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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

One of the easiest and most delicious dessert choices for Thanksgiving (or whenever you are craving a treat) is this amazing pumpkin roll. While the most obvious and common use of canned pumpkin is to make delicious Traditional Pumpkin Pie, there are so many other amazing ways to enjoy cans of pumpkin.

This recipe uses a few more ingredients than pumpkin pie and slightly more intricate techniques to create a thick, doughy, and super sweet dessert that has to be tried to be believed.

For another great Libby recipe, why not make their Libby’s® Famous Pumpkin Pie Recipe? Or try making some delicious Pumpkin Bread / Loaf Recipe instead?

Reader Review

I’m so happy to get this recipe. Thanks

– Luana Zampedri Thompson

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: This recipe uses more intricate techniques, making it moderately challenging
Total Time: The prep for this recipe is a little more in-depth, so the total time should take approximately an hour.
Variations: Although cream cheese frosting has long since been decided as the ultimate topping for anything pumpkin or cinnamon-related, some don’t necessarily love it. The great thing about this recipe is its versatility; you can serve it with almost any sweet, rich glaze, and it will taste amazing. Love maple? Try making a simple maple glaze by mixing 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons each of milk and maple syrup. Mix until creamy and drizzle over your pumpkin roll.
Tools For This Recipe: You will need a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan for baking, a small and large bowl for mixing, wax paper for lining, and a thin cotton kitchen towel.

A close-up of a fork holding a bite of pumpkin roll cake with cream cheese filling, with a slice of the cake on a plate in the background. The cake is rolled and dusted with powdered sugar.

What You’ll Need For Ingredients

Powdered Sugar: Not only is the powdered sugar used for making the filling, but it is also used in this recipe to prevent sticking and is sprinkled over the top if you choose not to make a glaze.

Walnuts: Sprinkled and then rolled up within the jelly roll, these add an excellent crunch to the roll, making it extra delicious.

Cream Cheese: Mixed with powdered sugar, this will give you the most delicious, sweet, tangy cream cheese filling. Karlynn’s Tip: Use cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, a bit of milk, and vanilla to make a glaze for the top of your roll

Libby’s Pure Pumpkin: Not merely a can of pumpkin puree or a pre-mix of pumpkin pie seasonings, but the absolute best way to get quality, sweet, and surprisingly fresh pumpkin without living close to an actual pumpkin farm.

A variety of baking ingredients are arranged on a white marble surface, including eggs, butter, flour, sugar, nuts, spices, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract in small bowls and dishes.

How To Make Libby’s Pumpkin Roll

This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

A glass bowl with flour and spices sits on a marble countertop surrounded by eggs, butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, chopped nuts, pumpkin puree, baking powder, and a metal whisk.

A glass bowl with eggs and sugar sits on a marble counter, surrounded by bowls of ingredients like butter, flour, sugar, nuts, and pumpkin puree, along with a hand mixer, vanilla, and cracked egg shells.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease and line a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan with wax paper. Then, grease and flour the baking paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with ¼ cup of powdered sugar.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a small bowl.
Beat eggs and sugar in a large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin and stir in flour mixture.
Spread the whole mixture evenly into the prepared pan and sprinkle with nuts.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when touched. If using a dark-coloured pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.
Immediately loosen and turn the cake onto the prepared towel, carefully peeling off the paper.
Roll the cake and towel together, starting with the narrow end, and then cool on a wire rack.
Beat the cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth.
Carefully unroll the cake, spread the cream cheese mixture over it, and then reroll.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

A close-up of a sliced pumpkin roll cake with a creamy white filling, topped with powdered sugar and chopped pecans, displayed on a white surface.

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Libby’s Pumpkin Roll

How To Ensure Your Roll Doesn’t Stick: The dough itself is super sticky, thanks to the pumpkin and cream cheese, so it’s easy to get it stuck to everything. The trick is to dust everything with plenty of powdered sugar to help prevent sticking.

A slice of pumpkin roll cake with cream cheese filling sits on a white plate, garnished with chopped walnuts; a fork is beside the cake. In the background are jars of cinnamon and a bowl of walnuts.

Storage Instructions

If you have leftovers, I recommend keeping the glaze separate from the cake until it’s time to serve. If left out, the glaze dries out, and when stored in the fridge, it can turn a bit craggy.

Refrigerator: Due to the cream cheese filling, this cannot be left at room temperature. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Freezer: Wrap well or store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and serving.

More Delicious Dessert Recipes

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie: Light as a feather, spicy pumpkin chiffon pie!
Pumpkin Custard: Learn how to make delicious, creamy homemade pumpkin custard with a decadent buttery brown sugar pecan topping!
Pumpkin Pie Bars: These pumpkin pie bars are the perfect way to feed a crowd with pumpkin pie! A graham cracker crust topped with pumpkin pie filling and sliced into 12 bars.

There you have it, a dessert set to rival the pumpkin pie!

Please try it and let me know how it turns out in the comments below. You know how much I enjoy hearing about your baking adventures.

Happy Baking!

Karlynn

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