Pumpkin lovers of all ages will instantly fall in LOVE with these easy-to-make pumpkin cheesecake bars. They are like the lovechild of cheesecake and pumpkin pie!
It is finally Pumpkin season again!
The return of Fall means colorful leaves and cooler air, hot apple cider and wrapping yourself in flannel sheets, big comfy sweaters and spicy cinnamon candles…
But let’s be honest; the return of Fall mostly means eating as much pumpkin as you possibly can – Pumpkin pie, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin spice lattes, Pumpkin Mac & Cheese…
It’s the time of year to stock up on as much canned pumpkin as you can fit in your cart, before everyone else beats you to it!
Could there possibly be a better way to welcome the return of Fall than by making up your own batch of homemade pumpkin cheesecake bars???
The bars can be gluten-free, sugar-free, & vegan.
You can also make them crustless if you want, or you can even use a half recipe of my Gluten Free Pie Crust recipe, as shown.
Another crust option is to go the easy route: pulverize 10 graham cracker sheets in a food processor with 1-2 tbsp oil or buttery spread, then press the crumbs down into a parchment-lined pan before smoothing the filling on top.
If you want to replace the pumpkin with mashed sweet potato, that’s okay too!
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Adapted from my Healthy Cheesecake Recipe
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cheesecake Dream Bars
- 12 oz cream cheese - such as Trader Joes vegan
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup sugar, xylitol, or pure maple syrup
- pinch uncut stevia OR 1 additional tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice or additional cinnamon
- 1 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cornstarch - such as Rapunzel non-GMO
Instructions
Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and your crust of choice unless you’d prefer crustless bars. (I included two crust options earlier in this post.) Set aside. Bring your cream cheese to room temperature or gently warm until easily stir-able. Preheat oven to 350 F. If you have an extra baking pan of any size to spare, fill it halfway with water and place on the lower rack of your oven. (This step can be skipped; it just helps prevent cracking.) Blend together all ingredients until just blended—don’t overblend, which would introduce air into the bars and cause cracking later on. Pour the batter into the first prepared 8×8 pan, smooth out evenly, and place on the middle rack of your oven. Bake 25 minutes, then leave the oven door closed but turn off the oven and let the bars sit in the turned-off oven for another 5 minutes. Take out the still-underbaked bars and let them sit at room temperature for an hour. (Don’t skip this, as putting them straight from the oven to the fridge would cause—you guessed it!—cracking.) Then refrigerate at least 4 hours, during which time they will firm up quite a bit. Slice into bars, and store leftovers in the fridge or even in the freezer if you want to thaw them another day.
Chocolate-Covered Katie Update:
I’m admittedly not good at writing about myself, which is why–as some of you pointed out last week–the “about me” page link we included in the new design was more of an “about the blog” page than one about me. But since the page does say it should be about Katie, I finally updated it over the weekend. Please feel free to let me know what you think!
(P.S. I live alone. I do not own a selfie stick and don’t really like selfies. I am too lazy for remote control timer things. And thus, the mirror selfie. Silly, but it works!)
Hi Katie! I’ve been reading your blog for ages (4 years?!?!) and this is my first time commenting, I think. I love the recipes and this one is EXACTLY what I am looking for right now. I can’t wait to try it! Keep up the good work!
Wow, those look delicious. Pity that my oven is broken and I need to wait until the new one arrives. The bright side is that I’m on a diet… or is it the bright side? xD But seriously, pumpkin isn’t full of calories, right?
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Yum! These look great! I can’t wait to try them, and trust me, it will be soon.
It’s funny you mentioned your pumpkin mac and cheese recipe because not only is it a household favourite, but yesterday the boyfriend and I were looking for canned pumpkin just so we could make it this week 😉
Hey Katie,
I have no words for this one. Pumpkin + cheesecake = two amazing things that must be even more amazing together. Can’t wait to try it!
These look good- but please can you clarify. The photo seems to have a white cream cheesy crust–under the pumpkin mix– but all ingredients were blended together in recipe–and the only crust recipe you have is the gluten free pie crust? which is brown and not the same. So what is the “white crust” — is it the almond flour crust appearing differently? Or a mistake in photos? What did I miss here? Thank you.
Hi, sorry for the confusion! Almond flour can be either brown (like trader joes) or an off-white color (like bobs red mill). Just depends on the type you buy 🙂
What is the rule of thumb with your recipes? Do the calorie counts include the crust? These look fabulous!!!!
If it’s part of the recipe (such as in my nanaimo bars) then crust is included. But here it is optional so not included 🙂
Pumpkin season is the best season! The weather is chilly here today and I’m loving it.
https://whitewallsandwanderlust.wordpress.com/
This looks amazing Katie! I was wondering if you would recommend somehow making a pumpkin cake/pie with silken tofu.. I know you have some cheesecake dips etc but actually baking it? 🙂
I can put it on my list of things to try! I don’t see why you couldn’t bake the dip… if you try it first, let me know! 🙂
Katie~ Your NUTRITION facts link on these Cheesecake Bars won’t open. Can you please fix so we can see nutrition?
I clicked on the link and it worked. Perhaps it has been fixed since you tried.
OMG! These look so good! I can’t wait to try them, and eat them all, as hubby, ridiculously, doesn’t like pumpkin. I know, right?? Thanks for having such a great website!
Also, I have a question… where do you get your nutritional info? Is there a site where you plug all the ingredients in? I’d really love to know, even if I have to pay for it, it would be SO nice to know what I’m eating. Thanks in advance!
Hugs from Canada,
Meghann
Calorie Count
Thanks!!
Can’t wait to try this little pumpkin dessert! I’ve been making your healthy desserts for years. I always take the sugar option in your recipes because I hate stevia. Thanks to your cookbook, I’ve finally decided to try NuNaturals, because you say it’s not bitter. So here goes…. ?
Just in time for my pumpkin obsession to hit an all-time high this year! I’ll be making these this week!
So buttery and wholesome…
Hi Katie, thank you for this blog! I juat made this recipe and it tastes fabulous, only I think I did something wrong about the crust. I cooked it first according to your gluten free crust recioe, I then filled it it with the pumpkin+ cream cheese mix and then baked again according to the recipe. The taste is fine but the crust has cooked a little too much I think, it has gobe brownish and not very easy to to cut :o(
Should I have baked the whole cake and crust at once?Thank you!
Oh no! I am so sorry! Yes, the crust doesn’t need to be pre-baked if using a pie recipe that you bake. I am so sorry for the confusion. I updated that post to hopefully make it more clear. Really truly sorry 🙁
Hi Katie,
I really like your blog, but if I may ask, why do you have “dairy pure milk” advertisements on your blog? I don’t own a blog myself, so I’m not sure how the whole thing works with advertisements, but do you have a say which ones can be displayed on your website? I mean no disrespect Katie, I just had to ask.
Looks and sounds yummy…I am wondering if the calorie count includes the almond-based crust too?
Thanks Katie=)
She states above in another comment: “If it’s part of the recipe (such as in my nanaimo bars) then crust is included. But here it is optional so not included.”
ahh, this recipe makes me want pumpkin pie soo bad! I’m abroad in Nicaragua right now and there is no pumpkin anywhere and it is definitely not fall weather! When I get back to the states I’m making this ASAP!
Love it! Perfect recipe for fall 🙂 Need to try it.
http://thehappyvegangirl.com/
Hey Katie!
I just want to say that I’ve been reading your blog for years, and I love your recipes (especially the chocolate+peanut butter combos).
I loved this one, and so did my coworkers, but most of all, I think I love you! For real, you’re the best.
Xoxo
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Great recipe! And I love your “about Katie” page.