These decadent Paleo Pumpkin Pie Caramel Cups have a rich and gooey pumpkin pie spiced caramel filling inside a dairy free dark chocolate cup! They’re also vegan, nut free, and refined sugar free but you’ll never believe it once you taste them!
We get a lot of requests for chocolate treats over here. I can’t totally blame my kids (I like them too, of course!) but yes, a lot of those requests come from them. Definitely can’t blame them for trying!
Especially because I almost always oblige and come up with something. It is, after all, sort of my job (the recipes, not spoiling them) – so they’ve got me there.
I wound up making these dreamy little pumpkin pie caramel cups the day right after I made my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. If you buy canned pumpkin puree, you know how it goes. Open can, use some for whatever you’re making, and then realize you have like 3/4 of the can leftover. Yup, I think we’ve all been there!
What to Do with Leftover Canned Pumpkin Puree
Start by looking for recipes that only call for a cup of pumpkin puree or less.
Let’s just say that this time of year, no pumpkin puree gets left in our fridge too long. That would be so, so wrong, wouldn’t it? I also didn’t have the energy to come up with something really involved or fancy for this dessert – I just wanted to relax and eat chocolate.
So, that’s when the idea for these seriously simple pumpkin pie caramel cups was born. Caramel + pumpkin + spices + chocolate = weekend treat heaven!
Here are some other recipes that require a cup of pumpkin puree or less:
Ingredients Needed to Make Paleo Pumpkin Pie Caramel Cups
You might think that it would take a lot of ingredients to make these cups, but it doesn’t! Here are the few simple ingredients that you’ll need:
- Coconut milk
- Coconut sugar
- Pumpkin puree
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Vanilla extract
- Dark chocolate morsels
- Coconut oil
As always, I recommend using organic ingredients whenever possible. You can find organic coconut milk, organic coconut palm sugar, and organic pumpkin puree at just about any specialty or health foods store near you.
How to Make Paleo Pumpkin Pie Caramel
I combined my usual coconut milk caramel recipe with pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice for a gooey, sweet, pumpkin spice filling inside a simple dark chocolate shell.
- Combine the coconut milk and coconut sugar in a saucepan and melt it over medium heat.
- Cook it until it starts to boil and caramelize. Be sure to stir it while it cooks.
- Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until the caramel is dark golden brown in color and has a thick, syrup-like consistency.
- Stir in the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla and mix it until it’s well combined and smooth.
What kind of chocolate should I use?
I used my favorite dairy and soy free dark chocolate morsels plus a touch of coconut oil for a smooth and creamy chocolate cup!
These are great to make on the weekend for an easy treat to grab during the week. They’re seriously good anytime – including right now! Let’s get started.
Paleo Pumpkin Pie Caramel Cups {Vegan & Nut Free}
Paleo Pumpkin Pie Caramel Cups {Vegan & Nut Free}
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk canned*
- 3 tbsp organic coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup organic pumpkin puree
- 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 9 oz dark chocolate morsels Enjoy Life brand*** is my favorite! dairy and soy free
- 1/2 tsp organic coconut oil
Instructions
Make the pumpkin pie caramel filling first:
-
In a saucepan, add the blended coconut milk* and coconut palm sugar and melt, stirring, over low-med heat.
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Continue to cook and stir until the mixture boils (it will begin to caramelize) then simmer over low heat until it becomes thick, syrupy and deep golden brown, then remove from heat (about 5-10 minutes)
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Stir in the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract and mix until blended and smooth. Set aside to chill in the refrigerator while you melt the chocolate.
For the chocolate:
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In a separate saucepan over very low heat, stir the chocolate morsels and coconut oil until melted, smooth, and shiny. Remove from heat.**
Create the cups:
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Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan by lining with muffin liners and spoon melted chocolate into the bottom of each liner. Chill until firm, about 10 minutes.
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Once the bottom is set, spoon a small amount of the chilled caramel mixture over each chocolate bottom (you'll have some leftover caramel)
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Top each cup with a layer of melted chocolate to fully cover the caramel. Repeat for each cup, then return to the refrigerator or freezer to chill until the chocolate is completely firm. The middle caramel filling will remain gooey!
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Serve right away or store covered in the refrigerator for up to one week. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*I refrigerate the can so the water and cream separate, discard half of the water and blend the rest before adding to the recipe
**You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring in between until fully melted, then stir in the coconut oil.
***If you prefer to avoid cane sugar, make your own paleo chocolate using this recipe.
Nutrition
What I Used to Make my Paleo Pumpkin Pie Caramel Cups:
Want more Paleo chocolate treats? Try one of these!
Chocolate Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies
Mocha Almond Fudge {Paleo & Vegan}
Chocolate Caramel Fudge Cups {Paleo & Vegan}
What do you do with leftover canned pumpkin?
Have you ever made flavored caramel?
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These look SO good! I didn’t know it could get better than caramel cups, but you went right ahead and proved me wrong here! I’ve gotta try these!
You’d love them! I definitely a sucker for all things pumpkin spice this time of year 🙂
Your coconut milk caramel is the bomb!!! And I would love adding pumpkin to it and sticking it in a cup of chocolate. They need to sell these along side PB cups for the fall time.
I actually saw something similar after apple picking, of course not nearly Paleo, lol!
I love the drip and of course the caramel spin. You know how to make me actually want some pumpkin. 🙂
Haha! It’s time for pumpkin. Wish the weather would agree 🙂