This Pumpkin Delight Dessert is an easy layered fall dessert recipe to serve up this autumn. This show-stopping dessert that only requires 25 minutes of hands-on time.
Autumn is my happy place – fall candles, everything pumpkin spice, colorful leaves… it’s my favorite time of year and I’m so happy it’s rolled back around. What better way to welcome this season back than with this delicious pumpkin delight dessert.
It has several layers of goodness – a graham cracker crust, a creamy pumpkin layer, cool whip, and an indulgent topping filled with graham cracker dust, finely chopped pecans, and a caramel drizzle.
I’ve seen this kind of recipe called a pumpkin delight dessert, pumpkin lush, pumpkin dessert lasagna, or simply a layered pumpkin dessert. No matter what you decide to call it, it is 100% delicious and extremely easy to make at home.
Why This Recipe Works
It’s easy to make – You don’t have to do a lot of hands on work when making this layered pumpkin dessert.
It’s a crowd-pleaser – When you make this, it will literally disappear before your eyes because everyone will gobble it up.
Great for the holidays – During the fall months and holidays, it makes sense to make this dessert. It’s going to be one of your favorites.
🥄 Ingredients
You are bound to be smacking your lips when you take that first bite of this.
Crust: The crust is made from melted butter, graham crackers, and a little bit of sugar. It’s just perfect!
Filling: The pumpkin pudding is incredible. It’s made with pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, vanilla pudding, and some cool whip. Tasty!
Topping: The top has crushed graham crackers, chopped pecans, and a caramel sauce drizzle. It’s going to rock your world.
🍮 Instructions
There are four incredible layers to this pumpkin dessert, and they are screaming your name.
Step One: Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Step Two: Combine the crushed graham crackers with the melted butter and granulated sugar. Mix well.
Step Three: Put the crust mixture into the bottom of a 9×13″ pan. Use your fingers or the back of a measuring cup to press it down. Bake this for ten minutes and allow the crust to cool.
Step Four: Combine the pudding mix, milk, pumpkin puree, and the pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Gently fold in the cup of cool whip, then spread over the top of the graham cracker crust.
Step Five: Add a layer of cool whip over the pumpkin and sprinkle some crushed graham crackers, chopped pecans and drizzle the caramel sauce.
Step Six: Put a piece of aluminum foil over the dish and put it in the fridge for four hours, then serve and enjoy!
📌 Expert Tips
Here are a few tips to help you along the way when you make this pumpkin dessert.
- Use a food processor to get a really good crumb consistency from the graham crackers. If you don’t have one, place the graham crackers in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin. It’s not as efficient as a food processor, but it works.
- Be sure to let the crust cool down a few minutes before adding the next layers to the dessert.
- It’s important to use an instant pudding instead of a “cook and serve” variety. This will yield a very fast prep of just five minutes vs cooking on the stove for an extended time.
- Thaw your cool whip before adding it to the pumpkin layered dessert.
🎃 Variations
There are almost always ways to adjust a recipe to suit your own tastes and this one is no different.
Golden Oreos – Use Golden Oreos as a crust rather than the graham crackers for a light and slightly sweet flavor.
Gingersnaps – Using Gingersnaps in place of the graham crackers is another great way to add a boost of flavor to the crust.
Omit the Caramel Sauce – Make this without the caramel sauce without losing much flavor and you’ll save a ton of calories.
Adding in Nuts to Crust – Use your food processor and crush nuts into the graham crackers for added flavor and texture.
🥄 Recipe FAQ
Yep! You can either prepare the desserts in a muffin tin or in small mason jars. Both are cute ideas that create an individual-sized dessert that’s great for the holidays.
You can keep it in the fridge for 3-5 days as long as it’s air-tight. Be sure to keep it away from any stinky foods, so it doesn’t take on any other flavors in the fridge.
Of course! Everything is better with a little bit of chocolate. I recommend adding a few mini-chocolate chips to the pumpkin layer. Or sprinkle them on top. You can also add some hot fudge on top too. Both are great options to add some chocolate.
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Pumpkin Delight Dessert Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Honey Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 1/2 cup Butter melted
- 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 3.4 oz boxes Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 15 oz. can Pumpkin Puree
- 1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 16 oz. Cool Whip
Toppings
- 1 tbsp. Additional Graham Cracker Crumbs reserved
- 2 tbsp. Pecans finely chopped
- Sundae Caramel Syrup chilled, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs with butter and sugar. Mix well.
- Press graham cracker mixture into the bottom of a greased 9×13″ pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool completely before continuing with the next step.
- In a large bowl, whisk pudding, milk, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice together until thickened. Then fold in one cup of Cool Whip. Spread the pumpkin mixture over the cooled graham cracker crust.
- Spread remaining Cool Whip over pumpkin layer. Then lightly dust the top with remaining graham cracker crumbs, sprinkle with chopped pecans and drizzle on the chilled caramel syrup over top.
- Cover with aluminum foil. Chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi!
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
So yummy