Most people associate pumpkin dishes with fall, which makes the most sense, but honestly, they taste great pretty much year-round. If you prefer your pumpkin appetizers sweet, check out the easy-to-make pumpkin dip and the cinnamon sugar pumpkin soft pretzels. If savory pumpkin dishes are more your thing, I recommend the pumpkin-shrimp bruschetta or the fantastic pumpkin fritters. Whatever your tastes, you should be able to find something that tickles your fancy on this list of ten pumpkin appetizers.
1. Pumpkin Pinwheels
As long as you have an hour to spare, why not whip up 30 of these bite-sized pumpkin treats? All you’ll need is bacon, cream cheese, pumpkin puree, shallots, parmesan, crescent rolls, and plenty of herbs. The crescent roll dough gives these pinwheels a flaky, buttery crust, while the bacon and cream cheese add both creaminess and crunchiness, along with a bit of saltiness, as well. The herbs – garlic, sage, red pepper – and the shallot are the finishing touches, adding a rich earthiness to every bite.
2. Pumpkin Quesadillas
I know pumpkin quesadillas don’t necessarily sound like something you’d go out of your way to make, but hear me out! You’ll spice up the naturally bitter flavor of the pumpkin puree with garlic powder, ground cumin, salt, and just a hint of cinnamon. It tames the bitterness and adds depth and complexity. Once you add black beans, grated cheese, roasted green chiles, and fry up your tortillas, no one will know this isn’t an authentic Mexican recipe with traditional Mexican ingredients.
3. Pumpkin Dip
If sweet appetizers are more your style, you’ll love this recipe for pumpkin dip. It’s super easy to make, requiring only five ingredients (cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice – homemade is best). It’s creamy, smooth, and tastes precisely like the warm, rich filling inside of a pumpkin pie. Serve it with fruit slices, berries, pretzels, vanilla wafers, or anything else you like. Unless you have a room full of pumpkin pie haters, this stuff will be gone fast.
4. Soft Pumpkin Pretzels with Cinnamon Sugar
Despite the somewhat lengthy ingredients list, these soft pretzels aren’t that difficult to make. You can have a dozen of them ready to eat in only 45 minutes. They’re soft, sugary sweet, and feature the delectable flavors of cinnamon, pumpkin, sugar, and honey. The cream cheese icing adds even more yumminess to the already irresistible treats. Whether you serve these as appetizers or desserts, they’re sure to be a hit.
5. Pumpkin-Shrimp Bruschetta
This recipe is bruschetta like you’ve never had it before! It takes about 35 minutes to whip up 20 of these savory, bite-sized delights, and it’s time well spent. Unlike traditional bruschetta, which includes diced tomatoes, cheese, garlic, and olive oil, you’ll make this bruschetta with jumbo shrimp, canned pumpkin, goat cheese, arugula, red onion, and more. It may sound like an odd combination of ingredients, but somehow, they all work together perfectly. It’s crunchy and downright delicious.
6. Pumpkin Pecan Crescent Rolls
Perhaps one of the most prevalent autumn arguments is over which pie is better: pumpkin or pecan? These pumpkin pecan crescent rolls combine the best of both worlds. The soft, buttery rolls take the place of pie crust, and the warm, gooey filling includes pumpkin puree, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and chopped pecans. They combine all the fantastic tastiness of pumpkin pie with the crunchy nuttiness of pecans. But the decadence doesn’t stop there. You’ll top each one with butter and a cinnamon-sugar glaze. These things smell phenomenal, and if possible, they taste even better.
7. Pumpkin Biscuits
Pumpkin biscuits are incredibly versatile. You can enjoy them for breakfast, as dessert, or serve them as sweet appetizers before a meal. They have all the flaky, buttery appeal of buttermilk biscuits; the only difference is that you’ll make these with ¾ cup of pumpkin puree in addition to the standard biscuit ingredients. They taste incredible when dry, but if you smother them in melted butter before serving them, they’ll be even more fantastic.
8. Pumpkin Hummus
If you’ve worked all day over a hot stove in an even hotter kitchen to make the most amazing meal you can make, the last thing you’ll want to do is spend even more time on appetizers. Luckily, you can pull together this eight-ingredient hummus in only 10 minutes, no cooking required! Simply peel your garlic and drain your chickpeas. Then toss everything in a blender and blend until you have a smooth, creamy consistency. It has the same creamy, savory, herby flavor for which hummus is known, but its light pumpkin base makes all the difference. Set it on the table with pita bread, and wait for the compliments to roll in.
9. Pumpkin Fritters
These crispy, perfectly golden-brown pumpkin fritters are one of my all-time favorite pumpkin appetizers. They’re so easy to make, taking only 5 minutes to prepare and 15 to cook. But more than that, they just taste so fantastic. The pumpkin isn’t sweet. It has the rich, earthy flavor of fresh pumpkin, and it complements the garlic, Parmesan, and rosemary flawlessly. Honestly, the fritters are a little hard to describe to someone who’s never had them. They don’t taste precisely like fritters made from other veggies, and there’s no other pumpkin recipe that tastes like them either. But if you like crunchy, herb-flavored appetizers, then you’ll go crazy for pumpkin fritters.
10. Pumpkin Pecan Baked Brie
Baked brie is warm, gooey, and – of course – cheesy, and it tastes so unbelievably good, no matter what you add to it or what time of year you make it. This particular baked brie has a flaky, crispy puff pastry crust, robust pumpkin butter, cinnamon, cranberry, pecans, and a nice egg wash to make it perfectly golden-brown. It’s ooey, gooey, and insanely scrumptious. Click on a star to rate it!
Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 1 No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.
Share on social media: Let us improve this post!
