Are you ready for some serious fall coziness? Because there is a lot of autumn happening in this pumpkin cornbread.

It will fill your house with wafts of cinnamon-y fall (no fake-smelly candle required), with joy and with happiness and this fuzzy feeling in your stomach only a very good moment can bring. ♡

I love the harvest season with all of my heart. Pumpkin Waffles, Slow Cooker Apple Cider and Pumpkin Cornbread? Bring it on.

This cornbread is a favorite with chili around here, but we also love it with our holiday dinners. The best part: It’s incredibly easy to make!

About this recipe

First off: It is not in-your-face pumpkin. It’s nicely spiced and has gorgeous flavors going on, but it’s not Pumpkin Pie, if you know what I mean.

FYI: I have Healthy Pumpkin Muffins if you want to go all out.

Understated pumpkin pros: The pumpkin keeps the bread nice and moist, gives it a beautiful color and just gussies up regular cornbread for golden autumn days. But it is still super fluffy and tender – no density to be found here!

And secondly, you will eat it all. By yourself. In one sitting. Just so you can’t come back here and say I didn’t warn you. But in case you decide to restrain yourself and not devour the entire pan by yourself (you champ, you!) – this is wonderful for sharing.

slice of pumpkin cornbread on metal dish in front of pumpkin

Ingredient notes

There isn’t a lot of sugar in this cornbread recipe, so if you’re a fan of a very sweet cornbread, feel free to double or triple it.

If you don’t have any pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can just use more cinnamon, plus some ground nutmeg and ginger (whatever you have). Or use my homemade pumpkin spice mix recipe!

This recipe works both with canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree. If using homemade pumpkin puree, make sure it’s thick and not watery – drain it or blot it with paper towels if needed.

You can use a neutral oil in place of the melted butter to make this dairy free.

Recipe tips

This recipe is so easy! It comes together in just a few minutes, then bakes up into a beautifully soft cornbread:

preheat the oven
make the batter
bake

How to make the perfect cornbread batter

First, whisk the dry ingredients together very well in a medium bowl. This is important, because you want to distribute the baking powder evenly – otherwise your cornbread will not rise everywhere and look/taste pretty strange in places.
Add all wet ingredients to a separate bowl or measuring jug and whisk them together until smooth.
Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and fold together JUST until combined – do not use a whisk here, use a spoon or a spatula! Otherwise you’ll have dense and gummy cornbread.

More tips

Do not forget to preheat the oven – baked goods with baking powder as the rising agent need heat quickly once they’re combined, so do make sure your oven is hot once the cornbread is ready to be baked.
If you want to cool the cornbread completely before serving, I recommend lining the pan with parchment paper so you can lift the baked cornbread out of the pan to cool.
I like to cool this in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then I serve it warm with whipped honey butter. The best!

fork digging in slice of pumpkin cornbread

What goes with pumpkin cornbread

We love this with a hearty chili during fall. Here are some of our favorites:

If you’re not in the mood for chili, the cornbread is also delicious with a crockpot beef stew!

More cozy bread recipes

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback! You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!