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This creamy pumpkin cheesecake recipe is the one I make every single Thanksgiving. A buttery graham cracker crust that climbs up the sides of the pan, a silky pumpkin spice filling, and a low and slow water bath bake that keeps the top smooth and crack-free. It’s a creamy, fluffy pumpkin cheesecake that tastes like pumpkin pie and New York cheesecake had the best baby ever!! If you’re looking for the best pumpkin cheesecake recipe for the holidays, this is it.
Quick Look: Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
- 🍰 What it is: A tall graham cracker crust pumpkin cheesecake, baked low and slow in a water bath.
- ⭐ Why it works: Brown sugar, sour cream, and a little cornstarch keep it rich, creamy, and set.
- 💛 Why you’ll love it: Pumpkin pie and cheesecake in one slice, with no cracks on top.
- ⚠️ What to watch for: Mix on low with the paddle. Extra air in the batter is what cracks cheesecake.
- 🍳 Pan notes: A 9-inch springform wrapped tightly in foil, or a pan with a silicone seal.
- ❄️ Make ahead: It needs an overnight chill anyway, so bake it the day before.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A true pumpkin spice cheesecake, with real pumpkin puree and warm spice in every bite
- Brown sugar adds a caramel-y depth that plain white sugar can’t
- Baked in a water bath and cooled slowly, so the top stays smooth
- Made a day ahead, which frees up your oven on Thanksgiving
- Tall, bakery-style crust that makes it look extra luxurious
- A true showstopper (my husband’s uncle literally stopped talking after one bite)
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
- Full-fat brick cream cheese: Use the blocks, not the tub. Brick style gives you that thick, extra creamy texture, and reduced-fat versions bake up grainy.
- Pumpkin puree: Make sure it’s 100% pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling is already sweetened and spiced, so it throws the whole recipe off.
- Granulated sugar + brown sugar: The mix of the two adds an extra depth of flavor you just don’t get from one sugar.
- Sour cream: Adds another layer of creaminess and a little tang that balances all that sweetness.
- Cornstarch: A little insurance. It helps the filling set up smooth and stable.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Store-bought or homemade both work, whatever you have on hand.
Full ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Additions
- Butter: Salted or unsalted both work in the crust.
- Softer crust: Like your pumpkin cheesecake with graham cracker crust on the softer side? Skip pre-baking the crust.
- Smaller cheesecake: Feeding just a few people? My 4-inch cheesecake recipe is the perfect size, or bake the filling as mini pumpkin cheesecakes in a muffin tin.
- Bars instead of slices: For an easier crowd dessert, my caramel pumpkin cheesecake bars are easy to cut and serve.
- Brownie base: Love chocolate with your pumpkin? These pumpkin cheesecake brownies swirl the two together.
How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350°F and wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan tightly with foil. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt, then stir in the melted butter until it looks like wet sand.
- Press and bake the crust. Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pan (that tall crust is what makes it look so fancy). Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven to 325°F.
- Cream the cream cheese and sugars. Using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-low just until smooth.
- Add the eggs. Lower the speed and add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until each one disappears.
- Add the pumpkin. Mix in the pumpkin puree, sour cream, and vanilla until combined.
- Finish the batter. Add the cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and mix on low just until you can’t see any streaks.
- Set up the water bath. Pour the batter over the crust, set the springform pan inside a large roasting pan, and pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the sides.
- Bake low and slow. Bake for 75 to 85 minutes, until the edges are set and the center still has a slight jiggle.
- Cool it slowly. Turn the oven off, prop the door open with a wooden spoon, and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour. Cool to room temperature, then chill at least 8 hours or overnight. (This is the hardest part, I know!)
- Top and slice. Serve it as is, or top it with homemade whipped cream, salted caramel, or both. Slice and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. Cold cream cheese and eggs make lumps, and lumps mean overmixing. Set everything out at least an hour ahead.
- Mix at low speed with the paddle. The whisk beats in air, and air bubbles expand in the oven and crack the top.
- Use boiling water for the water bath. Boil it ahead of time so it doesn’t drop your oven temperature when it goes in.
- Foil, foil, foil. Wrap the pan in a few layers so no water sneaks into the crust. My favorite fix is the USA Pan 9-inch cheesecake pan, which has a silicone band that keeps water out.
- Cool it slowly. That hour in the turned-off oven with the door cracked is what keeps your pumpkin cheesecake smooth on top.
How to Serve Pumpkin Cheesecake
Honestly, it’s that good on its own. But if you want a real showstopper for your Thanksgiving table, here are my favorite ways to dress it up:
- Pipe on homemade whipped cream (it’s in the recipe card).
- Drizzle with my homemade caramel sauce.
- Do both: salted caramel and whipped cream together.
