If you’ve ever tried my easy cheesecake pie, you know what to expect with this pumpkin cheesecake pie variation. This tastes just like regular pumpkin cheesecake, but takes a fraction of the time, and there’s no water bath needed! The smooth & creamy spiced filling pairs perfectly with a sweet Biscoff crumb crust and fresh whipped cream.
One reader, Amanda, commented: “I’ve made this twice—for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone loved it! The instructions are easy to follow, and it doesn’t take long at all. Will be on regular rotation. ★★★★★”
This pumpkin cheesecake pie is for all of us who love pumpkin pie and cheesecake, but don’t have the time and energy for either. I feel like I’m talking to a lot of people with this one! 😉
What’s Different From Regular Pumpkin Cheesecake?
Have you tried my cheesecake pie before? It’s like regular cheesecake, only a little smaller. We’re making the same thing here today, but adding some seasonal flavors and spices. This recipe is like my pumpkin swirl cheesecake, but scaled down to fit in a pie dish (and sans the swirl).
I also have a caramel apple cheesecake pie recipe, if you’re in the mood for apples.
Because this filling isn’t as tall as a regular cheesecake, and only uses 2 eggs, you can skip the cheesecake water bath. This means all those fussy steps we take when making a traditional cheesecake—baking it in a water bath, cooling it in the oven, exceptionally long chilling times, plus the possibility of large cracks on the surface—those rules don’t apply to a smaller cheesecake pie!
Start With a 2-Ingredient Biscoff Crumb Crust
While you can absolutely make this pie with a graham cracker crust, taste testers (and I, personally) went ga-ga (the official term) over this pumpkin cheesecake pie’s Biscoff pie crust.
If you’re not familiar with Biscoff cookies (AKA speculoos), they’re a European biscuit (AKA crispy crunchy cookie) with a distinctive caramelized, cinnamon-spiced flavor. Which makes for an absolutely perfect flavor pairing with this pumpkin cheesecake pie filling. We use a similar crust layer in these pumpkin pies in a jar. You can find Biscoff in the cookie aisle of most major grocery stores.
The steps to make the Biscoff crust are exactly the same as a graham cracker crust, minus the added sugar, and it conveniently uses exactly one standard-size package of Biscoff biscuits/cookies. A food processor is best for breaking down the cookies into fine crumbs. I have a separate post about making a Biscoff pie crust if you want to read more.
Press the mixture into a pie dish, then pre-bake it for 10 minutes before adding the filling.
Grab These Ingredients for the Pumpkin Filling:
- Bricks of Cream Cheese: Make sure you’re using bricks of full-fat cream cheese and not the cream cheese in a tub you would use for spreading on bagels. The same rule applies for making cream cheese frosting.
- Brown Sugar: You’ll love that this pumpkin cheesecake filling isn’t overly sweet. Using brown sugar gives the filling a little more flavor from those molasses undertones.
- Heavy Cream: This smooths out the filling so it tastes creamy. You only need 2 Tablespoons, so use the rest of the carton to make whipped cream to go on top of the pie.
- Vanilla Extract: A must.
- Lemon Juice: A teensy splash of lemon juice adds brightness and depth of flavor; trust me, you want that little bit of tang here.
- Spices: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom. I usually use cloves when making pumpkin pie, but I *love* a dash of cardamom here for something a little different. As always, a pinch of black pepper deepens the spice flavor—it’s my secret ingredient in many of my best pumpkin dessert recipes.
- Eggs: A main ingredient in any baked cheesecake, to help it set up. Want an egg-free option? Try my no-bake pumpkin cheesecake instead.
Mix up the filling, spread it into the warm pre-baked crust, then bake.
Cool, Chill, & Serve
You know how you have to wait a few hours for a regular cheesecake to cool and then you have to wait another 4+ hours for it to chill in the refrigerator? You’re doing the same thing here, only in a fraction of the time! The pumpkin cheesecake pie cools for about 1 hour at room temperature (no need to let it cool in the oven like we do with classic cheesecake recipes) and then chills for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. This is a great make-ahead dessert.
