No Bake Pumpkin Pies in a Jar
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These mini No Bake Pumpkin Pies in a Jar are super easy to make and taste just like classic pumpkin pie! They’re also a great no-bake dessert to make ahead of time!
Mini No Bake Pumpkin Pies in a Jar
(This post is sponsored by Darden Restaurants, but all opinions are my own. Photos updated 10/26/16.)
This was such a fun recipe to create. When I was asked to try the seasonal pumpkin desserts at Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Longhorn Steakhouse, I couldn’t wait! I absolutely LOVE trying desserts and comparing them. And getting to create a recipe inspired by one of the desserts is totally up my alley! Let’s take a look at the line up of desserts I tried, shall we?
My Inspiration for this No Bake Pumpkin Dessert
The hubs went with me to try everything and first up was Olive Garden’s Pumpkin Cheesecake topped with whipped cream, caramel sauce and ginger cookie crumbles. So good! I am a big cheesecake and pumpkin lover so it was no surprise to me that I loved this cheesecake. It had the perfect pumpkin flavor! And I don’t know what they did to that whipped cream, but dang. Delish! I totally thought this one would be my winner.
But then we went to Longhorn Steakhouse. Their Pumpkin Spice Lava Cake is filled with a cream cheese icing and drizzled with bourbon-caramel sauce and candied pecans. Again, yum! Delicious cake and magically awesome cream cheese filling. It gave Olive Garden a run for it’s cheesecake money.
Then we headed to Red Lobster. Of course I couldn’t go to Red Lobster and not have some of their cheesy biscuits. Those things must literally be made in heaven.
After the biscuits we dug into the Pumpkin Pie in a jar which was layered with pumpkin, cream cheese mousse and a graham-cracker crust, then topped with sugared pecans.
Shut the front door, you guys, this thing was the JAM! I would have licked that jar clean if I hadn’t been in public. As it was, I used my spoon to get every bit I could out of that jar.
The desserts were all delicious and I’d definitely get them all again, but of course I chose the pumpkin pie in a jar to recreate. You and I both need this in our lives.
This Pumpkin Pie in a Jar recipe is where it’s at. It’s no bake, easy to make and super stinkin’ cute in a jar. I originally used the 8 oz/half pint size mason jars, but recently updated the photos with these great 9 oz cups. Either way, they are adorable.
How to Make No Bake Pumpkin Pies in a Jar
I did change it up a bit from the one we tasted at Red Lobster. To start, instead of an all graham-cracker crust, I decided to mix chopped graham cracker and gingersnaps for a little extra flavor. But of course, you could go with all chopped graham cracker or all gingersnap, if you prefer.
Then I made a delicious pumpkin pie filling. One of the things I loved about the Red Lobster dessert was the texture of the pumpkin pie filling. It was smooth and yet maintained some of the texture of the pumpkin puree. I love textures in my food, so I really wanted to keep that. Well, I did and it’s a delicious blend of pumpkin puree and spices. The filling is so good I literally ate some of it on its own with a spoon.
Next was the cream cheese mousse. It’s basically a combination of meringue, a little cream cheese for stability, and melted marshmallows.
Making the meringue is a lot like making homemade whipped cream! Just replace the whipping cream with egg whites and add sugar. It’s whipped until it reaches stiff peaks, then combined with the cream cheese and melted marshmallows.
The meringue is uncooked, but you could totally do a cooked meringue if you want. Just combine the eggs whites and sugar over a double boiler, heat until about 120 degrees, then whip and continue with the rest of the mousse.
The rest is just layering! Depending on how crunchy you want your graham cracker and gingersnap layer to be, you may or may not want to make these in advance. After just a couple hours in the fridge, the cookies begin to soften. Personally, I like them a little soft but it’s up to you.
I topped mine with a drizzle of caramel sauce, whipped cream and few more graham cracker and gingersnap crumbs. The gingersnap on top was the finishing touch!
These are seriously delicious! The hubs couldn’t wait to eat them and neither could I.
No Bake Pumpkin Pies in a Jar
These mini No Bake Pumpkin Pies in a Jar are super easy to make and taste just like classic pumpkin pie! They’re also a great no-bake dessert to make ahead of time!
