These muffins don’t actually taste too “pumpkin-y” . . . the chocolate kind of takes over and these muffins are just a really moist chocolate muffin. I have made these muffins for my kids as a snack and even as breakfast and they absolutely love them. I love that they are so easy to make – no eggs, no oil, just three simple ingredients.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
So what are the three magical ingredients that make up this recipe? Here they are:
- 1 box Devil’s Food cake mix
- 1 can (15 oz) unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup applesauce
Cake Mix Type
For this recipe, we used Devil’s Food cake mix, but any chocolate cake mix would work perfectly. If you want something that will make these muffins a little more pumpkin flavored, we recommend using a spice cake mix. They will taste a lot more pumpkin-ish, and still work just as well as the chocolate.
Recipe Additions
You can add additions to this recipe, such as the following: M&M’s, Milk or Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips, Slivered Almonds, Reeses Pieces, White Chocolate Chips, and Chopped Peanuts.
How to Make Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
- Add your three ingredients to the bowl.
- Stir well. I used a wooden spoon, but you could also use a standing mixer or a hand mixer.
- Throw in any other additions. I did chocolate chips, but this is totally optional.
- Place small scoops of the batter into the muffin liners.
- Bake and enjoy!
Muffin Liners
For this recipe, you do not have to use muffin liners. You could just spray the muffin tin with non stick cooking spray. However, I do recommend using muffin liners because it’s much easier to clean!
Difference Between Muffins and Cupcakes
Technically, these muffins are made with a cake mix, so they could be considered a cupcake. However, these are so rich and flavorful that they don’t need frosting on top. You could always top them with frosting but they are so rich that one bite in, you would be done with it.
You could use oil in place of the applesauce, but the applesauce gives it a sweet flavor that we think you will love.If you are looking for a delicious cupcake recipe, I recommend our Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes. The frosting on those cupcakes is the best part.
Convert This Recipe Into Bars
For this recipe, we personally recommend making these into muffins, rather than bars. They aren’t the most smooth dessert on top. They are dense and thick, so if they are made into bars, they may look a little funny. However, if you do make them into bars, here is what we recommend:
- Use a 9×13 inch baking pan and spraying it with nonstick cooking spray.
- Spread the batter out into the pan evenly.
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Bake the bars for about 25-30 minutes.
- Check them for doneness by placing a toothpick in the middle of the bars, and if it comes out clean, the bars are done. If it comes out with batter, it may need another minute or two, to finish baking through.
- This is a thick batter so they take a while to cook through when made into bars. For best results, make these into muffins.
Storage Instructions
- Counter: Place any remaining muffins that you tend to eat the tender snickerdoodle muffins next 2-3 days in a ziplock bag and store them on the counter.
- Freezer: Store these in a freezer-safe ziplock freezer bag for up to 3 months for the best results for the delicious muffins.
Want More Muffin Recipes?
Whether bursting with fruit or studded with toasty nuts and chocolate chips, check out our comprehensive collection of muffin recipes here.
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Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
- 15 ounces unsweetened pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup applesauce
Optional:
- ½ cup chocolate chips, (I used mini-chocolate chips in the picture)
Instructions
- *DO NOT follow the instructions or use the ingredients on the back of the cake mix box.
- Add the cake mix, pumpkin puree, and applesauce to a large bowl. Mix well either by hand or with a hand mixer. When thoroughly blended, fold in chocolate chips (if using). The batter will be pretty dense.
- Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners and lightly spray each liner with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon batter into each liner until it is about 3/4 of the way full (I was able to get about 12-14 muffins). The shape of each muffin will be a little irregular because of the density of the batter.
- Bake according to the directions on the back of the cake mix box (I baked mine at 350℉ for 18-22 minutes). Stick a toothpick in the middle of muffin to make sure the middles are done.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
I love this idea – I can totally see giving one to my daughter for breakfast and her head exploding because it’s chocolate! for breakfast!
I’ve made these without the applesauce and they are amazing! I give them to my friends without telling them they have pumpkin and no one has ever been able to tell. Great recipe!
Um, this looks totally awesome! Three ingredients AND fall-festive? Sign me up!
a weight watchers fav!
think i might add butterscotch chips instead of the choc chips though….
They taste really yummy using a Spice cake mix as well.
I have not tried chocolate but definately will, very soon!
Making these tomorrow. Can’t wait!
I love that you are all about the pumpkin in August too:-) I couldn’t wait any longer and posted pumpkin donuts today…great minds think alike!!! These are the best muffins…I love that you added some applesauce to it!!
These look yummy and I actually have all the ingredients for them. Thanks for a quick and easy recipe 🙂
I just made these tonight and they are riDICulously good!!!! I got 2 dozen out of the recipe and only have a dozen left…. Whoops!!!
These are insanely good! I am not a pumpkin fan and I cannot detect a trace of it in these. Because of the box mix I was curious about the Fat/Calories and was quite surprised. In moderation (almost impossible with these)they are actually okay! With 1/2 bag Ghirardeli Milk Chocolate Chips they are 5 grams fat/172 Calories each and without the chips they are 3 grams fat/127 calories each…in case anyone was curious ;-). This is based on 17 muffins. Definitely give this a try!
I tried the 2-ingredient pumpkin brownies last week. They were great, and I’ll try this recipe too, soon. Anybody know of other 2- or 3-ingredient recipes, or where I can look? Thanks.
Thank you so much!
Thank you!
Does this receipe work in a 9×12 cake pan – like as brownies?
We have only made them as muffins, so we’re not sure how it would all turn out and how you would need to alter the cooking time and temp. Sorry we are not more help.
Even though these aren’t “in season” right now, I had a can of pumpkin in the cupboard and whipped a batch up quick. I love these, the fewer ingredients the better. added crushed almond m&m’s this time. Thank you! You sistas are my google for recipes!
Should the applesauce be unsweetened?
Hi Katie, We have actually used both sweetened and unsweetened applesauce in this Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins recipe. They both work great.
I have this recipe in my oven now. Guess I didn’t it wrong. I had enough batter to fill 2 12 serving muffin tins & I still have batter left
I did not like this recipe. I love pumpkin and can it it everyday. I made this with spice cake mix and regular size chocolate chips. It was was too mushy and chewy and did not taste good. I did bake it for 20 mins and it was fully cooked throughout. I will look for another pumpkin recipe to make because I love all your recipes that you so sweetly share. Thank u.
When you have recipes that call for only 3 ingredients, the texture will be slightly different than recipes that are loaded with ingredients. This is our most popular Pumpkin chocolate chip recipe. It can be made into a big loaf, mini loaves, or muffins. You’ll love it. https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-bread/
I love this recipe! It is so easy and so dang yummy!
I make these all the time and bring them into work. We all love them! They are even better the next day or I freeze them individually. I am making them now and just added 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder. The consistency looks the same so I bet they will be delicious.
Thanks for this great recipe😊