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!).
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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
Hi Natasha,
I Love all your wonderful recipes! I’d like to make this pumpkin cheesecake and was wondering if I can use a pre-made graham cracker crust instead of using the springform pan? Or is there too much batter for the pre-made she’ll? This looks delicious! Thanks!
Hi Denise! I haven’t tested that myself to advise. I think it could work with some adjustments but you’ll have to experiment with it. The filling would likely be too to fill just one crust.
I’ve made this so many times and everyone loves it! Do you think I can use this recipe and make mini pumpkin cheesecakes in a muffin tin? Would I have to adjust anything?
Hi Nancy! So glad you love this recipe. I have not tested this in mini versions. I think it could work but you’d have to experiment with it and watch it in the oven.
Hi Natasha. Have been your big fan for many years and love all your recipes. Need your advice. I baked a pumpkin cheesecake last night and it got a big crack, which doesn’t look nice. I have caramel sauce ready but I don’t think it will cover the crack. I already tried this recipe in summer and we all loved it but then it didn’t crack. Don’t remember if I used a steam bath. Anyway, how to hide that crack when serving it tonight? Thank you so much for your advice and for all your amazing recipes and tips.
I meant 5 stars not 4; don’t know how it picked only 4 stars and don’t know how to correct it. If I could, I would have given 10 stars for this pumpkin cheesecake, despite even that crack. It’s delicious and yummy. Thanks for your advice in advance.
That’s so very kind, thank you!
You should really put the water bath in the instructions. It seems like everyone is having issues with it cracking and I would’ve done the water bath had I known. I found out in the comments.
Thank you so much, Natasha! I’m glad you love my recipe! The easiest way to cover the crack would probably be to cover it with whipped cream or another topping.
Hi Natasha
Been making 10’’ vanilla cheesecake for years! I use 2 round metal cake pans half full of water under cheesecake. The steam stops from cracking!!
1 out of 6 may still crack!
FYI
Making your pumpkin cheesecake
next week! I am sure it will be delicious!
Hi Lucu! I hope you love this recipe! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
I made 2 of your pumpkin cheesecakes for Thanksgiving. It disappeared. I used pumpkin purée and 2 tsp. of my pumpkin pie spice. I baked it 45 minutes and left the oven door ajar for an hr. I added Baileys to the whipped topping. I will be using this recipe again😉
Good to know that everyone enjoyed the cheesecakes!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, JF! I’m so glad this was a hit!
This is definitely a keeper. The recipe was easy to follow and the cheesecake was amazing! Flavorful and moist! Brought it to work and got rave reviews there as well. Next time I make it I may substitute ginger snaps for the graham cracker crust!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Chris!
Overall good recipe however WAY too much sugar in it. I cut the sugar in half right off the bat (sugar in pie mix) and no sugar in the crust, graham crackers are sweet as it is. Also your pumpkin spice recipe is missing had to wing it, luckily turned our tasty.
What other pan can be used for this recipe? 8×8? 9×13? Pie pan?
Hi! This is a cheesecake, so it’s best to use a springform pan. I have not made this in an alternative size or pan to advise.
I used 2 9″ pie plates, increased the crust to 2 cups Graham crackers, 8Tbs of butter. the filling is enough as is to fill both pie plates. I cooked for 50 min or until the center of the cake is firm and doesn’t move when lightly jiggled. Delicious recipe!
Thank you for your feedback, Terry! 🙂
This recipe is definitely a keeper! Because of food sensitivies I used lactose-free cream cheese and plant based sour cream (and lactose-free whipping cream) with great results! I also substituted a shortbread crust (didn’t have any graham crackers on hand when I wanted to bake). Rave reviews from everyone who had a piece. Thanks for the recipes – I always know I’ll get good and consistent results from yours.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Maureen! I know our readers will find this helpful!
You need to include metric equivalents or you will discourage the 9/10 of the world who no longer follow the old system. It is painful converting units and this can lead to mistakes by your followers. Please respect.
Hi Steve, thanks for the feedback. You can convert the ingredients to grams in our newer recipes by clicking Metric. However. we have not updated this feature yet on all of our old recipers but we’re hoping to do that.