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 5-6 Jars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
PUMPKIN PIE FILLING
- 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 5 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
CREAM CHEESE MOUSSE
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
COOKIE LAYER
- 3/4 cup chopped gingersnaps
- 3/4 cup chopped graham crackers
ADDITIONAL
- Whipped cream for topping, if desired
- Caramel sauce for topping, if desired
Instructions
2. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cloves and heavy cream and stir to combine. Set aside.
CREAM CHEESE MOUSSE
8. Refrigerate for an hour or so .
TO ASSEMBLE
Keywords: no bake dessert, easy pumpkin dessert, no bake pumpkin pie, no bake dessert recipe, mini pumpkin pies, easy pumpkin pies, easy pumpkin pie recipe, homemade pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie filling recipe, mini pies recipe
Enjoy!
Cream Cheese Mousse modified from Savuer.com.
Pumpkin Pie Filling modified from Made From Scratch Recipes.
Original photo above.
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
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Recipes from friends:
Pumpkin Ice Cream Cake from Beyond Frosting
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Pumpkin Pull Apart Loaf from Crazy for Crust
I always like to mix a handful (or 2) of chopped nuts into my graham cracker crusts – this recipe sounds absolutely YUMMY!! Thanks for the chance to go test them ourselves!!
The pumpkin pie in a jar sounds divine and I am definitely trying yours! Yum!
I would love to try the Pumpkin Spice Lava cake! Sounds delish!
These parfaits look amazing but I’m a cheesecake girl so I’d have to go for the Cheesecake at Olive Garden!
The pumpkin spice lava cake sounds Awesome! Great Giveaway and the pumpkin pie in jars are super-duper cute!
Thanks Nicole! 🙂
These desserts look delicious. I’m going to have to try these.
Wow Lindsay – those look amazing!
I think I’d try the Pumpkin Spice Lava cake. I’ve always loved lava cakes, but never thought about making it pumpkin.
That just looks too easy! Well done! Yay for caramel!
I love everything about these no bake pumpkin pies…gorgeous presentation, looks delicious, easy peezy, no bake. I mean can it get better? 😉 Definitely need to try these. 🙂
Thanks Tina!
This sounds divine and right up my alley! The added caramel drizzle really does it for me!
I would like to try this recipe! It looks amazing and easy!
I think that I would have to try the Pumpkin Cheesecake!
Luscious combination of flavors and textures, Lindsay! Wouldn’t these be beautiful on a holiday table?! And no messy slicing and serving of pie! Not to mention, that no-bake means no competing with the turkey for oven space!
Thanks Wendy! I totally agree! 🙂
Your dessert looks amazing! I’m a huge pumpkin pie fan! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! A beautiful fall dessert! Very creative and beautiful photos!
Thanks Bill!
Omg the pumpkin spice lava cake! I almost died just reading those words!!
Looks delicious! I will be giving this a try real soon. Thanks so much for posting!!
Your blog has changed the way I bake for my family. I can’t wait to try your pumpkin cupcakes!
What a compliment, Kathy! Thank you! 🙂
Oh…the pumpkin cheesecake sounds wonderful…anything pumpkin sounds wonderful to me
Pumpkin Pie in a jar – YUMMMMMY
I would definitely have to go for the cheesecake. My friend made one for Thanksgiving last year, and I have been craving it ever since! I plan to give it a try myself this year with your recipe. I love your blog, and thanks so much for sharing this giveaway with us!
Thank you Jessica, I’m so glad you enjoy the blog! The pumpkin cheesecake is great – you’ll love it! 🙂
I’m excited to try Pumpkin Molasses Cheesecake Cookies…
These look soooooooooooo GOOD
Easy to make, but I’ll be eve easier to eat them all 🙂
Haha, you are right! They are TOO easy to eat! 🙂
Pumpkin Pie all the way, yum!
Oh man, first of all I’ve always adored desserts in jars. And then you go ahead and make this heavenly goodness!! It’s like, the perfect dessert!!! 🙂
Thanks Jocelyn! 🙂
I am excited to can some pumpkin used by my Holloween pumpkins
Pumpkin Spice Lava cake!!! I’ve never been so obsessed with pumpkin before this year! YAY!
I want to try the Olive Garden’s Pumpkin Cheesecake. I love pumpkin and cheesecake so why not together?
these look so delicious! yum!
