This phenomenal Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake has a thick layer of cheesecake, topped with a layer of spiced pumpkin cheesecake, all wrapped in a graham cracker crust! It’s an easy yet fancy looking twist on the classic Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.
Meet Your New Favorite Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
Move over Pumpkin Pie, this year it’s time to try this gorgeously layered Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake! It’s one of our very favorite Fall themed desserts that disappears in seconds once people spy that bottom layer of hidden cheesecake!
Starting from the bottom we have a sweet graham cracker crust — you can use a store bought crust or make your own. Then we have a thick layer of sweet cheesecake that is topped with a second layer of spiced pumpkin cheesecake on top!
The biggest secret to this recipe is that it only takes about 10 minutes to whip this pumpkin pie cheesecake together and get it into the oven. Then it’s just baking and cooling time! This Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake couldn’t be any easier to whip up and is always a crowd favorite!
Cheesecakes Need to Cool – Plan Ahead!
The hardest part about this Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake is waiting for it to cool and then allowing it to completely chill in the refrigerator.
It needs at least an hour to cool completely on the counter before you move it into the fridge. Then it needs to chill for a minimum of 3 hours to fully set up and turn into pumpkin cheesecake heaven.
So if you are counting, it will take 4 hours after baking for this pumpkin pie cheesecake to be ready to eat! But remember, it only takes 10 minutes of actual work to make. So while you need to plan ahead, the actual recipe part is very, very easy.
I know it can be hard to plan ahead, but I usually just bake this Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake the night before and pop it into the fridge before I head off to bed. That way I can sleep through the chilling time and it’s ready to go the next day!
Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Ingredients
Are you ready for this?! You only need SEVEN ingredients for this Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake:
- Cream Cheese
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Eggs
- Pumpkin Puree
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Graham Cracker Crust
Most of the ingredients you probably already have on hand, which makes this recipe even easier. Make sure you purchase the regular, full fat cream cheese for optimum flavor!
Pumpkin Puree vs Pumpkin PIe Filling
Like most pumpkin baking recipes, you want to use pure canned pumpkin puree — not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filing is already sweetened and also has spices in it.
To make sure you have the right one, check the ingredients. The only ingredient you should see listed is pumpkin!
Graham Cracker Cheesecake Crust
You can use a homemade graham cracker crust or a 9 inch store-bought one. It is up to you and how much work you want to do!
Admittedly, I often use a store-bought one out of pure laziness. It’s so easy to grab one and have this pie into the oven in just 10 minutes!
However, if you are a make it all yourself kind of person, below you will find my favorite graham cracker crust recipe to go with this pumpkin cheesecake.
Graham Cracker Crust INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter and cinnamon until well blended .
- Press mixture with your fingers evenly into an 9 inch pie plate.
- Pour pumpkin cheesecake layers, as directed in recipe below, into unbaked graham cracker crust. Bake as directed.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
This recipe is very easy to make with just a few short steps:
Step 1: Start by beating together the cheesecake layer ingredients until smooth.
Step 2: Add 1 1/3 cups of the cheesecake batter to the graham cracker pie crust.
Step 3: Add pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice to the remaining cheesecake batter and whisk until smooth.
Step 4: Pour it on top of the plain cheesecake layer and pop it into the oven — no water bath needed!
Step 5: Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool and then chill for at least 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream on top!
Tips to avoid cracks in your cheesecake!
This Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake does not need a water bath, but there are a few tips to keep it from cracking:
- Make sure you use room temperature cream cheese and add the eggs one at a time.
- Do not over bake. The cheesecake is finished when the center is *just* almost set. It will finish firming up when it chills.
- Lastly, make sure you allow this pumpkin pie cheesecake to cool completely before transferring it to the fridge.
If for some reason you do get a noticeable crack, there are two common solutions to try:
- Allow the cake to cool for a few minutes, then wet your finger with water and try running it along the crack.
- If that doesn’t work, cover it with whip cream and enjoy! In the end, no one cares if it cracked, just that it tastes good!
I can not wait for you all to try this Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake — I just know you are going to love it as much as we do.
My husband is already requesting I make it for Thanksgiving to bring to his families house instead of the traditional pie.
