When I first made this recipe for Pumpkin Cornbread, it sounded so odd to me that I just had to make it. I wondered… would it be sweet? Would it be more like a breakfast bread? Or would it be appropriate to pair with chili- like other cornbreads?
How to make Pumpkin Cornbread:
The batter is a mix of white and whole wheat flour (you can use all-purpose flour entirely, if you wish), cornmeal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, eggs, pumpkin purée, brown sugar, oil and molasses. Yes, it will be a sweet cornbread, but probably not as sweet as you’d imagine.
It needs 30 minutes in the oven to bake.
This slightly sweet Pumpkin Cornbread is amazing. My whole family gobbles it up with smidges of honey-tainted butter. For the cornmeal, you can either use traditional fine grain cornmeal for a smoother, softer bread or a whole grain cornmeal (like Bob’s Red Mill). I like the whole grain variety for a little extra texture.
Leftovers are also perfect for breakfast the next day. You’ll find that it stays moist, and it’s still delicious. I recommend topping your breakfast cornbread with apple butter or pumpkin butter for a little morning treat.
I have tried pairing Pumpkin Cornbread with several of my chili recipes, but I most enjoy eating it with my Pumpkin Chili (of course). You can’t really taste any pumpkin in my pumpkin chili. It just has canned pumpkin puree in it, which basically serves as a texture enhancer to make the sauce in the chili smooth and velvety. It’s good stuff. Enjoy! If you’re looking for more recipes to eat with this Pumpkin Cornbread, I suggest you try my Autumn Vegetable Soup and this Spicy Turkey Chili. Copycat Panera Squash Soup and Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili would be good pairings with this bread too.