I always love a little garnish on cheesecake, and I recommend a simple topping of homemade whipped cream with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. I used Ateco 849 piping tip for piping the whipped cream around the border of the pictured pie.
The pie would also taste amazing with a drizzle of salted caramel sauce, or even some sparkly sugared cranberries!
In Short, Here’s Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
- Velvety-smooth tangy-sweet pumpkin cheesecake filling
- Deliciously spiced with buttery 2-ingredient Biscoff cookie crust
- Batter and crust come together quickly
- Bakes and cools much faster than a regular cheesecake
- Great make-ahead dessert recipe
- Pumpkin pie meets cheesecake… do I really need to say any more?
This recipe is part of Sally’s Pie Week, an annual tradition where I share a handful of new recipes that fit into the pie/crisp/tart category. Join the community below!
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Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes (includes crust)
- Total Time: 4 hours, 10 minutes
- Yield: one 9-inch pie
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
If you’ve ever tried my easy cheesecake pie, you know what to expect with this pumpkin cheesecake pie variation. This is just like regular pumpkin cheesecake, but takes a fraction of the time, and there’s no water bath needed! The smooth & creamy spiced filling pairs perfectly with a sweet Biscoff crumb crust and fresh whipped cream. The cooled pie must chill for at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days). This is a great make-ahead dessert.
Ingredients
Biscoff Crust
- 32 Biscoff cookies (8.8 ounces/250g)
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (170g) pumpkin puree (canned is best)
- 1 Tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (do not omit)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- small pinch freshly ground black pepper (optional)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- optional, for garnish: whipped cream and sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Make the crust: Use a food processor or blender to grind the Biscoff cookies into fine crumbs. You can also place them in a zip-top bag and crush them into fine crumbs using a rolling pin and some arm muscle. In a medium bowl, stir the Biscoff crumbs and melted butter together until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch pie dish. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom and up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumby/crumbly. Tips: You can use a small flat-bottomed measuring cup to help press down the bottom crust and smooth out the surface, but do not pack down too hard. And run a spoon around the bottom “corner” where the edge and bottom meet to help make a rounded crust—this helps prevent the crust from falling apart. For more shaping technique tips, see the Biscoff pie crust recipe page.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Make the filling in the next step as the crust bakes.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Add the pumpkin, cornstarch, heavy cream, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and spices, and then beat until fully combined and very smooth. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed to combine—you don’t want any lumps. Then on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. After the second egg is incorporated into the batter, stop mixing. If you still see some lumps at this point, switch to a whisk and whisk by hand just until you break up the large lumps. Some small lumps are OK.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F (163°C). Spread the pumpkin cheesecake filling into the warm crust.
- Bake the pie for 40–45 minutes or until the filling is *almost* fully set with a little wobble in the very center. Give the pie a light tap to check. During bake time, if the pie is browning too quickly on top and around the edges, tent with aluminum foil.
- Set the pie on a wire rack and cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Then place it in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days before serving. (Cover if chilling it for longer than a few hours.)
- Feel free to garnish the pie with any of the optional toppings listed in the Notes right before or a couple hours before serving. For the pictured pie, I used a piping bag fitted with Ateco 849 piping tip and piped whipped cream in a zigzag pattern around the chilled pie. For neat slices, use a clean sharp knife, and wipe the knife clean after each cut.
- Cover and store leftover pie in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make-Ahead & Freezing Instructions: This cheesecake pie can be made up to 2 days in advance. It’s best if the crust is still a bit warm when you pour in the filling, so I don’t recommend pre-baking the crust in advance. You can also freeze the baked and cooled cheesecake pie for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowl | 9-inch Pie Dish | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Whisk | Cooling Rack | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Ateco 849 Piping Tip
- Graham Cracker Crust: You can use a graham cracker crust instead of the Biscoff crust if you prefer. Or try the gingersnap crust from this pumpkin swirl cheesecake recipe.
- Room-Temperature Ingredients: Bring all cold ingredients to room temperature before beginning. Room-temperature ingredients combine quickly and evenly, so you won’t risk over-mixing. Also, beating cold ingredients together will result in a chunky cheesecake filling, hardly the way you want to begin!
