Two weeks ago we had a cold spell and I was all like, “I’M READY FOR PUMPKIN!” I bought mini pumpkins to decorate my kitchen, bought some fall-scented candles, and watched pumpkin everything blow up on social media. And now it’s time for the first pumpkin recipe of the year! I’m usually a fan of savory pumpkin recipes more so than sweet, but I just happened to have all the ingredients for this Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip on hand, so that’s what I whipped up today. Zero regrets, guys. ZERO.
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What’s in Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
This super delicious, light, and fluffy dip is so easy to make and only calls for eight simple ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make this pumpkin dip:
- Heavy Whipping Cream: This is the base for this light and fluffy luscious dessert. While you can use store-bought whipped cream, you can not substitute with milk, or any other lower fat dairy product.
- Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla gives the whipped cream a richer, cozier flavor.
- Sugar: We’ve got to sweeten up the whipped cream and pumpkin! I don’t like my dip too-too sweet, so we only used about ¼ cup total for the entire recipe.
- Cream Cheese: Cream cheese gives this dip a cheesecake-like flavor, and helps the texture of the dip hold up to refrigeration (no deflating!).
- Pumpkin Purée: Tons of pumpkin flavor and gorgeous orange color, not to mention fiber and other nutrients.
- Spices: A little bit of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg give this dip a warm, fall-like vibe. You can substitute with ¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice if you don’t have the individual spices on hand.
How to Serve Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
This super light and fluffy Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip can be eaten several different ways. You can use it as a dip for graham crackers, apple slices, cinnamon pita crisps, or your favorite cookies (a crunchy biscotti would be delicious). You can make it into a parfait by layering it in a jar with crushed cinnamon graham crackers, or you can just say, “to hell with it” and serve it with a spoon and a side of Netflix. While the first two options make the prettiest presentation, the last option is probably my favorite.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
Servings 4 1 cup eachIngredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream ($0.84)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract ($0.84)
- 4 Tbs sugar, divided ($0.04)
- 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature ($0.60)
- 1 cup pumpkin purée (solid pack pumpkin) ($0.57)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg ($0.02)
Instructions
- Add the heavy cream to a glass or metal mixing bowl and whip with a stand mixer, hand mixer, or a whisk until it begins to thicken and the beaters begin to leave a trail in the cream. At that point add the vanilla extract and 2 Tbsp of the sugar. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, pumpkin purée, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and the remaining 2 Tbsp sugar until smooth. Make sure no lumps of cream cheese remain in the mixture.
- Transfer a large scoop of the whipped cream to the bowl with the pumpkin mixture and fold the two together to help lighten up the pumpkin mixture.
- Transfer about 1/3 of the pumpkin mixture back to the bowl with the whipped cream and gently fold them together. Once incorporated, repeat with the second 1/3 of the mixture, and then again once more with the final third of the pumpkin mixture. Make sure to fold gently and do not vigorously stir to prevent the whipped cream from losing its volume.
- Once the mixtures are fully incorporated and smooth, the dip is ready to serve. Or, chill until ready to eat.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip – Step by Step Photos
Begin by whipping 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. I like to wait until the cream starts to thicken a bit before adding the sugar and vanilla. If you’ve never whipped cream before, “stiff peaks” means that when you lift the beaters out of the cream, the little peaks that are left in the bowl stand upright and do not slump over. Be careful not to overbeat the cream, though, because it can begin to break down and separate.
In a separate bowl, combine 4 oz. room temperature cream cheese, 1 cup pumpkin purée, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, and 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg.
Beat the cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, and spices together until they are smooth and no lumps of cream cheese remain (this is why it’s important to use room-temperature cream cheese).
Take a hefty scoop of the whipped cream and add that to the pumpkin mixture. Fold them together to give the pumpkin mixture some lightness.
Now take 1/3 of that lightened pumpkin mixture and fold it into the bowl with the rest of the whipped cream. Make sure not to stir vigorously or you risk deflating your whipped cream. Just fold gently and watch the pretty swirls of orange and white.
Repeat that two more times until all of the pumpkin mixture has been folded into the whipped cream. And that’s it! The Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip is ready to eat!
And while this pumpkin dip really is good with these Cinnamon Pita Crisps, just give me a spoon already. It was REALLY hard to not just eat it all right away, but I think I like it even more after chilling a bit!
I made this exactly like the recipe which was very easy and simple to follow. However mine came out with a slightly weird after taste and leave a dry taste in the mouth. Not sure how to correct this issue. Any help would be great.
I’m not sure about that one! I sounds like it might have something to do with the pumpkin. Are you perhaps using a an older can of pumpkin puree? It’s possible that it’s been sitting in the can too long and would need to be heated up to take the edge off. You could try heating up the pumpkin and then cooling it before adding to the rest of the ingredients to see if that helps, but I’m not sure how to salvage the one you already made unless you want to try eating that one warm!
Was very excited to try this recipe! Had an interesting aftertaste to it. I looked for cinnamon pita chips but wasn’t able to find any in the store. So I bought gluten-free cookies to dip with!
This is SO good. I layered it in a jar with some fancy gingersnap cookies and served with candied pecans (made with your candied walnut recipe!). :)
Can half and half be used instead of the heavy cream? Will it change the texture?
