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Step up your cornbread this fall and try these fluffy and moist Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins! They are gluten-free and vegan while also being high in protein and fiber. The flavor of the pumpkin and cinnamon is the perfect pairing for your fall meals.
Instead of pumpkin bread, try these more savory cornbread muffins this season. The pumpkin eliminates the need for added oil or sugars, but a touch of maple syrup balances the sweet and savory flavors. These muffins are perfect for your Thanksgiving table or to go with a delicious fall chili.
If you like savory pumpkin recipes, you will love my Pumpkin Hummus and Pumpkin Biscuits too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- High Protein and Fiber: These cornbread pumpkin muffins have 5 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber in each muffin. These are great amounts for a baked good. I talk about the importance of fiber in this free weight loss class.
- Moist and Fluffy: Many people associate gluten-free with dense baked goods, but these muffins are light and airy.
- Perfect for Thanksgiving: The addition of the pumpkin makes these muffins great for serving with fall meals. They are always a huge hit for Thanksgiving!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Pumpkin Puree: Adding pumpkin to these savory muffins eliminates the need for oil and adds fiber.
- Maple Syrup: A splash of natural maple syrup adds sweetness to the muffins. You could also use honey, but then the muffins would no longer be vegan.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: The vinegar will react with baking soda to make a light and airy muffin.
- Cornmeal: You can’t have cornbread without cornmeal. Be sure to check the ingredients in your cornmeal to ensure that it’s gluten-free.
- Gluten-Free Flours: This pumpkin corn muffin recipe uses a combination of gluten-free oat flour and almond flour. You can use a regular gluten-free baking flour in place of the oat flour if needed. It’s important to measure properly when baking with gluten-free flours, so be sure you use the spoon and level method.
- Coconut Sugar: This sugar alternative has a slightly lower glycemic index, but you can substitute it for regular sugar or a zero calorie sugar substitute if you need to.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Try with a Different Squash: Don’t limit yourself to just using pumpkin; you can also make these muffins using butternut squash, acorn squash, and sweet potato purees! They all have delicious, mildly sweet flavors that complement the cornbread.
- Use Semolina Instead of Cornmeal: Semolina is a coarse flour leftover from milling durum wheat. It has a similar texture and color to cornmeal, but it is not gluten-free. If you have a hard time digesting corn products and aren’t gluten-free, this is a great alternative.
- Make a Skillet of Bread: If you want to make cornbread instead of muffins, pour the batter into a greased skillet and bake for double the amount of time. The muffins take about 25-30 minutes, so the bread would take 50-55 minutes. You could also make my healthy Pumpkin Cornbread recipe instead.
How to Make Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
These savory pumpkin and corn muffins are the perfect bread to go with a large holiday meal or a pot of chili. Everyone will love the addition of the pumpkin for a taste of fall. All you need to make them is a food processor, a mixing bowl, a greased muffin tin, and an oven preheated to 350°F.
Step 1: Process Ingredients. Combine the pumpkin, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, oat flour, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon in the food processor and pulse until the mixture is smooth.
Step 2: Add the Remaining Ingredients. Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl and fold in the baking soda, cornmeal, almond flour, and salt by hand. Mix the batter until just combined. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and let the batter rest for 1 hour to thicken.
Step 3: Divide the Batter Into the Muffin Tin. Scoop the batter into a lined muffin tin. Be sure to fill each cavity equally for even baking.
Step 4: Bake the Muffins. Bake the muffins at 350°F for 30 minutes, or until the muffin tops turn golden brown and a toothpick can be cleanly removed from the center. Remove the muffins and let them cool in the muffin tin for about 10 minutes before you remove and serve them.
Expert Tips
- Use Muffin Liners: Save yourself some time and effort with cleanup and use paper muffin linings or silicone muffin liners instead of baking the muffins directly in the muffin tin for easy muffin removal.
- Let the Batter Chill: It is critical that you let the batter chill in the refrigerator for an hour before baking. During this time, the cornmeal will absorb the liquid, and the apple cider vinegar and baking soda will create a reaction. Both of these will result in thick, fluffy muffins.
- Don’t Overmix: Only mix your muffin batter until it is just combined. Overmixed batter will result in gummy and dense cornbread muffins.
Storage Directions
- Storing: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also individually wrap the muffins and freeze them in a freezer container for 60 days. I love this muffin traveler for taking muffins places or storing them!