Looking for more great holiday recipes? Here are a few of my top favorites:
- Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe
- Sweet Potato Pie
- Best Green Bean Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Corn Casserole
- Cranberry Relish
- Fried Apples
While this cheesecake looks incredibly impressive, it is actually very EASY to make with simple ingredients.
Please leave a review/comment below letting me know how this pumpkin cheesecake recipe turns out for you!
Easy Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Recipe
This phenomenal Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake has a thick layer of cheesecake, topped with a layer of spiced pumpkin cheesecake, all wrapped in a graham cracker crust!
Ingredients
- 2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 1 (9-inch) graham cracker crust (store bought or homemade)
- whip cream, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined. Blend in eggs one at a time, until smooth.
- Remove 1 1/3 cups of the cheesecake batter and spread it into the bottom of the graham cracker crust; set aside.
- Add the pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice to the remaining cheesecake batter and whisk gently until well combined. Carefully spread the pumpkin layer over the plain cheesecake layer with a spatula.
- Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool (about 1 hour), then refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight.
- Serve with whipped cream, if desired!
Notes
Leftovers: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Make Ahead: Yes, you can make this pumpkin cheesecake ahead of time. Store it wrapped tightly in saran wrap until ready to serve.
Freeze: Yes, you can freeze this cheesecake! Allow to thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 202Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 138mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 3g
Want to Save This Recipe?
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
This cheesecake was really easy and delicious, even though I didn’t achieve the “layered” effect! My batter was pourable not spreadable, and once I poured the pumpkin layer over top, it spread into a circle within the plain batter circle, giving a bullseye effect! Only reason I can think of the batter being too thin, is that in Canada, our cream cheese bricks are 250g which is 8.8 oz, so a bit more cheese than is called for. (But wouldn’t that make the batter thicker?) Otherwise I absolutely followed the recipe. Baked really well, done at 43 minutes, no cracks at all. Family loved it!
Can you use a deep dish pie crust instead of graham cracker?
Yes it should work, be careful the edges or your pie crust don’t burn. You may need to cover them loosely with foil.
Hi, just took my pie out, and it cracked a bit. I baked 46 minutes rather than 40. It didn’t seem set at 40 minutes. What did I do wrong?
Hi Karen, hopefully it set without a crack after it cooled. Usually a crack happens from over baking or from over beating the batter. A trick I learned years ago is to use a finger with a little water on it to help see a crack, if needed.
What pan should I use?
I like to use a ready made crust. If you are making your own crust, many people have had success with using a 9-inch spring form pan.
hi, thanks for the recipe!
it looks delicious. i made it last night. i had a lot of difficultly getting the batter to be totally smooth, there were little lumps in mine. do you have any suggestions for the future about how to fix this issue? also, when you transfer the pie to the fridge, once it’s cooled… do you fridge it in saran wrap or just leave it be for the 3-4 hours it’s setting? thanks for the clarification. happy thanksgiving!
– maia
Hi Maia! If you use a hand mixer or stand mixer and canned pumpkin, the pumpkin mixture should be completely smooth. If it was your cream cheese mixture that was lumpy, that can be caused from not letting your cream cheese soften enough.
I do not wrap mine with Saran Wrap as it cools because I don’t want it to create condensation. Once it is no longer warm, then I wrap it with foil or Saran Wrap! Hope this helps!
This recipe is DIVINE. I just made it for Thanksgiving and we had a slice for breakfast. My pie crust stuck to my glass dish so next time maybe I need to grease it, otherwise, so so so good! My husband said this might be the best pie I’ve ever made, and I make good pie 🙂 haha. Thank you for this recipe!
It says in the description it couldn’t be any easier, but it can. I made a trial a couple weeks ago to make sure it came out ok and I accidentally left the eggs out so I just didn’t bake it. It set up just fine and was so delicious I made 2 for today! I intentionally left the eggs out this time since it worked out last time!
Thank you for this recipe. I have made it 2x with minimal changes. My fiancé is a front line worker in healthcare during this pandemic so I try to make treats for his employees whenever I can. I modified your recipe by adding another package of cream cheese a little more sugar, an additional egg & sprinked a mix of cinnamon, pumpkin spice & confectionery sugar on top. These changes were made the idea of safe eating during a pandemic so instead of a pie I made cupcakes. They came out perfect & were enjoyed by all! Thanks for sharing!