I usually make your regular cheesecake recipe and it’s perfect every time, this one also uses a water bath where I see this one does not does it make a big difference?
Hi Christina, a water bath helps prevent cracking and browning the cheesecake.
Hi Natasha, I made the pumpkin cheesecake this past Monday. I ended up with enough batter to do two desserts. I only had enough space for one of them to be put in a water bath. The water bath makes all the difference. One came out cracked while the other was intact. This was my first time baking a cheesecake. From now on I will do a water bath. I just wanted to give you my opinion about it.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and you found the perfect version that you love!
Loved the recipe, the family really enjoyed the cheesecake! Everything turned out good except the crust had a bit of a burnt taste to it. I followed the directions, set the temp to 350 which was perfect for the cheesecake. Going forward, should I take the crust out sooner or use a lower temp? Can I bake the crust at the same time as the cheesecake? Thanks
Hi Cindy! Thank you, I’m glad you loved it. Did you use an alternative for the butter? I don’t have an issue with the crust burning but every oven is different and could bake unevenly. A few things to help troubleshoot, I highly recommend using an internal oven thermometer to see if your oven overheats. You may need to adjust the temperature or pull it out a few mins early. Also, be sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven and not too close to the bottom burners. I hope that helps.
Thanks. I followed the directions as listed. I will pull out the crust a few minutes early next time. 🙂
Can I use pure pumpkin for this recipe instead of pumpkin pie filling.€
Hi Joan, I saw a reader shared this comment “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.” I hope that helps!
Cheesecake was perfect. I did use a 10 inch pan for same time. Can leftovers be frozen?
Hi Marie, cheesecakes freeze well; however, I haven’t tested that with this recipe. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe!
Do I need to use pumpkin pie filling or can I use just pumpkin how far ahead can I make this
We used canned pumpkin pie filling which already has the spices and sugar added. You can use pumpkin puree if you’d like bit will need to make some adjustments. Also, it can be refrigerated for several days. I recommend not adding any toppings until the day of, however.
Hi Natasha, I love your recipes! However, I was wondering why you use pumpkin pie mix instead of 100% pumpkin in this cheesecake? Do you have another recipe which uses the pure pumpkin? Thank you!
Hi Cynthia! 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.
I find your response confusing. They make canned pumpkin and canned pumpkin pie filling.
Is there a recipe that you have that uses canned pumpkin, and not a the pie filling?
I’m so excited to make this! Natasha, you are such an inspiration to me and my family. I am always on your website looking at recipes and trying new meals for my family. I honestly cannot think of one thing I have made that they didn’t like. Thank you so much for everything, you’ve made our bellys happy for many years!
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Karen. I’m so glad this was a hit!
I can’t wait to make this!!! My grandsons favorite is pumpkin pie and cheesecake. His birthday is day after thanksgiving. My question is recipe calls for pumpkin PIE filling. My stores only carry canned pure pumpkin.
Am I going to need to add evaporated milk eggs and more sugar? 🤷🏻♀️ Thanks.
Hi Ruth, I saw a reader shared this comment “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.” I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha, I also used 3/4 cup sugar and pure pumpkin puree and, since I forgot to buy sour cream, I used our homemade creme fraiche which gave the cheescake a less dense, more “whipped” texture. It was delicious! But, I will try your exact recipe next time as my (adult) sons like things on the sweeter side. Thank you for a great recipe!
You’re welcome, Monika!
This is the BEST pumpkin cheesecake recipe I’ve tried so far. Natasha, thank you so much for sharing this recipe with the world. Yours is a keeper!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Rose! Thank you for your wonderful review!
My cheese cake was perfect. The the best recipe I’ve used to make a cheese cake. This website has been my go to for many recipes.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Paula! Thank you for your great review!
Can I make this in a 10inch pan? Would I have to double the recipe or just 1.5 it?
Hi TA, I haven’t tested that in a 10-inch pan, but I would watch it closely since it will be a thinner cake and may bake quicker. Doubling it would be too much and it will overflow.