My easy Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe yields a perfectly spiced, creamy cheesecake nestled in a buttery homemade crust. It’s a fan-favorite that looks impressive on a plate, but it is easy to make (no water baths here!).
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Helpful Reader Review
“Hands down the best cheesecake recipe. I will use any excuse, any holiday as an occasion to make this. Everyone in my family loves it.” – Alex ★★★★★
Pumpkin Cheesecake Video
Pumpkin Cheesecake has been one of the most popular recipes on my blog for years (the reviews speak for themselves!) I added a video tutorial and added some great tips to prevent cracks without using a water bath.
Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe mixes Cheesecake (the creamy filling and crunchy buttery crust) with Pumpkin Pie (the iconic pumpkin and fall spices) for the ultimate dessert.
This pumpkin cheesecake is so easy and delicious by itself, but it is just over-the-top impressive when you add some of my easy Butterscotch Sauce or Caramel and rum-infused Whipped Cream. Make this velvety-smooth pumpkin cheesecake up to 5 days ahead for easy holiday entertaining.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Cheesecake Crust
- Crackers – You can buy graham cracker crumbs, or crush 13 whole graham crackers for 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. You can substitute with gingersnap cookies, Vanilla wafers (Nilla Wafers), Shortbread cookies, or Biscoff (speculoos) cookies.
- Add-Ins – unsalted butter, sugar, and cinnamon
Pumpkin Cheesecake Ingredients
For consistent results, use room-temperature ingredients to get that velvety pumpkin cheesecake texture.
- Cream cheese – room temperature – to warm it up quickly, cut the cream cheese into small cubes, place them on a plate, and let sit at room temperature for 15–20 minutes
- Brown sugar – Use packed light brown sugar. “Packed” is when it holds its shape as it comes out of the measuring cup
- Pumpkin puree – I prefer Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin because (see why below). A well-drained homemade pumpkin puree will work. I’ve also tested this with canned pumpkin pie mix with great results.
- Eggs – To quickly bring to room temperature, set eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
- Sour cream – cuts the heaviness of the cream cheese, while giving a creamy texture
- Flour – acts as a stabilizer to give the cheesecake strength and prevent cracking, measure correctly
- Flavorings – Use store-bought or make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice and Vanilla Extract.
Pro Tip:
The best pumpkin filling for my cheesecake recipe is Libby’s brand because other brands tend to be too watery and lighter in color. This is the brand I recommend for all of my pumpkin recipes, from my Pumpkin Roll to Pumpkin Pancakes.
How to Make a Graham Cracker Crust
- Prep – Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form. You could also put graham crackers in a large zip-top bag and use a rolling pin to crush them into fine crumbs.
- Bake – mix the crust ingredients together in a bowl, and then press into a 9-inch springform pan. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet (to catch butter drips), and bake at 350˚F for 8 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Reduce the oven temp to 325˚F.
How to Make a Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Beat the cream cheese and brown sugar for 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed (Now it’s similar to a yummy frosting!)
- Make Pumpkin Filling – Whisk together the remaining filling ingredients, and add them to the cream cheese mixture on low speed until just combined.
- Bake – Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust, then tap it several times on the counter to release any bubbles. Place a loaf pan half-filled with water next to the cheesecake on the center rack and bake for 50-60 minutes. When the edges are set, but the center 3 inches is still wobbly, turn off the oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon to let the cheesecake cool for 30 minutes. Note: If you have a gas oven, you can leave the door closed and turn the oven off since gas ovens cool much faster.
- Chill – Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edges to release tension and cool to room temperature on a rack, then cover and chill for 4 hours, or overnight.
- Serve – Remove the springform pan and slice the cake. The cheesecake itself is not too sweet, so the toppings complement it nicely. I start with a drizzle of Caramel Sauce or Butterscotch Sauce on each slice, pipe on Whipped Cream, and dust with pumpkin spice.
