Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread that's made with good for you ingredients but still tastes indulgent, delicious, and has all the pumpkin flavor you want this time of year. You can also enjoy pumpkin season with these Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes and Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal.

It took me quite a long time to come around to pumpkin. I was never much of a pumpkin pie fan and even though I like pumpkin more than I ever have, I am still not a die-hard pumpkin spice fan. However, one major exception to that is pumpkin bread. That I can get behind every time and it's one of my favorite things to eat this time of year. I love the notes of cinnamon and nutmeg and the subtle pumpkin flavor that comes through in every bite. However my bakery obsession definitely packs in the calories, so lately I have been experimenting with making my own lighter version at home.

I started with one of my favorite healthy banana bread recipes since, in my opinion, good banana bread and good pumpkin bread are not too far apart. This bread uses a combination of canned pumpkin, banana, and applesauce for sweetness and moisture. It's a really moist, dense bread, which I love. It also needs a touch of honey and maple syrup so it sweet enough and lots of pumpkin pie spice to get all the cinnamon and nutmeg flavor you expect in a pumpkin treat. This is all combined with white whole wheat flour and a good smattering of chocolate chips since pumpkin and chocolate is always a good thing. And let me tell you, the finished bread, it so delicious. We ate the whole loaf in just a couple of days.

Is pumpkin bread healthy?

The simple answer is usually not, but luckily, this recipe for pumpkin bread is actually good for you. Most pumpkin bread is packed, I mean packed, with sugar. For example, the pumpkin bread at Starbucks has 410 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 39 grams of sugar in a single slice. In comparison, this healthy pumpkin bread has just 181 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 14 grams of sugar. Plus the sugar in the recipe isn't refined white sugar. It's sugar from bananas, honey, and pure maple syrup. 

So let's talk about what else makes this a healthy pumpkin bread.

• Pumpkin is packed with beta carotene, potassium, Vitamin C, and it is rich in antioxidants. It is also low calorie and a great source of fiber,
• White whole wheat flour contains more vitamins and minerals than standard white flour but doesn't have the same strong wheat flavor as standard brown wheat flour. It is made from a different type of wheat plant that is lighter in color and milder in flavor yet still maintains all the great benefits of choosing a whole wheat flour option.
• Bananas are a great source of natural sweetness, are high in fiber, and can help with digestion from naturally occurring prebiotics. They are also high in potassium.

Tips for Making Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

• When buying canned pumpkin, make sure to buy plain canned pumpkin without any added sweeteners or spices. It should just be pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Canned or homemade squash puree also works.
• I like to add a banana and applesauce since it adds natural sweetness to the bread. You could replace this with extra pumpkin if you don't want to use banana or applesauce. You will need about 1/2 cup of extra pumpkin puree.
• If you don't like pumpkin pie spice, you can just use cinnamon instead. This is perfect for people who don't like nutmeg or cloves, which are usually a part of pumpkin pie spice blends.
• This recipe works great for muffins as well, just cut the cooking time down since muffins will cook a lot more quickly than bread.
• Chocolate and pumpkin are one of my favorite combinations so I always add chocolate chips. You can leave these out if you want. It will reduce the calories by about 35 calories and points to 5 SP per serving.
• Get creative and try out other mix ins! You could add nuts, carob chips, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, yogurt chips, dried fruit, and more.

Can I freeze healthy pumpkin bread?

If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, this bread freezes well. Make sure to let the bread fully cool before freezing it. Then you can freeze the entire loaf or freeze it in individual portions. I love freezing the bread in individual slices and then grabbing them to throw in school lunches. They will defrost during the day and be ready just in time for lunch.

Here are some of the products I used in this recipe:

• I like to use white whole wheat flour for baking since it is a healthier, less processed option to all purpose flour but has the same taste in recipes and bakes in the same way.
• If you are looking at this recipe and it's a time of year it's hard to find pumpkin puree, look online, where you can purchase it year round and usually at a very competitive price.

Calories 181, Total Fat 6g, Total Carbohydrate 31g, Protein 4g, Serving Size 1 slice

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