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This pumpkin cheesecake recipe is easy and has just the right amount of pumpkin flavor. It tastes exactly like a cheesecake that crossed paths with a pumpkin pie – the best of both worlds. The only thing difficult about this cheesecake is waiting for it to cool down so you could eat it!
This pumpkin cheesecake is delicious by itself but is just over-the-top impressive when you add some of that caramel sauce and rum-infused whipped cream. This is the perfect holiday dessert. It’s inspired by Fall, makes your home smell incredible, and will have your dinner guests humming with delight.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 12 whole graham crackers)
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) melted, unsalted butter
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8-ounces each) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (about 9 oz by weight) packed light brown sugar
15 oz canned pumpkin pie mix (use half of the 30 oz can)
4 large eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour *measured correctly
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or make your own)
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp real vanilla extract
Optional Pumpkin Cheesecake Toppings:
1 cup of cold heavy cream beat with 1 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp rum or vanilla
Pumpkin pie spice to dust
Toasted pecans
Caramel sauce – this 8-minute recipe will rock your cheesecake
How to Make a Pie Crust:
Preheat Oven to 350˚F.
1. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 6 Tbsp melted butter. Transfer into a 9-inch springform pan with 3″ tall walls and use a large spoon to press crumbs into the bottom of your springform pan, and going about 1/2″ up the sides of the pan. Bake at 350˚F for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temp.
How to make the Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling:
Preheat Oven to 350˚F.
1. In the bowl of your mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the 3 packages of softened cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar on med speed until light and fluffy and without lumps (5 min), scraping down the bowl once to make sure you don’t have chunks of cream cheese. Tip: brown sugar is considered “packed” when it holds it’s shape as it comes out of the measuring cup.
Have a taste of this cream cheese frosting. It would make a super yummy frosting actually! Just don’t eat too much. You need it for your cheesecake.
2. In a separate bowl, using a whisk, stir together 15 oz pumpkin pie mix, 4 large eggs, 1/4 cup sour cream, 2 Tbsp flour, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Add this mixture to the cheesecake filling and continue mixing on low speed just until well combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
3. Transfer filling into pre-baked crust and bake on the middle rack at 350˚F for 1 hour. Turn off heat, prop the oven door open slightly with a wooden spoon and let cheesecake sit in the oven another 45 min. Then remove from the oven and let cool to room temp before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating. Serve when fully chilled (at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, or overnight).
4. Before serving, carefully remove cheesecake from springform pan by running a blunt knife along the sides of the cheesecake to release from the springform mold. Add desired toppings (see list above) and serve
To Make the Whipped Cream:
Tip: Freeze mixing bowl for 10 minutes to get the best whipped cream results.
1. In a cold mixing bowl, add 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream, 1 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp rum or vanilla. Beat on high speed until fluffy and spreadable. Don’t over-beat or it will turn buttery. It only takes less than 2 min to make fresh whipped cream.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients
The Crust:
The Filling:
- 24 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 15 oz can pumpkin pie mix
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp real vanilla extract
Optional Toppings:
- 1 cup cold heavy cream beat with 1 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp rum or vanilla
- Pumpkin pie spice to dust
- Toasted pecans
- Caramel sauce
Instructions
How to Make the Crust: Preheat Oven to 350˚F.
- Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form.
- In a medium bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 6 Tbsp melted butter. Transfer into a 9-inch springform pan with 3" tall walls and use a large spoon to press crumbs into the bottom of your springform pan, and going about 1/2" up the sides of the pan. Bake at 350˚F for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temp.
How to make the Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling: Preheat Oven to 350˚F.
- In the bowl of your mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the 3 packages of softened cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar on med speed until light and fluffy and without lumps (5 min), scraping down the bowl once to make sure you don't have chunks of cream cheese. Tip: brown sugar is considered "packed" when it holds it's shape as it comes out of the measuring cup.
- Have a taste of this cream cheese frosting. It would make a super yummy frosting actually! Just don't eat too much. You need it for your cheesecake.
- In a separate bowl, using a whisk, stir together 15 oz pumpkin pie mix, 4 large eggs, 1/4 cup sour cream, 2 Tbsp flour, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Add this mixture to the cheesecake filling and continue mixing on low speed just until well combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Transfer filling into pre-baked crust and bake on the middle rack at 350˚F for 1 hour or until slightly wobbly in the center. Turn off heat, prop the oven door open slightly with a wooden spoon and let cheesecake sit in the oven another 45 min. Then remove from the oven and let cool to room temp before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating. Serve when fully chilled (at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, or overnight).
