This paleo pumpkin bread is perfectly soft, tender, moist and full of sweet spices and dark chocolate chips. It’s made with coconut flour, grain free, dairy free and nut free. Kid approved too and great for after school snacks and even breakfast!
Pumpkin + chocolate – how do you feel about the combo?! For the longest time I wanted nothing to do with pumpkin + chocolate. I FELT that pumpkin had to be all cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices all the way with nothing in the way of those nostalgic fall-comfort flavors.
I’m definitely a chocolate lover (ya think?!), but couldn’t get past my pumpkin + chocolate mental block to actually embrace what each has to offer the other. Until when? Um, probably two years ago when I started obsessing over Pinterest and experimenting with grain free pumpkin recipes. Sprinkled with a good dose of chocolate.
And you know what? I’m fully sold, and have been since last fall, when I posted probably 4 pumpkin + chocolate recipes. My favorite was probably these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Or, maybe the pumpkin cookie dough truffles? So. HARD. To choose.
Anyway, in case you hadn’t noticed already, this wildly delicious paleo pumpkin bread does in fact contain chocolate chips. You can use the technically-not-paleo (but dairy-free and soy-free) Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels or other purchased chips of your choice, OR you can make your own homemade dark chocolate with this recipe from Bakerita. Whatever you choose, get ready to swoon (yup, swoon) over the pumpkin bread you’re about to bake!
While I do have another pumpkin bread recipe on my site that doesn’t need fixing, in my opinion, it contains almond flour, which many of you guys avoid due to nut allergies, so, I wanted to create a nut-free pumpkin bread that’s just as perfect. Additionally, nut free means school-snack-friendly for us, even though we don’t actually have nut allergies, and it’s the same for many of you.
Just a note – coconut is considered a tree nut by the FDA, even though it technically isn’t and most people with tree nut allergies do tolerate coconut. However, some people are allergic to coconut specifically, separate from any tree nut allergies. For clarification on the coconut/tree nut issue, you can visit this website.
What we have here is a grain free, paleo and nut free bread that’s tender and moist (but not too moist!), sweetened with pure maple syrup and packed with both sweet spices and dark chocolate. If you’re thinking “GET IN MY MOUTH” then you’re on the right track.
“AND FAST” should be your second thought, since this pumpkin bread is impossible to hide with the delicious aroma all throughout the house while it bakes, and for hours afterwards. It will disappear completely if you’re not watching closely, so make sure to claim your slices ASAP, or, maybe bake 2 loaves if you’re starting to get nervous.
And, on the subject of the 2 loaves comment, I’d just like to let out a second hallelujah for coconut and tapioca flours being two of the most affordable grain free flours to bake with. Nope, you don’t need 2 cups of it, or even 1 cup – a little goes a long way thankfully! So, yay for nut-free, and yay for saving money.
What I WILL say about coconut flour though, is that you need to measure it exactly for the recipe to come out the way it’s supposed to. Hence the odd (and perhaps annoying) 1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp measurement. Hey, this is why I test coconut flour recipes a few times – I need to make sure we don’t want to add or subtract a Tbsp! Luckily the final version was given a major thumbs up by everyone in my house, and by me, of course. I’m sure you guys will love this too! Now let’s preheat those ovens and get started 🙂
Paleo Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips {Nut Free}
Paleo Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips {Nut Free}
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk blended prior to adding
- 6 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp coconut flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour*
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips** divided into 1/2 + 1/4 cups
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a medium loaf pan with parchment paper. I used an 8" x 4" loaf pan.
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In a medium bowl, combine the coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside while you combine the wet ingredients.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, coconut milk, maple syrup and vanilla until very smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring gently by hand until just combined, then fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips/chunks. The batter will be thick due to the coconut flour.
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Transfer all the batter to your parchment liked loaf pan and gently spread with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the top, then bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes, until the top is browning and a toothpick inserted near the center of the loaf comes out clean (chocolate is okay, no batter.)
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Allow the bread to cool in the loaf pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan using the sides of the parchment paper to help lift it out. Cool the loaf on the wire rack completely before slicing and serving. Makes 10 servings. Store leftovers loosely covered at room temp for the first day, then cover and refrigerate any remaining leftover bread. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Arrowroot starch can be substituted
**You can use Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, or if you want a fully paleo version, make your own homemade chocolate chunks with this recipe.
What I Used To Make My Paleo Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips:
Want More Paleo Pumpkin Recipes? Try One of These!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
Tell Me!
Which do you use more: Muffin pan or loaf pan?
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Hi! I'm Michele. Paleo eater and recipe creator, runner, and mom of 3. Welcome to my blog, where we obsess over all of it and love every minute! (It's way fun over here, promise.) Stay a while to eat, run, and rant with me! 
This looks so good. Can I use almond flour instead of tapioca as I do not want the carbs or use that flour? Thank you
I have the same question!
To omit the tapioca flour I’d actually just add a tbsp of coconut flour since a little bit goes a long way. The texture will be more dense with coconut flour only. This would put the measurement at 3/4 of a cup exactly. If you try it let me know how it works out 🙂
Any thought on using flaxseeds as an egg replacement?
With coconut flour recipes it seems that real eggs are needed for it to work. I’ve found that flax eggs only work to replace one or at most 2 eggs.
That looks, and sounds delish!
Thanks
You’ll love it 🙂
We’re new to paleo and I have yet to do any baking. This recipe looks like it will appeal to everyone in my household! Would this cook up well as muffins? Thanks
I haven’t tested it but it should be just fine – I’d bake them at 350 for about 20-25 mins (you’ll have to check them) and the recipe should make 10-12, filling the cups 3/4 of the way.
My kids are 4 and 7 and look at pumpkin questionably. They devoured this bread and even included a happy dance when I offered them another slice. Rejoice!
Another winner, Michele! Absolutely delicious, thank you! 🙂
This looks delicious! I haven’t used coconut flour before but certainly would for this recipe. Do you know if this would work with whole wheat pastry flour though instead? And would potato starch be a substitute for arrowroot powder and tapioca powder? Just wondering – thanks!
Coconut flour has unique properties so the measurements would be very different, plus coconut milk always requires more eggs than other flours, so I don’t think simply switching the flour would lead to good results. As for potato starch, I haven’t worked with it for baking so not sure how it compares.
After the bread was in the oven for about 30 min I realized I didn’t add the 3T of coconut flour. Total mistake. I read it. Just didn’t do it.
The bread tasted “alright” fresh from the oven. The next day it was better. And the 3rd day it was fantastic!
The only reason I’m writing this is… if you accidentally omit the extra flour. It’s fine. It is definitely moist. And to let you know it gets better with each day. I highly recommend this recipe! I will make it again – correctly.
You know, I just realized the coconut flour measurement was split up on two different lines – oops! I just fixed that to avoid others making the same mistake. Even still, glad it mostly worked out for you! The big problem with coconut flour, in my opinion, is when you add too much rather than too little, since it becomes so chalky it’s unpleasant to eat.