5 Ingredients or Fewer

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

by:
October 28, 2019
4
10 Ratings
No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Photo by Ty Mecham. Prop stylist: Amanda Widis. Food stylist: Amelia Rampe.
  • Prep time 6 hours 45 minutes
  • Makes 16 squares
Author Notes

A Thanksgiving-ready dessert that doesn’t ask you to turn on your oven. (Which, I’m guessing, is already full of turkey, stuffing, and friends.) Pumpkin cheesecake bars are a contemporary classic, but as soon as I started developing this recipe, I found one big catch: To create a structurally sound cheesecake, you need a lot of cream cheese, but if you have too much cream cheese, it totally drowns out the pumpkin flavor. So, how do we find the middle ground? A smidgen of unflavored gelatin. By adding this, we can have the pumpkin-iest flavor possible and a sliceable consistency. Win-win. You’ll notice that, like my no-churn pumpkin ice cream, I skip the pumpkin pie spice here. While a lot of people associate this spice blend (usually with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves) with pumpkin (or really any autumn) desserts, I find it distracting. Pumpkin has a lot more to say, all on its own, than we give it credit for. But: If you can’t imagine a pumpkin cheesecake without it, add it! Figure ½ teaspoon to start. A note about getting the bars out of the pan: If the tender crust starts to bend as you try to pull the bars out, just cut some squares out alongside an exposed edge (so, not one of the edges with the parchment overhang); I learned this trick from one of our food stylists, Samantha Seneviratne. And if one of them cracks, it’ll still be delicious. Serve these very cold. —Emma Laperruque

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
  • Pumpkin cheesecake filling
  • 1 (¼ ounce) packet unflavored gelatin
  • 12 ounces (340 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 pinch kosher salt
  • 1 (15-ounce, 425 grams) can pumpkin puree
  • Graham cracker crust
  • 13 whole (195 grams) graham cracker sheets
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick, 113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Directions
  1. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan (you can also use a 9x9-inch in a pinch) with parchment, so there’s a few inches of overhang on two of the four sides.
  2. Bloom the gelatin for the cheesecake filling: Add the gelatin to ½ cup very hot water, stir to dissolve, then let cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Make the graham cracker crust: Break up the graham cracker sheets into a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the sugar and salt, and pulse a couple times to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse to incorporate, removing the lid to scrape up the bottom as needed. Dump the mixture into the parchment-lined pan, then use a measuring cup (¼ cup works nicely) to firmly press the crumbs into a thin, even crust. Stick in the freezer while you make the filling.
  4. Make the pumpkin cheesecake filling: Wipe out the bowl of the food processor so there are no remaining crumbs. Break the cream cheese into a few big chunks and add these to the food processor. Pulse, scraping down as needed, until smooth. Add the sugar and salt and process, scraping down as needed, until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree and process, scraping down as needed, until smooth. Add the gelatin mixture and process one last time until totally smooth.
  5. Pour the pumpkin cheesecake filling into the frozen crust. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles, then stick in the fridge. Chill for at least 6 hours or until firm.
  6. To remove from the pan, run a knife along the exposed sides, then use the extra parchment to pull up. If the bars resist (or you feel the crust starting to bend), simply cut out a couple squares on one of the exposed sides. Serve very cold.
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Emma Laperruque
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.

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7 Reviews

AddictedToDessert
AddictedToDessert October 11, 2023
my gelatin did no bloom with hot water so I tried cold water. Most recipes bloom in cold water is there a reason hot is required here? Is the gelatin required?
 
Tina F.
Tina F. November 16, 2022
Is there a reason there are no pumpkin spices added to the pumpkin puree cheesecake mixture?
 
P. R.
P. R. December 7, 2021
I made this but swapped the graham crackers for Tate's Gingerbread cookies. This was a bitttt of a mistake because the butter content in gingerbread cookies was very different from the recommended graham crackers. It was still delicious, but the button was pretty buttery (I tried absorbing as much as I could with paper towels before putting the filling in). Next time, I'd do a hybrid of gingerbread cookies and graham crackers or just choose a less buttery cookie.

Also, my parents didn't have their food processor working, so I managed to make the filling with a whisk attachment with no big issues.

Definitely a great no-bake Thanksgiving dessert - would make again!
 
Bruce H.
Bruce H. November 26, 2020
Looks great. Any idea on calories ? Nutrition ?
 
Gypsa
Gypsa November 25, 2020
Made this last night and followed the recipe as is. Kept the squares in the fridge overnight and cut them up in the morning. Everything came together easily. The pumpkin cheesecake filling was divine! I would definitely recommend.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames October 23, 2020
This looks pretty good, but that graham crust seems so, well, ordinary. I'm going to try this using homemade GF speculoos cookies instead, and substituting some finely chopped pecans for part of the butter, and using vegan butter (and vegan cream cheese) for a dairy-free and gluten-free alternative. Stay tuned. ;o)
 
judy
judy October 29, 2019
I am looking forward to trying this. I will use low-fat cream cheese, but otherwise follow. I think it will b nice with a pool of cranberry sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. Thanks for this recipe. I like making cheesecake with gelatin, but had not thought this option.