- Before serving, carefully remove cheesecake from springform pan by running a blunt knife along the sides of the cheesecake to release from the springform mold. Add desired toppings (see list above) and serve.
To Make the Whipped Cream:
- Tip: Freeze mixing bowl for 10 minutes to get the best whipped cream results.
- In a cold mixing bowl, add 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream, 1 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp rum or vanilla. Beat on high speed until fluffy and spreadable. Don't over-beat or it will turn buttery. It only takes less than 2 min to make fresh whipped cream.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Oh my! i made this for Thanksgiving and it was the very best part of the whole dinner experience. It is now going to be the most requested dessert from my entire family. Thank yu for sharing.
Wow, lovely to hear that this cheesecake was a huge hit! Thank you also for sharing that with us.
This cheesecake was absolutely delicious. It was so good, it didn’t even need the caramel sauce or rum-infused whipped cream. I decided to make the pumpkin pie spice rather than use store-bought. My only complaint is that the top cracked. I will definitely be making this cheesecake every year from now on. It’s the best pumpkin cheesecake I ever tasted.
Hello Trevor, thank you so much for your awesome feedback. I’m happy to hear that you found your new go-to recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake. Thanks a lot for sharing that with us!
I followed the recipe exactly and ended up with very large, very deep cracks in a plus shape that crossed through the middle of the cake. There was no way it was remotely presentable.
I’ve had cheesecakes with small cracks before and was able to cover with a topping, but this time there was no amount of whipping cream that was going to hide this disaster.
Neither of the previously provided explanations for cracks in the cake applied in my case. I used a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and was very careful not to go on too high of a speed. My oven is calibrated with an oven thermometer and does not run hot.
Sure, it tasted ok, but i have to believe there are recipes that taste as good AND are presentable.
Hi BG, large and deep cracks can indicate overbaking. With cheesecake, it’s also important to let the cheesecake cool slowly which is why we prop the door open with a wooden spoon for the first 45 minutes of cooling then let it cool completely at room temperature. If you try to speed cool it, it will more likely crack. I hope that helps for next time!
Hi there, I haven’t tried the recipe, though I want to make it but the 24 oz of cream cheese are holding me back (never used more than 16 oz before and it’s very expensive where I live). Regarding the cracks, I read somewhere that egg whites could be the cause, and if the recipe calls for 4 eggs in a pie or cheesecake, you may want to use 3 yolks and 1 complete egg. Hope that helps. And Merry Christmas 🙂
A water bath can significantly reduce cracking in cheesecakes as well! I’ve used this recipe twice now with the only difference being the water bath and my cheesecakes came out perfect with no cracks. I would definitely give it a try next time and see if it helps any! 🙂
Best recipe ever! Didn’t change a thing…so creamy & flavorful with perfect texture! Yummy x 100
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Mh!
Outstanding! Made this for Thanksgiving dinner last night, and followed the recipe exactly. Just delicious! Creamy pumpkin, with a drizzle of caramel, and topped with homemade whip and toasted pecans made it beautiful and decadent. I did take one short cut, and purchased a non-traditional Oreo cookie crust. The little bit of chocolate was a nice touch. Thank you so much! Just fantastic! I would recommend that the overall time be adjusted, as it does take 3-4 hours to chill before eating.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Fantastic recipe.
Only change I did was bake in a water bath.
The caramel sauce was awesome. The cheesecake creamy,great texture. Best pumpkin cheesecake ever!
Aaw love it! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe so much.
Yet another successful and delicious recipe from Natasha! This was the hit of out Thanksgiving meal! So creamy and flavorful. I was worried as, despite all my precautions, there still was water in the foil wrap, but I lined the springform with parchment which kept the water out. I was a good girl and followed all instructions, including having a couple of spoonfuls of the cream cheese/brown sugar mix…definitely do not skip that step! Thanks, Natasha! Your recipes are always fabulous!
Love it and I’m glad it turned out great! Thank you for sharing, Sarah. We appreciate this review.
This turned out really good, I did have some cracking on the outer rim but I’m going to cover that with whipped cream. I especially love that you put the measurements of the ingredients in the directions and in the ingredient list. I didn’t have to keep looking back while making it. Such a small detail but so appreciated!!
