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These pumpkin mousse cups have the taste and texture of a whipped pumpkin pie. They are so smooth, airy and have just the right amount of pumpkin spice flavor. They are topped with a rum infused, lightly sweetened with whipped cream and dusted with cinnamon for extra pizzazz.
One of my friends, Natalia, brought a pumpkin pie to Thanksgiving dinner one year served with a side of rum infused whipped cream and I just fell in love with the flavor combination. It is a must try for pumpkin lovers! There is just one teaspoon of rum but my oh my is it seriously amazing! If you don’t have rum, worry not since it can easily be replaced with vanilla.
These are easy, cute and perfect for a Thanksgiving potluck! This makes 16 half-cup servings but you can put them into smaller cups for a larger crowd and make 32 quarter-cup servings.
One of my readers, Nadia, shared that she makes our original Bird’s Milk Jello with pumpkin and ofcourse I had to recreate. Her invention was brilliant. My husband and I both really enjoyed these and so did our baby girl. She took her first bite and had all kinds of cute 2-year-old commentary including: “deelicious” and “more!” Thank you Nadia for sharing this recipe with us!
P.S. Want to know which tools we used to make this recipe? See the Amazon affiliate links in the instructions below.
Pumpkin Mousse Ingredients:
2 packets unflavored gelatin (14 grams or 1/2 oz total)
1 cup (8 oz) milk, any kind
1 cup granulated sugar
15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
16 oz sour cream
16 oz whipped topping*, thawed in the refrigerator
ground cinnamon, to garnish
*Cool whip or preferably truwhip will work in this recipe. I was able to find True Whip at Fred Meyer in the health food freezer section. It’s a higher quality product and costs more but also doesn’t contain all of the controversial ingredients that people dislike in cool whip. Now you can still enjoy all of the recipes that people post with that dreaded cool whip. YES! 😉 You’re welcome.
Rum Whipped Cream Ingredients:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp powered sugar
1 tsp rum (dark or golden), or vanilla extract
How to Make Easy Pumpkin Mousse:
1. In a small saucepan, combine 2 packets unflavored gelatin with 1 cup milk. Place over medium heat and whisk continually until the mixture just begins to steam and gelatin is dissolved then remove from heat and let cool 15 minutes (Do NOT boil).
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer on medium speed, whisk together 1 cup sugar, 16 oz sour cream, 15 oz pumpkin puree and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, and mix until blended. Add 16 oz of whipped topping and mix on medium low speed just until blended, scraping down the bowl as needed.
3. With the mixer on, slowly drizzle in the warm milk mixture and once it is fully incorporated, immediately divide between your ramekin serving cups or pour into an 11×13 glass casserole dish and smooth out the top. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight for the mousse to set.
To Make the Rum Whipped Cream:
1. Using an electric mixer (hand mixer with egg beaters attached or stand mixer with whisk attachment), beat together 1 cup heavy whipping cream with 2 Tbsp powdered sugar on high speed for about 2 minutes or until thick and spreadable. Add 1 tsp rum and beat just to incorporate. Do not over-beat or it will turn buttery.** Pipe or dollop whipped cream just before serving and finely dust with ground cinnamon to garnish.
**P.S. Make whipped cream just before serving for best flavor. The rum flavor tends to mellow out and diminish if the cream is refrigerated overnight. Thankfully it’s the easiest part of this dish and literally takes 2 minutes to make.
⬇Print-Friendly Pumpkin Mousse Recipe:
Pumpkin Mousse Recipe
Ingredients
Pumpkin Mousse Ingredients:
- 1/2 oz unflavored gelatin , (2 packets or 14 grams total)
- 1 cup milk, any kind
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 16 oz sour cream
- 16 oz whipped topping, thawed in the refrigerator
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, to garnish
Rum Whipped Cream Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp powered sugar
- 1 tsp rum, dark or golden, or vanilla extract
Instructions
How to Make Easy Pumpkin Mousse:
- In a small saucepan, combine 2 packets gelatin with 1 cup milk. Place over medium heat and whisk continually until mixture just begins to steam and gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat and cool 15 min (Do NOT boil).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed, combine 1 cup sugar, 16 oz sour cream, 15 oz pumpkin puree, 1 tsp pumpkin spice, and mix until blended. Add 16 oz of whipped topping and mix on med-low speed until blended, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- With mixer on, slowly drizzle in the warm milk mixture and once fully incorporated, immediately divide between your serving cups. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight for the mousse to set.
To Make the Rum Whipped Cream:
- Using an electric mixer, beat together 1 cup heavy cream with 2 Tbsp powdered sugar on high speed about 2 minutes or until thick and whipped. Add 1 tsp rum and beat just to incorporate. Do not over-beat.** Pipe or dollop whipped cream just before serving and dust with cinnamon to garnish.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Love Pumpkin?? Check out all of our Favorite Pumpkin Recipes Here!
