Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
on Sep 04, 2016, Updated Jul 20, 2024
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Made with whole grains, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and sweetened with honey, these Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins are soft, flavorful, and filling. Plus, you won’t believe how fast they come together!
If you are looking for an easy, fall-inspired side dish then you have come to the right place! This recipe takes your typical cornbread and turns it into the most delicious muffins that can be served on their own or as a side.
The pumpkin and cinnamon in these muffins are what takes them to the next level. The flavor is warm, comforting, and strong without being overpowering. I also love the tender, yet fluffy texture of the muffins that hold together nicely, then simply melt in your mouth. These muffins are surprisingly easy to make from scratch, and will impress anyone who takes a bite!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are hearty and delicious!
- The recipe is easy to follow and takes less than an hour.
- These muffins are the perfect side dish for a warm, cozy meal.
Recipe Ingredients
- Yellow Cornmeal— To give that crumbly cornbread texture and taste!
- White Whole Wheat Flour— To add structure to the muffins.
- Canned Pumpkin Puree— The main ingredient, for a subtly sweet flavor!
- Egg— To hold the batter together and keep the crumb tender.
- Milk— To add moisture. Cow’s milk or unsweetened almond milk both work!
- Honey— A natural sweetener for your muffins.
- Butter— Melted, to contribute to the soft and moist texture.
- Baking Powder— This is your leavening agent, to add volume to the muffins.
- Cinnamon— To add some spice to the pumpkin flavor!
- Salt— This will enhance the taste of your muffins.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
Step #1. Preheat the oven and grease your muffin tin. In a bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Step #2. In a separate bowl, add the pumpkin puree, egg, milk, honey, and melted butter. Whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture just starts to come together.
Step #3. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tins. Bake until the muffins are golden brown.
Step #4. Let the muffins cool before removing. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
White whole wheat flour comes from soft white wheat berries, whereas whole wheat flour comes from hard red wheat berries. The soft white berries create a flour that is more tender and tastes less “wheaty”. This is why it is a great option to use as a pastry flour and especially in cornbread muffins. ou can also use whole wheat pastry flour, which is made from the white wheat berries and is also ground more finely than traditional wheat flour.
I feel like they make a big difference when it comes to making cookies, muffins, or cakes with whole wheat flour. If you don’t have white whole wheat flour for this recipe, you can use all purpose flour instead since it has a similar texture.
If your muffins are too crumbly and falling apart, this is most likely due to your batter having been overmixed. When you are combining the dry and wet ingredients, ensure that you only mix until everything is just combined, and no longer than that. The batter should not be very smooth, it might seem a little bit lumpy as you prepare your muffin tin. This is perfectly normal and will give you the most fluffy and sturdy muffins!
How to Serve and Store Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
Everyone knows that cornbread is a staple side dish for a warm, cozy soup, and these pumpkin cornbread muffins are no different! You can serve these on the side of chili, chicken noodle soup, lentil soup, or any hearty stew. They are also very filling as a quick snack, with some butter or honey drizzled on top. You can’t go wrong with these cornbread muffins!
Your pumpkin cornbread muffins should be stored at room temperature and will stay good for 3-5 days. Make sure to transfer them to an airtight container or Ziploc bag to keep them fresh and moist! Alternatively, you can store extra muffins in the freezer long-term. Be sure to keep them in a freezer safe container or bag, and they will stay good for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw for around 3 hours on the counter before serving. Serve them at room temperature or heat them up in the microwave for 10-15 seconds and serve them warm.
Expert Tips
- While it’s not necessary, if you want to make your clean up easier you can use cupcake liners to cook your cornbread!
- The pumpkin pie filling and pumpkin puree will be next to each other at the grocery store, so double check you buy the pumpkin puree for this recipe.
- To check to see if your muffins are done, insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean or with dry crumbs, the muffins are ready!
- Be sure to give your muffins at least 5 minutes to cool before taking them out of the pan, otherwise they might start to fall apart.
- Looking for a traditional cornbread recipe? Hundreds of readers have tried and loved my Easy Homemade Cornbread!
More Muffin Recipes To Consider
Muffin Recipes
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Breakfast Recipes
Breakfast Charcuterie Board
Pumpkin
40 Fall Pumpkin Recipes
Muffin Recipes
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Fluffy Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour works too
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk, cows milk or unsweetened almond both work
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a 12-cup muffin tin well.
- In a large bowl add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a small bowl add the pumpkin puree, egg, milk, honey, and melted butter. Whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredient to the dry ingredient and stir until the mixture just starts to come together. Don't over mix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin tins. Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15-18 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing. Serve warm with additional honey or honey butter.
I have a question about the cornmeal. Bob’s Red Mill sells fine, medium & coarse grain – which do u recommend?
Thank you
I get the fine for baking!
Can I use oat flour?
I haven’t tried it with it, but I feel like I have good luck exchanging oat flour for whole wheat flour! If you try it, I’d love to know what you think!
Hi I just made a batch I love pumpkin and I had some cornmeal I’m glad I found your recipe . I love using brown rice flour it’s very fine I will try the whole wheat white I have that too. They turned out very tasty and moist I added nutmeg .Again thanks im always looking for healthy options.
Sounds delicious!
Hi! I’m making these now but confused about the nutmeg?! It says add nutmeg but it isn’t on the ingredient list… how much?? Thank you!
I fixed it, no nutmeg needed, though you could add a pinch if you’d like. It would be great!
I finally scored some pumpkins and made some goo yesterday! Have I told you I really am not a pumpkin fan? A 1″ sliver of pie requires 1 cup of whipped cream! But…..I trust you, so I gave these a whirl. Half way thru making, I realized I was out of milk…..off to the mini mart. Returning home, I am greeted by a lost dog who has found my cat on the porch. Cat is micro-seconds away from shredding the dog. Boot cat into the house, kennel lost dog. Make phone calls to find worried owner. Reunite crazy bird dog with his daddy. Finally, back to the cornbread. Too lazy to soften crystallized honey….throw solid glob into bowl with other liquids. Realize this is a mistake. Become lazier and refuse to dirty a bigger bowl to be able to violently whisk honey into submission. Gently heat liquid mixture on stove to loosen up honey. Get impatient…..start whisking too briskly….slop liquids all over the stove top. But once baked, these were really yummy! I was skeptical of the cinnamon, but it was just the added touch to make these taste really great and they were sooooo moist! Now to get my lazy behind up off the couch to go scrub the stove top’s cooked on mess….grrrrr
Oh Deb, you had me laughing the whole time I was reading this. You are the best!