Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse – New Turkey Day Fav?

Throw out your pumpkin pie recipes – Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse  is the new Thanksgiving dessert favorite! Remember to Like, Comment and Share.

Another Pumpkin Post?

You might be thinking, “what, another pumpkin related post already?” Actually, this wasn’t my intent. But here’s the real, unvarnished truth. At a family diner the other night, the shrimp recipe I had planned to blog turned out to be an easy and extremely bland meal! Why share this behind the scenes bit of knowledge? Essentially I wanted to prove:

a) not all recipes are good recipes (and doesn’t that just annoy the heck out of you when you’ve gone to the trouble of buying and making something new?)

b) it make look like everything I cook is a home run, but I assure you, there are some strike outs, for sure!

c) all recipes that I blog, have been vetted in my kitchen and will save you the trouble of cooking a dud (at least in my opinion, but of course everyone’s taste buds are different.)

Luckily I made 2 courses that were winners that night. In addition to the Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse, I also made these Parmesan Wonton Crackers. I landed on these easy appetizers as a way to use up my leftover wontons from the Pumpkin Ravioli recipe. I also had a bunch of fresh oregano on hand from my soon to be frost-bitten herb pot. That’s why I decided to use oregano vs. the parsley called for in the recipe. They results were a great, crisp, savory nibble that were just right served with olives and nuts with our pre-dinner glass of wine.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse

A New Favorite Thanksgiving & Fall Dessert

I may be going out on a limb to suggest any dessert could replace the traditional pumpkin pie. But this Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse is that good. Not only do you get the great flavors of pumpkin, pie spices and graham cracker crust, but there’s no baking involved! This is also a recipe that makes 10 servings so it’s great for feeding a big holiday crowd.

I found this recipe while searching for Fall food ideas on Pinterest. The recipe I selected was called a no-bake cheesecake. Personally, I feel this dessert more closely resembles a mousse, so I renamed it. The one exception is the “cheesecake-like” graham cracker crust layer, which is delightful. It provides a nice texture contrast to the creamy mousse.

Easy to Make Ahead & Serve

Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse comes together easily and can be made a day in advance. Always a plus if you are entertaining! Another great serving idea is to use clear plastic cups, which saves time on the clean-up. I also split a serving of mousse into some mini (5 oz.)  tasting bowls, which stretches the servings even further. To be honest (for the 2nd time in a single post), I was completely satisfied with the smaller version of this rich dessert.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse

Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse has rich pumpkin mousse with graham cracker crust and a dollop of whipped cream.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Keyword: easy dessert, Fall dessert, pumpkin, Thanksgiving dessert

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Chill Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 10

Author: Adapted from A Family Feast No-Bake Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe.

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 sleeve of graham crackers about 9 crackers
• 1/2 stick 4 tbsp. butter, melted
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar

Mousse

• 1 package 8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 can 15 oz. pumpkin puree
• 1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 package 1 oz. sugar free cheesecake-flavored instant pudding mix (or 1/3 of a regular instant cheesecake pudding may be used)
• 1 can 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
• 1 container 12 oz. frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed, plus extra for garnish
• dash of nutmeg for garnish if desired.

Instructions

Crust

• Place the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor and pulse the crackers into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter, sugar and brown sugar and pulse until combined. Spoon crumbs into parfait dishes or 9 oz. plastic cups, pressing into bottom of serving dish. Place in the refrigerator to set while you are preparing mousse.

Mousse

• In a mixer, beat cream cheese until light and creamy. Add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and pudding mix and beat, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl, to ensure that all ingredients are well combined. Add sweetened condensed milk and mix again until well combined. Fold (do not beat!) 12 oz of thawed whipped topping until well combined. Refrigerate mousse for 1 hour to firm up.
• Use a pastry bag with a large tip, or spoon mousse on top of graham cracker crust, dividing equally across serving dishes. Garnish with additional whipped topping and a dash of nutmeg, if desired