Pumpkin Pie Parfaits: An Irresistible Fall Dessert Recipe

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Made with pudding, pumpkin, whipped cream and cookies, Pumpkin Pie Parfaits are a special fall dessert recipe for Halloween, Thanksgiving or a dinner party.

Tired of traditional pumpkin pie? You’ll love these Pumpkin Pie Parfaits, a delicious dessert layered and served individually in small mason jars.

Pumpkin pie parfaits

Pumpkins Are the Best Fall Desserts

One of my absolute favorite things about fall are pumpkins. I love the rustic orange color and the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg wafting through the house. Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bars, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin carving, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin home decor… I could go on and on. My kitchen walls are even a warm, pumpkin color!

How to Change Up Pumpkin Pie

The quintessential pumpkin dessert of the season of course, is pumpkin pie. You’ll find it at nearly every Thanksgiving table in North America this fall. I thought it would be really fun to take this traditional dessert and give it a special little twist.

These Pumpkin Pie Parfaits have all the flavor you love about pumpkin pie wrapped up in a cute little half-pint jar.

Cute pumpkin pie parfaits in half-pint mason jars

I originally shared this recipe for Pumpkin Pie Parfaits at Belle of the Kitchen a few weeks ago. When Ashlyn from Belle of the Kitchen and I were talking about a theme for our October “Ideas for the Kitchen” exchange, the choice was obvious: PUMPKIN! While I was there, Ashlyn was here with her delicious recipe for Pumpkin Sheet Cake.

Pumpkin Pie Parfaits – An Easy Fall Dessert

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Kitchen Tools:

Ingredients:

These are the ingredients you’ll need. All the exact amounts are in the printable card at the bottom of this post.

How to make Pumpkin Pie Parfaits

Pumpkin Pie Parfaits are a really easy fall dessert idea to make ahead of time for your Halloween or Thanksgiving party. With layers of pumpkin-spiced pudding, whipped topping and cookie crumbs, the Pumpkin Pie Parfaits are a delicious treat your friends will love!

Here is an overview with some step-by-step pictures. For the detailed instructions, skip down to the recipe card.

Pumpkin pie parfait with cookie crumble topping

1. Mix up the pumpkin layer

You start by combining vanilla pudding with some pumpkin and some traditional pumpkin pie spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves.

Mixing butter, spices, and pumpkin in a bowl

2. Prepare the whipped topping layer

Next, you thaw a small tub of frozen whipped topping, crush some vanilla sandwich cookie crumbs and line up nine half-pint jars.

Ingredients for pumpkin pie parfaits

3. Start layering ingredients in the jars

Now you just have to start making these pretty and yummy layers. Start with the crushed cookie crumbs, followed by pumpkin spiced pudding and whipped topping.

The layers don’t have to be precise amounts. I used a few teaspoons of cookie crumbs, a large tablespoon or two of pumpkin-spiced pudding and about one and a half tablespoons of whipped topping for each of the layers.

Layering cookie crumbs in the pumpkin pie parfaits

4. Repeat the pattern

Repeat the layers of cookie crumbs, pumpkin-spiced pudding and whipped topping twice in the jars. Sprinkle the remaining cookie crumbs on the top as a little garnish.

2 jars of pumpkin pie parfaits
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
4.39 from 21 votes

Pumpkin Pie Parfaits

Made with pudding, pumpkin, whipped cream and cookies, Pumpkin Pie Parfaits are a special fall dessert recipe for Halloween, Thanksgiving or a dinner party.
Prep Time20 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving dessert
Servings: 9
Calories: 213kcal
Author: Carrie Ypma

Ingredients

  • 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 2 cups cold milk
  • 15 oz can pureed pumpkin
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup of vanilla sandwich cookies 8 oz
  • 8 oz frozen whipped topping thawed

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk. Let set for 5 minutes.
  • Stir in pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  • Crush the vanilla sandwich cookies in a blender or food processor to make crumbs.
  • In small 1/2 pint jar or glasses layer cookie crumbs, pumpkin pudding and whipped topping. Repeat the layers twice and end with cookie crumbs.
  • Chill until you’re ready to serve. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 173mg | Potassium: 212mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 7485IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag us on Instagram at @kenarryideas or leave us a comment rating below.
A spoon scooping out delicious pumpkin pie parfaits

Serving Suggestions 

Pumpkin Pie Parfaits are easy fall desserts for a crowd. Here a few alternative ideas for how you could serve them:

