This is one of my favorite dessert recipes. Ever.
Good ol’ pumpkin pie is always a classic around this time of year (and I love it!) but after many years of the same desserts at Thanksgiving, I was ready for something new. I had heard of pumpkin cheesecake and it seemed like the perfect time to try!
The results did not disappoint! Pumpkin pie cheesecake is now a regular on our holiday table.
Why Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake?
I have a feeling this point doesn’t take much convincing, but if you’ve never tried this combination of pumpkin pie and cheesecake, it’s just how you imagine it… creamy and full of flavor with that hint of warming spices.
It’s also a treat you don’t have to feel guilty about since this is a healthier and lower sugar version of cheesecake.
My kids are pretty good bakers now (thanks to this e-course they did a few years ago), so this is one recipe they tackle a day or two ahead of time while I work on batch cooking the rest of our Thanksgiving meal.
How to Make Grain and Gluten-Free Cheesecake
The first time I made it, I used a fresh Cinderella pumpkin or “old fashioned pumpkin” for this recipe. (It weighed about 25 pounds and barely fit in my oven… #kitchenadventures!)
I roasted the pumpkin in the oven at 325°F for a few hours until it was soft and then peeled the skin off. The flesh was enough to make more than 10 pies/cheesecakes (and some pumpkin lattes to go with it).
Do you need to be crazy like me and use fresh pumpkin to make this recipe? No, certainly not! I keep canned pumpkin on my Thrive Market app order list so the pantry is always stocked. The important thing is to make sure you aren’t using pumpkin with a lot of extra additives, if you can help it.
If you want to skip the can, you can also freeze fresh roasted pumpkin in batches for future baking. Here’s how I freeze food without plastic (as much as possible).
Healthier Grain-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
I originally saw this recipe on a website that is no longer around and adapted it to our tastes. Play around with the stevia and pumpkin spice until it suits your taste! (and check out his blog for some other great recipes!)
I’ve recently found this cheesecake company that offers several different flavors and the cheesecake bites are grain-free, gluten-free and have zero added sugar.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup almonds (or pecans, or hazelnuts)
- 2 TBSP coconut oil (or butter)
- 1 egg
- cinnamon
- honey (or stevia to taste)
Filling
- 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
- 2 TBSP coconut oil
- 2 8 oz pkg cream cheese (room temperature)
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon and a sprinkle each of nutmeg and cloves)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- stevia (or honey, to taste, I used 2 tsp of powdered stevia leaf from the garden)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- For crust, finely powder the nuts in a food processor or blender.
- Mix powdered nuts with coconut oil, egg, cinnamon, and honey or stevia, and use hands to press into bottom of pie pan.
- Put in oven for 10-15 minutes or until crust is slightly toasted.
- For filling, use a blender or immersion blender to mix together the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, cream cheese, eggs, spices, vanilla, and sweetener.
- Pour filling into toasted crust.
- Return to oven and cook for 35-45 minutes or until top doesn’t wiggle in center and starts to slightly crack on sides.
- Remove and let cool.
- Chill at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.
- Add a dollop of coconut whipped cream and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Other Real Food Desserts:
- Grain-Free Pecan Pie Recipe
- Gingerbread Cookies Recipe with Dates & Molasses
- Grain-Free Pumpkin Bread and Muffins
- Healthy Key Lime Pie Recipe
- Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe
- Crock-Pot Cheesecake Recipe
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What is your favorite dessert? Tell me about it below!
You seriously just made my day. I would have never thought to use crushed almonds as the pie crust. Do you think if I leave the cream cheese out for my dairy allergic son it will still taste good. Ohh and my favorite dessert is apple pie 🙂
You could try. I haven’t tried it, but a mixture of ground chia seeds and coconut cream can work well to replace it.
I’m going to make this recipe dairy free by using Kitehill Brand Almond Milk Plain Cream Cheese. I just found it in our local grocery store for the first time last week. It looks, tastes, and acts like real cream cheese.
It comes in an 8oz container.
I just took this to easter dinner with family, and it got rave reviews! Everyone loved it, and my father in law thought I bought it from a bakery! It was just beautiful, too! I’ll post a pic if there’s a piece left… Thanks so much for this!
Unfortunately, I have a tree nut allergy. What would you think about using coconut flour or sunflower seeds to make the crust instead??
absolutely would work. Sunflower seeds would work fine, or you could find a recipe for a coconut flour crust (just pre-bake). You can actually leave the crust out all together in this recipe.. I’ve done it when I’m out of almonds and it tastes just as good 🙂
I’m putting this on our Christmas menu since I missed it for Thanksgiving!
Made a similar recipe sans crust and used sugar, but we cut back on the amount by about half. It certainly wasn’t the sweetest cheesecake, but I think the lack of sweet let the pumpkin and cheese flavors come through. It was gone in a day, anyhow!
Katie, Re: Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
I am using Honeyville almond flour for the crust. Would I use same amount as 1 cup of almonds? Also, your stevia from garden is it green? I recently bought the green powdered stevia.It has a very earthy taste and smell.Would it be okay to use this.I also have Sweetleaf liquid vanilla creme stevia.Which do you feel would be better? Thanks so much!
Sorry… been meaning to reply to your email and am swamped this week. Yep, the almond flour should work in equal amounts. The stevia in the garden is green and you can use the powdered version (just know it will slightly affect the color). though the vanilla creme would probably be better in the cheesecake!
We did not like it with the stevia.Gave an odd taste but I did use the vanilla creme.I will try again real soon with honey or sucanat. Any tips to get the cream cheese to completely mix in.I let it sit out for quite awhile and it seemed to be real close to room temp. but it did not mix well when using a hand mixer.
Try using an immersion blender or a blender if you have one. I use an immersion blender for pretty much everything and it seemed to work great.
I have been waiting for this since you mentioned it !!!!
At this time we are not doing “treats” because we have been wheat free for two months and still adjusting and losing weight. Some day we will be regulated and ready for occasional goodies. Although we are not missing any of the bread, cookies, crackers, cake etc. We are so pleased with how well we are feeling. But I will save this recipe and will indeed make it some day. Sounds great.
FYI…You left cream cheese out of the instructions! This sounds delish! I’m going to make one soon. 🙂
Step # 5 shows you where and when about the cream cheese.
This looks so delicious! Thank you! I recently made your pumpkin latte recipe and took it to the office with me and after adding a little sweetner to the individual cups per each person’s taste, everyone loved it.