. I use the palm of my hand to push it down to ensure the correct amount.

• Canned pumpkin - I love that this recipe uses one whole can of pureed pumpkin. No need to save a tiny bit in the back of your fridge.
  
• Large Eggs - bring them to room temperature (I like to place them in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes if I forget to take them out early. This gets them room temp really fast.)
  
• Vanilla Extract - flavor booster!

• Gluten Free Flour Blend - my favorite is King Arthur Measure for Measure, and you can read why in our Gluten Free Flour Blends Comparison post.
  
• Almond flour - finely ground is best (I like Bob's Red Mill or Blue Almond)
  
• Baking Powder - this heavy loaf needs lots of lift
  
• Baking Soda - more lift

• Ground Cinnamon - here comes the flavors of fall
  
• Ground Nutmeg - more fall flavor
  
• Ground Ginger - and more
  
• Ground Cloves - and even more fall flavor, because there's no such thing as too much.
  
• Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips - these are optional, but of course, make this pumpkin bread really amazing (and a favorite for the kids).

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

This pumpkin loaf comes together really fast! Just a handful of simple ingredients and you're looking at about 15 minutes of hands-on time. See the pictures below for a step-by-step guide to making perfect pumpkin bread.

Prepare

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9.5" x 5.5" loaf pan with parchment paper (the parchment paper is important for easy removal) and spray lightly with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Mix

In a large microwave safe bowl, melt butter in 30 second intervals until just melted. Allow to cool a few minutes. I like to pull all of my ingredients and measuring cups out while I wait for the butter to cool.

Add light brown sugar to the butter and whisk until light and fluffy (see the picture above for how it should look). It'll take about 2 minutes by hand, or if you want to use a stand mixer, mix it up for about 1 minute. I love this open-ended whisk, it's cleaner and just as effective as a balloon whisk.

Add pumpkin, eggs and vanilla extract and whisk until evenly combined.

In a separate bowl mix together gluten free flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Stir until evenly combined.

Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until mostly mixed. Add ¾ cup of chocolate chips (save about ¼ cup for the top) and finish stirring gently until no flour streaks remain.

Bake

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth top. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips on top.

Place on center rack of oven. Bake for 60-70 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a skewer into the center of the loaf. It is done when it has a few or no crumbs stuck to it.

Once done, remove from oven and remove loaf from loaf pan by pulling the edges of the parchment paper. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 1 hour. It really needs time to sit and cool off. Don't slice while too warm or it will crumble too much.

Slice and enjoy!

Substitutions

I love that this recipe is specifically created to be tasty as a gluten free bread, but if you have more dietary needs, check out these options below.

• Dairy Free - swap the butter with a vegan butter or vegetable/canola oil. Substitute it 1:1. Be sure to grab dairy free chocolate chips, like the ones from Trader Joe's. Easy!
  
• Vegan - use the dairy free swaps above and replace the egg with a flax egg or similar. Check out our Vegan Vanilla Baked Donuts recipe for more egg replacement ideas.
  
• Keto - this recipe is not naturally keto-friendly, however, there are many other amazing recipe creators out there making keto recipes. Check out this one from Chocolate Covered Katie.

If you are strictly gluten free or have Celiac disease, please be read all ingredients and be sure to use equipment that has not been used with regular flour foods. Especially if you bake for someone with allergies, just check with them for suggestions before getting started.

Variations

Personally, I think this recipe is basically perfect as-is! However, there are fun ways to change it up and make it your perfect recipe too!

• Other Add-Ins - Instead of chocolate chips, try white chocolate chips, mini chips (for more even distribution) or even candied ginger (in small amounts).
  
• Toppings - instead of chocolate chips on top, sprinkle a cinnamon sugar mix of 2 teaspoons cinnamon with 2 tablespoons white sugar. Simply sprinkle all over the top before baking. Makes an amazing crisp topping, like our Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.
  
• Lower Sugar - simply reduce the amount of brown sugar in this recipe by half and reduce the amount of chocolate chips. I wouldn't omit either of those, but if you prefer less-sweet breads, this is an easy way to cut back on sugar.

If you love baking with pumpkin, try out our Healthy Pumpkin Muffins, Gluten Free Pumpkin Scones, or even our Sweet Potato Pumpkin Soup. I love that pumpkin is a flavor that can go in almost anything!

Equipment

This recipe does not require any special equipment, except a good loaf pan. I recommend having two quality loaf pans, since we often want to bake more than one and we don't want to wait an hour while one bakes.

If you're unsure if your oven is cooking at the correct temperature, I have found that using an oven thermometer can be very helpful. Simply hang this little thermometer off a baking rack and never guess again if you're baking at the perfect temperature!

Storage

Room Temperature

To store pumpkin bread at room temperature, simply wait for bread to cool completely then wrap tightly in plastic wrap, or place in a zip-top bag. Slice as needed and return to its storage. Bread will stay fresh up to 5 days at room temperature.

Refrigerator

Again, wrap in plastic wrap or store in a large zip-top bag and place in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Do not slice bread before storing, just slice as needed for optimum freshness.

Freezer

Storing pumpkin bread in the freezer is the best way to be prepared for the holidays, in my opinion. To freeze pumpkin bread, be sure bread is fully cooled to room temperature then wrap tightly in foil and then place foil-wrapped bread into a zip-top freezer bag.

Pumpkin bread will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 2 months. Remember to label and date the bags.

How to Thaw Pumpkin Bread

Remove the bread from the freezer bag. Then, place it on a wire cooling rack before loosely opening the foil layer. Partially unwrapping the bread helps eliminate any condensation from forming, making the outside of the bread soggy.

Let the bread stand at room temperature until thawed, about two to three hours. Rewrap the bread after it’s completely thawed, and store in the refrigerator or room temperature, following the directions above.