Our dairy free pumpkin trifle is a super quick recipe for a stunning fall or Thanksgiving dessert! This cheesecake trifle is also gluten free and peanut free, so it’s safe for many special diets.
If you’re looking for easy, no bake desserts for Thanksgiving or fall parties, we have the perfect recipe for you: dairy free and gluten free pumpkin cheesecake trifle!
This recipe is like a deconstructed version of our reader favorite pumpkin cheesecake, and this recipe is even better than the cheesecake version because you don’t have to wait for this to set up before eating it!
If you’re in a pinch and don’t want to do a lot of baking over the holidays, this trifle works great in place of pumpkin pie if you don’t mind having a non-traditional dessert. It’s creamy, smooth, and simply beautiful without a ton of effort.
Our pumpkin trifle is:
- Dairy free
- Vegan
- Peanut free
- Soy free (when using recommended ingredients)
How to make a dairy free pumpkin cheesecake trifle
Making an allergy friendly pumpkin trifle is super easy, here are the steps to make our recipe. This is just an overview of the steps, the full recipe card is at the end of the post!
- In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the dairy free cream cheese until it is softened (don’t skip this step!).
- To the softened cream cheese, add the pumpkin, powdered sugar, vanilla, spices, and salt until smooth.
- In 2 glasses or glass cups, layer crushed gluten free graham crackers or gingerbread cookies, pumpkin cream cheese mixture, and dairy free whipped cream several times until the cup is filled.
- Make the top layer the whipped cream and a sprinkle of cracker/cookie crumbs.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate for an hour or 2 before serving.
- We made 2 trifles with this recipe, but they are rich so 2 people ate one trifle cup. So this will serve between 2 and 4 people as written.
Ingredient notes and recommendations for our pumpkin trifle
We used the Violife dairy free cream cheese in this recipe (one of our favorites!), but you can use your favorite dairy free cream cheese in this recipe as long as it fits your allergies, such as Daiya, Kite Hill, Miyoko’s, Treeline, etc.
Any dairy free cream cheese should work here as long as it’s firm like regular cream cheese and not too thin or it might not hold up well with the pumpkin puree.
For the dairy free whipped cream, I recommend using an allergy friendly tub whipped cream, such as So Delicious Cocowhip (that’s what we used). I don’t recommend using the spray whipped cream, such as dairy free Reddi-Wip, in this recipe because it flattens quite a bit after it’s dispensed.
The Cocowhip doesn’t deflate/flatten at all, so it works better here and in our cheesecake recipes.
Check out our other allergy friendly pumpkin and Thanksgiving recipes!
- Gluten Free Dairy Free Pumpkin Recipes
- Allergy Friendly Thanksgiving Recipes
- Gluten Free Holiday Pie Recipes
Dairy Free Pumpkin Trifle (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 7 ounces dairy free cream cheese (we used Violife)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons canned pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Dash salt
- 4 ounces (1/2 container) So Delicious Cocowhip
- 5 gluten free graham crackers, crushed (or allergy friendly gingerbread cookies)
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, beat the cream cheese to soften it. Don't skip this step since it results in a creamier cheesecake filling.
- Add the powdered sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt to the cream cheese and beat together until smooth.
- Between 2 small glasses or glass dishes, create small layers with the cookie crumbs first, then the pumpkin cheesecake mixture, then the whipped cream, and repeat these layers until the glass is filled.
- The last layer should be the whipped cream and a sprinkle of cookie crumbs.
- Serve these immediately, or make them ahead and store them in the fridge, covered, for a few hours before serving.
- We shared the 2 glasses of trifle between 4 people since it's quite rich, but you can also divide this into 4 small glasses instead of 2 for individual desserts.
- If you want to make mini desserts for a party, layer this in shooter glasses and use a piping bag to easily dispense the pumpkin cheesecake mixture.
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Nutrition
Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie. She’s a food allergy mom and healthy living blogger based in Wyoming. Sarah is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Certified Health Coach, Revolution Running certified running coach, and an ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist