Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread with Chai Spice Glaze
Chocolate chip pumpkin bread is one of those bakes that instantly makes me think of autumn. The smell of pumpkin spice, the sweetness of chocolate chips, and the cosy drizzle of a chai glaze make this loaf feel like fall in every slice. It’s a wonderfully moist pumpkin bread that’s indulgent without being too heavy, and it’s a super-easy pumpkin bread recipe you’ll want to keep on repeat. The chocolate chips melt into little pockets of sweetness, while the warm chai spice glaze ties everything together in the most comforting way.
If you’re searching for the best pumpkin bread recipe, this one is right up there! It has everything you’d want in a fall bake: tender pumpkin crumb, rich chocolate, and a spiced glaze that makes the whole kitchen smell incredible. The texture is soft and moist, but still slices beautifully, perfect for sharing at brunch, packing into lunchboxes, or serving as a simple dessert.
This pumpkin bread with chocolate chips is a staple in my kitchen once the leaves start to turn. It’s quick to mix together, easy enough for weeknight baking, and it never fails to impress our guests. And that delicious glaze? It transforms an already wonderful loaf into the ultimate pumpkin bread with chai glaze, full of the cosiest autumn flavours that pair perfectly with a hot cup of tea or coffee!
If you are mad about pumpkin spice everything, read my 👉 best pumpkin chai recipes
🍂 Discover your fall tea vibe 🍂
Take the Fall Tea Quiz →Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
🧡 It’s the best pumpkin bread recipe if you’re after something cosy, simple, and full of fall flavour.
🧡 The pumpkin keeps the loaf soft and tender, giving you that perfectly moist pumpkin bread everyone craves in the fall.
🧡 Melted chocolate throughout turns it into the ultimate pumpkin bread with chocolate chips, indulgent, but not too heavy.
🧡 A drizzle of spiced icing transforms it into a bakery-worthy pumpkin bread with chai glaze, fragrant with black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves.
🧡 This is an easy pumpkin bread recipe you can whip up on a weekend morning, yet it looks impressive enough to serve at gatherings or give as a homemade gift.
Tips for Making the Best Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
🎃 Oil: For a truly moist pumpkin bread, I recommend using oil instead of butter. Oil keeps the loaf light, fluffy, and tender. If you prefer a richer flavour, you can swap in butter, but the texture will be slightly denser.
🎃 Sugar: The secret to the best pumpkin bread recipe is balance. Use half white sugar and half brown sugar. The white sugar adds sweetness and helps the bread stay light, while the brown sugar gives a deeper caramel flavour and extra moisture.
🎃 Pumpkin: This wouldn’t be an easy pumpkin bread recipe without pumpkin purée. You can use canned purée for convenience or make your own from scratch. Here’s how to make pumpkin purée at home. Either way, the pumpkin keeps the loaf soft and flavourful.
🎃 Chocolate Chips: For classic pumpkin bread with chocolate chips, feel free to use milk, dark, or semi-sweet. You can even try white chocolate, chopped nuts, or dried fruit for a twist. To stop chocolate chips from sinking, toss them in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the batter.
🎃 Chai Glaze: What sets this apart as a pumpkin bread with chai glaze is the fragrant icing. Steep 1 tablespoon of loose leaf chai in ¼ cup hot milk for 10–15 minutes, then strain and mix with icing sugar. Adjust the consistency by adding more sugar for thickness or more chai tea for a thinner drizzle. I love a thick glaze over my chocolate chip pumpkin bread, but you can make it just how you like it.
Try making your own 👉 homemade masala chai spice blend
🎃 Avoid Overmixing the Batter: For the best texture, gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Overmixing can make your pumpkin bread with chocolate chips tough instead of tender.
🎃 How to Keep Pumpkin Bread Moist: Store your chocolate chip pumpkin bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or wrap it tightly and freeze it for longer. A slice of bread stored in the container with it helps lock in extra moisture.
Free Fall Recipe Card Printable
Download this free autumn recipe card to save your favourite seasonal dishes, from pumpkin spice bakes to cosy fall drinks. A festive way to keep and share recipes.
🍂 Download PrintableHow to Make the Chai Glaze Topping
One of the things that makes this pumpkin bread with chocolate chips so special is the spiced icing on top. A simple chai spice glaze turns an already delicious loaf into something bakery-worthy. The glaze is quick to make, using just icing sugar, warm milk, and a spoonful of brewed masala chai.
I like to use loose-leaf chai tea for a stronger flavour, but you can easily substitute with a tea bag of your favourite type. Warm the milk in a mug for 30–60 seconds, add the chai, cover, and let it steep for 10–15 minutes until the milk takes on a rich golden colour and fragrant spice aroma. Strain the tea and whisk the infused milk into the icing sugar until smooth. If the glaze feels too thin, add more icing sugar; if it’s too thick, drizzle in a touch more chai milk.
Once your loaf has cooled, pour the glaze generously over the top to create the perfect pumpkin bread with chai glaze. For a finishing touch, sprinkle with crunchy pumpkin seeds and a dusting of cinnamon; it not only looks beautiful but adds a little texture and extra autumn flavour.
