This Pumpkin Cornbread is slightly sweet with a touch of warm spice. A cozy, fall-inspired take on classic cornbread that’s delicious served warm from the oven with cinnamon honey butter.
Serve it with a big pot of Turkey Chili on Halloween night. Or, add it to your Thanksgiving menu and warm up leftovers the next morning for breakfast!
Table of contents
The Best Pumpkin Cornbread Recipe
This recipe falls into an interesting place between cake and quick bread. It’s is slightly sweeter than traditional cornbread, seasoned with classic fall spices, and easy as can be to make.
It bakes up big and beautiful with a nice rise. Take note of those rustic cracks in the surface – they’re the perfect place for the melted cinnamon honey butter to escape.
If you’re not feeling the fall vibe quite yet, a slice of this Pumpkin Cornbread warm from the oven smeared with cinnamon honey butter will do it for you.
I am a life long lover of cornbread from my Rustic Sweet Cornbread to my easy Mexican Cornbread and seriously delicious Buttermilk Cornbread Waffles.
Ingredient Notes
- All purpose flour – Properly measure your flour by using a spoon to scoop it into a dry measuring cup and level it off with a knife.
- Yellow cornmeal – Did you know there is both yellow and white cornmeal? They can be used interchangeably but yellow adds richer color which is what we want for this cozy cornbread.
- Baking powder – There is a good amount of baking powder in this recipe to ensure a good rise and help create a fluffier, cake-like texture.
- Baking soda – It works with the acid in the buttermilk for even more rise.
- Spices – Pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg and salt.
- Butter – Softened to room temperature.
- Light brown sugar
- Pumpkin puree – You’ll need half a can of canned pumpkin puree, not pie filling.
- Eggs
- Pure maple syrup – Always use 100% pure maple syrup when baking. You don’t want pancake syrup which is made up mostly of corn syrup with maple flavoring.
- Pure vanilla extract
- Buttermilk – Adds richness and texture. The acidic quality also helps with the rise. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, just combine milk with a little distilled white vinegar and voila! Buttermilk. See the recipe card for the details.
- Cinnamon honey butter – Softened butter, honey, powdered sugar, and cinnamon.
What Can I Do with Half a Can of Pumpkin Puree?
You may come across a lot of recipes, like this one, that call for 1 cup of pumpkin. A 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree translates to 1 ⅞ cups, which is about 2 tablespoons shy of 2 cups. What to do? Here is your tip of the day! Use 1 tablespoon less in each recipe and there will be no noticeable difference. Just measure out 1 cup and return 1 tablespoon to the can. If you’d like, you can make up the difference with a little applesauce but it’s not necessary for a good result.
Refrigerate leftover pumpkin puree in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To freeze pumpkin puree, place it in a small freezer-safe plastic storage bag, press out a much air as possible, and seal the bag. Freeze for up to 10 to 12 months.
How to Make Pumpkin Cornbread
This is a quick overview of how to make this recipe. You’ll find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the butter with the brown sugar until well combined. Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla and beat again, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Using a wooden spoon, stir in half of the flour mixture just until moistened followed with half of the buttermilk, stirring just until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour mixture and buttermilk.
- Pour the cornbread batter into a baking dish that you’ve coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cornbread rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
This recipe can be baked in an 8-inch or 9-inch baking dish. The baking time will vary depending on the size of your pan so watch it closely towards the end.
How to Make Cinnamon Honey Butter
Optional but highly recommended!
- Place the softened butter, honey, powdered sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
- Use an electric hand mixer to beat until light and fluffy.
- Transfer the honey butter to a small serving dish and refrigerate until ready to use.
The cinnamon honey butter can be made a day or two in advance, transferred to an airtight container, and refrigerated until needed.
Storage Tips
This cornbread does not last long in my house so I usually just cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature. To keep it super fresh for a longer period of time, follow the directions below.
- Pantry or counter – Wrap leftovers in foil or plastic wrap and place in a zippered plastic storage bag. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator – For longer storage, pack as directed above and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
- Freezer – Pack as directed above, being sure you use a freezer-safe plastic storage bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
- Classic Pumpkin Pie
- How to Make Pumpkin Roll Cake
- Creamy Layered Pumpkin Dessert
- Pumpkin Hazelnut Pie
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Pumpkin Cornbread
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Cornbread
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, not pie filling
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup buttermilk, for buttermilk substitute see Notes section below
For Optional Cinnamon Honey Butter
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Pumpkin Cornbread
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat an 8- to 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter with the brown sugar for about 2 minutes, or until well combined. Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla and beat again for about 1 minute or until combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Using a wooden spoon, stir in half of the flour mixture just until moistened followed with half of the buttermilk, stirring just until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour mixture and buttermilk.
- Pour the cornbread batter into the prepared dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Baking time will vary depending on the size of the pan so watch closely towards the end of baking time.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes, then slice and serve with the Cinnamon Honey Butter while still warm.
Cinnamon Honey Butter
- Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, combine the softened butter, honey, powdered sugar, and cinnamon. Beat until light and fluffy. Transfer the honey butter to a small serving dish and refrigerate until ready to use.
Video
Notes
- Pantry or counter – Wrap leftovers in foil or plastic wrap and place in a zippered plastic storage bag. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator – For longer storage, pack as directed above and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
- Freezer – Pack as directed above, being sure you use a freezer-safe plastic storage bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
This post was originally published on October 10, 2014. It has been updated with new text and images.
Cornbread Love
This was a dynamite recipe! They entire family couldn’t get enough of it! Huge hit. (I also used GF flour 1:1 and freshly baked pumpkin!). This will be a regular in our home! Thank you!
Happy birthday to your boys! This pumpkin cornbread looks like the perfect way to celebrate! I never have had pumpkin cornbread before but the combination sounds tantalizing! and I love your cinnamon honey butter- so easy but sounds absolutely delicious! Pinning!
I love, love, love cornbread and pumpkin. It is inevitable someone combined the two. I’m going to have to make this to go with my pumpkin chili.
Happy birthday to your boys! We have so many October birthdays in our family too! Your cornbread sure looks tasty and that cinnamon honey butter has me drooling! I could put that on everything!
Sooooo… I pretty much love EVERYTHING about this cornbread! And cinnamon honey butter?? Perfection. Yum! 🙂
Happy birthday to your boys! I have two boys who are two years apart as well (although their birthdays are not as close as yours! Mine are 22 months apart). And they love cornbread, I know they would love this recipe! Love that you added pumpkin and finished it with the cinnamon honey butter, yum! This is a perfect fall comfort food recipe!