Paleo Pumpkin Pie Dip

When it comes to fall, are you a pumpkin or an apple person? Me, well, I’m a chips-and-dip-all-year kind of person. If you give me pumpkin, then I want some whipped cream to go with it. If you offer me pie, then I’ll take the crust and a dollop of ice cream to match. But I’m not obsessed with pumpkin or pies or even pumpkin pies. Unless they are in the form of Chocolate-Frosted Paleo Pumpkin Brownies, Paleo Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, or today’s Paleo Pumpkin Pie Dip. Spriteds, it’s love, true, blue, and through.

And while I totally think of this as a party snack, K-Hubs loves to take Paleo Pumpkin Pie Dip to work because it’s comfortably filling. Not too little, not too much, and he isn’t starving by 3:00 p.m. 

Speaking of which, what is up with that late afternoon lull anyway? Like, who am I kidding? When I worked in an office back in the day, I had to will myself to live a best life after 3:00. I’m a night owl AND a morning person. However, what I am NOT is a late afternoon person. You know how people talk about babies having arsenic hour in the late afternoon or early evening? Well, I still suffer from that, and I’m 444 months old.

Bless that afternoon mess. It’s mine, all mine.

So, yes, K-Hubs is all over this, Twinkle loves it, too, and I have really grown to appreciate pumpkin. I LOVE it in this recipe. Toodle has a strange pumpkin allergy, and she’s not crazy about pumpkin anyway. So when we’re chowing down on this, she’s often eating her own treat, like maybe Fudgy Paleo Brownies or No-Bake Paleo Chocolate Chip Coconut Bars. For my part, I can’t decide what I crush on the most. Is it the maple syrup/cinnamon/allspice combo that absolutely brings out the best in pumpkin? Or is it the coconut milk and the almond butter? I guess, technically, it’s all of the above. These ingredients were made to be together. 

I have a few versions of these ingredients that I think work particularly well in this recipe, so let me share them here:

• Pumpkin – pick a variety that doesn’t include additional ingredients. Just straight pumpkin is all we want here!
• Almond butter – if you can find one that consists of roasted almonds and nothing else, you’ll be in good stead. Roasted almonds taste, in my opinion, much better than regular almonds.
• Maple syrup – 100% pure maple syrup is what we’re working with here. It will taste wonderful in this recipe.
• Full-fat coconut milk – I like to chill a can in the fridge overnight (no shaking it ahead of time!) and then let the “cream” of the milk rise to the top where I then skim my two tablespoons from the top of the can. This gives Paleo Pumpkin Pie Dip a rich, creamy texture.

If you do decide to take some Paleo Pumpkin Pie Dip to a party, you don’t need to get fancy with it. The recipe includes only 6 ingredients and requires only a few minutes to prepare. So it’s a fairly versatile gluten-free Halloween party snack and the perfect dairy-free fall treat. Whenever I prepare this dip, I store it in the fridge until I’m ready for it. The dip will thicken as it stands, but the flavor will remain deliciously wonderful. And if your Paleo Pumpkin Pie Dip firms up more than you’d like, then let it sit at room temperature for a short while, give it a good stir, and dip in again.

You might be wondering what to pair this with. I’d say anything along the lines of fruits and veggies or just straight up with a spoon. Also, Paleo Pumpkin Pie Dip gives off a PBJ vibe, but without the peanuts (or the J, for that matter). Perhaps you could pair it with some jelly and a few slices of bread. Or slather it on apple or celery slices.

However you choose to slice and dice this dip, it’s for sure a fall staple that oozes the good autumn vibes!

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