College Life

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

published Oct 19, 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.

This post was a collaboration between Dorm Therapy and The Kitchn and originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: This No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Dip Is the Easiest Fall Treat (I Made It in 8 Minutes!)

Isabel Petrou

Public Communication

Isabel is an incoming sophomore at the University of Vermont. She is studying public communication. She grew up in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where she frequented the beach often during the summer. Even though her heart belongs to the ocean, the mountains are becoming a close contender. Her favorite part of living in Burlington, Vermont, for college is its unique coffee shops. Her perfect day would consist of going to a cute café in the morning, then spending the day at the beach swimming and reading, then ending the day by shopping and getting dressed up for a nice dinner downtown. Through Dorm Therapy, Isabel is excited to be a voice for young adults embarking on their college journeys and she hopes to make this big transition of life more comfortable for others in the same place as her.

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SchoolUniversity of Vermont '26
MajorPublic Communication
FavesShopping, the beach, TV/movies, walks, reading, Taylor Swift
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