  • Instead of topping the Pumpkin Pie Parfaits with cookie crumbs, you could use fall colored sprinkles, candy corns or crushed nuts like pecans or walnuts to decorate the parfaits.
  • Mix crushed peanuts with the cookie crumbs to enhance the nutty flavor of the Pumpkin Pie Parfaits.
  • Tie a little raffia ribbon around the top of the jars to give them some rustic style for your dinner party.
  • Instead of the half pint jars, you could also use 8 ounce glasses or dress up the Pumpkin Pie Parfaits by using wine glasses or champagne flutes.
  • If you’re short on time or planning for more than nine guests, you could layer the pumpkin spiced pudding, cookie crumbs and whipped topping in a large trifle bowl. It would still look festive and your guests could scoop it into small dessert bowls themselves.
Pumpkin Pie Parfaits

What’s your favorite pumpkin dessert for fall? Please comment below and share. We are always looking for new ideas!

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Pumpkin Pie Parfaits

Updated November 2019.

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46 Comments

  1. I love this pumpkin recipe and especially like the use of the jars for individual servings! Thanks for giving my family a new recipe to try!

        1. Great question, Jamie! These could be made several days in advance as long as you kept them refrigerated. I would just save the final cookie crumb layer and wait to add it just before serving to keep that fresh crunchy taste and texture.
          Let us know how it turns out!
          Thank you so much for coming by to get the recipe.
          Best wishes,
          Carrie
          Ideas for the Home by Kenarry

  2. These will be perfect to take to Thanksgiving dinner. I just love that everyone gets their own in a darling little jar. Thanks for sharing!

    1. I bet if you screwed the lids on the jars they’d travel fairly well for the holidays, Susan. I’d just wait to put the final layer on once you got to your Thanksgiving dinner.

    1. Tianna, I’m so glad you liked the idea. I bet you actually could personalize them. You could write guests’ names on the jar ahead of time with enamel paint like I did with handpainted wine glasses. Then Thanksgiving guests could take their little jars home like a souvenir from the meal.

  3. Thank you so much for this recipe, I am drooling 🙂 Love that you serve them in the jars!
    Congratulations, you are being featured in this week’s
    Snickerdoodle Mini Round Up!
    Have an awesome day!
    Joanita

  4. Pingback: Sunday's Best Linkup - #45 - mother2motherblog
  5. I think pumpkin pie may be one of my favorite things from fall and this sounds like an awesome way to make it even better! Who thought it was possible…? 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing it at Turn It Up Tuesday!

    1. Hi Tiffany, if you love pumpkin pie then you’re seriously going to love these parfaits too. Thank you for much for coming by from Turn It Up Tuesday to check out the recipe. Enjoy!

  6. Such a lovely recipe to put together for a dessert and perfect for this time of the year. Thank you for sharing with us at #HomeMatterParty. We would love to have you again next week.

  7. Pingback: Sunday's Best Linkup Week #45
    1. Hi Carissa,
      I’ve never seen canned pumpkin pie at my store – only regular canned pumpkin. If canned pumpkin pie has all the spices, then I think it would probably work great. Give it a try and let me know!

      Best wishes,
      Carrie
      Ideas for the Home by Kenarry

  8. Hi,

    So i have a few questions…..if i make this the night before will the cool whip be ok in the fridge and not go mushy?

    Also, this may be stupid but I know that pumpkin in pies or tarts etc are usually cooked, so its fine for it not to be cooked?

    1. Hi Kaitie,
      Those are excellent questions! Cool whip will retain its shape/texture in the fridge overnight. I would NOT use the canned aerosol whipped Redi-whip style cream as that does melt and lose its shape shortly after it’s sprayed out of the can.

      If you’re making this a day ahead of time, I would just wait to put the final layer of cookie crumbs (or sprinkles) on the top until just prior to serving so they stay crunchy.

      As for whether it is safe to eat canned pumpkin without cooking it, you don’t need to worry. The pumpkin was already cooked and puréed during the canning process and is perfectly safe to eat straight out of the can. Pumpkin pies and tarts get baked because other ingredients are added like eggs to give the pie a thicker texture.

      Let us know how you enjoy the recipe!

      Best wishes,
      Carrie
      Ideas for the Home by Kenarry

  9. I made this for a charity project and my mouth was watering the entire time. There was an October heat wave in California this weekend so this was the perfect delicious yet refreshing treat. Totally reccomend!!

    1. Hooray! I’m so glad to hear the pumpkin pie parfaits were a hit at your charity event. Thanks for coming back to let me know.
      Best wishes,
      Carrie
      Ideas for the Home by Kenarry

  10. I’m super excited about finding this delicious recipe. I can’t wait to add it to my fall dinner menu. Thanks❤

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