This Healthy Pumpkin Molasses Quick Bread with Chocolate Chips is a moist, nutritious quick bread that is perfect for fall and winter!
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Heads up!This recipe was originally published in 2011. It’s been a family favorite ever since and I’m excited to share it with my newer readers! New photographs have been added, but the text is the same. Enjoy!
I have a new favorite fall recipe and am excited to share it with you. I can’t think of a better introduction than that because this bread has me seriously in a daze.
Yes, it was starting to rain in the picture below. I only took a couple pictures before it started pouring and none of them turned out that great. But I couldn’t be bothered to wait and reshoot it–this recipe needs to get in your hands sooner rather than later. This blog is about the recipes, after all, not the photographs. (ETA: I kept the original photograph here for you to see! It makes me sentimental for a different time in blogging…)
Who would have thought the marriage of pumpkin+molasses+chocolate chips could create such an intensely good depth of flavor? Oh, but it does, my friends, it does. This bread is moist and is bursting with flavor.
The predominant flavor is the molasses, with subtle undertones of pumpkin, spices, and chocolate. Meghan calls it “chocolate bread” and has been requesting it for every meal. I’m okay with that because along with being delicious it’s also wholesome and full of nutrients.
I use blackstrap molasses in this recipe, which I love because it is an excellent source of iron and calcium. Those are both things I need to be aware of getting enough of, especially as a pregnant woman. Meghan won’t eat red meat at all and doesn’t drink cow’s milk, so I also need to ensure she’s getting her iron and calcium from other sources. I’ve been trying to find more and more ways to use this nutritional booster to my recipes. This pumpkin molasses bread is one of my favorite ways so far. 🙂
If you’re looking for more ways to include pumpkin in your day, check out these Healthy Pumpkin Muffins!
Recipe Ingredients: What You’ll Need
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses *
- 1/2 cup sucanat *
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 coconut oil, melted (or your favorite baking oil)
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup plain pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons apple or orange juice
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (or sub raisins or dried cranberries)
How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Molasses Quick Bread with Chocolate Chips
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine molasses, sucanat, applesauce, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and apple juice with an electric mixer. Add the dry ingredients and then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon your mixture into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 45-60 minutes. (Mine was perfect after 50 minutes)
- Let bread sit for 10 minutes, then turn the bread out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely. Don’t be afraid to have a slice while it’s still warm, though. Nothing beats warm bread fresh out of the oven! 🙂 Enjoy!
Healthy pumpkin molasses quick bread with chocolate chips
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
Description
This Healthy Pumpkin Molasses Quick Bread with Chocolate Chips is a moist and delicious quick bread that is full of nutrients and perfect for fall.
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses *
- 1/2 cup sucanat *
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 coconut oil, melted (or your favorite baking oil)
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup plain pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons apple or orange juice
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (or sub raisins or dried cranberries)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine molasses, sucanat, applesauce, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and apple juice with an electric mixer. Add the dry ingredients and then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon your mixture into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 45-60 minutes. (Mine was perfect after 50 minutes)
- Let bread sit for 10 minutes, then turn the bread out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely. Don’t be afraid to have a slice while it’s still warm, though. Nothing beats warm bread fresh out of the oven! 🙂 Enjoy!
Notes
Heavily adapted from this recipe
*affiliate links
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 221
- Sugar: 18 grams
- Fat: 5 grams
- Carbohydrates: 37 grams
- Fiber: 5 grams
- Protein: 4 grams
I hope I’ve emphasized enough how much I love this bread. It is truly a new favorite and will be made often in this house from here on out. If you like the distinct flavor of molasses, pumpkin spices, and chocolate, you will love this bread, too.
If you make this Pumpkin Molasses Quick Bread with Chocolate Chips recipe, or any Happy Healthy Mama recipe, I would LOVE to see it! Please take a pic and share it on Instagram or the Happy Healthy Mama Facebook page and tag me @happyhealthymama ?
Also, if you try it (or have already tried it!), would you mind rating the recipe? It’s VERY helpful for me and other readers if the recipes have ratings and reviews. I appreciate you!
Yum. I think I’m going to have to make this mainly because I have tons of pumpkin and tons of molasses. What an intersting flavor combination!
