Healthier pumpkin lush is a pumpkin pudding layered dessert made with a healthy pecan crust and topped with creamy cool-whip.
Do you ever get in a super productive mood where you just want to clean out the entire house? This weekend Burken and I cleaned out our bathrooms, office, pantry and cupboards, and finally the fridge/freezer.
While this wasn’t necessarily spring cleaning, it felt good to purge a whole bunch of stuff {like three huge garbage bags full!}.
For some reason, the fridge/freezer is always one of the toughest for me. Probably because I feel bad for tossing half-full bottles of dressing, or veggies that aren’t quite past their prime, but definitely need to go.
Going through the fridge and freezer, though, allowed me to take inventory of everything we have and need.
One thing I took inventory of was this pumpkin lush that was hanging out in the fridge. There were 2 1/2 pieces left in a 9″ x 9″ pan. So of course, I had to transfer them to a smaller container. Oh, and oops, had to eat the half piece because it conveniently didn’t fit in the new pan.
All I wanted to do at that point was forget about cleaning out the rest of the fridge and indulge in this creamy and dreamy pumpkin lush. The combination of the crumbly pecan crust under layers of pumpkin pudding and fluffy whipped cream has me wanting to head to the kitchen for those two remaining pieces.
Healthier pumpkin lush pecan crust
The traditional pumpkin lush is made from flour, butter and pecans. I wanted something that was a little healthier and didn’t contain any flour.
Enter pecan flour! Which is why I love a high powered blender to help make pecan flour from scratch. All you have to do is blend them until crumbly and has a flour-like texture.
Instead of butter, I thought tahini would make a really great binder. It’s creamy like peanut butter, but has a mild taste that pairs really nicely with pecans.
Press the entire mixture into your pan and bake until set. Thank goodness that’s all the baking you have to do for this dessert!
Healthier pumpkin lush pumpkin pudding
This pudding mixture is to-die-for! I could seriously just eat the filling and nothing else. Obviously when everything comes together you come back with an incredible pumpkin dessert. But I physically have to force myself not to eat all the batter.
The simplicity of this filling will make you so happy knowing it’s one of the easiest desserts you’ll make for Thanksgiving.
A mixture of instant pudding, pumpkin puree, a few warm spices to brighten up the dessert, and a hefty stir of cool whip bring the batter together.
Healthier pumpkin lush finished product
The layers of pumpkin lush are so pretty when placed on a plate. It would be gorgeous in a glass dish as well, if you really wanted to show off your pumpkin dessert skills.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner {like this week people!}. If you’re still struggling with what to make for dessert, I highly encourage you to give this pumpkin lush a try.
With only 10 minutes baking time, you’ve freed up your oven for all of the remaining goodies for your Thanksgiving table. OR, make this dessert a couple days before.
Serve with a nice cup of coffee at the end of dinner. You’ll definitely want to save space for this one!
Looking for other perfect Thanksgiving desserts? Check these out:
- 1 ¼ cup pecan flour*
- ½ cup tahini
- 3 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 3 {1 oz} boxes sugar free fat free instant vanilla Jell-O pudding
- 1 {3 oz} box instant vanilla Jell-O pudding
- 2 cups Silk unsweetened vanilla Cashew milk
- 1 {8 oz} container lite Cool-Whip** divided
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 {16 oz} can pumpkin puree {not pumpkin pie filling}
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Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9” x 9” pan with baking spray.
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In a large bowl, stir together the crust ingredients and press into the prepared pan in an even layer.
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Bake the crust for 15-17 minutes, until firm. Remove and let cool.
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Meanwhile, clean out the same bowl you used for the crust and stir together the pudding mixes and milk.
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Add half of the Cool-Whip and the remaining ingredients, and stir to combined.
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Spoon the mixture on top of the cooled crust in an even layer.
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Top with the remaining Cool-Whip. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
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Slice into 12 slices.
*Note: you can make pecan flour by pulsing 1 ¼ cup whole pecans in a high powered blender until crumbly like flour.
**Note: make this dairy free by using So Delicious dairy free whipped topping.
