This pumpkin cheesecake is a graham cracker crust topped with a rich and creamy pumpkin cream cheese filling, all baked to golden brown perfection. The perfect make-ahead dessert for Thanksgiving!
When it comes to a holiday meal, there always needs to be a pumpkin dessert on the menu. Some of my favorites include pumpkin meringue pie, pumpkin gooey butter cake, and this super easy pumpkin cheesecake.
You know what’s even better than pumpkin pie? Pumpkin cheesecake. This cheesecake is full of pumpkin flavor. You can even make it up to 3 days before you plan to serve it. This is a must-make Thanksgiving recipe and is perfect with spatchcock turkey, Thanksgiving stuffing and cranberry relish.
I decided to make this recipe after I had something similar at The Cheesecake Factory. If you love The Cheesecake Factory as much as I do, you’ll want to check out my complete collection of 25 Cheesecake Factory Recipes.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Ingredients
To make this delicious pumpkin cheesecake make sure you have graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, flour, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. You can also top the cheesecake with whipped cream and sprinkles.
How Do You Make Pumpkin Cheesecake?
This pumpkin cheesecake recipe starts with a graham cracker crust, which you make by mixing together graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter in a bowl. Press the graham cracker mixture into a springform pan and bake it until it is lightly browned. Place cream cheese and brown sugar in a mixer and beat them until smooth. Add eggs, pumpkin puree, flour, vanilla and spices and mix it all together and pour it into the graham cracker crust. Bake the cheesecake until the filling is set and browned on top. Chill your cheesecake, slice and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- Be sure to use pumpkin puree, and not canned pumpkin pie filling. The pie filling will not work in this recipe. You can also make your own pumpkin puree.
- Add sprinkles them at the last minute before serving to prevent the colors from running into the white whipped cream.
- You can use fresh whipped cream by whipping some lightly sweetened cream, then use a large star tip to pipe a decoration along the outside rim of the cake.
Quick Tip
Your cream cheese should be very soft to keep your batter from getting lumpy. You can microwave your cream cheese for 30 second increments to soften it quickly.
Recipe FAQs
A cheesecake in a 9 inch pan will bake for approximately 50 minutes. You can tell when your cheesecake is done because the edges will be lightly browned and the center just set. This recipe also calls for turning the oven off, then letting the cheesecake sit in the oven for another hour so that it fully sets.
The secret to the best cheesecake is use softened cream cheese for a smooth, creamy cake. Another secret is to leave the cheesecake in a hot oven that has been turned off to finish cooking. Slow cooking the interior provides the perfect texture.
If your cheesecake does crack despite your best efforts, don’t worry! You can still repair it using warm water and an offset spatula. I use this method for fixing cheesecake cracks and it does a pretty good job! You can also simply hide your cracks by piping whipped cream over the affected areas.
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How Do You Keep Cheesecake From Cracking?
There’s nothing worse than pulling your pumpkin cheesecake out of the oven and finding a giant crack in the middle. Sometimes cracking does happen with cheesecakes, but there are measures you can take to avoid cracks.
- Mix your cheesecake as little as possible after you add the eggs to avoid incorporating extra air into the batter.
- Do not open the oven door while your cheesecake is baking. Large temperature fluctuations can cause cracking.
- Do not overbake your cheesecake. The cheesecake is done once the edges are lightly browned and puffy and the center is just set. It’s ok if the center is a bit jiggly, it will firm up as it cools.
Flavor Variations
While this cheesecake is a perfect fall dessert as-is, you can modify it to suit your own taste.
- Nuts: Instead of whipped cream and sprinkles, try chopped pecans or or walnuts.
- Crust: You can swap out the graham cracker crust for a gingersnap crust for an additional hit of spice flavor.
- Sauce: Drizzle some butterscotch or caramel sauce over the top.
- Filling: You can try this recipe with sweet potato puree or acorn squash puree instead of pumpkin puree.
This pumpkin cheesecake is a real show stopper that’s perfect for any fall occasion! I serve it every year for Thanksgiving and everyone loves it!
More Pumpkin Desserts
Pumpkin Dump Cake
55 mins
No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
2 hrs 1 min
Pumpkin Bars
40 mins
Pumpkin Spice Cake
50 mins
Pumpkin Cheesecake Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 7 tablespoons butter melted
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- cooking spray
- whipped cream and sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9″ springform pan with cooking spray.
- Place the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar and butter in a bowl; stir to combine.
- Firmly press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan.
- Place the crust in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown.
- Place the cream cheese and brown sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until completely smooth, 3-4 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Add the pumpkin puree, flour, vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice. Beat until just combined.
- Pour the pumpkin mixture into the baked crust and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for another 60 minutes.
- Run a thin spatula around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen the sides, then place the cheesecake in the fridge. Chill for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days.
- Decorate the cheesecake with whipped cream and sprinkles if desired, then cut into slices and serve.
Notes
- Be sure to use pumpkin puree, and not canned pumpkin pie filling. The pie filling will not work in this recipe. You can also make your own pumpkin puree.
- Your cream cheese should be very soft to keep your batter from getting lumpy. You can microwave your cream cheese for 30 second increments to soften it quickly.
- Add sprinkles them at the last minute before serving to prevent the colors from running into the white whipped cream.
Oh 5 stars! Great post!
This looks and sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing such a great informative post. It’s really helpful and amazing so keep it up! All the best.
WOW ! looks really delicious !!
Just in time before the Halloween! Me and my sister is checking out what to prepare for the coming party and I guess this would perfectly suit to serve as well.
My favorite dessert is cheesecake! I love pumpkin flavor too, from soup to dessert, can’t go wrong!
What a delicious and flavorful dessert! I am everything pumpkin kind of person! Yum!
This looks amazing. I’ve never actually tried pumpkin cheesecake before. I’m glad I saw this because I’ve been wanting to make something with pumpkin and now I can.
I bet I would like this better than the pie 🙂 I always like your nutrition fact section and your post is always informative ☺️
Oh wow that looks really delicious! It’s the perfect dessert for fall.
I am not very fond of cakes and sweets but this pumpkin cheese cake looks delicious and it’s creative I can say. I will make one for myself during this weekend 🙂
I’ve never had pumpkin cheesecake before. This recipe looks divine. I can’t wait to give it a try for my next family gathering.
I bet my daughter would like this as a birthday cake! Her birthday is next week, so I will need to get on this one.
I love pumpkin and I love cheesecake so this is the perfect marriage for me. I’m going to have two thanksgivings this year and this is definitely going to be made at one of them.
My mother in law loves Pumpkin. I can’t wait to make this for Thanksgiving Dinner for her and see what she thinks about this for all the nice things she does for me.
OK now I would never have thought of doing pumpkin cheesecake but what an interesting idea! Of course this is the time of year that pumpkin is perfect for as well.
This is my daughter’s favorite Thanksgiving dessert. I can’t wait to try your recipe to surprise her!
I do love my pumpkin stuff, and I know I love pumpkin cheesecake. I usually get it at the Cheesecake Factory. I’ll have to try and make it on my own.
That is making me so hungry! Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts, and around this time of year, I’m a fan of anything with pumpkin in it. Yum!
We always use a graham cracker crust when making cheese cake. Pumpkin is of course perfect for this time of year
What a beautiful cheesecake and so perfect for fall and/or Thanksgiving. It certainly is a showstopper and looks delicious.
You had me at pumpkin! This cheesecake sounds heavenly. I can’t wait to make one.