Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

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So I have this friend Tara. Sweet, quiet, soft-spoken Tara who home schools her kids and is the person in charge of the children’s programs at our church. You know the type. Turns out she has a dark side. She and her husband sometimes watch Arrested Development and 30 Rock into the wee hours of the morning (under my corrupting influence, of course!) and she makes these fabulous, easy muffins that are only 1 Weight Watchers point. And then adds chocolate chips to them. Which, of course, not only makes them infinitely more delicious but also not 1 Weight Watchers point. See? Evil. Wolf in sheep’s clothing. Ill-U-sionist.

Now…one thing Sara and I have both discovered over the last few days is that there’s apparently some kind of canned pumpkin shortage going on. Don’t think I wasn’t saying some naughty words last Friday when, after leaving Kroger pumpkin-less, got caught in a MASSIVE rainstorm on my way to Walmart (and believe me, Walmart on a Friday afternoon is pretty much enough to justify anti-anxiety medication in my world), dragged my two kids inside for one single, lonely, sad can of pumpkin, and then discover they were out as well. Sara, being much more of an investigator than I am, discovered that there’s a massive shortage of canned pumpkin, so if you see some, STOCK UP! Hoard it! Sell it on Ebay at exorbitant prices! We’re in a recession, people–desperate times call for desperate measures!
Whew. Crazy pumpkin rant over. Luckily for for you, this recipe has 3 ingredients and is super easy, so once you’ve found your pumpkin, you’ll have just enough energy to make and eat these.
Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
2 spice cake mixes (Duncan Hines, although not pictured, is the best for this recipe)
1 30-oz. can pumpkin
1 12-oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Okay, super-tricky here. Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mixes and pumpkin. Add in chocolate chips.


Spoon mixture into lined muffin tins. This can make as many as 48 muffins or as few as 36, just depending on how full the tins are filled. These really don’t rise very much, so you can fill the tins pretty full. If aesthetics are a concern, keep in mind that how they look going into the oven is very much what they will look like coming out of the oven. So a cookie scoop works great to keep things on the prettier side.

Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of the muffins comes out clean.Yum, right? Easy, right?

Even if you have a million, you can store them in the freezer and then pop them into lunch bags or heat one up in the microwave for a few seconds to take the chill off before you head out to work or school in the morning or for a snack in the afternoon. Or you can eat, like, three while watching The Biggest Loser on Tuesday nights. Never happens. Never.

Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Perfect for fall, these muffins are simple and delicious! Plus, hey - chocolate chips!

Ingredients

  • 2 spice cake mixes
  • 1 30- oz. can pumpkin
  • 1 12- oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mixes and pumpkin. Add in chocolate chips.
  • Spoon mixture into lined muffin tins. This can make as many as 48 muffins or as few as 36, just depending on how full the tins are filled. These really don't rise very much, so you can fill the tins pretty full. If aesthetics are a concern, keep in mind that how they look going into the oven is very much what they will look like coming out of the oven. So a cookie scoop works great to keep things on the prettier side.
  • Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of the muffins comes out clean.

Notes

  • Great tip: Duncan Hines, although not pictured, is the best for this recipe.
Author: Our Best Bites
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Meet The Author

Sara Wells

Sara Wells co-founded Our Best Bites in 2008. She is the author of three Bestselling Cook Books, Best Bites: 150 Family Favorite Recipes, Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites, and 400 Calories or Less from Our Best Bites. Sara’s work has been featured in many local and national news outlets and publications such as Parenting Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Fine Cooking, The Rachel Ray Show and the New York Times.

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Questions & Reviews

  1. I love these muffins! I started making them back in 2010 for my picky little eater – a great way to get some hidden nutrients in him – and he always gobbles them up! Forget just pumpkin season these are a staple all year long! Thank you for your awesome recipes! I always find something here I love!

    1. It’s with the old points system. I’m not doing WW right now because I’m pregnant, so I can’t tell you hat they’d be with the new system.

  2. Would you mind if I shared this over at imalazymom.com? With credit to your site of course? I just love how these turn out and how SIMPLE they are.

  3. I love pumkin bread and I love cupcakes and uffins this is the purfict mix! I also love baking and cooking! Love the recipe

  4. Help a girl out… I love these and have made these before… however, where I am now, I can’t get a box of spice cake!! Anyone know a recipe for the dry ingredients for one box of spice cake mix??!?

  5. I use the cake mix/can of pumpkin trick all the time. It also works with carrot cake mix and pumpkin( I add walnuts) and orange supreme cake mix with dried cranberries and pumpkin. I think the possibilities are endless. I use one box of cake mix and a 14oz can of pumpkin for 12 muffins.

  6. No worries Sara! I can imagine how busy you ladies are. I myself have 4 kids and I rarely have time for anything else. I am in awe that you find time to cook such fabulous meals amongst everything else us moms have to do. If I have to copy and paste, then so be it. It’s worth every bit of my time. I just ordered 4 of your calendars to give out for Christmas. You ladies are truly the best! I made two of your recipes last night and I’m making two more today. Loving it all! Your website is a Total Jackpot!! 🙂 Thanks again!

  7. How come some of your recipes have a print this option and some of them don’t? It sucks to have to copy and paste. I noticed this recipe didn’t have a print option, so I thought I’d ask. Btw, I love your cookbook. I just saw it at Deseret Book while I was on vacation over the summer and had to get one. I didn’t even know u gals started out with a blog. This is my first time on your site. I think I’m addicted 🙂 I have become a better cook because of you ladies. In the 15 years I have been married, I have never been able to make rolls…..and now I totally get it. Thx for all your great recipes and for sharing your tips and your talents with all of us. I’m not a crappy cook anymore and my 4 girls are thrilled! Xxoo

    1. Julie, we have hundreds of recipes on this site and some of the older ones have not been re-formatted for printing. (Our printing options changed when we re-designed our site earlier this year). It is a very time consuming job that has to be done manually and we are getting to all of the recipes as quickly as we can, but we are extremely busy ladies! We appreciate our readers being patient and copying and pasting some of the recipes that aren’t formatted for printing yet!

  8. Has anyone tried making these as bars rather than cookies or muffins? The muffins were a HUGE hit with friends and family, but I would like to stretch the servings a bit and don’t really want cookies…