I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving!! If these make it to your Thanksgiving celebration, let me know 🙂
I made this (the day before),exactly as written,for dessert after a heavy Thanksgiving meal. My 9 guests absolutely raved about it. It was the perfect light but seasonal touch. I highly recommend.
Thank you so much for sharing, Peggy!
When I cut this recipe to 8 servings it still says 2 packets of unflavored gelatin. Is this correct? All the other ingredients are halved. The instructions are written with the full 16 serving size.
Hi Pat! Unfortunately the notes in parentheses don’t change, this feature is not available. But the actual ingredients amount does change. Thank you for pointing that out. We’re working on getting our recipes updated to avoid confusion like this in the future.
What is whipped topping??
Since a large quantity of it is used in this recipe, what would be the ideal substitute available not only in the US?
Hi Lisa, one of my readers shared this very helpful review: “I just substitute whip cream I make from whipping heavy cream and it turns out great. This is what I do for all recipes that involve cool whip. Especially when I make strawberry pretzel salad. Try it! It is 100 times better”
Excellent recipe. I love the slight tartness of the sour cream. It is a great contrast to the creaminess and sweetness of the mousse. Thank you for sharing it.
You’re welcome, Ana! 🙂
Just finished making this. Can’t wait to try it. I put some in phyllo shells. I didn’t have sour cream so I used Greek yogurt. I will post how it turned out.
Hi Nancy! Yes, I’d love to hear how they turn out. 🙂
I want to make this for Thanksgiving and hoping to get as much done before the day of. How many days in advance can I make the mousse? I will wait to make the whip topping that day.
Hi, I would say 2-3 days on the mousse (keep it covered so it doesn’t absorb other fridge smells) and I would whip the cream fresh just before adding it since it tends to soften in the refrigerator.
I want to try this recipe for my little girl’s Thanksgiving Lunch at School, if I use small deserts containers of 3oz how many servings will I get?
I just want to say that I love all your recipes and I love your sweet spirit. You never deserve snarky comments from people but you are always classy. I cook more from your site than any other. Thank you!
Hi Liz, I’m so glad you enjoy my recipes! Thank you!
Do you have a substitute for “whipped topping”, being that it is a hydrogenated oil?
Hi Ralph, one of my readers shared this very helpful review: “I just substitute whip cream I make from whipping heavy cream and it turns out great. This is what I do for all recipes that involve cool whip. Especially when I make strawberry pretzel salad. Try it! It is 100 times better”
Perfect. Thank you as I was just going to ask this same question. I much prefer real whipped cream but that is just me.
Hello Natasha!!!
Love, love, love, your recipes!!!!
You use heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar for whipping cream?
Hi Cindy! Yes, that’s correct. See the note in the recipe card for amount/instructions to make the whipped cream.
If you are substituting real whipping cream for the cool whip, do you still use 16 oz of whipping cream?
Hi Pat, I believe they did a 1:1 substitution, I haven’t tried it myself to advise.
Could I use leaf gelatin instead of powder. It is not available in Denmark. If so how many would you use?
Hi Gitte, I don’t have experience using gelatin sheets but here is a helpful article from Nigella on converting gelatin leaves to powder that may be helpful to you.
Can this mousse be frozen? Having company on Sunday so wondering if it can be made ahead?
Hello there, I haven’t tried freezing this yet to advise. If you do try it, please share with us how it turns out!
I’m 55 I’ve been cooking since twelve and using cool whip. One, the regular cool whip pumpkin mousse is delicious and cuts about 4 steps and some ingredients off your recipe. Two I have many things to worry about on a personal, national and global level, cool whip isn’t one of them. Lol.
These are the ingredients for cool whip- it isn’t real food!
WATER, 22% HYDROGENATED COCONUT AND PALM KERNEL OIL, GLUCOSE-FRUCTOSE, CORN SYRUP, SODIUM CASEINATE (FROM MILK), POLYSORBATE 60, NATURAL AND ARTIFICAL FLAVOUR, SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE, XANTHAN GUM, GUAR GUM, COLOUR.
I just substitute whip cream I make from whipping heavy cream and it turns out great. This is what I do for all recipes that involve cool whip. Especially when I make strawberry pretzel salad. Try it! It is 100 times better
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
Audrey, I’m guessing you’re referring to a version that also calls for pudding mix.
I am grateful that Natasha shares these recipes with those of us who prefer to take a few extra steps when making treats that are still made with nutritious whole foods.
Side note: Adding “LOL” doesn’t detract from the rudeness of your comment.
I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving but I was considering adding ginger snaps or graham crackers for a faux crust effect. Since I haven’t tried them before which flavor profile would be a better match? I don’t want to add something that might take away from the mousse…thank you!
Hi Jessica, I haven’t tried either of those to advise on the outcome. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.