If you’re a pumpkin pie fan, you are quickly about to become a pumpkin cheesecake fan! This no bake pumpkin cheesecake recipe requires no baking at all and has all the pumpkin pie flavors. It sits on top of a no-bake graham cracker crust as well! You can view the crust recipe by clicking here. I like to make this recipe around the holidays, and one of the best things about it is that you can free up the oven to make other dishes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
One of my favorite things about this pumpkin cheesecake is that it is so creamy and light. It’s not as heavy and dense as a baked cheesecake, and there’s no water bath needed! It’s a pretty straightforward recipe to make in 3 steps, and then chills to set in the refrigerator. Since it does need a good amount of chilling time, I like to make it and then refrigerate overnight. This ends up being pretty nice on a holiday because you can make it ahead and then forget about it until you need it. The more make-ahead recipes the better, in my opinion!
Three things to bring your cheesecake together
First you will need to make the graham cracker crust. Click here for directions on making this no-bake crust. Once that’s together, you can put it in the freezer and let it chill while you’re making the pumpkin cheesecake filling.
The next step will be making the whipped cream to fold into the pumpkin mixture. Click here to see my post on homemade stabilized whipped cream that you can throw together in 5 minutes. This recipe is thick and holds its shape for a long time, which is perfect for helping this cheesecake set in the refrigerator. Using something softer like Cool Whip may keep it from setting properly.
Finally you will mix all your ingredients for the pumpkin cheesecake mixture, then fold in the whipped cream. From there, pour the pumpkin cheesecake mixture into the graham cracker crust and let it chill for 6-8 hours or overnight. The hardest part about this recipe is just waiting!
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post to see the full instructions for making the graham cracker crust, whipped cream, and the cheesecake mixture.
Equipment you’ll need
How to make this pumpkin cheesecake recipe
Graham cracker crust-
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups of graham cracker crumbs (approx 12 full sized graham crackers)
- 10 Tbsp butter, melted (1 stick plus 2 tbsp)
- 1 Tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 Cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions:
- In a food processor, pulverize the graham crackers into fine crumbs and measure out two cups for the mixing bowl.
- Add the cinnamon, pinch of salt, and sugar, then mix until combined.
- Pour in the melted butter and combine into mixture, making sure everything is coated well by the butter.
- With a pencil, trace the bottom of a 9 inch spring-form pan onto parchment paper to make a circle. Cut out the circle, then place on the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the graham cracker mixture into the pan and press down firmly with the bottom of a measuring cup or fingers.
- Place into the freezer for 45 minutes or refrigerator for at least 1 hour to 1.5 hours.
- If you’d like to bake the crust instead, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) and bake for 10 minutes.
Homemade Whipped Cream-
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp powdered unflavored gelatin
- 4 tsp cold water
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions:
- Mix 1 tsp of gelatin powder and 4 tsp cold water in a small bowl, combine together with fork, then let it “bloom”. The gelatin mixture will turn jelly-like. Then microwave for about 5-10 seconds to bring it to a liquid state. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer with whisk attachment (or hand mixer), add the heavy whipping cream and beat on medium until it reaches soft peaks. Then add the sugar and liquid gelatin at med-low speed. Once incorporated, switch to med-high speed and beat until the cream reaches stiff peaks.
- You can make an additional batch for piping on the top, if desired.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Mixture:
Ingredients:
16 oz cream cheese (two 8 oz packages) room temperature
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions:
- in a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese by itself on medium speed until creamed. Then add the can of pumpkin puree and mix until well combined.
- Once combined, add in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and sugar.
- Then fold in the whipped cream into the pumpkin cheesecake mixture with a spatula. Careful not to over-mix.
- pour mixture into graham cracker crust and chill for at least 6-8 hours or overnight.
- Note: If there are lumps in the mixture, this can be removed by passing through a fine-mesh strainer and a spatula.
Important notes
Make sure the whipped cream is beat until it’s thick with stiff peaks, and careful not to over-mix into the pumpkin cheesecake mixture.
The cheesecake will store for about 3-4 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. It is best eaten right away though.
You can remove lumps in the mixture by passing through a fine-mesh strainer and a spatula.
No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
Equipment
- Food Processor
- 9 Inch Springform Pan
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 2 Cups graham cracker crumbs Approx 12 full graham crackers
- 10 Tbsp butter, melted 1 stick plus 2 tbsp
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Whipped cream
- 1 Cup heavy whipping cream cold
- 1 Tsp gelatin powder
- 4 Tsp cold water
- 1/4 Cup powdered sugar granulated sugar ok too
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
- 16 Oz cream cheese (2 8oz packages) room temperature
- 1 15oz can of pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 Cup Granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 Tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 Tsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- In a food processor, pulverize the graham crackers into fine crumbs and measure out two cups into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar, cinnamon, and pinch of salt, then mix until combined.
- Pour in the melted butter, mixing well to make sure it's incorporated completely into the dry mixture.
- With a pencil, trace the bottom of the springform pan on parchment paper and cut out a circle.
- Place the circle on the bottom of the pan, then pour in the graham cracker mixture.
- Press down firmly with the bottom of a measuring cup or fingers.
- Freeze for 45 minutes.
- If baking the crust instead, bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes. Color should be golden.
Whipped Cream
- Mix 1 tsp gelatin and 4 tsp cold water in a small bowl, combine together with a fork, then let it "bloom".
- Place in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to bring the gelatin to a liquid state. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer with whisk attachment (or hand mixer), add the whipping cream and beat on medium until soft peaks form.
- At med-low speed, add in the sugar and liquid gelatin. One incorporated, bring up to med-high speed and beat until the cream reaches stiff peaks.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
- In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until creamy.
- Add in the can of pumpkin puree and mix until combined.
- Add the sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Beat on medium until ingredients are well incorporated.
- Fold in the whipped cream with a spatula until just combined. Careful not to overmix.
- Pour in the mixture into the graham cracker crust lined pan, then set in the refrigerator (covered with foil or plastic wrap) to chill for at least 6-8 hours. I like to make it the day ahead and let it hang out in the fridge overnight.
Notes
- I like to chill the bowl for the whipped cream to help it set quicker (do not do this for the cheesecake mixture).
- If you don’t have powdered sugar for the whipped cream, granulated sugar works okay too.
- In lieu of a food processor, you can technically use a rolling pin with a Ziploc bag for the graham cracker crumbs. I just don’t recommend it because it won’t crush to fine crumbs, and it takes an excruciatingly long time.
- Press down firmly on the graham cracker base when forming it. It helps to keep it together when freezing.
- To remove any lumps in the cheesecake filling, pass through a fine-mesh strainer with a spatula. To do this, you will stir with the spatula while pressing down into the strainer.
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