- Top with pecans and caramel for a pecan caramel pumpkin cheesecake.
- Spoon on cooked cinnamon apples for an apple pumpkin cheesecake.
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream if you’re feeling extra.
Building a whole dessert table? This sits perfectly next to a traditional pumpkin pie, a bowl of pumpkin pie dip, and my mini pecan pie cheesecakes. Want something handheld instead? My copycat Crumbl pumpkin pie cookies use a similar cream cheese filling, and these cheesecake stuffed pumpkin cookies hide that same tangy filling right in the center.
Pumpkin Cheesecake FAQs
You can, but this pumpkin cheesecake is much more likely to brown on the edges and crack on top without one. The water bath keeps the heat gentle and even, which is what gives you that smooth, creamy finish.
Your pumpkin cheesecake is done when the edges look set and the center still has a slight jiggle when you gently shake the pan. It finishes setting as it cools and chills overnight.
A pumpkin cheesecake usually cracks from too much air in the batter or from cooling too fast. If it happens, don’t panic! Cover the top with whipped cream and nobody will ever know.
Yes, and you should! Pumpkin cheesecake needs at least 8 hours in the fridge anyway, so bake it a day or two before Thanksgiving. Add the whipped cream right before serving.
Store pumpkin cheesecake covered tightly in the fridge for up to 3 days. The filling holds up longer, but the crust turns soft and soggy, and you want it on the crunchy side. To freeze, wrap it whole or in slices in plastic wrap, then foil, for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Thanksgiving Desserts
If you tried this Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments! I love hearing from you!
Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 2 & 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Pumpkin cheesecake layer
- 24 oz cream cheese full fat brick style, softened, 3 packages
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 15 oz pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
Whipped cream topping (optional)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream cold
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Make the crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Wrap the outside of the pan tightly with foil to keep water from the water bath out.
- In a large bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter and mix until combined.2 & 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool. Lower the oven to 325°F.
Make the cheesecake filling
- Using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until combined. Lower the speed and add the eggs one at a time, mixing until combined.24 oz cream cheese, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 3 large eggs
- Mix in the pumpkin puree, sour cream, and vanilla extract until combined. Add the cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and mix again just to combine.15 oz pumpkin puree, 1/3 cup sour cream, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 3 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 tsp salt
- While the batter mixes, bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Pour the batter into the crust and set the springform pan in a large roasting pan. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, keeping it out of the batter, until it reaches about halfway up the springform pan.
- Bake for 75 to 85 minutes, until the edges are set and the center has a slight jiggle. Turn off the oven, prop the door slightly open with a wooden spoon, and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour.
- Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Make the whipped cream (optional)
- Whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla to stiff peaks.3/4 cup heavy cream, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Serve the cheesecake as is, or top it with whipped cream, salted caramel, or both. Slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m planning on using two 10” Graham cracker pie crusts. They don’t hold as much filling as springforms. (I’m guessing I would need two to use all the filling). How long should I bake for? And would propping oven open be necessary when it’s not as deep of a pie?
Yes, you’ll likely need both pie crusts to fit all the filling. Since pie pans are shallower, I’d start checking around 50-55 minutes – you’re looking for set edges with just a slight jiggle in the center.
You can still prop the oven door open for about 30 minutes to let them cool gradually, even though they’re shallower. This helps prevent cracking!
How long does the filling mix for before putting it in the crust? I mixed until combined but after baking for the time allotted it is still very jiggly
You only need to mix until everything is just combined, over mixing can actually cause cracking issues!
The cheesecake should still have a slight jiggle in the center when you take it out at 75-85 minutes, that’s normal and it will continue setting as it cools in the oven with the door propped open and then in the fridge overnight.
If it’s very jiggly (like liquid), it may need a bit more bake time. Every oven is different, so sometimes it needs an extra 10-15 minutes. The edges should be completely set even if the center jiggles slightly.
How long does the filling mix for before putting it in the crust?
Just wondering if you’re baking it at 325 that’s what you did for the crust but is that what you’re going to bake the cheesecake at? I’m kind of concerned because I’ve already made it and then I saw there was no actual temperature for the baking of the cheesecake.
Hi Karen!
The crust bakes at 350F then the cheesecake filling bakes at 325. Hope this helps!
i love that you put the measurements in with the actual recipe. so many times i have to scroll back up to the ingredient list and then back down to the instructions with a recipe. this is helpful and a timesaver. thank you for being thoughtful. sometimes it’s the little things:)
making this tonight, can’t wait to see how it turns out!
This made my day! Thank you so much for noticing, I do try to make it as easy as possible to follow along without all the scrolling. It’s such a small thing but it really does help when you’re in the middle of baking!
Can’t wait to hear how it turns out! Happy Thanksgiving! 🧡