This super creamy and delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake deserves the center spot on your Thanksgiving dessert table!
The Best Pumpkin Cheesecake Ever
For more than a decade, we’ve made this Pumpkin Cheesecake for our family’s Thanksgiving celebrations. It’s SO delicious – we’ve actually started doubling the recipe to make TWO pumpkin cheesecakes since it’s usually the first dessert to get devoured!
It’s so good, we’ve also stopped making traditional pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving dessert. And even a few family members – who have always insisted in the past that they didn’t like pumpkin pie – actually look forward to having this pumpkin cheesecake every year. (Have I convinced you yet?)
Credit for this highly-rated pumpkin cheesecake recipes should go to Paula Deen. It has a buttery graham cracker crust, and the filling has three (yes, three!) packages of cream cheese along with the pumpkin puree, eggs, sour cream, sugar and spices. This is a truly decadent dessert made in heaven!
Bake Cheesecake in a Water Bath to Prevent a Cracked Top
Our version of this Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe changes the cooking method from the original Paula Deen recipe.
We found that baking any kind of cheesecake (including today’s pumpkin version) in a water bath is really the best way to ensure that the top of this creamy cheesecake doesn’t crack when it cools.
Read our post on How to Bake Using a Water Bath here.
Reader Review
“I am on my third holiday making this cheesecake. It’s creamy and delicious and simply the best recipe I have found. I try and save a couple pieces to freeze for later for hubby and I and it’s still as delicious. Thank you for making me the Queen of pumpkin cheesecakes!” -Kismet
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- For the Crust: Graham crackers, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, unsalted butter
- Cream Cheese – Please don’t be tempted to swap in low-fat or fat-free cream cheese in this recipe. Use only the original, full-fat cream cheese.
- Pumpkin Puree – Use the unsweetened canned pumpkin puree, not the pumpkin pie filling that is sweetened and seasoned with spice. You can also make your own following this recipe.
- Eggs
- Sour Cream – Use full-fat sour cream.
- Granulated Sugar
- Spices – Ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves
- All-Purpose Flour
- Vanilla Extract
Cooking Tips & Tricks
Here are a number of tips from years of making this Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe at Thanksgiving time:
- Plan to make your cheesecake(s) the day before Thanksgiving. This dessert needs time to fully chill before slicing for service.
- When preparing your springform pan for the water bath, we find it’s best to use 18-inch wide sheets of aluminum foil rather than two overlapping12-inch sheets of foil. This will prevent any water from seeping in between the sheets of foil and reaching the bottom of the springform pan.
- Also, when preparing your springform pan, be extra careful not to puncture the bottom of the foil.
- When mixing the cream cheese and pumpkin together, make sure the cream cheese is softened to room temperature and beat that until very smooth before mixing in the pumpkin.
- Mix in the pumpkin puree at little at a time and mix it completely with the cream cheese before adding more so there are no little white chunks of cream cheese left in the mixture. Then add the eggs, sour cream, and spices.
- Feel free to serve your pumpkin cheesecake with a dollop of whipped cream on the side.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
This super creamy and delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake deserves the center spot on your Thanksgiving dessert table!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: New England
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
For the filling
- 3 8–ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 15–ounce can pureed pumpkin
- 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare a 9-inch springform pan for baking in a water bath by wrapping the bottom of the pan in a large single sheet of aluminum foil, making sure that the sides of the pan are fully covered by the foil. This is done to prevent the water bath from leaking into the bottom of the springform pan.
- To prepare the crust, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Add melted butter and mix to combine well. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
- To prepare the filling, with a mixer, beat the cream cheese until very smooth. Add pumpkin puree a half cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar, and spices to the cream cheese and pumpkin mixture and mix well to combine. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.
- Pour pumpkin mixture into the prepared springform pan. Spread out evenly.
- Place the springform pan in a baking pan large enough to hold the springform pan and also large enough to allow for water to surround the springform pan. Add about an inch of very hot water to the baking pan so it surrounds the pan.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour. Remove from the oven and the water bath and allow the cheesecake to completely cool to room temperature. (You can leave the cheesecake in the springform pan the entire time it is cooling and chilling.)
- Cover with plastic wrap but do not let the plastic wrap touch the top of the cheesecake or it will stick and peel the top layer. (We put several toothpicks in the top of the cheesecake to stop the plastic wrap from falling down onto the surface.)
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight to firm up.
- When ready to serve, remove the pumpkin cheesecake from the springform pan and cut into slices for serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Pumpkin Cheesecake ahead of time? Yes – in fact, this cheesecake needs at least four hours to set up before serving. We always bake this the day before Thanksgiving.
- How do I store leftovers? Cover and refrigerate for up to four days.
- Can I freeze this cheesecake? Yes, you can freeze it. We suggest either wrapping each slice in plastic wrap (unwrap while still frozen before thawing), or in an airtight freezer container that is the same size as the number slices that you are freezing.
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This post was originally published on A Family Feast in November 2012. The photos have been updated plus a few edits made to the post and recipe.
I am on my third holiday making this cheesecake. It’s creamy and delicious and simply the best recipe I have found. I try and save a couple pieces to freeze for later for hubby and I and still as delicious. Thank you for making me the Queen of pumpkin cheesecakes!