- Reheating: If you like warm muffins, pop leftovers in the microwave for 30 seconds to heat them. Be sure to thaw frozen muffins in the refrigerator for 24 hours before reheating them.
Serving Suggestions
These healthy cornbread muffins are the perfect bread dish to accompany a variety of fall dishes like soups, chilis, and salads. They are always a popular item for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. You can also just snack on them with a little butter in the afternoon. The balance of sweet and savory makes them a great pick-me-up during a long day.
- Name a more iconic pair than cornbread and chili! Serve these cornbread pumpkin muffins alongside a bowl of black bean chili or healthy crockpot turkey chili.
- Use the cornbread to make a gluten-free cornbread stuffing for your holiday table.
- You’ll love this cornbread with your Thanksgiving dinner. Make it alongside my sweet potato gratin or any of my other healthy Thanksgiving recipes.
Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins Recipe FAQs
If your muffins came out dense and heavy, then chances are you overmixed the batter. Be sure to stir until they are just combined to avoid making dense muffins.
If you don’t let your muffin batter sit in the refrigerator for an hour, then it won’t thicken. The thin batter won’t cook properly, and you’ll have muffins that are still wet inside.
The almond flour is critical for the texture of the muffins. I don’t recommend using a substitute.
More Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
If you tried this Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin Tin
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- ½ cup Pumpkin Puree
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk, or milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 cup Cornmeal
- 1 cup Almond Flour
- ⅓ cup Gluten Free Oat Flour
- ¼ cup Coconut Sugar, or sugar of choice
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350 F. Prepare a muffin tin with cooking spray or liners (or baking dish if making this as bread).
- In a food processor, combine the pumpkin, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, oat flour, sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon until smooth.
- Next fold in by hand the baking soda, cornmeal, almond flour and salt to combine.
- Let the batter sit 1 hour in the refrigerator to allow the batter to thicken, the cornmeal will absorb all the ingredients to make fluffier and thicker muffins (trust me!).
- Pour the batter into the cavities, dividing it evenly among each cavity. Bake 30 minutes until the muffins appear golden brown and a toothpick can be inserted cleanly in the center. If making the bread version, you will need to bake longer 50-55 minutes for the bread version.
- Remove the muffins from the oven then let them cool in the tin 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Use muffin or cupcake liners to help make serving these muffins easier and less messy.
- The batter has to chill for an hour in the refrigerator so it will thicken. The thicker batter will result in moist, fluffy muffins.
- Don’t overmix the batter, or it will result in dense and gummy cornbread muffins.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
MMMMMM Can’t wait to bake some of these up for the week and bring to classes. Grab and go snacks are the best – especially when they’re homemade 🙂
You will love them!
I love that these are slightly sweet!! I’m all about hiding some pumpkin in my cornbread, in fact I wouldn’t have it any other way!! So glad you are feeling better, isn’t it crazy how the right shoes/inserts make SUCH A DIFFERENCE!! I can always tell when my shoes are shot, so much pain!
I actually think pumpkin in cornbread should be the new norm!
Wow! Those are some expensive inserts, but if they bring you relief, it’s worth every penny. And TOTALLY loving the addition of pumpkin to these muffins. Nice work, Megan! 🙂 Happy Friday!
Any money is worth the pain relief at this point. Have a great weekend Ashley!
These look absolutely delicious! I love cornbread so I need to try these! Glad your insoles are working well for you – it’s a pain to pay so much, but I think it’s worth it.
Let me know if you give them a try Janelle!
These sound so great!
Thanks!
adding pumpkin to cornbread sounds amazing! These would even be perfect for thanksgiving!
It’s on of those unexpected things that turns out delicious!
good orthotics are worth their weight in gold! Trust. And you know I love this because you know that I have a cornbread gene. And a pumpkin gene. so boom.
PS your posts aren’t showing up on my Bloglovin! Just wanted to let you know!
Thanks for letting me know, I’ll check into it!
I have never had cornbread before, but I really need to change that. Especially if it has pumpkin in it!
Never had cornbread? If only you lived closer, I would share some with you!
Pumpkin cornbread is my FAVORITE way to make corn bread! It keeps it so moist and perfect!
YEAH! A fellow pumpkin cornbread lover!
Yum these look awesome and totally perfect for thanksgiving of course 🙂 glad the inserts are working!
Yes! I always make these on Thanksgiving. There’s just something special about them.