Looks wonderful! I’d really like to try the pumpkin cheesecake – I am a huge cheesecake fan 🙂
I want to try these so badly as I am not that into the crust of the pie and I have no oven to bake in at the moment so here is my favorite all in an easy and cute package! Mmmm salivating at the thought of making them!
Hi Lindsay, This looks so delicious and EASY to make. I love EASY desserts. I’ve pinned and am sharing this.
Thanks so much for sharing this with Foodie Friends Friday Halloween Party.
Joanne
Thank you Joanne! Thank you for sharing and thank you for the party! 🙂
The pumpkin pie in a jar sounds so amazing!!
Pumpkin Spice Lava Cake sounds great!
I’m a sugarholic as well! This recipe sound FANTABULOUS and I can’t wait to make it. What perfect timing too for the Holidays. I am having a fundraiser bake sale that is raising money to buy Christmas gift for underprivileged families and I know this recipe will be a hit. I can’t wait to see all the looks on people’s face when they go in for that first bite. Hopefully they will buy a lot because that means more gift:)
I’d love to try the Pumpkin Cheesecake!
I’d love to try the pumpkin cheesecake at Olive Garden
This recipe looks divine and I love anything in a jar! I would also love to try the pumpkin cheesecake at Olive Garden!!
xo
What lovely desserts! I love making sweets in jars and this pumpkin version would go perfectly at our harvest dinner next week! Thank you for sharing..and what a fun giveaway!
Obviously, I’ll trust your judgement and go with the pumpkin pie in a jar … but I may have to try the lava cake and cheesecake, too, you know, just to compare 😉
Haha, oh yea – comparison is definitely necessary! 😉
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LOVE the pumpkin pie in a jar idea – no bake – love it. Very cute presentation too btw 🙂
Pumpkin Cheesecake, yum! Anything cheesecake has my heart. 🙂
I love all things apple especially Apple Dumplings
I love that this is a no bake recipe! It looks so delicious!
Oh my, your photos are gorgeous! Absolutely stunning!
Thanks Dorothy! 🙂
Their Warm Apple Crostada is good, but the Pumpkin Pie in a Jar sounds SOOOOOO good! I want to try that one! SOON.
This looks absolutely fabulous! I love desserts in a jar!
Thanks Nancy!
I loved the Pumpkin Pie in a Jar–we had it the last time we went to RL and I would happily eat it again. I will definitely try your recipe for it–looks wonderful!
They all sound delicious. I think I’d like to try the pumpkin cheesecake from Olive Garden first…and then move onto the others!!
Anything pumpkin! 🙂
Thanks! Looks delicious and I’m on the lookout for desserts without nuts or chocolate these days.
Pumpkin Spice Lava Cake sounds great!!!
This Pumpkin Pie in a Jar dessert looks perfect to me! I so want to try this! 🙂
Thanks Carrie! 🙂
Totally loving this adorable pie in a jar and your blog! It’s awesome! All those desserts sound amazing but I would have definitely gone with the pie in a jar as well. 🙂
Thanks Callie! 🙂
This looks awesome 🙂
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I would love to try the Pumokin Spice Lava Cake! I am obsessed with your blog and am always excited to try your new recipes!
Aww, thanks Laura!! I hope things are well with you guys and congrats on your newest addition! 🙂
The pumpkin spice lava cake sounds awesome!
This looks wonderful! I’m definitely going to try it!
Your pie looks so scrumptious. It would be fabulous on a Thanksgiving buffet. Thanks for sharing on Thursdays Treasures. This is a feature.
Thanks Christie! Thanks for the party and feature! 🙂
How adorable these are! I love that cream cheese mousse especially 🙂
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Thanks for linking up to Tasty Thursdays. I love these pumpkin treats. What a festive idea. They are being featured this week. Thanks, Nichi https://mandatorymooch.blogspot.com/2013/10/tasty-thursdays-64.html
Awesome Nichi! Thank you!
These are GORGEOUS! And look delicious too! Would love you to come link up to our desserts only party~! DELISH! https://theinspiration-network.com/delish-8-desserts-link-party/
Thank you for sharing at our TGIF Link Party at A Peek Into My Paradise. These look AMAZING! Your post will be featured at the TGIF Link Party this week and was pinned to the TGIF Party Board! I can’t wait to see what you link up this week! Happy Halloween!
