Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
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Published Nov 09, 2018, Updated Sep 05, 2023
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These pumpkin cornbread muffins are slightly sweet and moist from the pumpkin! They’re the perfect side to a big bowl of cozy soup or chili. Dairy-free, egg-free, refined sugar free and made with whole grains.
I know there are a few more weeks of warm weather and summer produce ahead but I’m one of those crazy pumpkin people and I’m totally okay with starting the pumpkin fun a little early.
I love just about anything with pumpkin in it and have so many pumpkin recipes on the blog. From recipes like pumpkin pie to pumpkin soup and pumpkin muffins to pumpkin oatmeal to things like candles and lotions – I love it all. Pumpkin is such a versatile, healthy ingredient to cook with and I love the spices that are normally paired with it — especially pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and curry.
The pumpkin cornbread muffins I’m sharing today are inspired by my childhood. I grew up eating sweet cornbread, usually straight from the Jiffy box, paired with a pot of slow-cooked beans and fried potatoes, a hearty bowl of chili or goulash. Nothing against that cornbread but this version is much better for you (sorry mom!). It’s dairy-free and egg-free, made with whole grains and it’s refined sugar-free. It still has that sweetness I like in cornbread, but it’s not overly sweet.
Here’s What You Need
- whole wheat pastry flour – packed with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, whole wheat pastry flour is really easy to bake with! You can also subsitute regular or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- cornmeal – cornmeal is a very different texture from corn flour, so make sure you’ve got the right stuff! I like Bob’s Red Mill cornmeal.
- baking powder – the leavening agent that helps these muffins rise.
- sea salt – brings all the flavors together.
- cinnamon and nutmeg – the spices that elevate these cornbread muffins!
- flaxseed – we’ll be using a flaxseed egg in this recipe, but feel free to use 2 regular eggs if you don’t need them to be vegan or egg-free.
- pumpkin – make your own pumpkin puree or use store-bought. Double check that you don’t grab pumpkin pie filling which is loaded with added sugars!
- almond milk – I used the new honey-flavored Almond Breeze for this recipe for an extra hint of sweetness but you could use the regular unsweetened if you’d like to keep the recipe vegan. Here’s how to make homemade almond milk if you’re interested.
- coconut sugar – I love using coconut sugar because it’s a natural sugar with a bit more nutrition, but regular white sugar will work as well.
- coconut oil – instead of butter or vegetable oil, I like using coconut oil. It adds healthy fat to these muffins.
- molasses – the molasses is essential to giving these muffins their golden brown color and to help keep them moist! Plus, molasses is a great source of iron with 20% of your daily suggested intake in just 1 Tablespoon!
How to Make Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
Preheat Oven – First, you’ll preheat your oven to 350°F and then prepare a regular-sized muffin tin by greasing or lining 8 cups.
Prep Flaxseed Egg – Next, in a small bowl, make your flaxseed eggs by combining the ground flaxseed with water, giving it a good stir and allowing it to sit for a few minutes to thicken up.
Mix Dry Ingredients – While the flaxseed egg is setting, in a large bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg.
Mix Wet Ingredients – Add the remaining wet ingredients (pumpkin, almond milk, coconut sugar, coconut oil and molasses) into the bowl with the flaxseed eggs and stir well to combine.
Combine Dry + Wet Ingredients – Gently add the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Be careful to not over mix.
Bake – Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the 8 prepared cups.Bake for 25 minutes, until golden in color and a toothpick comes out clean.
Ideas For Serving
These cornbread muffins are so versatile! Isaac and I gobbled up these muffins rather quickly — one night we paired them with a bowl of soup and the rest were eaten for breakfast or as a snack. I’m particularly fond of cutting them in half, warming them up in the toaster oven for a few minutes and spreading each half with a thin layer of nut butter — so good! Need inspiration? Serve alongside one of these soup recipes below!
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Vegan Lentil Soup
- Easy Vegetarian Chili
- White Bean Chicken Chili
- Carrot Parsnip Soup
- Sausage Kale Soup
- Turkey Chili
Storing Leftover Muffins
Leftover muffins will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. To enjoy the muffins warm, just heat them in the toaster oven before serving. You can also store them in a silicone bag in the freezer. Just reheat them in the microwave for 30-35 seconds or let them thaw on the counter before serving.
Popular Muffin Recipes
- Flourless Pumpkin Muffins
- Almond Flour Muffins
- Oat Bran Muffins
- Zucchini Muffins
- Carrot Raisin Muffins
More Savory Pumpkin Recipes to Try
- Tofu Pumpkin Curry
- Black Bean Pumpkin Burgers
- Vegan Curried Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin Spice Salmon
- Maple Balsamic Tempeh Bowls with Pumpkin Rice
- Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
- Pumpkin Rice
Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed + 6 Tablespoons water
- ½ cup canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree, canned or freshly cooked and processed
- 1 cup Almond Breeze almond milk, honey or unsweetened
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil, liquid
- 1 Tablespoon molasses
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare a regular-sized muffin tin by greasing or lining 8 cups.
