No Bake Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

It's currently that transition season between summer and fall where school is starting, football season is kicking off, and the grocery store is displaying Oktoberfest and Halloween decor, but it's still too hot to turn on my oven most days. I can't lie - I'm excited for pumpkin flavored everything, so to get a jump on fall, I made these delicious No Bake Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes! They're full of pumpkin spice flavors in one creamy, cold bite!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• No oven or water bath is required so you can make this super simple pumpkin cream cheese dessert even on the hottest of days!
• This easy pumpkin pie cheesecake recipe is perfect for any holiday party because you end up with individually portioned little desserts, like my Pumpkin Pie Filled Thumbprint Cookies!
• It's the perfect combination of warm spices, creamy cheesecake, and crispy graham cracker crust.
• It's completely egg free and can be made gluten free with special graham crackers.

Ingredients

• Store-bought graham crackers make the perfect crust because the graham cracker crumbs are extra dry and crispy which allows them to soak up the melted butter. My favorite brand is Honey Maid, but use what you have on hand or your favorite brand.
• Pumpkin puree is what makes this a true pumpkin spice dessert with actual pumpkin flavor. You can find this in the baking aisle of the grocery store, and make sure you grab puree and not pumpkin pie filling!
• Heavy whipping cream is key to this no bake pumpkin cheesecake. You beat it until you make fresh whipped cream which creates the perfect creamy texture for your cheesecake.
• This recipe uses a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves to make a homemade pumpkin pie spice.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Substitutions & Variations

• To make a pumpkin and chocolate variation, substitute in chocolate graham crackers for the crust and mix in mini chocolate chips to the pumpkin cheesecake filling.
• Make a pumpkin chai version of this mini pumpkin cheesecake recipe by swapping out your favorite chai spice mix for the spices in the recipe.
• Swap gingersnap cookies for the graham crackers to make a gingersnap crust.

This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Add the graham crackers, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter to a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Step 2: Press 2 tablespoons of the fine crumbs into the cupcake liners in your muffin tin and freeze while you make the filling.

Step 3: Using the whisk attachment of a stand or hand mixer, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. This is when it's firm enough to hold its shape after lifting the whisks out of the cream.

Step 4: In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt until fully incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

Step 5: Fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin cream cheese mixture until just combined and no streaks remain.

Step 6: Scoop cheesecake filling on top of the frozen graham cracker crusts. Smooth out the top of each cheesecake and refrigerate overnight.

Expert Tips

Tip #1: Use the bottom of a small glass or your fingers to firmly press the graham cracker crust into the base of each cupcake liner.

Tip #2: To check if your whipped cream is in stiff peaks, take the whisk attachment and hold it so the tip faces up. If the peak of the whipped cream folds over itself, it's not quite there. You'll know you've reached stiff peaks when the shape of the whipped cream doesn't change when you turn the whisk upside down.

Tip #3: Your filling will come together the easiest if you use room temperature ingredients. Take out all of the filling ingredients and place on the counter about an hour before you are ready to make your cheesecake. However, the heavy cream should be kept cold.

Tip #4: Whip some extra heavy cream with a little powdered sugar and pipe it on top of the cheesecakes, then sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on top!

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Refrigerator

Place the individual cheesecakes in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Freezing Instructions

These mini pumpkin cheesecakes can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 1 month.

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