Pumpkin pie gets the walking treatment with creamy pumpkin pudding, Teddy Grahams and plenty of whipped cream—all served right in the bag.
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At some point, we as a society decided plates were optional. Walking tacos have been around for years, but lately just about anything that can be eaten from a snack-size bag has gotten the walking treatment. I’ve made walking tapas, turned Caesar salad into a portable snack and now, just in time for fall, I’m taking the idea into dessert territory with pumpkin pie.
The dessert format makes a lot of sense. Individual bags mean there’s nothing to slice or serve, everyone can add their own toppings, and kids get to eat dessert directly from a package of Teddy Grahams. That’s probably all the sales pitch they need. It’s exactly the sort of thing I’d put out at a Halloween party, fall potluck or Thanksgiving gathering.
Most versions I found used canned pumpkin pie filling, but I wanted something a little creamier. Instead, I made a quick pumpkin pudding with instant vanilla pudding, canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. It takes only a few minutes, tastes much closer to the pumpkin custard of a pumpkin pie and still keeps the whole thing in easy-dessert territory.
What is pumpkin pie in a bag?
Pumpkin pie in a bag follows the same basic formula as other walking foods: Start with an individual snack bag, add the ingredients that would ordinarily go on a plate or in a bowl, then hand everyone a spoon.
Here, Teddy Grahams stand in for pie crust, while pumpkin pudding takes care of the filling. Whipped cream and a dusting of additional pumpkin pie spice finish the basic version, but the fun is really in setting out a few extras and letting everyone help themselves. Create a dessert buffet with bowls of chopped pecans, mini chocolate chips, caramel sauce, toffee bits and mini marshmallows for people to choose their own toppings.
That DIY setup also makes serving dessert remarkably easy. You can make the pumpkin pudding ahead of time, keep it refrigerated, and set out the bags and toppings when you’re ready to serve. There’s no cutting uneven wedges of pie, no stack of dessert plates and, perhaps most importantly in my house, no kids arguing over who got the bigger piece.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie in a Bag
I started with a 5.1-ounce family-size package of Jell-O instant vanilla pudding, mixed it with 2 cups of cold milk, then whisked in 1 cup of Libby’s canned pure pumpkin and a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. After about five minutes in the refrigerator, the pudding was thick and creamy enough to spoon into the bags. You can also use Jell-O pumpkin spice pudding to make things even easier.
For each serving, I opened an individual bag of Teddy Grahams and spooned about 1/2 cup of the pumpkin pudding right over the cookies.
I topped it with a generous swirl of whipped cream and finished with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice.
That’s really all there is to it! If you’re assembling these for a party, I’d keep the pudding cold and assemble the bags shortly before eating so the Teddy Grahams keep their crunch.
How does it taste?
As silly as the premise may be, this really does taste like pumpkin pie. The vanilla pudding makes the pumpkin creamy and sweet without overwhelming it, while the pumpkin pie spice does most of the work, giving the dessert its familiar fall flavor.
The Teddy Grahams are my favorite part. They give you the warm honey-and-cinnamon flavor you’d expect from a graham cracker crust, but leaving them whole gives the dessert more texture than a layer of crumbs would. Some soften where they meet the pudding while others stay crunchy, so each spoonful gets a little bit of both. The whipped cream brings everything together, and, unlike a piece of pumpkin pie, you can add as much of it as you please without anyone noticing.
For a fall party full of kids, a Halloween get-together or a potluck where I want to bring something that doesn’t require plates, a pie server or much effort at all, this is my new secret weapon.
If you make it, let us know how it goes in the comments below!
