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The Pumpkin Martini recipe is a stunning fall cocktail! It’s cozy and creamy, with pumpkin pie spice and a crunchy graham cracker rim.
Why we love this recipe
Is it fall drink season? Good, because we’ve got the perfect cocktail to add to your repertoire: the Pumpkin Martini! It’s creamy, it’s cozy pie spiced, and it’s made with real pumpkin for the best natural flavor.
Even better, coat the glass rim in crushed graham crackers and you get a hint of crunchy sweet in each sip! This is the best cocktail for impressing your friends for any fall occasion. You can even serve it up as a Pumpkin Pie Martini topped with whipped cream! Alex and I absolutely love this drink, especially for occasions like Halloween and Thanksgiving.
Ingredients in a Pumpkin Martini
The Pumpkin Martini is an autumnal spin on the flavored vodka martini using pumpkin flavors. There are many ways to achieve the flavors of the season, like pumpkin spice syrup or pumpkin liqueur. But for our recipe, we wanted to use the natural flavors: real pumpkin and pumpkin spice! It’s an ideal drink for Halloween or Thanksgiving, or any fall gathering. Here’s what you’ll need for this Pumpkin Martini recipe:
- Vodka
- Heavy cream (or coconut milk)
- Pure maple syrup
- Canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- Pumpkin pie spice (purchased or homemade)
- Vanilla extract
- Graham crackers, for the rim
Prepping the graham cracker rim
The best part of this Pumpkin Martini recipe? The graham cracker rim! Glass rims aren’t just for decoration: they add an important pop of flavor and texture to each sip. Here the graham cracker crumbs add just the right hint of sweetness and crunch. It takes a few minutes to do, but it’s absolutely worth it. Here’s how to do it:
- Crush the graham crackers and add to a plate. You can simply use your fingers to crush them, or use the bottom of a jar or can.
- Add a pool of maple syrup to another plate. This is the glue that will hold on the cracker crumbs.
- Place the outer edge of the glass in the maple and rotate. Repeat with the cracker crumbs. Hold the position of the glass constant and just rotate the stem so you get an even coating. The maple syrup will glue the crumbs to the rim.
Tips for a Pumpkin Martini
Once you’ve got the glass rim prepared, making a Pumpkin Martini is simple. Shake up those ingredients and pour them in the prepared glass! Here are a few tips to review before you jump to the recipe:
- Customize the sweetness to taste. We like this drink with ½ ounce maple syrup, which makes it taste beautifully balanced. With the the graham cracker crust, it’s sweet enough for us! But if you prefer sweet drinks, use either ¾ ounce (for a sweet drink) or 1 ounce (for a very sweet drink).
- Don’t have pure maple syrup? Substitute honey or simple syrup if you like: or even better, try it with brown sugar syrup! It takes just 5 minutes and all you need is brown sugar.
Variation: Pumpkin Pie Martini
Want to make this Pumpkin Martini into a Pumpkin Pie Martini? Simply add whipped cream! Adding a dollop of whipped cream takes it to over-the-top dessert drink status. Here are a few homemade whipped cream recipes to try:
- Classic: Try our Homemade Whipped Cream: fluffy and lightly sweetened!
- Boozy: Top it with Bourbon Whipped Cream for massive flavor
- Dairy Free: Go for Dairy-Free Whipped Cream
Make it dairy free or vegan
Want to make this Pumpkin Martini dairy free? All you have to do is substitute full-fat coconut milk for the heavy cream! It comes out with a slight coconut flavor, but it’s not overwhelming. The coconut fat stands in beautifully for the dairy fat. (Don’t use something like cream of coconut or it will come out too sweet!)
And that’s it! Let us know what you think of this Pumpkin Spice Martini in the comments below.
More pumpkin recipes
Love pumpkin? If you’re here for it this season, here are some the top pumpkin recipes and pumpkin drinks to try:
- Grab a Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Bake up a Perfect Pumpkin Cake, or other Pumpkin Desserts
- Go for cozy Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal, Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes or Pumpkin Waffles
- Try Healthy Pumpkin Bread
- Sip a Pumpkin Smoothie or Pumpkin Spice Coffee
- Make show-stopping Incredible Vegan Pumpkin Pie or Mini Pumpkin Pies
Pumpkin Martini
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
Description
The Pumpkin Martini recipe is a stunning fall cocktail! It’s cozy and creamy, with pumpkin pie spice and a crunchy graham cracker rim.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces* vodka
- ½ ounce heavy cream (or coconut milk, for vegan)
- ½ ounce (to 1 ounce**) pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Graham crackers, for the rim
Instructions
- Prepare the rim: Crush a graham cracker with your fingers, and place it on a plate. On another plate, add a small pool of maple syrup. Run the rim of a martini glass in the maple syrup first, rotating the glass so the rim is evenly coated. Then roll the rim in the crushed graham crackers until evenly coated.
- Shake the drink: Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add a handful of ice and shake until cold. Strain the drink into the prepared martini glass.
Notes
*To convert to tablespoons, 1 ounce = 2 tablespoons.
**½ ounce maple syrup makes a balanced drink (and you’ll still get sweetness from the cracker rim). Use ¾ or 1 ounce maple syrup if you like a very sweet drink. If you don’t have pure maple syrup, try homemade Brown Sugar Syrup (it takes just 5 minutes).
- Category: Drink
- Method: Shaken
- Cuisine: Cocktails
- Diet: Vegetarian
Hi, do you have a homemmade recipe for the pumpkin pure?? I am in the UK and all I can find is canned pie filling
We don’t, sorry!
Can you recommend an appetizer to serve with this?
Thank you!!
Great question! Baked brie could be nice with this; here’s a recipe: https://www.acouplecooks.com/baked-brie/ You could also do something like whipped ricotta with crostini and maybe topped with pomegranate seeds? https://www.acouplecooks.com/whipped-ricotta/
I’m hosting Thanksgiving and wanted to have dueling martinis! To keep it simple for a large group, I need to make the recipes in a large batch – do you think this recipe and your pear martini would work well premixed or do you have any other fall martini recipes that you recommend instead?
Since they both have actual fruit in them they will start to separate if done in a pitcher ahead. The pumpkin would work if you made it in a blender maybe!
Otherwise, you could try the https://www.acouplecooks.com/pomegranate-martini/ or https://www.acouplecooks.com/apple-cider-martini/
Best!
I thought that would probably be my issue – thank you for the other recommendations!! I think the apple cider martini will be perfect!
Hey! Love this concept!! What kind of vodka would you recommend?
We usually use Tito’s.
Can you use tequila or another alcohol substitute or only vodka?
This looks delicious! Do you have any ideas to substitute the vodka? I am hosting a small Halloween get together and we are making various drinks and one of my friends does not drink alcohol. I would love for him to have a great experience as well and am trying to pick options that I can easily make non-alcoholic as well! I was thinking maybe add a bit more pumpkin puree and some more coconut milk but was wondering if you had any other ideas. Thanks in advance (:
I would try cutting the maple syrup and replacing vodka with tonic water. Top off with a bit more tonic water at the end as the bubbles will help the flavor.
Let us know if you have any questions!
Hello, this looks great. I feel like I should have made this years ago!
But does it need to be blended at all? I’m imagining it being chunky in a shaker with the pumpkin. I assume canned pumpkin puree works for this?
It doesn’t need to be blended — it shakes up perfectly creamy! Yes, use canned pumpkin puree; we’ll add a note in the recipe! Hope you enjoy it!