Creamy Pumpkin Parmesan Dip

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. 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, that smell of raw pumpkin really put me off from eating pumpkin things for a long time. For many years, I even made pumpkin pie for my family at Thanksgiving, but then didn’t even eat a piece for fear that I wouldn’t like it and would just waste the slice of it.

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. Then, 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 Creamy Pumpkin Parmesan 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. 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 Stella 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.

Creamy Pumpkin Parmesan Dip

Yield: About 1-3/4 cups dip

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup shredded Stella Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• Crackers or pita chips, for serving

Directions:

1. In medium bowl, whisk garlic, cream cheese, pumpkin, Parmesan cheese, sage, pepper and paprika until very well combined. For best flavor, refrigerate 1 hour or up to 3 days. Serve with crackers or pita chips.

Disclaimer: This post is part of a relationship I have with Saputo Specialty Cheese for recipe development. Posts like this help me pay for the costs associated with this blog (groceries…lots of groceries), and help support me as I pursue a career in recipe development and food photography. All opinions are 100% my own.