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Pumpkin Pie Parfait
November 16, 2023
If I’m being completely honest, Pumpkin Pie is not something that feels necessary to me.
If given the choice, I would choose something else, like pumpkin cake…or pumpkin cookies.
Though there is a special place in my heart as to why Pumpkin Pie, even in this deconstructed version, remains a thing.
Growing up my primary father figures were my grandfathers. In my childhood, they were a source of safety and stability.
In my adulthood, they became people I sought approval from, and their opinions mattered to me very much.
By the time I began my journey into plant-based eating, only one of my grandfather’s was still living. Doing holidays together with him and the rest of my family felt a little bit isolating at first, with them not knowing what to do with me, and me just learning how to remain included in a space that didn’t quite understand me.
But I will never forget the year I brought my homemade vegan pumpkin pie to Thanksgiving! It of course looked exactly like a traditional pumpkin pie and according to my grandfather, it tasted just like the pumpkin pie his mother used to make.
Now, let me just say…my grandfather, who I’ve always lovingly called my germpa…had always supported everything I did. He always tried, and typically enjoyed any food or dessert I shared.
But for him to tell me this particular pie brought him back to his childhood and into memories of his mother?? Well, as you can imagine, the emotional soul that I am was unable to contain the tears.
So, while this is not pie exactly, it is a version of it that brings back heart felt memories for me and I hope you recreate it and enjoy it with a feeling of love and warmth.
*If you would prefer to make an actual pie, modifications for that are in the recipe notes.
Pumpkin Pie Parfait
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup (see notes)
- 4 oz vegan cream cheese, softened to room temp (see notes)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 unbaked pie crust (see notes)
- Vegan Whip Cream (see notes)
- Pomegranate berries (optional, but nice)
Instructions
- First, the pie crust! Follow the package instructions on how to bring it to room temperature. Once ready, preheat the oven to the temperature indicated on the pie crust package or as instructed by your recipe if using a homemade version.
- Unroll the crust and if desired, use small cookie cutters to cut out shapes like leaves or pumpkins. You can also skip this step if preferred and just tear the crust into small pieces, placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Pie crust does not spread much so it’s fine if the cutouts or teared pieces are close; just so they are not overlapping.
- Place the dough in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Baking time will vary based on the size of the dough pieces and oven temperature indicated for your specific dough. Once golden brown, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- Place the pumpkin puree and the cream cheese in a food processor. Blend until no specks of the cream cheese are visible. Add the maple syrup and all the spices, blending for 2 minutes until everything is well incorporated. Retain the whip cream and pomegranate for topping.
- *Pro Tip! I find it incredibly helpful to place the pumpkin mixture into a piping bag so that distributing it into your parfait dishes is easy, quick and mess free! Piping bags are perfect for many kitchen tasks like this! Check out my favorite piping bags in the notes below!
- Arrange your preferred parfait cups in a line. Check the notes for a favorite of mine!
- Dispense about 2-3 tablespoons of pumpkin mixture into the bottom of cups. Top with a layer of pie crust pieces. Add another layer of pumpkin mixture. Depending on the size of your cups and how much you add to each layer, they may be full by now. Keep layering if ingredients and height of cups allow. Top the last pumpkin layer with vegan whipped cream and pomegranate berries is using.
- You can check out my IG reel here on how to easily remove pomegranate berries from the rind!*Pro Tip! These parfaits are best enjoyed immediately, so if you are not serving them right away, delay assembling them until you are ready to devour!
Notes
Recipe Notes:
- Check out my favorite piping bags here!
- I love these parfait cups.
- Make sure you are using actual maple syrup! Look at the ingredients on your bottle. Many are just high fructose corn syrup. You want Pure Maple Syrup. I typically get mine at Costco as it’s a better buy, but any grocery store has it!
- There are many vegan cream cheese options! For this recipe I used Plant Based Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I also like Violife, which you can find here.
- For the purpose of parfaits, your pie crust should be the type that comes in a box that you unroll, rather than the kind that comes in a pie tin ready for you to pour in pie filling. I used Pillsbury, which happens to be accidentally vegan. You could also use homemade versions if you want to one up me! **If actual pumpkin pie is what you want…see accommodations for that below!
- This recipe can easily be Gluten Free by choosing a GF pie crust.
- You may notice in the pictures, there is gold dust on the baked pie cutouts. You can absolutely omit this step, but if you want to include it and level up your presentation, you can grab your gold luster dust here.
- Once again, there are many vegan and dairy free whipped cream or cool whip options. You can even take the extra step and whip your own! But for ease and convenience, I used Almond Milk Reddi Whip for this recipe. Find it at most grocery stores.
- A food processer is necessary for this recipe. If you don’t have one, this one is great, and I use mine several times a week!
**If you want to make actual pumpkin pie, here are the modifications:
- Use a frozen pie crust already in a pie pan or press a store bought or homemade version of pie crust into a pie pan. Follow instructions for any prebaking required before placing filling in it! (you can still reserve a little bit of the crust and cut out some shapes if you’d like.
- Omit the cream cheese and use one package (10-12oz) of silken soft tofu instead. I use this brand. Blend it with the pumpkin puree the same way as instructed above.
- Add 3 TBS cornstarch to the food processor at the same time you add the spices.
- Pour the blended pumpkin mixture into the prepared pie crust. Top with cut out pie crust pieces if using.
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