These swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars feature the flavors of pumpkin pie and creamy cheesecake on a graham cracker crust. This is a delicious and crowd-pleasing holiday dessert that is way easier than making traditional cheesecake.
There are Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars in my fridge and I can’t think straight because I want to be nibbling on them constantly. How many cheesecake bars is it acceptable for an adult woman to consume in one day? Asking for a friend.
I fell in love with cream cheese-pumpkin combo when I made my Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake. This recipe has a similar flavor profile, but it tastes more like a traditional cheesecake. These bars have been met with rave reviews and I can’t wait for you to make and share them this holiday season.
Prefer traditional cheesecake bars (no pumpkin)? That recipe is here: Cheesecake Bars.
Recipe overview:
- Graham cracker crust: A mixture of graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. This delicious crust is sweet, buttery, and incredibly easy.
- Filling: A combination of vanilla cheesecake batter and pumpkin cheesecake batter are swirled together to create a creamy and flavorful filling.
- Baking: This recipe bakes in a 9×13 pan, for a total of about 50 minutes.
- Cooling: These cheesecake bars will need to cool completely before cutting and serving. Cool them to room temp, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill completely.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Flavor: A combination of buttery crust, sweet and tangy cheesecake, pumpkin, warm spices, and a touch of vanilla.
Ease: A simple press-in graham cracker crust crust and a filling that comes together in minutes.
Quantity: This recipe makes a 9×13 pan of bars – perfect for feeding a crowd.
Recipe tips
- Use full-fat cream cheese and sour cream for ths recipe. Low-fat alternatives can have stabilizers in them that might affect the texture.
- Make sure you buy pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling (which is already sweetened).
- Don’t overbeat the cheesecake batter. If you add too much air it can crack when it is baking.
- You need to allow at least 8 hours for this cheesecake to cool. It should first cool to room temp, then chill completely in the refrigerator.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Out of sour cream? Try one of these Sour Cream Substitutes.
More pumpkin recipes
Pumpkin Bars – Soft cake-like bars topped with brown butter frosting.
Pumpkin Muffins – Moist pumpkin muffins topped with a brown sugar crumble and cinnamon icing.
Pumpkin Pie Bars – Creamy pumpkin pie filling on top of a shortbread crust.
Pumpkin Pudding Cake – Pumpkin cake that bakes with a brown sugar caramel sauce.
Pumpkin Carrot Cake – A delicious layer cake with cream cheese frosting.
Pumpkin Ice Cream – Super creamy no-churn ice cream that tastes likes pumpkin pie with whipped cream.
Recipe
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 15 whole rectangular graham crackers
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
- 1-¼ cups pumpkin puree
- 1-½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1-½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- Three 8-oz packages full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1-⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1-½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup full fat sour cream
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 baking pan with foil and lightly grease the foil.
Crust:
- Place the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor and process until the graham crackers are in fine crumbs (you should have just over 2 cups of crumbs). In a separate bowl, combine crumbs, sugar, and melted butter and stir until combined. Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan and press it into an even layer (I use the back of a measuring cup).
- Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes until it is just beginning to turn golden brown and fragrant. Place the crust on a wire rack to cool slightly while you make the filling.
Filling:
- In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, spices, and flour. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla, sour cream, and salt, and beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, and turning off the mixer as soon as the last egg is fully incorporated.
- Measure out 1-½ cups of the cream cheese mixture and add it to the reserved pumpkin mixture, stirring until combined.
- Alternate scoops of cream cheese filling and the pumpkin filling all over the top of the crust. Use a sharp knife to drag/swirl the two mixtures together (I do figure eights). Be careful not to drag the knife all the way down into the crust.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 35-45 minutes, until the center still has a very slight jiggle but the edges are set. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill (this will take several hours).
Video
Notes
- Use full-fat cream cheese and sour cream for ths recipe. Low-fat alternatives can have stabilizers in them that might affect the texture.
- Make sure you buy pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling (which is already sweetened).
- Don’t overbeat the cheesecake batter. If you add too much air it can crack when it is baking.
- You need to allow at least 8 hours for this cheesecake to cool. It should first cool to room temp, then chill completely in the refrigerator.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or the freezer for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Taylor
Do you just take the parchment paper or foil out of the pan to cool on the wire rack? Like will it stay in its form and go back in? Do you have to do that step or would it be fine to just leave in the pan?
Allison
Hi! You’re leaving it in the pan until completely chilled. Sorry that wasn’t clear. Enjoy!
Teagan
Yummy! I am only so young and I made them perfectly because of your perfect instructions.
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Hannah
Do you think it would still be good if I didn’t add the pumpkin pie spice? Would you suggest adding more cinnamon?
Allison
I highly recommend it, but if you don’t have it you’ll definitely need to add more cinnamon. An extra teaspoon should be fine.
Sydney
Can you make these in muffin tins? would that change the bake time different?
Allison
The bake time will need to be reduced and I’d recommend using liners for easy removal. You can use this recipe for guidance on bake time: https://celebratingsweets.com/mini-cheesecake-recipe/
Alyssa
I completely forgot to put foil on my pan & I just greased it. It’s now baking in the oven. Should I adjust the temp or timing? 😭
Allison
No need to adjust, it will be fine. Enjoy!
Paloma
Hello, can the pumpkin pie spice be omitted? I did see on another recipe of yours that you can substitute with ginger, cinnamon & spice but can it be omitted completely.
Allison
It definitely helps add the “pumpkin pie” flavor, so if you omit it that will be missing. I’d increase the cinnamon if omitting the pie spice.
syd
sooo delicious, was a hit at thanksgiving!! i topped it with extra graham cracker and ginger snap crumbles will make again next year!
Allison
Great idea! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Kandy
If I froze these, how would I thaw them to eat them? Loved the recipe! Did half biscoff cookies and graham crackers for the crust and added vanilla bean paste instead of extract. Can’t wait to make it again!!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’d freeze it already cut into individual servings and thaw in the fridge overnight. 🙂
Melissa
Delicious! It was a Thanksgiving hit!
Allison
I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Nylah
I just made this recipe and made it exactly per instructions. It is fantastic. I don’t like a strong pumpkin flavor and cutting it with the cream cheese mixture was perfect. Will definitely make it again! Spraying the foil made it super easy once cooled in the fridge to remove the foil and easily slide the cake off the foil onto a cutting board!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