Savory Pumpkin Dip

This Savory Pumpkin Dip is a new way to eat pumpkin that doesn’t involve anything sweet. Dig some crackers into this creamy dip made with cream cheese and Parmesan.

It’s that time of year when people (food bloggers especially) lose their minds over all things pumpkin. Except me. For most of my life, I really didn’t care for pumpkin (give me some chocolate Halloween bark or stuffed baked apples instead!).

Young Lori had a nauseating experience with the smell of the pumpkin “guts” that had to be extracted from the gourds before carving jack o’lanterns.

Man, doing that task in an unventilated kitchen as opposed to outside in the fresh air was traumatizing. I blame you for this, Mom. Just kidding. I know it was probably too cold to be outside that year. Still love you.

But yeah, for a long time, that smell of raw pumpkin really put me off from eating most pumpkin things except pumpkin creme brulee (because I love any and all creme brulee).

In recent years, I’ve tried to suppress my fear and have tried little nibbles here and there of pumpkin pie and pumpkin cookies. OK, they weren’t half bad. And I actually like fall squash, like sweet dumpling squash soup.

As I’m always more of a fan of savory rather than sweet, I started branching out and experimenting with pumpkin lasagna and pumpkin quesadillas.

This is where I really hit my stride with pumpkin. Savory was the way to go for me, and now pumpkin and I are on speaking terms again. Heck, you could even consider us friends.

Not the kind of friends who can drink wine and talk about nothing for hours, but the kind of friends who maybe meet up for coffee once a year. Hey, do you think if I met pumpkin for a coffee, it would order a pumpkin spice latte? No? Anyway . . .

This Savory Pumpkin Dip requires just seven ingredients:

This Savory Pumpkin Dip is the combination of seven simple ingredients. Stir them up, refrigerate the dip for a little bit if you’d like, and then enjoy.

Have it for dinner on Halloween, followed up by Trick or Beet Halloween Brownies. Or add it to the appetizer section of your Thanksgiving recipes list.

Be sure to use good Parmesan cheese for this savory pumpkin dip!

Because the ingredients are so simple, it’s really important to use high-quality ones, especially the cheese. This is not the time for that powdery parmesan sold in cans.

For this dip, I like to use Parmesan cheese. I buy a whole wedge and then shred it up myself. This cheese has a subtle, slightly nutty flavor that pairs perfectly with pumpkin.

MORE GREAT HALLOWEEN FOOD:

• Halloween Deviled Eggs – the “trick” is that this treat is so easy to put together.
• Easy Halloween Food Ideas – a whole platter of spooky snacks, with a video to help!
• Orange Cream Cake with Chocolate Ganache – this one is a showstopper!
• Halloween Brownies – trick or beet!
• Pumpkin-Brie Quesadillas – kids and adults both love these.
• Pumpkin & Kale Lasagna – a hearty dinner before heading out for trick-or-treating.
• Screaming Ghost Pretzels from Big Family Blessings
• Witch’s Brew Brownies from Homemade Interest