Dorm Therapy

This No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Dip Is the Easiest Fall Treat (I Made It in 8 Minutes!)

published Oct 18, 2024
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Pumpkin pie dip on platter.
Credit: Isabel Petrou

It’s October, which means it’s officially pumpkin spice season. This is my favorite time of year. I love the pumpkin cream chai from Starbucks and chocolate chip pumpkin bread. And thanks to TikTok, I just found a new, quick, pumpkin-flavored recipe that will be the most perfect sweet treat when I’m inevitably, regularly longing for that pumpkin taste this fall. 

It’s @cookinginthemidwest’s viral no-bake pumpkin pie dip, and it only requires eight ingredients: softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, Cool Whip, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, canned pumpkin, whipped cream, and shortbread cookies.

Credit: Isabel Petrou

How to Make No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Dip

All you have to do is mix a stick of cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, a tub of Cool Whip, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and a can of pumpkin with a hand mixer, then top it all with whipped cream and pumpkin spice and dig in with the shortbread cookies.

My Honest Review

I won’t lie: At first I was skeptical of this dish. It looked like a big, heavy heap of creamy products. But I decided to give it a chance, and its first win: It only took around eight minutes to make. It was extremely easy. 

Then I took my first dip, and I immediately tasted that fall pumpkin flavor I love. To my surprise, it was kind of light! It felt very fluffy — perfect as a quick sweet treat while watching a fall movie or TV episode. That said, I do think I could only eat this in small portions, as it’s quite sweet and filling. 

Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised to say I recommend this dip for when you want to have some people over for a fall-themed cozy night in!

Credit: Isabel Petrou

Tips for Making No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Dip

  • Make sure to use a hand mixer. I didn’t have a hand mixer available (I’m a college student, after all!), so I just used a whisk. I was left with a few cream cheese chunks, and I think the dip would have been thicker if I had used a hand mixer. Using a whisk is acceptable if you have no choice, but you won’t reach the optimal consistency.
  • Don’t put too much whipped cream on top. Whipped cream and the dip have very similar textures and levels of sweetness. Don’t let the whipped cream overpower!
  • Stick with plain shortbread cookies. In the original video, @cookinginthemidwest says to “serve it up with some shortbread cookies to act as the pie crust.” That seems right; I think any other flavored cookie would cause a flavor clash. You want to take advantage of the autumnal taste of the dip, and shortbread is simple enough to allow that to happen.