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This simple homemade pumpkin cornbread with sage can be eaten alone or turned into croutons and stuffing. Moist cornbread with a buttery crust – what’s not to love?

Are you one of those sweet or unsweet cornbread folks?
I support my southern family members by falling into the unsweet category. Especially when the cornbread is made in a cast iron skillet and has the perfect buttery crisp bottom and sides.
I could quickly eat a warm skillet of cornbread right out of the oven with butter and maybe a side of lima or Instant Pot Pinto Beans.
While this pumpkin cornbread is nothing like my grandmother’s, it stays true to her love of the unsweet “southern” cornbread and adds a little fall-time flavor.
Adding pumpkin and sage makes this bread perfect for Thanksgiving or any weekday supper.
Turn this recipe into pumpkin cornbread croutons and then turn it into pumpkin cornbread chicken sausage stuffing.

Ingredients needed
- All-purpose flour
- Cornbread
- Baking powder
- Kosher salt
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Pumpkin puree
- Milk
- Olive oil
- Eggs
- Maple syrup
- Fresh sage
- Melted butter
My Pro Tips
Recipe Tips
- You can use canned pumpkin puree, or you can follow my post on how to Make Homemade Pumpkin Puree if you want to make your own.
- Fresh sage will taste best here, but you can use dried sage in its place.
- Instead of a 10-inch cast iron skillet, you can use a 9×9 baking dish.
- Add up to 1/4 cup of brown sugar if you want a sweeter cornbread.
- If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, mix cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and a pinch of cloves.
More savory pumpkin recipes
Pumpkin Cornbread with Sage

Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced sage
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and kosher salt.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, milk, olive oil, eggs, and maple syrup.
- Pour wet mixture into dry and mix until just combined. Mix in sage.
- Add unsalted butter to a 10 inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven for 5 minutes to melt.
- Once the butter is melted swirl it around the pan and around the sides of the pan.
- Pour batter into the skillet and spread out to the edges.
- Bake for about 30 minutes until the bread is fully baked and a toothpick comes out clean when tested in the middle.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.












My mouth is seriously watering!
I kid you not, I almost made a pumpkin sage cornbread a couple of weeks ago! It sounds like such an amazing combo, and now I really do need to get on it. I like both schools of cornbread, though I admit to liking a sweetened one a wee bit better (don’t tell my grandma). I would love a fat slice of yours, pronto!
I can’t ever get enough of anything pumpkin and sage together!
Love this new cornbread recipe. Pumpkin and sage are perfect together.
I have a gluten-free pumpkin cornbread i made last year and again Brandy my family liked it but prefer orginal, i loved it! We just keep changing things up and eventually maybe our Italian families will come around right?
this takes cornbread to a whole new level
I now have the urge to make a big pot of chili so I can dip this cornbread into it!
If you are NOT using cast iron, are there any adjustments to temp/time or preparation?
Hi Stephanie! The cook time will remain the same. I would just use an 8×8 pyrex or a 9-inch pie plate instead. You won’t get a super crispy crust from those pans but the bread will still turnout delicious. I would recommend just buttering the dish instead of melting the butter into the dish if your using the non-cast iron. Hope you enjoy the bread!
I love cornbread – especially baked in a cast iron skillet. This sounds delicious!
Unsweet, unsweet! Sage is the best. Love this savory version Brandy!