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This Pumpkin Mousse is the perfect light and fluffy alternative to pumpkin pie or pumpkin cheesecake. Creamy, airy, and packed with all your favorite fall flavors, it’s a must-try dessert. Best of all, it’s no bake and incredibly easy to make!
All the Pumpkin Spice, None of the Heaviness!
I love all of the pumpkin desserts in the fall, but this Pumpkin Mousse is my favorite. Because it’s quick and easy to make, I can whip it up quickly for holiday gathering or a cozy night at home with the family. It combines all of the flavors of pumpkin cheesecake in a light, whipped dessert. It’s the perfect fall treat – easy to make, beautifully presented, and satisfying without being heavy.
Ingredients in Pumpkin Mousse
You’ll need just a few simple ingredients:
- Pumpkin puree: Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Cream cheese: Softened to ensure a smooth and creamy texture.
- Brown sugar: For a rich sweetness.
- Pumpkin pie spice: The key to achieving that classic fall taste.
- Whipped cream: A homemade whipped topping is the best, but thawed Cool Whip can be used in a pinch.
- Mini chocolate chips (optional): For a decorative sprinkle of chocolate on top.
How to Make the Best Pumpkin Mousse
This no-bake pumpkin mousse recipe is light, fluffy, and full of fall flavor. Follow these simple steps for perfect results every time.
- Mix softened cream cheese, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice with an electric mixer until smooth. Pro Tip: Soften cream cheese at room temperature for best results.
- Add the pumpkin puree and blend until fully combined.
- In separate bowl, whip heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Fold ¾ of the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture. Reserve the rest for topping.
- Spoon into serving dishes, top with whipped cream, and garnish as desired.
Perfect Pumpkin Mousse Garnishes
Take your pumpkin mousse to the next level with these irresistible toppings:
- Mini chocolate chips or butterscotch chips for a touch of sweetness.
- A sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg for added fall flavor.
- A drizzle of salted caramel or chocolate sauce for an indulgent twist.
- Candied pecans or crumbled gingerbread cookies for an added crunch.
Time-saving tips and substitutions
- Prepare Ahead: Save time by preparing the mousse base ahead, spooning it into serving dishes, and refrigerating. Added the whipped topping and garnishes just before serving.
- Gluten free: This mousse is naturally gluten-free because there is no crust. Be careful with garnishes for gluten intolerant guests.
- Dairy-Free: For a creamy dairy-free option, use full-fat coconut milk instead of whipping cream. Refrigerate the can for at least 24 hours, then scoop out and whip only the thick, solid cream from the top with ¼ cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until fluffy. (Don’t use the liquid, it will make the mixture runny.) For an easy shortcut, try store-bought coconut whipped topping like “So Delicious CocoWhip” or “TruWhip Vegan”. Both should work great with this recipe.
- Light Version: Use light cream cheese instead of regular, and light Cool Whip instead of the homemade whipped topping.
“This was really good. I have made it twice recently to rave reviews. It’s so much easier and lighter than pumpkin pie. It was even referred to as the pumpkin cloud. I followed the recipe to the letter and it will continue to be a holiday staple. Thank you!” – Donna
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Prepare the mousse up to 2 days in advance. Add the whipped topping and garnishes just before serving.
I recommend serving pumpkin mousse in clear parfait glasses to highlight the color and creaminess of the mousse. You can also serve it in individual sized pie crusts for mini pumpkin mousse pies.
This recipe makes approximately 4 cups of mousse, not including the whipped cream topping.
Read More: The BEST Pumpkin Dessert Recipes for Fall
More Pumpkin Desserts
Craving more pumpkin desserts? Try these reader favorites:
How to Make Pumpkin Mousse
Pumpkin Mousse
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 15 ounces pure 100% pumpkin puree
WHIPPED TOPPING:
- 1 pint whipping cream
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
OTHER TOPPINGS:
- chocolate chips
- cinnamon
- candied pecans
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, whip together the cream cheese, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice until light and fluffy and completely blended.
- Add the pumpkin puree and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip together the whipped topping ingredients until it becomes thick and stiff peaks form.
- Fold together about ¾ of the whipped topping with the pumpkin cheesecake mixture until completely mixed in.
- Spoon the mousse into individual cups. Use the remaining ¼ of the whipped topping to top the mousse. Then sprinkle on chocolate chips, cinnamon, or candied pecans.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- Save time by making the base of the mixture ahead of time, and wait until just before serving to mix in the whipped topping.
- This dessert is gluten free! No crust makes it a very easy recipe to make for any of your GF guests.