Hi, Dianne! Unfortunately, half & half won’t whip like heavy cream because it doesn’t have a high enough fat content. So substituting it, in this case, would likely lead to an unsuccessful result. There is a hack you can look up online for making heavy cream with h&h (by mixing it with melted butter). However, I have never used this technique in a recipe that requires going on to whip the cream…so I don’t know if it will work in this application! (In theory, it *should* work. I would make sure to chill the mixture first and then try to whip it.) If you do try it, let me know how it goes! ~Marion :)
Can this be made ahead of time and froze?
I actually tried to freeze this to see if it turned out like no-churn ice cream, but it did not. Haha. It was rock hard when frozen and wasn’t good after being thawed. :P
I found this recipe a few days before Christmas and I knew I had to make it! I was not disappointed! It was light, soft, fluffy and I loved the texture. The best part was how delicious it was! Everyone’s eyes lit up when they tasted this delightful treat. I served it with Graham crackers.
Thank you for sharing this awesome dessert. xx
My only substitute was using Neufchatel cheese instead of regular cream cheese – worked great; thanks for the recipe! The serving suggestion with cinnamon pita crisps was perfect.
Just thought I would add another way to eat this for pumpkin lovers. We used some of this to top this year’s pumpkin pie. It is becoming the most regular made item to make with the kids because they find it so easy to make. And, yes, we do eat it straight from the bowl.
Happy to hear it Heather!!
Could you use greek yogurt 0% fat free instead of whipping cream? To reduce the calories?
Thank you!
No, I don’t think that would work, unfortunately.
I tasted the pumpkin mixture, yuck! But remembered it wasnt final until the whipped cream addition.
Much better.
I played with the sugar and spices a bit. Perhaps a bit more bourbon…
Used angel food instead of pound cake, next time.
Added crushed ginger snaps between pumpkin and whipped cream.
Took it to a garden club dinner, gone in 10. Lol
Yum!
Next time, spoon and Netflix.
I made this for Thanksgiving, it was really good. So today I’m trying it with homemade cranberry puree and I’ll let you know how it turns out but I don’t have any doubts.
How does it hold up? I was thinking of bringing it to a holiday party- will it keep for a day or two?
Yes, it holds up really well in the refrigerator. :)
Trader Joe’s sells pumpkin tortilla chips so I’m serving with those! Pumpkin overload!!
Doea anybody know if this recipe would make for a good ice cream if churned by an ice cream machine? It should be fatty enough and this way it could last longer.
If you try it let me know. I actually put the leftovers in the freezer to see if it would turn out like my no-churn ice cream, but it didn’t. It was rock hard after freezing, but it does have quite a bit less sugar than my no-churn ice cream, so I guess that’s the difference. I bet churning would help.
I finally made this as ice-cream and it works great. I made some changes to facilitate freezing:
-I first boiled the heavy cream with half a tsp of carob seed powder. I used carob seed powder because it’s a thickener specific to ice creams and actually pretty cost-effective if you can find it because it’s powerful; however you could use half or one Tablespoon or so of corn starch in its place.
-I used about 50 grams of brown sugar and 100 grams of maple syrup (plus a bit more to taste)both because I wanted it sweeter and to help the ice cream not crystallize; I guess you could also use honey or homemade golden syrup. Maple syrup is a bit expensive especially outside of America but I found a great deal and stocked it.
-I added a bit less than 1/4 teaspoon salt
-I used a Tablespoon of vanilla extract because mine is weak and because alcohol helps ice cream not crystallize. Could also have used a bit of bourbon or other alcohol I like to the same effect, the quantity you use is still very small and it’s one of those unperishable items I find handy to have (I don’t even drink)
I churned the ice cream in an ice cream machine and turned out well; like all homemade ice creams however it needs to be re-heated a bit before heating (either in the microwave on defrost or leaving it on its own for a bit). I inherited my ice cream machine so I didn’t have to pay for anything, but even if I hadn’t I would consider it a good buy if you love ice cream like me.
This is a great ice cream! My family approved, even my dad who hates pumpkin and cinnamon. Thank you Beth.
Haha, you shouldn’t thank me, you just made your own recipe and it sounds AMAZING. :D
What do you think about adding whipped egg whites to maybe make fluffier/lighter?
I honestly don’t know if this could get any fluffier or lighter. It was almost as light as whipped cream itself.
Yum. Just made this but substituted whipped topping for the whipped cream. I just ate it with a spoon, no crackers. But, I do have some pound cake in the freezer so may try that!!
Love that you left the spices light. Hubs loves pumpkin, so when I tried this he was in heaven. He grabbed the leftovers to pile on pancakes this morning. Thanks for another frugal winner.
It’s so weird seeing you mention Kroger now that you’ve moved, haha. I’m so used to you being from a place with unfamiliar grocery stores, that seeing my old store mentioned (former Indiana resident here) keeps startling me.
Hahah I’m still not used to it! Learning the local grocery selection is the hardest part of moving. :)
I remember you mentioned Aldi before. They usually have canned pumpkin at a good price too.
I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for it at Aldi! :) So far my local Aldi only has pumpkin pie filling. :(
Do you think you could stick it in a pie shell, bake it, and call it Thanksgiving dessert? (Canadian Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks and I’m on the hunt for desserts). Thanks!
Hmmm, well it’s really really soft, like almost as soft and fluffy as whipped cream, so if you can imagine filling a pie shell with whipped cream… I don’t know that you’d be able to slice it. It might be okay in mini-pie shells as bite-sized desserts/appetizers!
Aldi’s sells pumpkin seasonally. Every year, I wait until it goes on sale, and then pick up several cans. I’m a fan of Chicken Pumpkin Soup: https://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/08/chicken-pumpkin-soup/
Looks delicious!!!! :-)