Lol – I LOVE that you are now the Queen of pumpkin cheesecakes! 🙂 Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong here, I’ve made this three times trying to prep for thanksgiving. I don’t care about cracks at this point, I just want it to set in the middle.
The first time I didn’t use a water bath, and cooked it for an hour. It did not set in the middle after refrigerating over night. This time I removed it from the oven just after bake time, let cool for a few hours, then wrapped before refrigerating. The middle was so gooey we turned it into ice cream. I think I also over mixed it, and it puffed up a ton before deflating while cooling, it had a crack around the edges.
The second time, I didn’t use a water bath, but I cooked it for 1 hour 17 min, I let it cool in the oven, with the door held open with a wooden spoon (something someone suggested) then wrapped and refrigerated over night. This one had the crack around the edges and a HUGE crack in the middle, it was totally set, the edges may have been a little over done.
The third time, I used a water bath, yes, hot water as all the steps recommend. I cooked it for 1 hour 30min, let it cool in the oven, wrapped it and let chill over night, and testing it today its maybe even more not set in the middle than the first one. it also cracked around the edges and a little in the middle. What am I doing wrong? I don’t care about the cracks as much as I care about it just being cooked. Everything Ive read says its super important to keep the oven closed till done to maintain the temp, but non of that seems to help.
Hi Heather – I wish I was there with you to help troubleshoot! 🙁 I’m guessing the first time, you didn’t cook it long enough and maybe the second time it was over cooked (and not using the water bath probably caused those cracks), but the third time – cooking for the longest time and still being under-cooked has me stumped too! If you are up for a 4th attempt, I would still do the water bath and bake for as long as it takes to be mostly set up in the middle, but still somewhat jiggly (bot not liquidy) before you turn off the heat. Keep the oven door closed and it will continue to bake to a point where the middle is fully set. After Thanksgiving, you might want to test your oven temperature for accuracy – hang a portable oven thermometer on the rack and set the oven to different temperatures to see if the thermometer matches what the oven is set to. Speaking from experience, we once had a range with an oven that was impossible to bake in – sometimes things came out over done and sometimes things came out under done. A faulty heat sensor was to blame. I hope that helps and I’m sorry you are having issues – especially the day before a major holiday!
Hi Jack and Martha, I can’t wait to try this! When do you remove the springform side? When the cheesecake is cool, or not until serving time? I haven’t used a springform pan in a long time.
Hi Sue! 🙂 Nanny and Aunt Marie talk about you all the time – hope to see you sometime soon! Great question – and I need to update our recipe with that step! We leave the cheesecake in the springform pan until just before serving – it’s much easier to chill with the pan still protecting the outer edges of the cheesecake. We hope you enjoy the cheesecake as much as we do! Martha
In South Africa we don’t have canned pumpkin
How can I use fresh pumpkin?
Hi Pam – You can definitely make pumpkin puree yourself – we have a slow cooker recipe here: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/slow-cooker-pumpkin-puree/ – or, if you don’t have a slow cooker, you can cook this on the stovetop with a little bit of water added to help steam the pumpkin. Hope this helps!
Is it necessary to do the water bath part? I already put the crust in and then read that part, so I can’t line it with foil now.
Hi Kristen – You’ll wrap the foil around the outside of the pan (to prevent water from seeping in to the springform) so it’s not too late to do the water bath. You don’t have to do a water bath but it will help prevent cracking on the top of your baked cheesecake.
I’m curious about covering with plastic wrap so soon – doesn’t it create condensation?
Hi Leslie – Great question. If it is still very hot when you cover the cheesecake, you could get condensation. I can see that 30 minutes might not be enough time to let it cool. I will update the recipe. Thanks for your question!
Looks perfectly creamy! Yummy!
Thanks Medeja! (It certainly is!)
I just saw this recipe and I love pumpkin pie and cheesecake so I’m dying to see what they taste like together, I will definitely comment on what I think about how it tastes after I try it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you so much for the wonderful idea and hopefully you come up with many more wonderful ideas……………………
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do Mary – we make it every year at Thanksgiving time!
I make Pumpkin Cheesecake every year for thanksgiving and I can say I am excited to try your filling because although rich and creamy my filling falls a little flat. As for the crust, I use Pecan Sandies Shortbread Cookies… I’m just not the biggest Graham Cracker person. You should definitely try the pecan Sandies crust and let me know what you think. Love your blog by the way, just discovered it today. That would explain why I am in November’s Recipes in the middle of April.
Thanks Justin! I love Pecan Sandies – and never thought to use them as a crust for this recipe, but it sounds like a great idea! We’ll definitely try that the next time we make this cheesecake! Hoping now that I can find a good occasion to make it before next Thanksgiving! Thanks for visiting our site! Martha
Quick question – when you use the pecan sandies would you still use the rest of the crust ingredients as well?
Hi Tammy – We haven’t tried the Pecan Sandies crust that our reader Justin suggested yet (I am making two of these for Thanksgiving this year and am planning to try his suggestion!). I may cut back just a little on the sugar in the crust since the Pecan Sandies are sweeter than graham crackers…but otherwise, yes, I plan to follow the same general crust recipe! Hope that helps!