- To make it dairy free, you can easily substitute the whipped topping for whipped coconut milk. All you need is a can of coconut milk that has been refrigerated so it is nice and cold. Then, whip the coconut milk with sugar and vanilla in the recipe until it becomes thick and stiff peaks form.
- For a lighter version, use light cream cheese instead of regular, and light whipped topping in place of heavy cream. If you are making it with coconut milk, you can also find light coconut milk.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is delicious! Used cool whip for ease and is the perfect mousse texture and pumpkin taste.
So glad it was a hit! Glad it was a good side for Thanksgiving today!
I don’t like a lot of dairy so when I can substitute, I do. Was glad to see the notes about subbing a can of coconut milk but the instructions are too sparse. Chilling time matters. Looks like 24 hours in the fridge. Just whipping the solidified cream yields the best whip. If you just whip a can of cold coconut milk (like I did) you will get a runny bowl of sweetened coconut milk. I have added tapioca flour and thrown back in the freezer to see if it will thicken but my hopes are low. I will probably go back to the store for whipping cream. Disappointing.
Sorry you didn’t have success with the coconut milk, and thank you for the feedback. You’re absolutely right, coconut milk can be finicky. The best results come from using full-fat coconut milk that’s been chilled for 24 hours and only whipping the solid cream on top (not the liquid). you can also use store-bought coconut whipped topping (like So Delicious CocoWhip or TruWhip Vegan) both are stable and save the chill/whip step. I’ll update our notes to make that clearer. Thanks for catching that!
If you don’t do dairy try the Aquafaba version of whipping cream, it may work here.
I had my grade 8 foods class make this and they LOVED it. We steamed our own pumpkins and blended them into puree and then followed the recipe as written. WOW. It’s a keeper for sure!!
This is so fun! I love that you used our recipe for your class! My middle schoolers love their foods classes, I bet your students love your class too!
I am just wondering if this has a significant cream cheese flavor? I am looking for a pumpkin mousse recipe, but I don’t really need the cheesecake flavor, just the pumpkin spice flavor.
Good question. It is not overpowering with cheesecake flavor. To me, it’s more of a creamy pumpkin pie texture and flavor.
It’s mainly a pumpkin flavour with a bit of cream cheese. If you don’t love the cream cheese you could always cut the cream cheese by half. It’s won’t have the exact same texture, but it should hold up relatively well.
Haven’t tried this yet. I just brought a mousse book and every recipe says add yolk. Would it make any difference if I do or don’t put yolk in?
This pumpkin mousse recipe is not cooked, so don’t add the yolk. The cream cheese takes the place of the fat content the yolk adds to a cooked mousse. This is an easy, no-cook version of pumpkin mousse. Thank you for asking!
Mousse was great but ingredients for whipped cream said “white sugar”. I brought granulated sugar to make it and after whipping forever w no success, googled other recipes and realized it was CONFECTIONERS sugar. “White sugar” is really not a familiar baking term. Had to start over. Disappointing
I’m sorry, Nancy. I will change this on the recipe. However, I have made whipped cream with both granulated and confectioner’s sugar as a sweetener and have found both work just fine. The key is to whip the cream first and then add the sugar once it has thickened.
Many years ago, we enjoyed a pumpkin mousse dessert at a well known venue in West Jordan, Utah, and everyone loved it; so much so that I asked for the recipe…Wouldn’t you know, they refused.
This is it!! Years of trying recipes, and here it is.
Thank you SO much for sharing!
So glad you found it!!
Can you make the cheesecake portion the day before and add the whipped cream the next day? I’m thinking it might not mix easily that way. Just trying to get anything possible done ahead of time!
Yes, that should be fine. A lot of times cheesecake-type dishes taste better the next day anyway. Just be sure you have it well covered so it doesn’t develop a film over the top.
Is this firm enough to pipe? I’m looking for a mousse to pipe into shallow dishes and sprinkle with cookie crumbs, etc.
I’m not sure it will hold its shape well enough to pipe. You may need to add heavy whipping cream to the pumpkin mixture and whip it in order to pipe, but I haven’t done it this way so I can’t say for sure. The whipping cream should be able to pipe if whipped long enough. Hope this helps!
This recipe is delicious and easy to make. My family loves it!
I’m wondering about how many cups does this make? It says it makes 4 servings but the glasses in the picture serves them in look pretty big, so I’m hoping maybe I could get more than 4 servings if I used smaller bowls.
This recipe makes about 4 cups of mousse, not including the whipped topping. If you do half cup size servings, you could get about 8 servings out of it!
This was really good. I have made it twice recently to rave reviews. It’s so much easier and lighter than pumpkin pie. It was even referred to as the pumpkin cloud. I followed the recipe to the letter and it will continue to be a holiday staple. Thank you!