The best thing to come out of my pumpkin swirl sourdough bread recipe (besides the bread itself, which is so dang good) was this whipped pumpkin spice spread!

“The flavor of the loaf was incredible. Adding the butter mixture made it out of this world!” —Recipe tester from Wichita, Kansas

I made that butter as somewhat of an afterthought — a way to use up the leftover pumpkin purée. But it became the star of the show, and it definitely deserves its own place on the blog.

You can make this whipped pumpkin spice spread with softened butter, softened cream cheese, or a mix of both.

Here are my favorite ways to use it:

1. A butter base: slathered on a slice of pumpkin swirl sourdough bread
2. A cream cheese base: spread on pumpkin sourdough bagels
3. A half-butter, half-cream cheese base: spread it on pumpkin swirl sourdough bread for a more decadent dessert slice, or use it as frosting for quick breads or even muffins!

I’ll walk you through how to make it, and trust me — it’s super easy. Let’s get into it!

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Why You’ll Love This Whipped Pumpkin Spice Spread

• Testers are obsessed: 169 recipe testers made this spread alongside my pumpkin swirl sourdough bread, and 164 of them loved it. It was one of my favorite parts of the recipe testing process!

“That pumpkin butter spread is to die for!!!” —Recipe tester from Largo, Florida

• Butter or cream cheese, both are winners: 112 testers made it with butter, 58 with cream cheese, and 97% of them loved it. A couple of testers who couldn’t decide went half butter, half cream cheese, with delicious results!

“I made the cream cheese spread, and it was delicious […].” —Recipe tester from Champaign, Illinois

• Uses up leftover pumpkin purée: If you’re making my pumpkin swirl sourdough bread, the 55 g of purée left in the can goes right into this spread. No half-empty can growing mold in the back of your fridge!
• Just 4 simple ingredients: Pumpkin purée, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and butter or cream cheese. That’s it.

How to Make Whipped Pumpkin Spice Spread

Step 1: Cook the pumpkin paste.

In a small saucepan, combine the pumpkin purée, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3–5 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens into a paste and darkens slightly.

This step dissolves the sugar and cooks off some of the purée’s moisture, helping your spread turn out smooth instead of grainy or watery.

Step 2: Let it cool completely.

Transfer the paste to a small bowl and let it cool completely. If it’s still warm, it can soften the butter or cream cheese too much and affect the spread’s texture.

Step 3: Whip it.

Add the softened butter or cream cheese to the cooled paste and choose your mixing method:

1. Whisk it together by hand — my preference, ’cause I don’t want to mess with a handheld mixer.
2. Use an immersion (stick) blender with the whisk attachment — fast and easy, makes a fluffy spread, and leaves just the whisk attachment to wash!
3. Beat it with a hand mixer — another way to get a fluffy spread, but you have to mess with a hand mixer!

Whichever method you choose, mix it until it’s smooth and uniform in color.

Pro tip from a recipe tester: Add a sprinkle of salt on top.

“[T]hat butter with an extra sprinkle of salt was phenomenal.” —Recipe tester from Sacramento, California

How to Use Whipped Pumpkin Spice Spread

I love this pumpkin spread so much, I’d put it on just about anything… but here are some of my favorite ways to use it:

• On a thick slice of pumpkin swirl sourdough bread: This is where it all started, and it’s still my #1. Toast a slice of my pumpkin swirl sourdough bread, let the spread soften and settle into every nook and cranny, and thank me later. Testers who made both were hooked.

“The pumpkin swirl bread was absolutely delicious and could almost be a dessert when paired with the pumpkin butter.” —Recipe tester from Kinnelon, New Jersey

• On any toasted sourdough slice: No pumpkin bread? No problem. This spread is delicious on plain toasted sourdough, too.
• On bagels: The cream cheese version is a match made in heaven with my overnight sourdough pumpkin bagels. They aren’t crazy sweet on their own, so if you want a little extra sweetness, this spread is perfection.
• As a dessert spread: Go half cream cheese, half butter, and you’ve got a rich pumpkin spice spread that turns a slice of pumpkin swirl sourdough bread or quick pumpkin bread into an extra-decadent treat. You could even try it as a twist on traditional carrot cake frosting! It’s tangy, sweet, and spiced.

Here are some photo submissions from recipe testers:

Storing Whipped Pumpkin Spice Spread

Store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

Some testers found it spreadable straight from the fridge, and others preferred it slightly softened. I like to warm mine on my microwave’s soften setting and pull it out a little early so it doesn’t melt.

Conclusion

This simple spread absolutely stole the spotlight from my pumpkin swirl sourdough bread, and I am not mad about it!!

It’s the perfect addition to all sorts of autumn treats, from toasted sourdough and bagels to quick breads and cakes.

So if you have a little pumpkin purée left over, don’t let it go to waste. Whip up this spread instead!

And if you try it, tell me in the comments how you used it. I’m sure there are tons of delicious ideas I haven’t even thought of yet.

Happy baking, friends!!

Other recipes to try:

• Easy Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend Recipe
• Cozy Pumpkin Spice & Maple Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
• The Best Sourdough Brown Bread Recipe (Tested By 340+ Bakers)