Easy Pumpkin Trifle Recipe for Thanksgiving

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This is the easiest-ever Pumpkin Trifle recipe. With store-bought Pumpkin Spice Mini Cupcakes, this semi-homemade dessert can be made quickly and is full of seasonal flavor! Whether you celebrate at home or away, the holidays always call for delicious desserts!

Close up of a dessert topped with nuts, pretzels and caramel with serving glasses next to it. — This Pumpkin Trifle dessert is quick, easy, and full of pumpkin flavor.

This yummy Thanksgiving dessert recipe is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Albertsons. All opinions are 100% mine.

Why you’ll love this pumpkin dessert recipe

This easy Thanksgiving trifle recipe is a great centerpiece idea AND sweet treat that perfectly rounds out your party table. I always look for shortcuts to making multi-step desserts. The tasty mini cupcakes were a great hack!

Trifle recipes are always super easy. They are typically layered with cake pieces, a cream cheese layer, and a whipped topping layer.

Related Post: Pumpkin Mug Cake

This Pumpkin Trifle comes together especially fast because I used store-bought Pumpkin Spice Mini Cupcakes instead of baking my own.

And I combined the whipped topping and cream cheese layers.

Whether you are heading to a family party and need a potluck recipe, want to delight your family or just need something to enjoy while watching holiday movies, this is the pumpkin dessert is for you!

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients for Pumpkin Trifle on a cutting board.

Using Open Nature®, Signature SELECT™ and O Organics® products ensure that the flavor on this trifle is out of this world and the quality is top-notch.

There are several parts to this trifle. Store-bought pumpkin spice muffins are a great way to get that seasonal flavor that everyone loves.

The cream cheese layer is so crazy tasty and includes cream cheese, O Organics Sweetened Condensed Milk and Signature SELECT Whipped Topping.

To add some crunch, I used Open Nature slivered almonds and chopped pecans along with some broken pretzel pieces (not pictured in the ingredients above!).

I quickly broke up the mini pretzel twists by putting them in a plastic zipper bag and hitting them with an ice cream scooper.

A drizzle of store-bought caramel sauce makes this trifle decadent and crave-worthy.

2 stacked containers of Pumpkin Spice mini muffins on a counter.

I bought 3 packages of the Pumpkin Spice Mini Cupcakes but used about 2 1/2 for this recipe.

You can also make a Pumpkin Sheet Cake if you prefer.

How to Make a Pumpkin Trifle

Tray of mini cupcakes on a cutting board with a woman scraping the frosting off of some in the background.

1. Prepare the muffins

Remove the frosting layer of the Pumpkin Spice Mini Cupcakes into a bowl. Set aside for the time being.

Remove the cupcakes from their wrappers and place them in a separate bowl.

Woman using a hand mixer to mix up a cream cheese mixer.

2. Make the creamy layer

Use a hand mixer to blend softened cream cheese, whipped topping and sweetened condensed milk until smooth.

Woman adding caramel to the top of a layered dessert.

3. Layer the dessert

To put the dessert together, start with a layer of cupcakes.

Top with a layer of the cream cheese mixture. Use a spatula to make sure the mixture covers all the cake pieces and is fairly even.

Add crunch by sprinkling almonds, pecans and pretzel pieces.

Add a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Then do it again.

Continue until all of the cake has been used.

Finish with the cream cheese layer on top.

Add nuts to the top of a Pumpkin Trifle dessert on a cutting board.

4. Finish the top

Add more nuts, pretzels and caramel sauce for the perfect finishing touch to the Pumpkin Trifle.

This has that sweet and salty combination that I LOVE!

This dessert is so quick and easy! It should on every holiday table this year!

Tips and Tricks

Be sure to let the cream cheese sit out to soften before making the cream cheese layer. It will help so much and ensure that it blends smoothly.
If you want the trifle to have more of a cake presence, you can easily bake your own Pumpkin Cake just ignore the cream cheese frosting part from that recipe.
If you need to feed a larger crowd but don’t want to double the batch, you could add in a layer of just whipped topping.
To enhance the nut flavor, even more, you can toast them quickly in a dry pan on the stove.
To play up the sweet and salty combo you can finish with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you make it the night before?

You can make all the layers the night before. But I wouldn’t actually put the dessert together in the bowl until a little bit before serving. This will ensure that the pretzels won’t get soggy.

If you make the cream cheese layer the night before, be sure to set it out about an hour before layering to ensure that it softens up and is easier to spread.

How should I store the leftovers?

To store the leftovers, you can cover the bowl, loosely, and store in the fridge. It will last for about 3 days. It will get soggy and the longer it sits, the looser the cream layers get making them runny.

Does the pumpkin trifle need to sit overnight?

No. This recipe is easy and quick so you can serve it right away! I wouldn’t let it sit too long because the cake might get soggy.

Shop at Albertsons

Woman unpacking groceries from a paper bag on the counter.

I shop at my local Albertsons store to find everything I need for the holidays. From the seasonal ingredients I need for my Pumpkin Spice Trifle to holiday gift bundles (like this Wine Advent Calendar) and even decorations, I don’t need to run all over town.

You can find fun, seasonal products and ingredients as well as holiday baking and cooking essentials exclusively at your local Albertsons store.

They offer everything we need for holiday baking (because you MUST make a Brown Sugar Pie this year) and meals (Chicken Eden Isle, anyone?), limited edition pumpkin flavored snacks and healthy baking alternatives at a value.

It’s the perfect place (in-store and online) for creating gifting moments for friends and family.

I shopped at Albertsons but you can also find these seasonal goodies at the Albertsons Companies family of stores including Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Randsalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market, Tom Thumb and Vons.

Plus, you can utilize their Grocery Delivery or the Drive Up & Go® options if you don’t want to go into the store.

To Serve

Close up of an individual glass holding a serving of pumpkin trifle on a tray with a bowl of the dessert in the background.

Serve the trifle in a large bowl and set out small bowls or glasses for people to serve themselves.

Or you can preserve them in small glasses for mini Pumpkin trifles.

I fell in love with that cream cheese layer. And the Pumpkin Spice Mini Cupcakes… Ok, all of it was amazing.

While we love to make Ice Cream Nachos when the weather is warm, as soon as we feel a chill, it’s all about a Pumpkin Trifle!

Your family will love this tasty Pumpkin Trifle recipe and you’ll love how easy it is to make!

More easy pumpkin recipes

Fireball Pumpkin Pie is an adult twist on the classic holiday dessert.
Your kids will love these Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes!
This Pumpkin Sheet Cake from scratch is also great for parties and could work as the base layer for this Pumpkin Trifle.
And you can’t go wrong with this super simple Pumpkin Dump Cake.
Pumpkin Cocktails for fall and beyond! If you like seasonal drinks, you need to browse this collection.
Indulge in the creamy goodness of this Pumpkin Dip recipe with Cool Whip.