I’m so glad you found that helpful. Thank you for that feedback and Happy Thanksgiving to you!
I do not have the paddle attachment for a mixer, can I just use a regular mixer? I have never heard of a paddle attachment before.
Hi Taylor, the reason for the paddle attachment is so that it doesn’t incorporate too many air bubbles into the batter, which can cause the cheesecake to crack. Be careful not to beat on too high of a speed. I hope you love it!
In making cheesecakes, I always use a water bath, and in this case, it prevented cratering and cracking. It does slightly increase cooking time, so I went 70 minutes/50 minutes. Some like to use foil to protect the springform…I placed the 9″ springform inside a 10″ tart pan…way better and less leakage. I also broke up inclusion of the spice…added 1/2 into the pumpkin mix, the rest when incorporating with the cream cheese. Note: if not using a pumpkin mix with seasoning, you definitely want to add more spice and sugar. Terrific recipe…crowd pleaser! Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing! I appreciate all of the helpful tips for baking in a water bath. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Would the measurement all be the same if I turned this into pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes?
Hi Tanielle, I haven’t tested this as mini pumpkin cheesecakes, but those can be tricky since they bake faster and if they are overbaked then tend to get caved in. You can see our mini cheesecakes here as a reference for baking instructions.
Hi I’m making this tomorrow morning and just realized you called for pumpkin pie mix not the regular canned pumpkin purée….would that work? Or do I need to go buy the pumpkin pie mix?
Thank you!!
Hi Anna, you can use plain pumpkin puree to substitute and it will still work. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Hi all. Natasha, lovely recipe. My cheesecake also cracked…a lot. But I am sure I overmixed it, as I wanted any bit of cream cheese to be incorporated in. That wasn’t necessary. Next time I will mix to combine, and not mix over and over.
Hi Lynne, I haven’t had that experience but a couple of things could have caused that – make sure to bake on conventional mode and not convection. Also, make sure to mix the mixture at the recommended speed. Whipping on too of speed can incorporate too much air and cause cracks.
Hi, I made this last year and it was an amazing hit!
This year, I am not feeling as confident about the cheesecake. I didn’t take out all the lumps so there are some cheesecake lumps 🙁 I cooked it for one hour and left the door propped open for 45 mins. It’s been sitting out now for 3.5 hours and I put Saran Wrap on top to pop it into the fridge, the Saran Wrap stuck to the top. I then touched the top and it was a bit loose on top and was “wet” on top. Is this something I should be concerned about? I popped it into the fridge for the night.
Hi Tiffany, plastic wrap will stick to the surface of cheesecakes so you want to keep it tight around the baking pan and off of the surface of the cheesecake. Lumps usually indicate that the cream cheese wasn’t softened long enough. I think it will still be ok even with some lumps in the mixture. The cheesecake is supposed to fully set after it is refrigerated so I suggest checking on it in the morning to make sure it is set. It should be slightly wobbly in the center but mostly set when you take it out of the oven. I hope that helps.
Hello. I’d like to make this cheesecake with an egg substitute as my kids have egg allergies. Has anyone used an egg substitute yet to make this cheesecake? If so, which works best (flax, chia or bobs red mill egg substitute)? Appreciate the help in advance!
Hi Nancy, I haven’t tested that to advise on the outcome. I also looked through our reader comments, and there’s no mention of an egg substitute. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hey! I don’t have a wooden spoon to crack open the oven. Is there anything else I could use? Could I just open the door completely? Thanks!
Hi Stephnie, we used a wooden spoon since it won’t damage the door/ oven. You can also use other items like silicon spoons or a towel.
I am making this tonight but I have a pre-made crust I bought. If I use the store-bought crust do I need to place it inside a springform pan?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Nicole, I imagine store-bought may work! I haven’t tested that myself, but I hope you love this recipe!
Help! I’m out of sour cream! What can I use as substitute??
Hi Tiffany, I haven’t tried anything else so I can’t really say. Maybe plain Greek yogurt would be the next best thing?
hi how jiggly will it be once it finishes cooling in the oven?
Hi Sharon, I would let it bake longer if it is too jiggly in the center, but a little jiggle is okay, and it should be set in the fridge.
Can I use cocoanut brown sugar instead of regular sugar? I am just about to start making the recipe for pumpkin cheese cake.
Hi Mary Ann, I haven’t tested that, but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe!