This fluffy pumpkin dip is an easy no bake dessert or sweet appetizer made with cream cheese, Cool Whip, and pumpkin purée. Perfect for Halloween parties, fall gatherings, or as a Thanksgiving appetizer, it’s a kid-friendly dip that’s cozy and festive. Serve it on a charcuterie board with graham crackers, vanilla wafers, apple slices, and more!
If you love fall flavors but want something quick and easy, like my favorite no bake pumpkin dessert, this pumpkin cream cheese dip is the one for you. I love that it makes a great snack (especially with Nilla Wafers), a delicious Thanksgiving appetizer guests will love, or a sweet fall dessert dip.
I actually tested this recipe a couple of times. It’s based on an old handwritten recipe I found amongst my mom’s recipe cards, but I made a few tweaks, because my first try was kind of goopy, not really dippable… After tweaking and re-testing, I had a perfectly delicious cream cheese pumpkin dip on my hands.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Pumpkin Dip Recipe
- It’s so quick and easy to make, as little as 10 minutes to make, and as easy as mixing a few simple ingredients and chilling in the fridge.
- No cooking and no baking. It’s a no bake fall dessert!
- Perfect for fall, Halloween, or Thanksgiving – All the holiday parties and potlucks!
- It’s kid-friendly. What kid doesn’t love dipping cookies and graham crackers in a sweet delectable dip?
- And I’ll admit, give me a box of gluten-free vanilla wafers, and I can chow down on this addictive pumpkin pie dip. It definitely curbs those pumpkin spice cravings.
Ingredients and Substitutions Notes
Gather your ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need…
- Cream Cheese – I recommend using full-fat cream cheese all the way. I’m not a fan of low-fat products because there are usually additives and things I just don’t want. Plus, full-fat makes the best, and if I’m already indulging, why not make it the best it can be?
- Cool Whip – Or you can use any whipped topping you choose. You can even make homemade whipped cream and use that. Cool Whip’s just easy.
- Pumpkin Purée – When I say purée, I just mean canned pumpkin. Now be sure to get actual canned pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie mix, because there is a difference. Pumpkin pie mix or pie filling usually has added sugar and spices, whereas pumpkin purée is just pure mashed up pumpkin, and this is what we want. You can even make homemade pumpkin purée.
- Powdered Sugar – or confectioners’ sugar.
- Sea Salt – Did you know sea salt brings out the sweetness in a dessert? It really does. It makes the flavor so much more robust.
- Ground Cinnamon – While you could use pumpkin pie spice, I prefer to add each spice individually, so I have more control over the flavor of the finished dip.
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Cloves
- Ground Nutmeg
- Vanilla Extract
How to Make Pumpkin Dip
You’ll definitely want a mixer, whether a hand mixer or stand mixer; this will ensure a lump-free fluffy pumpkin dip.
- Using a mixer with a whisk attachment and a large bowl, beat the cream cheese all by itself.
- Add the Cool whip to the cream cheese, and whisk ’til the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin to the cream cheese mixture, mixing ’til blended together.
- Add the powdered sugar, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and vanilla extract to the mixture, and mix together well.
Place the pumpkin dip in an airtight container, cover with a lid, and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Once it’s chilled, serve with your favorite dippers or snacks.
What to Serve with Pumpkin Dip
- Vanilla wafers or Nilla Wafers – Personally, this is my favorite thing to serve with pumpkin dip. In fact, it might be an addiction.
- Graham crackers
- Apple slices
- Pretzels
- Gingersnaps or other cookies
- Cinnamon pita chips
- … and more.
This pumpkin spice dip makes an excellent charcuterie spread, especially perfect for a Thanksgiving appetizer guests will absolutely love. I’m telling you, it will disappear in no time.
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQs
Yes, you sure can. You can make it ahead 1-2 days before parties or gatherings.
Yes, as I discussed above, you can use homemade whipped cream. I just love the ease of Cool Whip.
Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. It may separate, so you may need to give it a stir before consuming or serving.
No, I wouldn’t recommend this. Freezing this cream cheese based dip will change the texture of the dip.
More Easy Fall Recipes You’ll Love
Here are a few more fall favorites to enjoy…
- Pumpkin gooey butter cake
- Easy pumpkin pie cake
- Old-fashioned pumpkin pie
- Classic pumpkin roll
- Instant Pot pumpkin cheesecake
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Fluffy Pumpkin Dip
Equipment
- Mixer with whisk attachment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 8 ounces Cool Whip
- 15 ounces pumpkin
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Using a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese all by itself.
- Add the Cool whip to the cream cheese, and whisk 'til the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin to the cream cheese mixture, mixing 'til blended together.
- Add the powdered sugar, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and vanilla extract to the mixture, and mix together well.
- Place the pumpkin dip in an airtight container, cover with a lid, and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
- Serve with vanilla wafers, graham crackers, apple slices, etc.
Notes
- Vanilla wafers or Nilla Wafers
- Graham crackers
- Apple slices
- Pretzels
- Gingersnaps or other cookies
- Cinnamon pita chips
