Baking cornbread is in my blood so I needed to make a fall version that gives me all the feels of the classic but feels perfect for that season. My bomb pumpkin cornbread is it. I use brown butter, along with canned pumpkin for ease plus a little spice and sweetness. It’s nice and tender giving a little Jiffy goodness to the mix. I love serving it with chili when the winter gets chilly.
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How to Make Pumpkin Cornbread
Step 1: Make the Browned Butter
- Place the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook until the butter begins to brown. Keep a close watch and be careful not to burn! When it’s ready remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
Step 2: Make the Pumpkin Cornbread
- Whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
- Combine the buttermilk, canned pumpkin, eggs, vanilla extract, oil, and cooled browned butter in another bowl and whisk together.
- Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry mixture.
- Mix them together until they are well combined. Be careful you don’t overmix the batter.
- Add the cornbread mixture to a greased cast-iron skillet.
- Place it in the oven and bake until the cornbread is done.
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Pumpkin Cornbread Recipe
This pumpkin cornbread is made with brown butter and served with a side of cinnamon butter and is so good you'll second guess sharing!
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Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
For the Cornbread:
- ½ stick salted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ⅔ cup canned pumpkin
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- Shortening
For the Cinnamon Butter:
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 teaspoons packed brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the Cornbread:
- Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.
- In a saute' pan, melt butter over medium heat and wait until butter begins to brown. Be careful not to burn! Remove from heat and cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and cinnamon until well mixed. In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together buttermilk, canned pumpkin, eggs, vanilla extract, oil and browned butter.
- Slowly add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix together until well combined. Don't overmix.
- Coat cast iron skillet with shortening or spray with non stick baking spray until fully covered. Add cornbread mixture to skillet. Place in oven for 22-25 minutes until cornbread is done. Remove from oven and serve.
For the Butter:
- Whip all ingredients together until smooth and fluffy. Serve with the cornbread.
Notes
How to Store & Reheat Pumpkin Cornbread
Let it chill out and cool down completely first. You don’t want any of that moisture creeping up and making it soggy. That’s where your paper towels come in clutch! When you’re storing, go for a sealed container or a zip-lock bag. Now, lay a paper towel at the bottom of your chosen storage spot, then gently crown your cornbread with another sheet on top before you seal the deal. When you’re ready to dive back in, you can totally enjoy it at room temp, or give it a quick zap in the microwave for a hot sec. If you’re feeling extra, wrap it in foil and slide it into a 350° F oven for like 8-10 minutes – just until it’s all warm. How long will pumpkin cornbread last?It will last up to three days when stored as indicated above and kept at room temperature. You can extend its shelf-life in the fridge up to five days. Can I freeze pumpkin cornbread?
Yep, you can! Store it as mentioned above and freeze it for up to three months. Thaw it out in the fridge overnight and then serve or reheat.
Nutrition
Calories: 442kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 97mg | Potassium: 321mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 3815IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 1.9mg
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Recipe Tips
- Always Check the Cornmeal First: It’s important to check your cornmeal for rancidity before baking! Rancid cornmeal will smell stale and musty.
- Consider the Sugar a Variable: If you like sweeter cornbread, add a ¼ cup of sugar or more for every cup of dry ingredients. Adjust how you like it.
- Put Away the Electric Mixer: Mix by hand so you don’t overmix and make it dense. Having a few lumps is all good.
- Use a Cast-Iron Skillet. It always gives you a nice crust and even bake.
- Watch Your Browned Butter as it Cooks. It can go from lightly browned to burnt in a matter of seconds or minutes. I suggest keeping yourself close to the stove as it cooks.
Serving Suggestions
- Add it to a Bowl of Chili. Chicken chili or even brisket chili and cornbread are a match made in heaven!
- Enjoy it With Your Favorite Soups and Stews. I love it with this carrot ginger soup, my spicy black bean soup or even chicken noodle soup.
- Serve it With These Southern Classics. Any dishes you’d normally serve up with cornbread, such as collard greens, pinto beans, and neck bones go together great.
- Add it to Your Thanksgiving Table. Indulge in the pumpkin goodness of this cornbread along with other holiday favorites such as, fried turkey, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie.
Recipe Help
What keeps cornbread moist?
Buttermilk, oil, and in this recipe, pumpkin puree are key to creating a moist cornbread. As long as you follow the recipe you likely won’t have any issues with dry cornbread. For the best texture, avoid overmixing, and don’t overbake your cornbread.
What makes Southern cornbread different from other types of cornbread?
Southern cornbread is definitely sweeter than cornbread from other areas of the United States. It also tends to be more cakelike in texture and is often cooked in a skillet rather than a baking pan.
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First time trying one of your recipes and i made the pumpkin cornbread!!! Wow! Thats the best ever-ever CORNBREAD I made. It was all gone! No left overs. They kept asking for the recipe. So moist and DELICIOUS. My son put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!!!!!
Oo boy, I love that idea of adding vanilla ice cream on top!!!
OMG!!! You won’t believe this but just this morning I was thinking about making pumpkin cornbread wishing I had a recipe and…..BOOM!!! Here it is!!! Thank you, I’m headed into the kitchen right now
Hope you loved it!
I can’t wait to try this! I’m allergic to white flour so excited to see I can substitute whole wheat flour and make the adjustments accordingly.
I can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you.
What sized pan do we use? Also I will preheat my pan first and use lard to coat the pan very well.
But what sized pan? Thank you. Look forward to making this tonight
A 10 inch cast iron skillet is what I use!
I am speechless! Never has a recipe so completely surprised me. I figured it would be good – because…cornbread! but the taste is complex, flavorful and light. The brown butter does not give an overtly brown-butter taste, nor does the pumpkin but both flavor this so uniquely! Truly, one of my favorite recipes of all time! Thank you, so much!
I made this this morning with roasted pumpkin from my garden. I did not know what size pan to use so I used my 12″. I see now from the comments, and I agree, 10″ would be a thicker bread.
I like the thinner version too. Next time I will try pumpkin pir spice.
What I did do differently- I coated my skillet with lard and preheated it as the oven was preheating. It gave the cornbread a nice buttery crust on the bottom.
Oo great idea to use lard!
Hi – what size cast iron do you bake it in, please 🙂
Hi Debbie, I use a 10 inch!
I love cornbread and it’s so fun to add a delicious fall twist to it with pumpkin. My family will be eating this up!
This is now my go-to recipe for cornbread. It’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing it.
I’m one of those people that love pumpkin everything. So this will definitely go in my seasonal rotation. Thanks!
I’m one of those people that love pumpkin everything. So this will definitely go in my seasonal arsenal. Thanks!