I have one heck of a great way to start your day. Chocolate Pumpkin Bread. Did you hear that??? Bread that is chocolate!!!
While this feels a little like getting to have cake for breakfast (at least according to my daughter), this bread is made with pumpkin, whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt, making it a perfectly acceptable way to start your day. I adapted this recipe from Heather Cristo’s Chocolate Pumpkin Bread With Cinnamon Glaze.
Heather’s recipe is a bit more decadent, especially with a delicious glaze on top. Heather’s version looks ridiculously good, and I wanted to make a bit more healthy weekday breakfast version for my girls. I make almost all of my muffins and breads with white whole wheat flour, letting me pack in some whole grains. The texture is not quite the same as all purpose flour. All purpose flour will give you a bit more of a rich and decadent bread, with the white whole wheat giving you a bit more of a hearty bread. Either way is delicious, go with whatever works for you.
While the pumpkin helps add moisture, the flavor is very mild. If you didn’t know that the pumpkin was there, you might not even realize it. Now if you love the taste of pumpkin, then simply pump up the spices in this bread and the flavor will shine through.
I love dark chocolate cocoa powder. You could absolutely use regular cocoa powder though. I’m just a fan of all things dark chocolate.
My girls both inhaled this bread, and my oldest kept saying how great it was because it was like eating cake for breakfast. I have to say, I totally agree with her. You can even spread some peanut butter on for some added protein to start the day.
I have a feeling this recipe might become a new staple around here. Adding chocolate chips would make this even more over the top, and some nuts mixed in (I’m thinking walnuts) would be incredible.
Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1/3 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree canned pumpkin
- 1 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
- 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup chocolate chips or nuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine butter and yogurt with electric mixer until completely combined. Mix in sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs and mix until well combined. Add vanilla and pumpkin and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine white whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Slowly mix into the wet ingredients. Add in buttermilk, and mix just until combined. If adding chocolate chips or nuts, fold in.
- Pour into a greased standard size loaf pan.
- Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool. Remove from pan and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Heather Cristo's Chocolate Pumpkin Bread.
Looking for more ways to start your day with chocolate (made acceptable with things like bananas, pumpkin, Greek yogurt and whole grains)? I’ve got some delicious options for you…
Shaina says
chocolate and pumpkin!? amazing combination.
Laura @ Lauras Baking Talent says
This bread looks INCREDIBLE! Rich and moist… yum. Plus whenever you can add chocolate to breakfast I am all in 🙂
Kathy says
Can you sub gluten free flour for the flour?
Beth @ Hungry Happenings says
The color of this bread is incredible. It’s so deep and dark. What brand of cocoa powder do you use?
antonia carter says
I made this last night..I used homemade yoghurt and homemade buttermilk…I just had it for breakfast..AWESOME…so so good… Thank you for sharing…Toni..
Christi says
Antonia, so glad you liked it! We loved it. We are traveling and I brought two loaves and it’s been our breakfast each morning. So yummy!
Caroline says
I don’t have any vanilla Greek yogurt on hand. Do you think sour cream would work or would it not be sweet enough? Thanks!
Christi says
Caroline, the yogurt isn’t really for adding sweetness, it’s for adding moisture. I think adding sour cream would be fine, probably a bit more decadent!
Jamie says
I love that you give options because I never have whole wheat flour on hand and usually just give up on those recipes. =) Thanks!
Nick @ Bakingbeardy says
This has been baffling me – is dark cocoa powder different from most cocoa powder? Granted, I’m in the UK, but I thought most powder has a very dark chocolate vibe to it!
Christi says
Nick – here’s the cocoa I use… http://www.hersheys.com/pure-products/details.aspx?id=5354&name=HERSHEYS+Cocoa+SPECIAL+DARK
Mike says
In your review of the bread you say the pumpkin flavor is very mild and to pump up the spices if you want more flavor. I don’t see any spices listed in the ingredients list. Or are you suggesting to add some pumpkin pie spice to the bread?
Christi says
Mike, yes if you want pumpkin flavor to really shine through, add some pumpkin pie spice and I’d also say some cinnamon. I am incredibly unscientific with my spices and almost never measure them, but 1 teaspoon of each would probably be a nice conservative amount to start with (I however would go with 2-3 tsp myself, we like our spices strong). 🙂
Kathy says
Can this be made in high altitude?
Christi says
Kathy, unfortunately I’m probably the last one to ask about high altitude recipes, I live in the desert in Arizona.
EDawgATL says
I’ve made this recipe twice, and I wanted to share my tweaks and success 🙂 I made these as muffins and mini muffins for my kids, who love these for breakfast (me too!). I substituted the cup of sugar for just under 1/2 cup of agave syrup, and I replaced half the butter for applesauce (2 Tbsp of each). I also added just over 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips. I never have buttermilk on hand, so I use the skim milk + lemon juice sub. The result is decadent yet still so much sensible than most store bought breakfast options. Next time I might also sub one of the eggs for ground flaxseed to up the health benefits. My first go at this recipe, I did 1/3 cup of agave, which was not quite sweet enough (but you could sprinkle powdered sugar if you had to).
This muffin does great alongside fruit and/or yogurt – or on its own with a glass of milk as a snack. I send them to school with my kindergartner for her afternoon snack, in a cute little cupcake carrier and she is almost embarrassed at all the attention she gets:)
Thanks for this recipe – it’s a winner and is now a staple in our household!
EDawgATL says
I forgot to share what I do with the leftover pumpkin from the can….mix a little with some Greek yogurt (I use plain but you could use the vanilla you used in the recipe), sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice and walnuts (maybe some ground flax or wheat germ). A delicious, healthy breakfast reminiscent of pumpkin pie!
Kim says
Made this the other night (called it brownie loaf so it wouldn’t sound healthy). I didn’t have any chocolate chips which was disappointing. The taste is very good, though it came out a little dry for me. Not sure if its the recipe or if I overmixed/overbaked. The batter was thicker than I expected. But I Will definitely try it again with chocolate chips and be more careful about mix/baking.
Jennifer says
I made this today. I used bread flour because I had forgotten I was out of ww flour. I also opted to add the spices. OMG it was delicious.
Patricia says
What spices did you use and how much?
Thanks, Patricia
Cheryl says
My daughter cannot have dairy. Any substitutions for the dairy/yogurt that you or anyone has already tried? I’m wondering about cashew milk because it is creamy or coconut milk. Hoping I can find dark chocolate cocoa too. She loves dark chocolate. Thanks for you help.
Christi says
Cheryl, unfortunately I have no experience using any of those milks as my daughter has nut allergies. I do use yogurt in place of more oil/butter, so you could always go with some oil or dairy free margarine in it’s place. If you can’t find the dark cocoa in your store, I know Amazon carries it. You can make it with regular cocoa as well. Good luck!
Adela says
you can buy coconut milk yogurt at most health stores or even coconut cream could work too. Also, goat’s milk digests about 6 times faster than cow’s milk and even though I am lactose intolerant I can easily drink it and you can find goat’s milk yogurt anywhere too.
Good luck 🙂