I’ve turned my lighter pumpkin chocolate chip bread into muffins for a healthier, shareable Halloween treat!
One of my most popular recipes is my lightened up pumpkin chocolate chip bread. I was next level craving it this week with the rainy, cold weather… but then I thought – why not try these as muffins for our friends’ Halloween party next weekend?! And thus, the shareable, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins were born!
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Truth be told, there’s not a whole lot of difference between these and the original, lightened-up loaf recipe, but I did adjust the salt slightly since the muffins are a little larger than a typical slice (I felt like it needed the balance with the size adjustment… or maybe just having a salty day?!). Plus you need some baking time adjustments and… I mean these pics are pretty cute for Halloween, yeah?!
What I like about using these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins as a Halloween treat is:
- They’re easily shareable in muffin size
- It’s a lighter fare option in contrast to bringing iced cupcakes for Halloween parties
Using Cupcake Liners for Muffins
I had these really adorable Halloween cupcake liners (here are similar) with picks, which I thought would be fun plated for the holiday!
If you’re using a cupcake liner, you don’t need to grease the muffin tins or liners. Greasing the muffin tin is really just to prevent the muffin from sticking to the pan, so using the liner already fulfills that purpose.
Other Helpful Muffin-Making Notes
Aside from taking caution to not over-manipulate the flour in the mixing process (which is key for virtually any bread!), the next most important tip is to pop the muffins out halfway after removing them from the oven so they don’t overbake.
Wrap-Up
If you want to know more about the health benefits of pumpkin you can visit the original loaf recipe here. Otherwise let’s skip on down to how to make the pumpkin chocolate chip muffin magic happen!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins | Healthier Halloween Treat
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 c flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 c sugar
- 1/2 c canola oil
- 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 c water
- 1 c 100% pure pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 c chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare muffin tins by greasing or using a muffin tin liner.
- Sift together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar).
- In a separate bowl, beat together wet ingredients (canola oil, applesauce, eggs, water, pumpkin and vanilla).
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix well but do not over-manipulate. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon into prepared muffin tins.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Pop out muffins halfway after removing from oven to prevent overbaking.
Nutrition

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