Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler
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Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler is the ultimate fall dessert with cake on the top and hot caramel sauce on the bottom!
I think I’ve found pumpkin dessert mecca in the form of this Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler. I love a good chocolate lava cake, but no other dessert has really ever come close to that pinnacle of delicious. Until now? If you don’t like chocolate as much as you like pumpkin, then we are close to something that will blow your mind.

Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler: Ultimate Fall Dessert
No matter where you stand on the choco-loving scale, you’ve at least got to give this a try at least once this season! This Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler is spicy, sweet, festive and gets thrown together in a snap. This is like a pumpkin lava cake and cobbler love child. It’s got all the yummy factors that I love in a dessert and uses ingredients I’m 99% sure you already have in your pantry. #winning
Just be sure to remember to add in the baking powder because…..it WILL NOT work without it.
Here’s how to make this Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler:
Stir all dry ingredients together in a small bowl: flour, sugar, spices and leavenings. I’m positive you all have these items in your pantry right now.
In a separate bowl, stir together all the wet ingredients: milk, vanilla, melted butter and pumpkin!
Now, incorporate the two. You’ll get a thick batter…exactly what you want.
Pour this into a small casserole dish and spread out evenly.
Like so!
Top this with even more sugar {I know it looks like a lot….} and some chopped pecans.
Right before it goes into the oven, pour over some super hot water. RESIST the urge to mix this. Pour it and forget it. I promise the oven will work it’s magic and create an amazing cakey, hot pumpkin lava situation that is worth the 40 minute wait.
You see? Puffy magic cake with…..wait for it……

Sweet pumpkin lava gooeyness!!!!!! Heaven, folks.

Divide into portions and serve.

Don’t forget the extra pecans and ice cream! Yes yes yes.

Love Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler? Try these other recipes:
- Carrot Cake Cobbler
- Chocolate Cobbler Recipe
- Inside-Out Breakfast Peach Cobbler {almost vegan}
- Peach & Raspberry Cobbler {with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream!}
- Steel Cut Oatmeal with Bananas & Cobbler Topping

Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler
Ingredients
For the Cobbler
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
For the Topping
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1 1/2 cups very hot water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and spices. Set aside.
- In a smaller bowl, stir pumpkin, milk, melted butter and vanilla together to combine. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix to create a thick batter. Pour into a small 8-inch casserole dish with high sides.
- In a separate bowl, stir sugar, brown sugar and pecans together. Spread over the top of the batter evenly. Pour hot water over the entire thing {WITHOUT STIRRING A THING!} and bake for 40 minutes or once the middle is set. {Be sure to place on a baking sheet incase it bubbles over.} Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with more pecans and vanilla ice cream.
Video
Nutrition
*Recipe Updates*
I’ve gotten a TON of comments and feedback from all of you about this recipe since it’s become VERY popular within the last few weeks of me posting this. A lot of the same questions keep getting asked and asked again, so I thought I would address the most common ones below so that you can make this with success 🙂
Is 1/2 cup of pumpkin the correct amount?
YES! You only need 1/2 cup of canned plain pumpkin {NOT pumpkin pie filling} for this recipe.
Can I double the recipe?
YES! And I know that 3 cups of water seems excessive but that is typically what you do when you double a recipe. You double every single measurement. I suppose if you’re worried about it, you can reduce that amount. That just means you’ll have less caramelly-pumpkiny liquid underneath your cake.
Can I bake this in a 9×13 pan?
Yes, but only if you plan on doubling the recipe!
Mine didn’t cook all the way through. What’s wrong?
When I first was testing this recipe, mine came out all globby and mushy at first too. But then I switched over to new, fresh baking powder and that did the trick! Don’t forget the baking powder! Also, check your oven temperature. Mine is spot on at 350 degrees and my cobbler was done in 40 minutes exactly. Some ovens run hot, some run cold. Also, glass baking dishes cook food differently than metal or ceramic. Lots of different factors can affect the baking time. The cobbler might be done at 40 minutes or you might have to cook it closer to 50. As long as the center is baked, you should be good to go.
Can I make this gluten free?
I don’t see why not, though lots of gluten-free baking mixes vary significantly because of their different blends of flours. I’ve had good success with Pamela’s brand GF all-purpose flour baking blend.
Did you forget to list eggs as an ingredient?
NO! There are no eggs needed for this recipe.
Your casserole dish you used in this recipe looks big! Is it?
The casserole dish I used is a 9″x 6″ baking dish from Crate and Barrel. It’s on the small side for sure. I think there was some confusion because it’s so small yet in the recipe I state that you can get 8 servings. But, look at the increments. It doesn’t make a ton, but puffs up and is very sweet and decadent which is why I said it could serve 8.
Can I make this recipe in advance?
Yes, you definitely can, but the longer it sits, the less syrupy goodness remains. The best thing I could recommend is make the batter ahead of time (with double acting baking powder) and right before baking, add the sugar and nut topping along with the very hot water. That way, you’re still prepping ahead of time, but enjoying it fresh. The double acting baking powder is important because it helps the cobbler rise once when introduced to liquids and twice when it’s introduced to heat.
I have never frozen this recipe, so have no input on how that would work.
Hope that helps! Enjoy! xoxo -Lauren