How to Make my Pumpkin Loaf Topped with a Chai Icing
Ingredients for Pumpkin Bread with Chai Glaze
To make this easy pumpkin bread recipe, you’ll need a handful of simple baking staples plus a few fall favourites. These ingredients come together to create a soft and moist pumpkin bread filled with chocolate chips and topped with a warming chai spice glaze:
Ingredients for the Pumpkin Bread:
½ cup (100 g) brown sugar
½ cup (100 g) white sugar
½ cup (120 g) vegetable oil
1 ½ cups (340 g) pumpkin purée (canned or homemade)
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour (plain flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips
Ingredients for the Chai Icing:
2 cups (260 g) icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1 tbsp loose-leaf masala chai (or 2–3 tea bags)
¼ cup (60 ml) milk (dairy, oat, almond, or your choice)
Handful of pumpkin seeds, for decoration
Method
Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 350°F (180°C / Gas Mark 4). Line a standard loaf tin with baking paper.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, white sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and pumpkin purée. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each.
Combine the dry ingredients. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a separate bowl. Gently fold the dry mix into the wet mixture until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips. Fold in the chocolate chips, making sure they are evenly distributed in the batter.
Bake the loaf. Pour the batter into the lined tin and bake for around 50 minutes. The pumpkin bread with chocolate chips is ready when it’s golden brown, springs back to the touch, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil until baked through.
Cool the bread. Leave the loaf to cool in the tin for 5–10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the chai glaze. Warm the milk and add the chai tea. Cover and steep for 10–15 minutes until fragrant, then strain. Stir the chai milk into the sifted icing sugar until smooth, adjusting with more sugar for a thicker glaze if needed.
Decorate and serve. Drizzle the chai icing over the cooled loaf, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and a touch of cinnamon. Slice and enjoy with a hot cup of tea or a latte.
Serving Suggestions
This chocolate chip pumpkin bread with chai glaze is delicious on its own, but it pairs perfectly with other cosy fall favourites. Here are a few ideas to make your autumn table complete:
🔸 Hot pumpkin spice latte: Nothing says autumn like a frothy, spiced latte. A slice of pumpkin bread and a steaming cup of pumpkin spice tea is pure comfort.
🔸 Iced pumpkin spice latte: For warmer days, serve your pumpkin bread with a refreshing iced latte made with chai and pumpkin spice syrup. Make it extra indulgent but adding pumpkin cream cold foam.
🔸 Apple chai hot toddies: If you are hosting a fall gathering, pair your loaf with warm apple chai hot toddies. They’re perfect for bonfires, cosy evenings, or even holiday parties.
🔸 Pumpkin spice syrup recipe: Keep a jar of homemade pumpkin spice syrup on hand. Drizzle it over slices of pumpkin bread, stir it into tea or coffee, or use it to sweeten autumn cocktails.
🔸 Pumpkin muffins: Bake a batch of moist pumpkin muffins alongside your loaf for a full fall-themed spread. Try these pumpkin spice rock cakes too!
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread with Chai Glaze
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Bread
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) white sugar
- ½ cup (120 g) vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups (340 g) pumpkin purée (canned or homemade)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup chocolate chips
For the Chai Icing
- 2 cups (260 g) icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1 tbsp loose-leaf masala chai (or 2–3 tea bags)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) milk (regular, oat, almond, etc.)
- Handful of pumpkin seeds, to decorate
Method
- Preheat: Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C / Gas Mark 4). Line a loaf tin with baking paper.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, white sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and pumpkin purée. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each.
- Combine dry ingredients: Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into another bowl. Fold gently into the wet mixture until just combined.
- Add chocolate chips: Fold in the chocolate chips evenly.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes. The loaf is ready when golden brown, springy to the touch, and a skewer comes out clean. If the top browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
- Cool: Leave in the tin for 5–10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make chai icing: Warm the milk and steep the chai tea for 10–15 minutes. Strain, then whisk into sifted icing sugar until smooth. Add more sugar for a thicker glaze if desired.
- Finish: Drizzle the cooled loaf with chai glaze, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and a dusting of cinnamon. Slice and enjoy with tea or coffee.
FAQs
1. How do you keep pumpkin bread moist?
The secret to moist pumpkin bread is using oil instead of butter, balancing white and brown sugar, and not overbaking. Storing it in an airtight container also helps lock in moisture.
2. Can I make pumpkin bread with chocolate chips and no glaze?
Absolutely! This recipe works perfectly without the glaze, giving you a classic pumpkin bread with chocolate chips that’s simple and delicious.
3. How do I stop chocolate chips from sinking in pumpkin bread?
Toss the chocolate chips in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the batter. This keeps them evenly distributed in your chocolate chip pumpkin bread.
4. Can I make this pumpkin bread with chai glaze ahead of time?
Yes! You can bake the loaf a day or two in advance. Store it wrapped at room temperature, then drizzle on the chai spice glaze just before serving.
5. Can I freeze pumpkin bread with chocolate chips?
Yes. Wrap slices tightly in cling film and store them in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before adding the chai glaze topping.
6. What can I use instead of chocolate chips in pumpkin bread?
You can swap chocolate chips for chopped nuts, dried cranberries, raisins, or even white chocolate chunks for a fun twist on the best pumpkin bread recipe.
7. How do I know when pumpkin bread is done baking?
Insert a skewer or toothpick into the centre. If it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs (not wet batter), your pumpkin bread with chocolate chips is ready.
8. Can I use fresh pumpkin instead of canned puree?
Yes! Homemade pumpkin puree works just as well. Just be sure to strain out excess water so your easy pumpkin bread recipe stays moist and fluffy.
9. Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
Yes, simply substitute all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend. The result will still be a soft, moist pumpkin bread full of autumn flavour.
10. What drinks go best with pumpkin bread with chai glaze?
This loaf pairs beautifully with a hot pumpkin spice latte, an iced chai latte, or even an apple chai hot toddy for festive gatherings.
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