Cathy @ https://apeekintomyparadise.blogspot.com/
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These look AMAZING, I pick these No Bake Pumpkin Pie in a Jar as my favorite TOP DESSERT at our DELISH~ a dessert only link party! Thanks for sharing and come over now to share even more of your yummy desserts! 🙂
~ Jenn
Thanks Jenn! Thanks for the party 🙂
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Wondering about how long it takes from start to finish for the Pumpkin Pie in a Jar? Sounds and looks amazing!
Thanks Megan! The cream cheese mousse takes the longest and should be refrigerated about an hour, so including that time I think you could have them done in about 2-3 hours.
Red Lobster must be following your blog because my wife and I ate there last night and ordered the Pumpkin Pie in a jar and I think the crust was all gingersnaps. My wife usually takes a spoonful of dessert and leaves the rest for me but last night we were trading spoonfuls.
Haha, I’m glad you liked it! It’s so good! You should try making it at home too! 🙂
I was wondering on how much in advance can I prep these jars and leave in the fridge before Thanksgiving?
1-2 days would probably be best.
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Can I make these today for Thursday? How long will they stay good in jars with lids in fridge?
Yes you can. One or two days in advance is probably best, but you could stretch it to 3 if you needed to.
Can you substitute Fluff for the melted marshmellows? We don’t have a microwave & I tried melting in a Pam on stove & they got melted but chunky. When adding to egg whites there were little chunks that wouldn’t blend.
I’ve never tried it so I can’t say for sure but I’d think so.
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no bake and in a jar? love this!! Bring on the pumpkin puree!!
Thanks Alice! I’m definitely ready for the fall flavors!
Just curious as to what size jars you used. Are they pint jars?
They are the 8 oz size mason jars.
Thanks! Headed to the store right now! :0)
This looks divine! Definitely going to try maing this recipe around Thanksgiving. My husband loves pumpkin pie, but not the crust…this’ll be awesome! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Thanks Carmen! Enjoy them!
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Could you maybe do these in a bigger container? I wanted to do it for a work party.
I would think it’d be fine, you might just need to double up on the ingredients.
I thought you get salmonella from raw eggs?
YUM!!!
I absolutely love this recipe!!! I can’t wait to try a mini version & then go all out for Thanksgiving. I really think my guest will have a difficult time turning this down.
I do want to add something I learned from my mother, who learned this from her mother, and so on… and my great grandmother and grandmother owned a family bakery for over 50 years. When whipping egg whites, it is best to place the eggs and the beaters into a glass mixing bowl into the freezer for no longer than 5 to 10 minutes, just so the bowl is really cold, where it looks frosted, but not so long that the eggs are frozen. I don’t exactly know why this helps as I’m not a chemist, a baker or a chef, it is just something that has been handing down from one generation to the next. I must say that I have never had a problem whipping egg whites and getting the highest peaks you can imagine using this “old wives/bakers’ tale.” I’ve even had all the sugar poured in at once by my 3 year old son (at the time) who was trying to help and it still worked! However, I would recommend doing it slowly as in the recipe.
Just my 2 cents worth… Thank you so much for the recipe and I can’t wait to try it as listed but also with some of the other ideas listed in the comments.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your experience with egg whites. 🙂
How long does it take to make
I made the no bake pumpkin cheesecake for my granddaughters first birthday party. I used baby food jars to serve it with gray plastic spoons in each one. A time saver: I put the mixture into a large plasticky bag. When I got to the party venue, I cut a tip from the bag and piped filling into each pre- crusted jar and topped with whipped topping. Added spoon and they were such a hit !!!!!!! Thank you so much foe an easy crowd pleaser.
I made the “No Bake Pumpkin Pie in a Jar” dessert for Thanksgiving last year. It was absolutely delicious, very rich/filling dessert after that BIG meal (I would probably use a smaller cup next time)! It looked beautiful too!
You always have the most beautifully decorated desserts. very talented! I find myself pinning all of them!
Thanks so much Kristyn! Glad you enjoyed them!
Lindsay, these are great. Made them with my gf last night. We loved them -Joe
★★★★★