Thanksgiving Appetizers With Creamy Dipping Sauce

Crunchy, delicious Thanksgiving appetizers made with real pumpkin and no pumpkin pie spice! Our pumpkin triangles with creamy dipping sauce are the ultimate pre-meal snack when your guests are hangry and the turkey isn't ready. Need more classic finger food ideas? We have a great list of appetizer dishes for you at the end of this post.

Why You Should Make This Thanksgiving Appetizer

It's fast. Savory and simple, our easy thanksgiving appetizers can be ready in thirty minutes or less, with just a third of that requiring the oven. You can even add these to your Thanksgiving menu feast as a side dish!

It's light. When you want something for your family and friends to enjoy before Thanksgiving dinner on turkey day, you definitely don't want to fill them up unless its part of your evil plan to keep all the leftovers for yourself.

It's flexible. Use sweet potato puree or butternut squash instead of pumpkin. Dip in cranberry sauce instead of our homemade honey mustard dipping sauce. Add goat cheese or cream cheese to the puree. You might even enjoy adding caramelized onion or garlic. If you can't find spring roll wrappers, try store-bought puff pastry. You have so many options without changing the basic recipe and approach for easy Thanksgiving appetizers that don't add to your stress.

Ingredients for Thanksgiving Appetizers

• Medium Onion. This is diced and sautéed.
• Maple Syrup. Adds just the right sweetness and flavor.
• Balsamic Vinegar. The secret ingredient that makes it all worthwhile, this is a fantastic acidic balance to cut through the fat and sweetness and make this a mostly savory dish.
• Can of Pumpkin Puree. You want the 100% pumpkin, not the pie filling.
• Spices. You will need turmeric, cinnamon, ground ginger, and cumin.
• Aleppo Pepper. Or Hot Red pepper flakes. This is an optional ingredient that adds heat.
• Spring Roll Wrappers. Do not get egg roll wrappers.
• Avocado Oil. You may also use sunflower oil, or another vegetable oil.

Ingredients for Homemade Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

• Plain Fat-Free Greek Yogurt. Or plain unsweetened plant-based yogurt.
• Fresh Herbs. Chopped Cilantro and Parsley. These herbs add freshness and flavor.
• Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice. Or lemon juice.
• Honey Mustard. If you don't have this, you can make it.
• Dijon Mustard. A good quality Dijon does make a difference.

How to Make these Thanksgiving Appetizers

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large skillet, sauté the diced onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil at medium heat for 5-7 minutes.

Add maple syrup and balsamic vinegar and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, adding a little water if necessary to prevent the onions from burning. Next, add pumpkin puree and spices, stir well so all the ingredients are well incorporated, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

In the meantime, cut each wrapper in 2 even rectangles. Brush each one on both sides with oil. Fold each rectangle in half to form a square. Place about a teaspoon of pumpkin filling in the center and fold the corner diagonally to meet the opposite corner and form a triangle.

Pinch the edges together (don’t worry if they’re not completely sealed) and gently press the filling towards the edges so it’s evenly spread on the triangle. Arrange the triangles on the baking sheet and bake at 375ºF for 10-12 minutes until golden and crunchy.

Making the Homemade Honey Mustard Sauce

Combine cilantro, parsley, lime juice, olive oil, and both mustards in a blender and blend until smooth. In a large bowl, season greek yogurt with salt and pepper. Add herb mixture and mix well until all the ingredients are well combined.

Tips for Easy Thanksgiving Appetizers

1. These pumpkin appetizers are best eaten fresh right out of the oven!
2. To make ahead, make the appetizers, but do not bake them. Freeze them flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once Frozen transfer to a freezer bag.  Bake right before serving.  When baked frozen they may require a couple more minutes in the oven. Just check them carefully, so they don't burn.
3. Using spring roll wrappers as the dough makes these super fast and convenient. Keep a couple extra packages of these in your refrigerator to use throughout the holidays.
4. The filling mixture is also great on crackers.

The Story Behind this Recipe

There are mainly 2 words in my husband’s culinary vocabulary: moist and crunchy. He’ll eat pretty much anything, as long as it’s not dry or soggy. And even though he’s an extremely picky and detail-oriented person in general, when it comes to food, that's pretty much all he needs.

So I’ve realized by now that there is absolutely no need for me to drive myself crazy in the kitchen in order to make him happy. Basically, all I have to do is wrap something in some kind of wrapper (crunchy), fry it, or bake it and make a sauce for it (moist). Easy enough!

Like last night for example. I made him our Middle Eastern Style Grilled Cheese, and made it extra crunchy. He was in heaven.

When Ruth and I came up with these appetizers, I served them for dinner and they were a total hit. Between Lee and the kids, they were gone within minutes. The whole thing!

I'm not surprised though. They really are delicious. Slightly sweet and spicy, easy to eat... And, of course, crunchy.

Just make sure to brush the wrappers well with oil. That way you'll get the crunch without having to fry them!

And the sauce is also key. The acidity of the vinegar, lime, and mustard balances the sweetness of the pumpkin perfectly and the creaminess of the greek yogurt and the freshness of the herbs make it cooling and satisfying.

Hope you enjoy it!

More Thanksgiving Appetizer Recipes

• Pumpkin Apple Turnovers
• Baked Brie with Cranberries and Pecans
• Sweet Onion and Apple Chutney
• Sweet potato Veggie Meatballs
• Seitan Vol au Vents
• Vegan Mac and Cheese Bites
• Spinach and Nut Spread

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