Looks great and I love the picture, so rustic looking and elegant at the same time! Perect bread for the holidays! Just printed the recipe. 🙂
I love that dark color! I’ve made molasses cookies before but never a bread–it sounds great! (With pumpkin in there, how could it not be?)
I’m on a gut cleanse this week but I am bookmarking this recipe to make as soon as I’m done {1-3 weeks depending on how I feel}. This looks sooo delicious.
I made this bread last night, and it’s delicious! I added 1/4 tsp powdered ginger and I replaced half of the oil with applesauce (partially because I’m watching my fat intake, and partially because I only HAD 2 Tbsp coconut oil left!) and it tastes like a gingersnap in bread form. I love how it is full of the fall flavors I’m craving right now but the molasses flavor makes it a new take on the same old traditional pumpkin bread. The family loves it too, I’ll definitely be making this again!
So glad you and the family liked it. I’m also happy to hear that it worked well with more apple sauce. I’m sure a lot of readers will be able to use your tips so thanks for coming back and letting me know! 🙂
Oh my word, I cannot believe how much my family liked this bread. It’s over 3/4 of the way gone and I just made it this afternoon. Thanks for a really great recipe. I may have to make it again tomorrow. It’s that good!
Thanks for coming back and letting me know you liked it, Lisa. I just made another batch today, too. 🙂
i love the use of the black strap! so clever and of course, healthy!
It’s in the oven right now! I used flax eggs so I could taste the batter. Delicious and molasses-y. Hopefully it will still be around for breakfast.
It is delicious! My picky 12 year old likes it too. I think it could pass off as cake if baked in a 9×9.
Thanks for another keeper Maryea.
I’m really glad you liked it and happy to hear it turned out well with the flax eggs! The first time I made it I was thinking, “oooh I wish I’d used flax eggs so I could taste this batter” because it smelled so good. Also, when I told my husband I was making the bread again, he said, “I’d hardly call that a bread. That was like cake!” 🙂
YUMMMMMMMMY. I am obsessed with pumpkin as well. Now that it’s officially October I am totally on it.
I love that it’s heavy on the black strap molasses… I have been loving that stuff lately. This whole loaf sounds mighty tasty… Cant wait to try it!
Looks so good! Can butter be substituted for the oil or is oil a must?
I *think* melted butter would work just as well as the oil. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Woah! This sounds sooo delicous! it’s a bit tricky getting a hold of molasses in Sweden, do you have any other suggestions on sweetners I could use? More sucanat?
I would try a different liquid sweetener like honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup. Although I have to warn you that my favorite part about this bread is the strong molasses flavor. It would still probably be really good as just a plain pumpkin bread, but just different.
You’ve convinced me – I must get a hold of a jar of molasses. 🙂
Hi Maryea! This bread looks so fantastic and I know I would love it. I’ve never had a bread made with molasses before, so I’m dying to try it now! I love any baked goods with molasses!
Oh, you need to try it! Molasses bread is one of my all-time favorites.
That looks so tasty! I love decadent loafs even more than cakes and pastries.
Wow, this bread looks amazing! I love pumpkin & molasses!
I bet that has a flavor explosion in your mouth! Mmmm! The raindrops make it feel fery fall’ish. A crisp, cool, fall day is what I’m seeing in my mind! …. Adding the molasses to a bread is great, I had no idea that it had all the extra nutrition inside! Flavor and health all baked into one thing!
This is so funny. I was just thinking last night that maybe you had a bread that you made last fall with molasses and I was going to try and look it up so that I could make it today. And, I log on today and here’s this recipe with molasses. It got really cold here last night and I’m craving fall flavors like crazy. Thanks!
Good memory! I did post my grandma’s molasses bread recipe last fall. I actually like this one better. 🙂 Sorry grandma….
Is it pumpkin time?!!?! I think so!!!!! This is so up my alley girl! Though i’ll leave the baking to you! My banana bread that I attempted last week came out less than stellar. lol
I need to pick some molasses up, I’ve been craving that flavor. This bread looks amazing!
So funny you would say that about your pictures! I just finished thinking, “Wow, what a pretty picture…” and then I read your post! Ha…oh well, I still think its pretty!
Thanks for saying that, Alex! Sometimes I look at other blogs and think “Ugh, my pictures are so terrible compared to these”. Maybe sometimes I’m a teensy bit hard on myself. 🙂