Pro Tip:
I love serving pumpkin cheesecake with festive Rum-infused Whipped Cream (1 cup cream, 2 Tbsp sugar, & 1 tsp of rum instead of vanilla).
How to Prevent Cracks in Pumpkin Cheesecake?
- Reduce bubbles – Avoid overmixing or mixing on high speed, which creates air bubbles, and tap the filled pan on the counter to release air.
- Add water – Adding steam will keep the cheesecake moist to prevent cracks.
- Keep the oven closed – If you open the oven too early or too often, it creates temperature swings, which contribute to cracking.
- Avoid overbaking! This is HUGE – bake until the cheesecake is still wobbly in the center 3″. Since not all ovens are created equal, check for doneness in the last 10 minutes.
- Cool slowly – propping the door open with a wooden spoon prevents sudden temperature changes and prevents cracks.
- Loosen the cheesecake from the pan as soon as it comes out of the oven to reduce tension.
Sometimes, even if you’ve done everything right, you might get a tiny crack. If it does happen, cover the top with Caramel Sauce, Candied Pecans, Ganache, or whipped cream. It will still taste great!
Make-Ahead and Storage
Once the pumpkin cheesecake has cooled to room temperature, cover and chill until cold and fully set (at least 4 hours or overnight).
- To Refrigerate: Keep leftovers tightly covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. It keeps best if stored without toppings.
- Freezing: Tightly wrap the cheesecake in plastic wrap and foil and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and add your toppings just before serving.
Everyone loves my popular pumpkin cheesecake recipe because the cheesecake is velvety and smooth with a buttery graham cracker crust. Top with caramel sauce and homemade whipped cream for the ultimate Thanksgiving dessert!
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, from about 13 whole graham crackers
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
For the Pumpkin Cheesecake:
- 24 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 15 oz pumpkin puree, Libby's brand, or well-drained homemade puree*
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, plus more to dust
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp real vanilla extract
Optional Toppings:
Instructions
Make the Crust:
- Prep – Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form.
- Bake – In a medium bowl, stir together the crust ingredients – graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and 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, going about 1/2" up the sides of the pan. Place on a foil-lined sheet pan to catch any drippings and bake at 350˚F for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
Make the Pumpkin Cheesecake:
- Beat the cream cheese– Preheat to 325°F. In the bowl of your mixer with the paddle attachment, beat softened cream cheese and 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.
- Mix the pumpkin – In a separate bowl, using a whisk, stir together pumpkin puree, eggs, sour cream, flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Add this mixture to the cream cheese filling and continue mixing on low speed just until well combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Bake – Transfer the filling into the pre-baked and cooled crust, and then tap the pan on the counter 15 times to release air bubbles. Place a loaf pan half filled with hot water (steam helps prevent cracks), and your cheesecake on the center rack and bake at 325˚F for 50-60 minutes* or until the edges are set and there is a slight wobble in the center 3" of the cheesecake when you jolt the pan. Turn the oven off and prop the door open with a wooden spoon for 30 minutes to cool slowly. Note: If you have a gas oven, turn the oven off and leave the door closed since gas ovens cool much faster.
- Chill and Serve – Once the cheesecake is out of the oven, run a knife around the edges of the pan (helps release tension), then cool on a rack until room temperature; about 2 hours. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. To serve, carefully remove chilled cheesecake from the springform pan, cut into slices, and add your desired toppings.
Notes
*Bake Times: Not all ovens are created equal so check your cheesecake for doneness before pulling it out of the oven. If your oven doesn’t preheat fully, it may take 60-70 minutes in the oven. Storage and Make-Ahead Tips:
- Make Ahead – bake and cool the cheesecake. Cover tightly and chill for up to 5 days in the fridge. Add toppings when ready to serve.
- Freeze – wrap the chilled cheesecake (I keep it in the mold), or individual slices in plastic wrap and foil, or place in a freezer-safe ziptop bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and add toppings just before serving.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Fall Baking Recipes
Fall always puts me in the mood to bake, so here are a few of my favorite recipes we repeat each year.
