Give Your Cornbread Some Fall Flair With One Simple Addition

Cornbread deserves a rightful spot in the Southern side dish hall of fame. Each slice is brimming with a subtle sweetness and that distinct, corn-y aroma that sets it apart from other quick bread varieties. And if you want to give your next batch of homemade cornbread a unique autumnal twist, turn to canned pumpkin puree. While you can use homemade pumpkin puree for this simple, festive hack, the consistency is not as standardized as if you were to use the stuff in the can (plus, it's what most pumpkin cornbread recipes are based around, texture-wise). 

This ingredient mix-in will surely elevate your cornbread recipe to a new level. Not only does canned pumpkin add that unique, squashy flavor to your bread, but it's also brimming with moisture, which will ensure that your cornbread comes out of the oven soft and supple. The key, of course, is to balance out the flavor; you don't want your cornbread to come out tasting like a gritty pumpkin bread. Rather, you'll want to have some flavor contrast to balance everything out. Luckily, there are tons of extra ingredients, both sweet and savory, that you can add that highlight both the consistency of the cornmeal, as well as the flavor of the pumpkin. 

Although you might instinctively think about pairing pumpkin with sweet things, as pumpkin spice is all the rage, you can also stick to other savory mix-ins in your recipe. For example, start out with a honey sage skillet cornbread recipe; the earthy and almost eucalyptus-like flavor of the spice will pair well with the subtly sweet squash puree. You can tweak the amount of honey that you use in this recipe to make it slightly sweeter, or simply add a drizzle on top of the slice before serving to drive home that flavor profile. 

Warming spices, like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and ginger, can also add flavor to your pumpkin-infused cornbread and shift it in a sweet — but not cloying — direction. We recommend adding a hint of pumpkin pie spice to your cornbread with the pumpkin puree and tying the flavor knot with the addition of browned butter. The browned butter has a remarkable, toffee flavor to it that will give you the richness and butteriness of a classic cornbread, but just with a smooth, caramelized segue into the pumpkin.