Can we put the pumpkin cheesecake on bottom and the regular cheesecake on top? Or would it collapse?
Hi JR! I haven’t tried swapping them myself, I always do the pumpkin on top because it’s lighter and ok if it browns a little as it bakes since you can’t see it. If you do swap them, let us all know how it turns out.
[…] Easy Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake by the Novice Chef Blog […]
Hi, there! Thank you for this recipe, I LOVE it! I am looking forwards to try it out, but I have a question: do you use the fan in the oven when cooking it?
Thank you very much!
Hi, I’m sorry my oven doesn’t have a fan setting and this isn’t something I have heard of.
Can I use a springform pan instead of a traditional pie dish?
Yes, people have been very successful using a 9 inch spring form pan with a homemade graham cracker crust!
Made this tonight and it was amazing! I cooked it about 15 minutes longer than instructed and it was perfect. I would say use your best judgement for that. I put in it the fridge for about 45 minutes and then we ate it while still warm. SO GOOD! Thanks so much for the recipe!
How do you remove the pie from an aluminum pie tin?! It looks so beautiful on its own. Can’t wait to make this for Friendsgiving!
I used scissors and just carefully cut it away!
Love it! Baked it at 160 °C on a fan assisted oven and turned out great.
[…] Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake by The Novice Chef […]
My first pie ever. I accidentally added an extra egg (3 instead of 2) and it was still pretty darned delicious. I baked it for 43 minutes, just because I was nervous that it wasn’t done enough. Anyway, it turned out great! I’ll definitely be making it again.
How did it go? I just baked it today for 38 minutes and it’s still on the counter cooling and I’m nervous I didn’t bake it enough. Lol
I’ve made this pie several times because my wife absolutely loves it. I always bake it for 43 minutes and it’s turned out great every time. It didn’t crack or anything, so it wasn’t overbaked. I’ve heard pies continue to cook as they cool, so yours should be fine. Let us know how it goes!
Made this for Thanksgiving and my in-laws loved it! Very easy to make, and a lot easier to stomach than a plain pumpkin pie.
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE LEFTOVER CHEESECAKE BATTER???? I am assuming there is leftover batter. I want to make this tomorrow, but not want left over uncooked cheesecake. I really like the look of this……..
There’s no leftover batter, you use it all in the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!
I had a small amount of leftover batter, but not much.
Help! I cooked for 43 min and refrigerated for 5 hrs! The cheesecake part did not set up!
Different dish
I think your nutrition information is way off. I show approx 350 cals per serving. 23 g fat. 30 g carbs.
I just want to know how you managed to get it out of the foil pan.
This looks delicious! Do you think I can double the recipe and bake it in a 9×13 pan and cut it into bars? Thanks
I’m making this for Thanksgiving, instead of a traditional pumpkin pie. I’m excited to try it!
But I do have a question…. Instead of using a pie dish, can I use a springform pan? I have both so if it won’t come out the same, I’ll just use the pie dish. I had planned to the finished cheesecake onto a cake stand, and with the springform, it would be easier.
I would also Luke to use a springform, is the consistency thick enough to stay up? Thank you
I also would love to know the answer to this question!
Did you used a Springform pan?
I know this was last year but I’m making this tonight and was wondering if you ended up making this and used a springform pan?
What size can are you using for the pumpkin purée?
Hi! Thank you for a great recipe! Can you tell me about the size of your pie dish – how many inches/cm in diameter and how deep is it?
I live in Europe, where I can’t find your standard pie pans, so I’ll have to see what I can bake this in 🙂
I only have pumpkin pie purée mix. What is the reason that won’t work over just pumpkin purée? Thank you for your help!
I made this last week and had to drop back to leave a note because it was just so so good. Easy to make, super creamy and flavourful. I really love this recipe
Perfect in every single way! Thank you for sharing this cheesecake recipe!
I’m drooling this is everything I love!
What a delicious dessert for fall! Can’t wait to enjoy this all season long!
Oh my goodness, this looks AHHHMAAAAZING!! I have to try this recipe ASAP!!
I made this for a friendsgiving and everyone LOVED it! It was easy to make, but the layers made it look more impressive.
Love the distinctive layers of this delicious dessert!
the pumpkin cheesecake is delicious.