This Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie is a combination of a classic pumpkin pie with silky creaminess of a cheesecake. This easy dessert is perfect to serve at holiday dinners or just because you feel like having a pumpkin treat. It’s a classic Pumpkin Pie taken to the next level!
If you need more pies, try my Caramel Apple Pie and a Sweet Potato Pie.
Table of Contents
It’s time for me to re-introduce you to our family favorite pie recipe. When I say “family favorite,” I truly mean it. We all love desserts, especially holiday pies, but this Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie is something special to us.
No matter how much turkey and mashed potatoes we stuff ourselves with on Thanksgiving dinner, we make sure to still have room for this pie. If we didn’t have much room left…well then we wait!
There have been a couple of years where I made a fancy pumpkin cheesecake or another dessert for our holiday dinner and the first thing that everyone mumbled was, “what? No Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie?”I’ve actually been told that I can make any other dessert my heart desires as long as I ALSO make this pie. It’s a good thing that this pie is so easy to whip up.
Easy few minutes of beating the ingredients in a bowl, followed by about 45 minutes of baking, and then cool and chill. Simple steps for a luscious pumpkin dessert.
You will love the soft and smooth texture and creamy pumpkin flavor of this pie. Serve it with some whipped cream and cinnamon on top or even with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
Ingredient Notes
Pumpkin Puree – you can use your favorite store-bought or homemade pumpkin puree. When getting store-bought, make sure to get pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie mix!
Heavy whipping cream – Heavy whipping cream will give you a creamy rich consistency. I do NOT recommend substituting it with anything that has less fat.
Spices – here is where you add the fall flavor to the pie. Use the pumpkin pie spice mix and cinnamon. Pumpkin pie spice usually contains a combination of like ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground allspice, and ground nutmeg.
Cream cheese – for the best results, make sure to use full fat cream cheese.
Pie crust – This is another ingredient that you can choose homemade or store-bought. I do choose store-bought pie crust quite often to save time. If getting a frozen pie shell, make sure to get deep dish pie shell! You can also use refrigerated gluten free pie crust when needed. Pie crust filling is already gluten free!
PRO TIP: note that you can also use pre-made refrigerated pie crust and your own pie baking dish. Make sure to use a deep pie dish to make this pie.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and instructions.
How To Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Pumpkin filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth at medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until it’s light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, beating after each addition.
Add pumpkin puree and dry spices, beat until well blended. Pour in heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and beat well, until everything is smooth and blended.
PRO TIP: Place pie shell on the baking sheet. This will make it easier to place the pie in the oven and take it out.
Baking: Pour filling into the pie shell and make sure it’s spread evenly. (Don’t overfill the pie shell. There will be a little bit of pie filling left over.) Bake for 40-45 minutes (it will be a little jiggly in the middle but set at edges. You can see it in the demo video above.).
Cool and chill: Turn off the oven and open the oven door half way. Let pie sit in the oven for about 10 minutes before taking it out. Let the pie sit on the counter for about an hour to cool down. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Personally, I don’t worry about blind baking the crust in a pumpkin pie. The crust here cooks the same amount of time and the filling so they will be good. Note that the crust will be soft but it should not be under-baked.
Some people do not like the pie crust to be soft and if you do prefer a crispier, flaky crust, then you will want to blind bake it. (You can see my instructions to blind-bake the homemade or refrigerated crust in our Sweet Potato Pie recipe.)
Yes, this is the only way. Just KIDDING! Absolutely not. I use store-bought crust for the ease of it. If you want to make your own homemade pie crust, here is a wonderful recipe that I personally use.
For Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, or any other special even, I like to make homemade crust. Anytime we just feel like having pumpkin cheesecake pie for dinner, I take out a quick, frozen pie shell or a refrigerated pie crust. Just make sure the store-bought one is a deep dish.
So the reason pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, and similar pies crack is due to overbaking. Try to stick to the recommended bake time but also keep an eye on your pie. (Turn on the oven light rather than opening the oven door when possible.) The top of the pie should be slightly jiggly while the outside edges are set. Don’t worry about the slight giggle in the center, it will set.
Tips For Making This Pie
- Make sure not to overfill your pie shell. When using a store-bought deep-dish pie crust, you will have just a little bit of pie filling leftover. Don’t try to squeeze every last drop of pie mixture into the shell because it might overflow as it bakes. This pie filling raises as it bakes, so if it’s overfilled, it will overflow. There will not be much batter leftover, only about 1/2-1/4 cup. (The same applies for the homemade crust because some pie dishes can slightly vary in size.)
- Place filled pie shell on a baking sheet while baking. This will make it easier to place it in the oven and take it out. (This is not needed is you made your own pie crust in a ceramic/glass pie dish.)
- After 40-45 minutes of baking, open the oven door halfway and turn off the oven. Leave the pie in the oven for about 10 minutes before taking it out. This will help with the pie possibly cracking. (Although, if it does crack, don’t stress! It can easily be covered with some whipped cream when served.)
- Cool pie to room temperature and chill in the refrigerator before servings.
