Pumpkin cornbread is an incredibly moist, flavorful fall quick bread with a hint of warm spice ~ perfect with chili, soups, and Thanksgiving dinner.
This is my signature cornbread ~ I would never dream of doing Thanksgiving without it. The family loves it so much I make it as a side for chili or soup all winter long.
➡ Pumpkin makes this cornbread exceptionally moist, while brown sugar and molasses give it a rich flavor. A hint of cardamom and nutmeg adds warmth.
➡ Cornbread is ridiculously easy (sorry biscuits and rolls) ~ it’s just dump, whisk, and bake.
➡ I even make it into pumpkin cornbread muffins, and a delicious cranberry pumpkin cornbread!
Choosing cornmeal for pumpkin cornbread
There are lots of different types of cornmeal. I recommend fine or medium grind yellow cornmeal for this recipe (I always use medium grind.)
- Fine Cornmeal: creates a soft, cake-like cornbread with a smooth texture.
- Medium Cornmeal: results in moist, flavorful cornbread with a slightly grainy texture, striking a balance between tenderness and heartiness.
- Coarse Cornmeal: will make a grittier cornbread, which is not what we want for this recipe.
Additionally, cornmeal can be white or yellow: I love to use yellow because yellow cornmeal has a slightly more pronounced corn flavor and a beautiful golden color that complements the pumpkin.
Pumpkin cornbread in 4 easy steps
Pumpkin cornbread is the kind of approachable recipe that could easily be memorized.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together in a larger bowl.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, just until combined.
- Bake.
Make ahead tip: for the holidays you can mix the dry and wet separately the night before and bake off the next day. Cornbread cooks quickly, so you could actually bake it while the turkey rests, and bring it to the table hot out of the oven!
Pumpkin cornbread questions
Yes, a 9″ square pan will work fine. If you use a standard 9×5 loaf pan you may need to bake it a little longer to get it cooked through the center.
Yes, but I recommend draining or cooking down your fresh puree until it has the thick consistency of canned pumpkin, for best results.
Like many cornbread recipes this one does include a bit of sugar. Brown sugar adds moisture and brings out the flavors in this pumpkin cornbread without making it taste overtly sweet.
Yes, it freezes beautifully. Let it cool completely before wrapping and freezing to avoid condensation.
Honey or even a hot honey would be nice. You could serve with cranberry butter, pumpkin butter, or apple butter as well.
Notes from Your Kitchens
A savory twist: Lia left out the brown sugar and swapped the spices for sage, thyme, and rosemary. I love this idea for Thanksgiving!
Cornbread for the freezer: Paula made the recipe as muffins so she could freeze individual portions. Smart!
Gluten-free success: Natalie used a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend with great results.
Bring out the cast iron: Maret baked hers in a 10⅝-inch cast-iron skillet with success. A great way to bring cornbread straight to the table.
Better the next day? Jimi thought the flavor was even better the following day. Good news for holiday planning!
A little heat: Margarita added Dutch cocoa and chipotle sauce for a completely different take. Now that’s creative.
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Pumpkin Cornbread
Equipment
- 9 inch round cake pan or spring form pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup AP flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cardamom, use cinnamon or ginger if you prefer
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, you can also use mace
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1/3 cup buttermilk, or milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F
- Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, eggs, pumpkin, oil, molasses, and buttermilk. Make sure it all gets thoroughly combined.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing just until there's no dry flour left.
- Turn into a buttered 9 inch spring form pan, spreading out evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then remove and serve warm or continue to cool to room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Other cornbread recipes to try
Thanks for sharing this Pumpkin Cornbread recipe. I will try it as so as possible.
Let me know how you like it, Lena!
So glad to hear it, I’ll be making it again on Thursday!
Tired it today! Turned out so delicious! Thank you!
This is beautiful! One question, could you also make this in a cast iron skillet?
Sure, that would be really beautiful, too. I don’t use cast iron very often, but I would guess you’d want to grease the pan well, unless you have one of those vintage ‘perfectly seasoned by years of use’ pans!
Beautiful! And, what a fun idea to combine cornbread with pumpkin!
They are a natural together, Sarah. Hope you try it!
Esta receta me encantó se ve muy deliciosa luce preciosa la calabaza es mi adoración me encanta,lindas fotos gracias por visitarme,abrazos hugs,hugs.
Thanks Rosita!
what an excellent combination! i would have never thought to put cornbread and pumpkin together, but i can’t for the life of me figure out why not. seriously brilliant. Although I shouldn’t relay the actual words which popped into my head when i first saw the title and the photos, it’s safe to say i was thrilled. 🙂
Thanks Shannon, it is funny, isn’t it, how some combinations never see the light of day and others get used ad nauseum.
I couldn’t wait to see this recipe – it sounds and looks amazing. Can’t wait until you decide whether or not to make dressing with it. Sounds wonderful!
This is my go to cornbread from now on, for sure. And I did make the dressing and it was just as good as I’d imagined. I’m glad I did a dry run before the big day, I might have been afraid to try it otherwise.
First of all, this is gorgeous and second, I am a southerner so I love my cornbread. What a nice idea to use the pumpkin in it for Thanksgiving. It also would be great with soup.Sam
I’m glad it got the thumbs up from an expert…thanks Sam!
Sue this is gorgeous! I have been waiting for the big reveal since you teased about it yesterday. And with the hot pepper honey, I would be in HEAVEN!
The hot pepper honey on top was an unexpected surprise, it’s fun when things work out that way.