Healthy Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits! Individual desserts all ready to devour with layers of pumpkin mousse, whipped coconut cream, and crushed gingersnap cookies. A dairy-free and paleo-friendly dessert!
This post is sponsored by my partnership with Vital Proteins. All opinions expressed, as always, are my own. Thank you for your continued support and allowing me to partner with brands I trust, making Fit Mitten Kitchen possible!
Being that we’re about one week away from Thanksgiving now, it is definitely time to start thinking about what you’ll be bringing for dessert. Pumpkin pie is great and very much a lovely Thanksgiving tradition… HOWEVER, can I just say how much I love these pumpkin mousse parfaits? And don’t judge me for saying this, but I quite enjoy them more than pumpkin pie. It’s a texture thing I think. I just love love love the texture of pudding-like desserts. I’m always a sucker for those cute little dessert shooters on the menu when going out to eat. Anyone else? Especially when you want your own dessert yet you’re full from dinner, but you just want a taste… Because more often than not if you split a whole dessert with your SO the “just a taste” becomes lots (and lots) of tastes and before you know it you may have just eaten more than half of the dessert… leaving the SO confused and perhaps annoyed because they thought they were getting seven eighths of the dessert–when in reality they were lucky if they ate one third…
No? Just me?
Anyways…
Did you guys know it is really easy to make your own pudding? Well, mousse in this instance. There was this one time in high school I was adamant on making my own mousse from scratch. I don’t even remember why… It seems kind of random now that I think about it. I believe I saw a recipe on the back of some milk carton–for a healthy raspberry chocolate mousse. It was actually quite simple and turned out delicious. I am not sure what it is about making your own mousse or pudding from scratch but it feels you leaving quite accomplished! Maybe because most of us grew up eating “Snack Packs” ?
But ’tis the season for getting festive so we’re making pumpkin mousse! This version just so happens to be paleo-friendly, using whipped coconut cream and grass-fed gelatin from Vital Proteins.
Making your own pudding or mousse at home is actually really easy! No to mention you avoid all of the unnecessary ingredients found in store-bought packages. (Seriously, just read the package next time and it’s mind-boggling how those ingredients even produce something semi-edible. It’s basically sugar and modified cornstarch… YIKES.) And you’re using gelatin from pasture-raised grass-fed beef. Vital Proteins takes great measures to ensure their collagen is the highest quality, so you can feel good knowing their products are ethically sourced.
here’s what you need
- canned pumpkin
- 2 large eggs (or 4 large egg whites)
- coconut sugar
- spices
- vanilla extract
- 3 cans full-fat coconut milk
-You’ll first allow the gelatin to sit in the water to soften. While that sits you can combine the pumpkin, eggs, sugar and spices.
-Then you’ll heat up the bowl of gelatin-water over a pot of simmering water until the gelatin is clear. While the gelatin is cooking down you can whip the chilled coconut cream.
-Once the gelatin is clear you will quickly whisk it into the pumpkin mixture–the hot gelatin cooks the eggs, so no worries there. Then you fold in the whipped coconut cream.
All that’s left is to let the pumpkin mousse chill covered in the fridge for about 4-6 hours (or overnight). When you’re ready to assemble the parfaits you’ll layer in crushed gingersnap cookies, pumpkin mousse, whipped cream, and repeat!
This pumpkin mousse dessert is the perfect dairy-free and gluten-free friendly option to share with friends and family during the holidays. The pumpkin mousse itself is completely paleo-friendly (grain-free, dairy-free, soy-free). If you’re looking for a homemade paleo-friendly gingersnap recipe to go with these pumpkin mousse parfaits, I recommend checking out this one from Food Faith Fitness.
Let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx, Ashley
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Healthy Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits
Ingredients
pumpkin mousse
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 teaspoons grass-fed gelatin, unflavored
- 1 15 oz canned pumpkin, about 1 3/4 cups puree
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar, or dry sweetener of choice
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3 15 oz cans full-fat coconut milk, chilled overnight
- 1 TBS pure vanilla extract
for the layers
- whipped coconut cream, from the canned coconut milk
- gingersnap cookies
- *make sure to chill cans of coconut milk at least 4-6 hours, or overnight
Instructions
- Add 1/4 cup water to heat-proof bowl, then sprinkle the 2 teaspoons gelatin over water and allow to soften for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, sucanat, coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
- Place the heat-proof bowl of gelatin-water over simmering pot of water, cook until the gelatin is clear.
- While the gelatin is cooking over the pot, make the whipped coconut cream: Scoop out the cream portion of the all 3 cans of coconut milk (save the water for smoothies, shakes, etc) and place cream in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip the chilled coconut cream and vanilla extract together until thick and fluffy. Set aside.
- Once the gelatin has cooked until clear, whisk immediately into large bowl of pumpkin mixture. Then fold in 2 cups of the whipped coconut cream–saving the rest for parfait layering.
- Place covered bowl of pumpkin mousse mixture in fridge and allow to chill 4-6 hours, or overnight.
- To assemble parfaits: layer crushed gingersnap cookies, pumpkin mousse, and whipped coconut cream, repeat until glass is full. Garnish with gingersnap cookies, and more whipped cream if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information
Looking for more ways to use collagen?
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