- Apple Pie
- Pumpkin Bread
- Mini Pumpkin Pies
- Apple Turnovers
- Baklava
- Carrot Cake
- Apple Crisp
- Baked Apples
- Cinnamon Rolls
I don’t know what went wrong with this cheesecake but it was horrible followed the steps and double triple checked and it tasted like bad baby food
I’ve never had this kind of feedback for this cheesecake before unless there the ingredients, and measurements weren’t followed as stated. You can refer to this article on How to Measure Wet and Dry Ingredients for guide.
I had the same experience the cake wasn’t sweet very bitter and the pumpkin was overpowering
Hi Melissa, this has never been my experience with this cheesecake, and its yielded wonderful results when the recipe is followed. Could it be that something was missed or measured incorrectly? Or did you by chance use pumpkin puree instead of canned pumpkin pie mix? If you used puree, that would have caused this issue. Canned pumpkin pie mix already has the spices and sugar added. You can use pumpkin puree if you’d like bit will need to make some adjustments.
What if I don’t have a food processor?? Can I do this recipe by hand?
Hi Lisa. The food processor helps to get that super fine crumb needed for the crust. You can try to do this by hand. It’s important to try and get a fine crumb so that the crust will come together easily and have a nice tight fit and not fall apart because of the large chunks of graham crackers.
Excelente receta 😍
Muchas Gracias, me encanta esta bien detallada paso a paso 🥰👏🏻
Thank you for the good review!
i made this pumpkin cheesecake in a7″ pan how long should i bake it
Hi Linda. I have not made this in a 7” pan to advise.
This was the perfect easy dessert! The whole family loved it and the whipped cream gave it that extra touch!
That’s wonderful!
I never leave reviews for recipes but this deserves one. I made this multiple times around the holidays and while it did crack, it was absolutely the most delicious cheesecake I ever made (I didn’t have a kitchen aid so I couldn’t use the right attachment which caused the cracking). I don’t even really like pumpkin but this is amazing and a huge hit with everyone, which is why they had me make more. I finally got a kitchen-aid so I can’t wait to make it this year and with no cracks!
I’m so happy to hear this was a hit, Maddie! That’s so great! Thank you for sharing your excellent feedback with us!
Place a big pan of hot water on the bottom rack, and the cheesecake goes on the middle rack, it will never crack and you don’t have to worry about your cake getting wet, I have been making my cheesecake like this for many years it is so easy & perfect every time!!!
First- I love this recipe! It’s delicious!
I’ve made this 3 times so far and I always put a pan underneath to create steam. I don’t do the water bath, just a pan on the lowest shelf. The first time I made it it came out perfect. Zero cracks! Beginners luck? The 2nd and 3rd time in full of cracks around the edges. What am I doing wrong? Over mixing it? I forgot to soften the cream cheese so this time it was cold. Could that be the issue?
Hi Janessa, cold cream cheese could definitely be a culprit. Also, cooling it too quickly or not letting it rest in the oven per the instructions can cause cracks. I hope that helps!
Love this recipe…but I put 3/4 cup sugar instead of the recommended 1 1/2 cups. Also, I use the pure pumpkin from can instead of the pumpkin pie filling, which cuts down on a lot of the sugar.
Hi Kathy! Thank you for sharing that with us. 🙂
I wanted to use pure pumpkin too and was hoping someone on here had tried it. Thanks so much. I am going to make it on Sunday. Did you change any of baking times because of using real pumpkin? Thanks
Hey Kathy! Can I ask how much pure pumpkin you used? Did you just use 15oz? Thanks!
Way to much butter in crust…I used 6tbs and butter out of bottom after cheesecake baked..
Hi Kenny, I haven’t had that occur, did you possibly use fewer crumbs? that could throw the ratio off.
