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 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!
Melody Angeloni
Made this for thanksgiving this year and it instantly became a family favorite
Allison
That’s great to hear! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Kathleen
Did you cut the sugar for biscoff crust, and if so how much did you use?
Allison
Hi, Kathleen. I haven’t tried but if I did I would cut the sugar in the crust by half. Enjoy!
Kyra
I love this recipe so much, i have made it every year for the past 3 years now around xmas time. Everyone loves it ^-^ did the Biscoff cookies this time for the crust as i saw someone recommended it in the comments, and it was amazinggg! Super easy and delicious, 10/10 recommend. <3
Allison
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Tye
I loved these! I keep getting so many requests to make them again!
Allison
I’m so glad. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Tracy Hardesty
Is it necessary to use foil on bottom of pan?
Allison
No. I just like it for easy removal, but feel free to skip it.
Mindy
Hi! I haven’t actually made these yet, but I am wondering if you think the recipe could be doubled?? Or should I just make 2 batches
Allison
Hi, Mindy! I would just make two batches. Enjoy!
Hailey
Can I use parchment paper instead of foil?
Allison
Yes. Or you can skip lining the pan and just lightly grease it with nonstick spray.
Lauren
Amazing recipe! As suggested by other reviews, I swapped the graham crackers with Biscoff cookies and it was sooooo good! Going in the dessert book FOREVER!
Allison
Yay! Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂 Happy baking!
Elicia
Hi! I can’t seem to find pumpkin pie spice. Could I just use cinnamon instead?
Allison
Hi! Yes, you can increase the cinnamon, or you can make the pie spice by using this combination of spices:
3/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t nutmeg
couple pinches of allspice and clove
Enjoy!
Christine Buchanan
If I wanted to use biscoff cookies instead, how many should I use? Also, I was thinking about making these in individual muffin cups. How many would each batch make?
Allison
The crust is made with just over 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs, so I’d recommend a similar amount of biscoff crumbs. You can likely reduce the sugar in the crust by half. I have not tried making this recipe in individual servings, but if I had to guess it would make 14-18.
RJW
These are a hit!
Allison
Yay! I’m so glad!
Mackenzie Plumb
Hi! Could I replace the sour cream with plain greek yogurt? Flavor wise it is the same to me, but I wasn’t sure if texture played a part in that
Allison
I haven’t tried it but I think it would be fine. I’d recommend yogurt with some fat in it, like 2% or 5%, if possible. Enjoy!