This is the ultimate dessert. I made it to use up extra pumpkin after making pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. This cobbler is better than any pumpkin pie. Each bite is a mixture of sweet and crunchy topped with the delicious caramel sauce.
Thank you, Lauren, for a wonderful recipe.
Okay, WOW ! Just made this for Thanksgiving. I have a domed countertops convection oven so I covered it with parchment paper and wire rack for 30 minutes and baked for another 20 minutes uncovered. This will be made again for Christmas. Delicious.
Can this be stored at room temperature or should it be refrigerated? It tastes great. Fun to make.
It turned out so good! My husband and I loved it. <3
Hey Lauren,
I just want you to know that I have been making your pumpkin pecan cobbler recipe since I wanna say 2018 or 2019. We ABSOLUTELY ADORE IT! My daughter is so obsessed that she always requests this dessert even for her birthday last year, this is what she wanted instead of cake. She is a young adult now but she’s still my baby. I just wanted you to know that you’re making a positive impact on our bellies and our taste buds, but most importantly on our family memories so thank you from the bottom of my heart for these yummy recipes. Keep it up babes. Much Love from West Virginia. 🥰🫶
Perfect
The transformation to metric is very wrong. It got me 16x the flour you mentioned and the whole recipe is messed up now 😣
I took this to a pot luck last fall (doubled recipe), served it with French Vanilla ice cream and everyone raved about it. I followed the recipe exactly except for putting praline pecans on top, which made it even more decadent. Absolute heaven in a bowl. Will be making again soon, even though it’s now spring.
OMG! This is a new favorite! I didn’t change a thing. It came out of the oven with a cake top and hot and gooey pumpkin goodness on the bottom. Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and this was to die for! Everyone loved it! Thank you for this delicious recipe!
How do I store this? Does it need to be refrigerated?
Love it but it didn’t puff up. I’ll check my baking powder
Thanks, & I’ll check your other recipes too ?
Fantastic old-school recipe. Very easy to make as well! My father in law said it was his favorite thing that we made during the holidays!
I have made this many times just as written and it is always a big hit! It is in the oven now for Thanksgiving lunch instead of pumpkin pie this year.
If I double the recipe, do I have to bake it for longer?
Can you use an 8 x 8 pan?
I just made this and it’s absolutely scrumptious <3 since I doubled the recipe, it made me feel like maybe the caramel can be made with less sugar and therefore it wouldn’t be as sweet overall but as you said: less gooey goodness. Thanks so much for this
Made this for a last minute get together last weekend and doubled the recipe and it was a hit! Already shared with my MIL.
In the video it shows it says you added salt but it is not listed for amount used is it ok not to use it if it’s not listed
Do you have to refrigerate??
This was a fun recipe that’s smells delicious! My only question is how do I know when it is done. Do I stick it with a knife?
Where does the caramel sauce come in ?? There’s no mention of it in your directions. But you show it on the bottom of the dessert.
Cindy, the caramel sauce is created naturally when you add the hot water and bake it.
Served this to our dinner guests last night and everyone enjoyed it. We added butter pecan ice cream. We sent the leftovers with them so we wouldn’t get fat this week!! Great and EASY recipe.
I doubled this recipe and baked in a 9×13. I used 2 cups of water to pour over the top not 3 and it turned out amazing! I also used sea salt instead of table salt and lucked out with a salted caramel vibe. Delicious!!
