This pumpkin swirl cheesecake has an easy graham cracker crust, and you don’t have to make two separate cheesecake batters. It can be made traditionally or gluten-free.

It’s a great option for Thanksgiving. For a cheesecake, it’s not that fussy, and it looks great.

I took my Gluten-free Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe, gave it a graham cracker crust (you can use regular graham crackers or gluten-free graham crackers), and split up the cheesecake batter into two.

You leave half of the batter plain for the vanilla batter, and add pumpkin puree, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice to the other half.

Ingredients

I go into detail about most of the cheesecake filling ingredients below, but here’s an overview of what you’ll need.

Please ensure you use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. The filling won’t work in the recipe.

Also, I strongly recommend using canned pumpkin puree. It’s more consistent than homemade puree because homemade varies so much in how thick it is.

But if you have to use homemade – if there’s too much water in your puree, you need to strain it until it resembles canned pumpkin puree. You can see how I did it in my Homemade Pumpkin Puree post.

Can I omit the pumpkin puree? Or use something in its place?

No, the recipe wouldn’t work. Please find a vanilla cheesecake recipe and add pumpkin pie spice if desired.

Or if you want to make an applesauce or banana cheesecake, then look for recipes already calling for them.

Can I use coconut sugar in the filling?

I can’t say for sure without having tried it myself. I do know it’d make the vanilla batter brown. I’m guessing it’d be good taste-wise, but I’d be afraid of it cracking.

Can I omit the pumpkin pie spice?

Yes, but then use at least 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in its place. The amount is just a guess, though. You might want more!

To make 1/2 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

Don’t have any pumpkin pie spice on hand? You can use the below mix in today’s cheesecake recipe.

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice

Sour cream sub?

I love using sour cream in my cheesecakes. It makes them extra creamy and tangy.

I’ve seen people suggest using heavy cream or full-fat Greek yogurt as a substitute for cream cheese in cheesecakes, but I’ve never tried it, much less in this pumpkin swirl cheesecake.

If you’re up for experimenting, you can try it. But be prepared; it might not work! If it’s important that this cheesecake not have cracks, then I wouldn’t risk it.

Egg sub?

There isn’t a good sub for eggs in baked cheesecakes. If you eat dairy but not eggs, I do have this great Eggless Cheesecake.

It uses cornstarch in place of the eggs, but it’s not a direct sub. For example, you can’t use a tablespoon of cornstarch for each egg.

I made additional adjustments to the recipe to achieve the perfect texture and ensure it held together properly. So, it’s not something you’d want to try in today’s recipe.

Can I make it dairy-free or vegan?

This recipe consists mostly of dairy – cream cheese, sour cream, and butter – so I don’t recommend trying it with dairy subs. It’s too much.

For my paleo and vegan readers, I have this amazing Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake, which is still one of my all-time favorites.

How to make it

I’ll let the pictures do the talking! By the way, the full recipe – with measurements and proper directions and all – is at the bottom of this post, before the comment section.

It may be obvious to some, but I’ve been getting so many emails saying that the recipe isn’t there.

Make and bake the crust.

Be careful not to overmix the cheesecake batter! Beating too much can cause cracks.

There’s also a water bath involved that isn’t shown here. I talk about it below.

Do I have to use a water bath?

I always groaned and even rolled my eyes at the thought of cheesecake water baths. And I never bothered with them until the pumpkin cheesecake I based this recipe on, which I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

If you don’t mind your cheesecake looking like the photo below, then you don’t need to do the water bath. My cheesecake looked perfect coming out of the oven but cracked while cooling.

If you’d like your cheesecake to resemble the other photos in this post, you must use a water bath.

I’ve only posted two other full-sized non-vegan cheesecakes: this Keto Cheesecake and this Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake.

I’m not sure if I just had a ton of luck with them or if the difference is that I used keto sweeteners, but they came out looking perfect without a water bath.

This is a great post all about water baths and lots of comparison photos. Once you see photos of a cheesecake being baked with a water bath and then photos of the same cheesecake baked without one, I think you’ll be convinced that it’s a good idea. :)

After using a water bath for the first time, I learned it’s not scary. It’s one of those things that you do once, and then it’s no big deal and super easy. It only adds 5 minutes of prep time.