- Serve cold with some whipped cream or a side of ice cream.
Storing Instructions
Best way to store this pumpkin cheesecake pie is in the refrigerator. Make sure to cool the pie completely and cover it air-tight with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Properly stored, it will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Some More Recipes To Try
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Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Deep dish pie shell*
- 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice mix
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth at medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until it’s light and fluffy.
- Add pumpkin puree and dry spices, beat until well blended.
- Beat in one egg at a time, beating after each addition.
- Pour in heavy cream and vanilla. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and beat well.
- Place pie shell on the baking sheet. (This will make it easier to place the pie in the oven and take it out.)
- Pour filling into the pie shell and make sure it's spread evenly. (Don't overfill the pie shell. There will be a little bit of pie filling left over.)
- Bake for 40-45 minutes (it will be a little jiggly in the middle but set at edges).
- Turn off the oven and open the oven door half way. Let pie sit in the oven for about 10 minutes before taking it out.
- Cool pie to room temperature and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- Serve it cold. You can serve it with some whipped cream and a side of vanilla ice cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles October 1, 2011!
Kristy says
Hi, I have pumpkin pie mix. how do suggest I adjust the recipe to use it, instead of pumpkin?
lyuba says
Hi Kristy!
Pumpkin pie mix already has some sugar and spice. I’ve never used it before but taste it to see if and how much more sugar and spice you’ll want to add to the pie batter.
I hope you enjoy it!
Larissa says
I don’t cook very well. We are having Thanksgiving at my husbands fire station this year and he loves pumpkin cheese cake. I made mine with the pumpkin in the can. I didn’t know the difference until after, when I was reading the comments. 😳🤦🏻♀️ Anyways, I can’t taste it till tomorrow but usually firefighters eat anything.
Don’t be shy either if you have extra desserts or too much food that isn’t getting eaten. Take it to your nearest station. Those men and women are working, most without seeing their loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving, I’m thankful I can spend it with my family.
lyuba says
Oh I completely agree, I’ve taken baked goods to our fire station several times. If I bake too much, my son and I just take it over there. (Plus he gets to sit in a read fire truck 😉 )
Happy holidays!!
Elaine says
This sounds very good. I was just wondering how far in advance could I make this to store in the fridge for Thanksgiving?
lyuba says
HI Elaine!
You can make it a day or two in advance 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mary Allen says
Can this pumpkin cheesecake be successfully frozen?
lyuba says
HI Mary!
I’ve never actually frozen this pie but you can try follow freezing instructions for freezing a cheesecake.
Here is what I found:
“To freeze, place the cooled cheesecake on a baking pan and freeze, uncovered, until firm. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, wrap it in heavy duty aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag. Seal and return to freezer. It can be frozen for several months. Thaw the cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight.”
April says
oh, i love pumpkin cheesecake pie! we’ll be making this for Thanksgiving!
lyuba says
I’m so happy to hear that! Happy holidays, April!
Leigh says
Too much sugar in this recipe… I would suggest cutting sugar bye one quarter
lyuba says
Hi Leigh!
That’s definitely a personal preference. I don’t like to have too much sugar in desserts either but I never found this cheesecake to be too sweet. But of course, you can cut sugar if like desserts to be just a little sweet.
Ed thompson says
Went to our 3 grocery stores unable to find pumpkin puree using just pumpkin hopefully it works.
Ed says
Made it came out great just to let people know.
lyuba says
Oh, I’m sorry that I didn’t get back to you sooner!
I’m glad that you were able to find it, sometimes store have pumpkin puree in different places.
I also have a recipe to make your own pumpkin puree: https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/all-about-pumpkin-and-homemade-pumpkin-puree/
The only think about homemade vs store bought in the can is that the canned puree is a bit thicker than homemade.
I’m so happy you liked it!!
NANCY ECKART says
Bet this would be good with pumpkin spice creaer in place of the heavy cream…….
lyuba says
Absolutely! I would just may be do half creamer and half heavy cream or cut out some of the sugar. Creamer is usually already sweet so you might end up having too much sugar in the pie. So adjust it to your personal sweetness preference 🙂
Brittany Walters says
Hi! This recipe sounds heavenly!! Question: do you pre-bake your deep dish shell? Also, is the shell you use frozen or fresh? if it’s frozen, what brand do you prefer? – Thanks!
lyuba says
Hi Brittany!
I’m so sorry for the late response! I do not pre-bake the crust. I use a frozen shell and just pour the pumpkin pie mixture into it and bake. I usually use the Pillbury one but it is the one that is most available.
I really hope you like it!!
Mindie Hilton says
I love to made an easy dessert after all that holiday cooking!
Shanda Harris Jefferies says
Hi, I love your recipes, I lost my sweet potatoe cheesecake pie recipes , just wondering can I follow this recipe exactly but use sweet potatoes or would I have to add some more ingredients?
Sarah Grace says
I made these for a fall tea party. Adapted them a tiny bit to make them tiny. LOVED it! 🙂
Jennifer says
Yum!! Such a prefect fall pie!