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
So delicious, I may never make regular cornbread again!
just made this for the fun of it. subbed coconut sugar for the brown sugar because I had it and baked in a 9″x9″ for 26 min. it is not what I expected. very delicate and fluffy, but not the flavor for which I was hoping. if I try again I’ll sub ginger for the cardamom.
Keep trying, Chelsey, you should be able to tweak the flavor pretty easily to your liking.
Sooo good! I was bummed because my first batch came out super dense, and I followed the directions to the T…until I realized I didn’t. Haha. I only put in a tsp of baking powder instead of a Tbsp, guess that what happens when you let your kids helps you bake and get distracted!! The second batch was right on point!
I’m so glad, I adore this cornbread, I bet you’ll be making it for years to come 🙂
I’ve made this three times in a month. It is wonderful!! Thank you!!!
It’s probably one of my favorite recipes on the blog Karen, I’m glad you liked it 🙂
to make the recipe gluten free – which gluten free flour do you recommend?
I like Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour mix, Pam, and I’ve also heard that Costco has a good one.
Ive been using almond flour and its been great!
can I do this in a cast iron skillet?
Absolutely!
Doubled the recipe for a 9×5. Took about 45 min to get done. Tasted even better the next day!
It’s one of my true favorites on the blog, Jimi!
Can you sub the molasses for anything? Maybe 2 tablespoons of brown sugar seeing it has molasses in it? Thank you!
I think that would work fine, Matt!
Cooks up beautifully.
Tastes wonderful.
Nice twists on conventional Johnny cake recipe.
Thanks Jane, glad to hear it works for you. I’ve made it numerous times and it’s super reliable!
Hello, do you put “fine” cornmeal or the other grain corn meal in this recipe?
Hi Betty! i used regular yellow cornmeal in this recipe.
I’m from the North– well, technically “West”. I like sweetened cornbread, which would make Southern Belles hunt me down and lecture me. Sold! Definitely adding this to my fall menu. Making this in my cast iron skillet!
Love the idea of making it in a skillet!