Pumpkin Spoon Bread

A savory-sweet spoon bread that combines cornmeal and pumpkin purée with aromatic herbs and warm spices. This soufflé-like dish features a delicate, custard-like texture with hints of cinnamon, ginger, and fresh herbs.

8 servings
55 min

Ingredients

  • cups whole milk
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup canned pure pumpkin purée
  • 3 whole large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
  • ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cooking Instructions

  1. 1.

    Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring milk, butter, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, gradually whisk in cornmeal, and simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in pumpkin purée.

    10 min

  2. 2.

    Whisk egg yolks, chives, thyme, cinnamon, cayenne, ginger, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Whisk in cornmeal mixture.

    5 min

  3. 3.

    Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of whites into batter, then gently fold in remaining whites. Scrape batter into a 9x5" loaf pan. Bake until spoon bread is set and begins to pull away from sides of pan, 30-40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

    40 min