Note that the photo below isn’t of a graham cracker crust but is of the homemade oatmeal cookie crust I used in my gluten-free pumpkin cheesecake recipe.

Why use a water bath

First of all, a water bath is a pan of hot water that surrounds your cheesecake pan. It buffers the heat, allowing the cheesecake to bake evenly without drying or cracking.

Cheesecake batter is like a custard. Without the extra moisture from the cheesecake bath, a cheesecake can become rubbery in texture. Not always, but sometimes.

The water surrounding the pan won’t get hotter than 212 °F (100 °C), allowing the cheesecake to bake slowly and evenly without burning the top.

Tips for a water bath

Make sure that the pan is deep and wide enough to hold the cheesecake pan.
To prevent water from seeping into a springform pan, wrap it in foil to prevent leakage.
Always use hot water in the water bath. Using cold water would be very bad, as it’d change the oven temperature and bake time.
Don’t add too much water. A cheesecake pan will disperse the water, and you don’t want it to overflow.
Be careful not to splash the water! You really don’t want any water getting into the cheesecake batter, so be careful when filling the pan and placing the cheesecake in the pan inside the bath.

Live outside the US?

If you’re not located in the US, then you probably have a different type of cream cheese than they have in the US. US cream cheese is firm and meant for baking, rather than the kind for toast, like in Europe – and, I believe, the rest of the world.

For 8 ounces (225 grams) of cream cheese, what you do is buy a 300-gram package (if you’re in Europe – the stuff at Aldi, Lidl, etc. works just as well as Philadelphia) and put it in the center of a clean tea towel. Squeeze out the liquid until you have 225 grams of cream cheese.

So for this cheesecake recipe, buy 900 grams of cream cheese and squeeze out the liquid until you have 680 grams of cream cheese left.

If you don’t do this and use the cream cheese as is, then your cheesecake will be too watery and won’t bake through.

You’ll bake it longer, and then it’ll dry out, and you’ll have a lousy cheesecake. It’ll also probably crack.

I’ve tried it. Such a waste of time and money. Just drain it!

Don’t like pumpkin?

Then I would recommend that you not make a pumpkin cheesecake. ;)

If you’ve been tasked to make a pumpkin cheesecake, perhaps by some family members, there’s hope you might like this one!

My photographer said about the original pumpkin cheesecake recipe:

That pumpkin cheesecake is AMAZING! I’m not really a pumpkin or pumpkin spice fan, but that cheesecake might have me changing my mind! The texture is super creamy and not too sweet, just perfect.

It definitely has a nice pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavor, though. So, if you love pumpkin, you can certainly still make this.

If you’d like a pumpkin-free Thanksgiving dessert, check out this beautiful Purple Sweet Potato Pie!

Other pumpkin recipes

If you try out this pumpkin swirl cheesecake, I’d love to hear in the comments below how it came out! Thanks. :)

Categories:

Cheesecakes, Desserts, Fall Recipes, Gluten-free, Gluten-free Cheesecake Recipes, Gluten-free Desserts, Seasonal Recipes, Special Diets, Thanksgiving Recipes, Whole Grain,

5 from 3 votes

6 Comments

Charley says:

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The directions for this recipe were easy to follow and my cheese cake turned out perfectly. The flavor was amazing and it was so pretty. A great addition to our Thanksgiving spread! So many people wanted the recipe! Thank you.

1. Erin says:
  
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  I’m really glad that people liked the cheesecake and that some even wanted the recipe! That’s always a great sign. :) Thanks for your feedback!
  
Marie says:

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I made the GF version and this cheesecake will be on repeat for all my holiday gatherings.

1. Erin says:
  
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  Ooh, I’m so glad to hear that you’ll be making it for future holidays! Thanks for your feedback. :)
  
Portia says:

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I enjoyed making this dessert for Thanksgiving and my entire family loved it! It was super duper creamy and very dreamy. Loved the crust, as well. I’m definitely going to make this again for Christmas. Adding this one up to my regular recipe list. Thank you!

1. Erin says:
  
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  You’re welcome! I’m glad that it was a hit and that you’ll be making it again. :) Thanks so much for your comment!