This recipe was amazing! Made it for my moms birthday, first time a cheesecake I made hasn’t cracked while baking! Thank you so much for sharing this with others, it was wonderful!
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Lauren! Happy Birthday to your Mom!
Hello can I use fresh pumpkin for the pumpkin pie cheesecake,if so what do I add to it
Hi Pamela, we prefer the canned for this dessert because it is more concentrated and forms better. If using homemade, be sure it is really well drained.
Wow, thanks for the great recipe Natasha! First time making it for Christmas dinner and my kids and girlfriend loved it… I’ll make it again..
Great to know that it was a huge hit, Paul!
Any idea how I would I adjust this recipe for high altitude?
I don’t have experience with high-altitude baking but you can find more tips on High Altitude Baking HERE.
My favorite recipe! Do you know if I can modify this recipe to a gluten free version? I bought GF pie crust and GF flour but wasn’t sure if the recipe could still be the same if I used those products instead.
I’m so glad this is your favorite, Nicole! Without testing that myself, I can’t recommend it. Maybe someone else has tried making it gluten-free? Thanks in advance!!
Yes! I just finished making this for Christmas. The only modification I did was use gluten free graham crackers.
And gf flour 😉
Left that out on previous comment. I use King Arthur cup for cup.
Hi!! What should I do different if i don’t want to use crust? And how should I alter the baking in a 12 inch pan?
Hi Jennifer, I haven’t tested this without a crust to advise on the outcome. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Hi Natasha! What if I have pumpkin purée but not the pumpkin mix, What should I add to it to resemble the pumpkin mix?
Hi Ty, I have tried this with regular pumpkin puree from a can and it still worked well. The pumpkin pie mix has some additional seasonings in it.
I made this for an early Christmas dinner and it was a hit! I used regular pureed pumpkin instead of pumpkin pie mix and added extra spices to compensate. The step to letting the cheesecake cool in the warm over is critical; mine turned out completely smooth on top and beautiful! Thank you for this recipe.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Brittany! I’m so glad you loved that!
Natasha-
The shelves are bare of Libby’s Pumpkin Mix, I can only find Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin. What should I add to replicate the mix?
Thank you
Hi Liz, I have tried this with regular pumpkin puree from a can and it still worked well. The pumpkin pie mix has some additional seasonings in it.
I made this tonight and like another person there was a huge cross crack in the middle of it. I followed the recipe to a T including adding timers for baking and propping the door open and all that and it’s still giant crack in the middle of it. Do you think that cooking it less would help? And how long should I actually bake it for then if it’s caused by over baking?
Hi Jewel, if you are using a larger pan, you would want to cook it less. Also, make sure you are not baking on convection mode or you would definitely want to make adjustments to temperature and time. Lastly, I highly recommend using an in-oven thermometer to maintain the correct temperature for baking (some ovens run hot, some ovens run cool)
i would recommend also putting in a cup/mini baking dish of water along side) to keep the moisture inside the oven when baking the cake.
Good, but too sweet, even without the topping. I followed the recipe exactly as written and would suggest cutting the brown sugar by 1/3 (just 1 cup instead of 1 1/2). Crust worked out great.
Thanks for your feedback and suggestion.
I tried this recipe out and experimented a little with it, i substituted the canned pumpkin pie mix with 15oz of leftover pumpkin pie filling, which made the batter a bit more liquidy than I would’ve liked and i was using a water bath so I cooked it an extra 20 minutes and after letting it sit with the door open it still seemed a bit too wobbly for me so I baked it for 20 more minutes. I probably over baked it since it ended up with a big crack on that last time in the oven. But in the end it set! And it was the most amazing pumpkin cheesecake I’ve ever had. Next time I’ll try adding some cornstarch to thicken it up and see how that works out! Thank you so much for the recipe!
That is awesome feedback, Jasmine. Thank you for sharing your experience making t his recipe, we appreciate it!