- In a medium-sized bowl, make your flaxseed eggs by combining the flaxseed with water, giving it a good stir and allowing it to sit for a few minutes to thicken up.
- In large bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg.
- Add the remaining ingredients (pumpkin, almond milk, coconut sugar, coconut oil and molasses) into the bowl with the flaxseed eggs and stir well to combine.
- Gently add the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do no over mix.
- Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into 8 cups.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until golden in color and a toothpick comes out clean.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looks Delicious! I never thought of putting pumpkin in cornbread!
These look wonderful, I could totally make them now even though we’re still in the 90s! 🙂 Thanks!
Pumpkin season is here babyyyy! I’ll take the whole pan puhhhh-leeeeease!
Indeed!! I’m still eating zucchini and peaches but I can have my pumpkin too. 🙂
The end of summer is almost here so I am ready to bring on the pumpkin! Thanks for the recipe.
This looks so good! I am sure this would pair perfectly with pumpkin chili!
Yes, definitely!
Hi, I feel the same way about pumpkin, welcome Fall! I can’t have flaxseed because I have a sensitivity to it. What should I use instead?
You can make a chia seed egg instead using chia seeds or you can just do 2 regular eggs if you’re fine with using eggs. 🙂
2 of my favorite foods in the entire world: Pumpkin & Almond Butter. These look AMAZING!
Such a great combo, right?
I love pumpkin and can’t wait for fall to really start! Great recipe brittany!
Thanks so much Millie!
These look delicious. Do you think this recipe would work well with gluten free flour?
Made these today. They’re great.
Yay! Thank you so much for trying them. 🙂
I made this in a cast iron skillet tonight (a half recipe) and it was delicious!!! Thank you for a great recipe!
Can I use regular whole wheat or all purpose flour
Yes! Regular whole wheat or all purpose flour should work fine. Regular whole wheat might be a little dense on it’s own. I’d do a mix of the two!
Looks great! Can I make it gluten-free somehow?
I think you could easily sub all-purpose gluten-free flour for the whole wheat pastry flour to make these gluten-free!
Great recipe! Used soy milk instead of almond and omitted the molasses (by accident – will use next time!) and still turned out awesome!
Yay!! So glad you hear that you enjoyed the pumpkin cornbread muffins, Courtney. Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
May I ask if this receipe is only for humans or do you feed it to birds?I came across this because I was looking to see if it is ok to feed a cockatiel cornbread.The reason I’m writing is I see thereb is nutmeg in the receipeI have read not to give a cockatiel nutmeg. it is toxic to them.Just want to pass this on just in cse I need to.I might make the receipe but not for my cockatiel.Thanks.
Made these tonight to go with a big pot of pumpkin turkey chili. I used 2 eggs in place of flax meal and water. They came out great. I might make a honey butter to add a bit more sweetness. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad the muffins turned out for you, Liz! They would be delicious with honey butter. 🙂 Thank you for coming back to leave a comment + star rating, I so appreciate it. <3
Delicious! Made these with veggie filled turkey chili for my boyfriend and I, and they were a major hit! I am gluten free, so I substituted all purpose GF flour, and it worked well. I used 2 eggs and subbed maple syrup for molasses (since I don’t have any). Can’t wait to make these again!
Woo!! That makes me so happy to hear, Rachel. I’m pumped these cornbread muffins were a hit. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. <3
These are really good and easy to make
These are delicious! I used a regular egg, brown sugar and buttermilk because I needed to use it up. We loved these with a bowl of white bean soup.
I’m glad you enjoyed these cornbread muffins, Kellie! Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I appreciate it. 🙂
These were so yummy! I am going to make the white bean chili tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed these muffins, Carmen! Let me know how the white bean chili turns out :).
Perfect Pumpkin Corn Muffins!!!
I topped them with salted pumpkin seeds. Will be making these again
thank youu
So happy to hear these pumpkin cornbread muffins were a hit and love that you topped them with salted pumpkin seeds, Marianne. Sounds delish! Thanks so much for trying them out and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
I didn’t have time to put these in a muffin tin so I used an 11×7 (2qt) glass pan instead. I had to cook them a few minutes longer to make sure that the center was done and they were amazing! We like our cornbread sweet and these were a fantastic change up. I served these along with your vegetable soup and it was a filling, tasty meal. Thank you!
YUM! I am so happy that this recipe was a hit, Michelle! Serving it with vegetable soup is definitely one of my favorites. Thank you for your review + star rating, I so appreciate it!
Yes, yes, yes!! These are so easy to make and absolutely delicious! I served them with your no bean chili for a huge win.
WOO! I am so happy to hear that this recipe is a hit, Erica. Thank you for sharing your review & star rating, I really appreciate it.