Is the pan greased or ungreased??
Could I do this in a slow cooker?
Just made it tonight. I used evaporated milk for the milk, added more pecans and cut back a bit on the white sugar. We loved it! It’ll be a fall favorite.
I tried this recipe today and I did double it, except I did ½ cup less of the water when I doubled. This turned out SO delicious! Definitely have it with some ice cream. It is really good by itself, but the ice cream takes it over the top. It’s a keeper!
I used walnuts instead of pecans.
Disappointing. I was so excited to make this since I long pumpkin and pecans. Lacked flavor. Almost tasteless. So glad I did not make it for guest.
Delicious!! I made this yesterday but forgot to put it in the fridge overnight – will it be safe to eat?
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a HUGE hit! As we had 15 of us, I doubled the recipe and really worried that the 3 cups of water was too much. However, when it was done cooking there was plenty of the caramel syrup and the cake was the perfect consistency. I also make the cake mix the night before so I could bake it as we were all sitting down to dinner. When everyone was ready for dessert, I was able to pull this hot out of the oven. So good and will be a go-to recipe for me in the future!!
So so delicious! I made it again and doubled the recipe. I used GF Namaste flour & 1Tbsp. only, using brown rice flour. Cup4Cup would be just as good. This is by far my favourite desert! Way to go Lauren!
Tried it for Thanksgiving topped with homemade ice cream and it was a huge hit!
This is so delicious!
Is supposed to be so liquid?
This is such a nice switch from pumpkin pie. Some of the best cobbler recipes use the “water on the top” method !
Wonderful. A great alternative to making pumpkin pie.
I loved this recipe. I made it twice and shared it with a friend. I cut the sugar significantly the second time. It keeps for several days in fridge but the sauce turns into a gooey topping. Also delicious! Thank you.
I wanted to make individual servings of this by baking in ramekins. What are your thoughts on this? Is it doable?
Can you use milk instead of water? I made this today and the cake base is amazing but I found the caramel to taste a bit watery
I took this to a church carry in dinner and it was a huge hit. The only change I will make next time is to cut the nutmeg and cloves to half what is called for. I felt they were overpowering. I really didn’t taste the pumpkin at all, just the spice
Made this for the first time and doubled the recipe. It was delicious but took longer to bake. However I forgot to double the water and realized after it was in the oven for 10 minutes. Added the extra water and continued baking. Took another 20 minutes but turned out fine. I will make this again.
Magnifique! Best desert, any time of the year ! ?
I scrolled a bit through the comments and didn’t see if this is recommended to be refrigerated or storing left overs (if any) on the counter is ok? Thank you, will be trying this out tomorrow!
OMG it was amazing! I cooked it for 10-20 minutes extra as it was still wiggly in the middle. Let’s just say there wasn’t any leftovers.
I made this recipe for the first time this evening and I think it came out perfectly! My only question is how do you store the rest?? Do you need to refrigerate? Or can it be left out in room temperature?
So good! Easy to make. My kids really liked it too.
Loved this!! I toasted the pecans first. Next time, I’ll cut the cloves in half. A little too strong for my taste.
Could I make this using sweet potatoes?
I might try replacing the water with heavy cream or half and half. Have you already tried that?