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: I have a homemade blend recipe for pumpkin pie spice, and you can use it here. Replace the ground ginger, nutmeg, and pepper with 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. You’ll still want to use the ground cinnamon and cardamom as called for in this recipe.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally! My husband and I enjoy many of your recipes! Just wondering about Biscoff cookies, I live in PA, do they sell them in regular grocery stores here? Would Lorna Dunes work? We do like the gingersnap crust in other recipes. What are your thoughts?
Thanks, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Lisa
Hi Lisa! Yes, you can often find Biscoff cookies in regular grocery stores. Lorna Doone cookies are more of a shortbread cookie—Biscoff cookies or gingersnaps would be the better choice here!
super easy to make and tasted just like a new york style cheesecake. I doubled the spice just to make it more “autumny” and it worked great! I made a graham cracker crust using homemade graham crackers and the flavor combination was great! I also pureed a pumpkin instead of using canned and made sure to set it in a strainer so that it wouldn’t be too watery, and it worked well!
Hi Team Sally!
Possible to make these as minis? I find them easier to transport and serve. Thanks!
Hi Christine, absolutely! Bake time will vary depending on the exact size of your pans.
I don’t even like cheesecake and my partner doesn’t like pumpkin, but oh boy… we were fighting for this one We just couldn’t stop eating it! I usually hate anything that tastes like milk (and cream cheese tastes exactly like that to me), but the flavor and texture of this cheesecake are nothing like the usual ones. This is AMAZING. We love it!
Hello. I want to make this for Thanksgiving but it needs to be gluten free. What crust recipe would you recommend? Thanks!
I made this today, 11/2/25. This is the first cheesecake I have ever made. I used a ready made graham crust as I already had it on hand. The pie came out great, and the flavor was excellent! My husband and I both enjoyed it very much. Thank you for yet another amazing recipe.
I made this recipe with half the cream cheese (accident) and line juice instead of lemon juice (necessity) and with yogurt instead of buttermilk (necessity) and it still turned out great!
Can I use small cake rings (3×3) for this recipe? I need to make individual desserts.
Hi Celeste, we fear the cheesecake pie will not come out of the cake rings easily. If you do give it a try, you may plan to serve them still in the cake rings. Let us know what you try.
I used 3”x3” food rings, placing 1/3 cup Biscoff crust in each (tamped down slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass) and 1 cup filling. I removed them from the rings by running a knife around the inside of the rings. They turned out great and were the perfect portion size.
I have only had pumpkin cheesecake one other time in my life. It is my Nana’s favourite cheesecake though so for Thanksgiving I wanted to honour her and make one. I don’t love cheesecake and my husband isn’t the biggest fan of pumpkin but holy is this cake ever good! I think we might arm wrestle for the last piece.
I did add a little more pumpkin than suggested and damn that biscoff crust is much tastier than a graham cracker crust. I may have to make this again this week because it is that delicious. For the topping, I mixed a tbsp of cheesecake pudding mix (I didn’t have vanilla on hand) with a tbsp of powdered sugar in my whipping cream and it made for a beautiful tasty stable topping.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I absolutely love this recipe as it’s not as complicated as the usual cheesecake recipes. I’ve used the recipe for the third time yesterday and forgot to add the eggs. The result was still great. One adjustment I made was to increase the amount of the spices as I really love the pumpkin spice flavors.
Another great recipe! I made it with a graham cracker crust and left the recipe as is. I was nervous when I piled the filling in the pie crust it was very full. The pie cooked for 45 minutes at 350 and once cooled fell into place. My guests loved it! I will keep this with my recipe archives.
Thank you keep the recipes coming.
Thank you for this great recipe. I’m new to cheesecake baking and successfully did this. I love everything about this cheesecake as I’m a big pumpkin spice lover. Other than increasing the amount of spices a bit, I followed everything to the dot. I live in the Philippines where we don’t have canned puréed pumpkin, but every time I have ones brought from USA or Canada, I save some for this cheesecake.
LOVEEEEE 10/10.
Dear Sally,
I’m wondering if I could use Mascarpone instead of cream cheese. I’m currently in France and it’s easier for me to find Mascarpone than Cream Cheese. Alternatively, is there a cheese in France other than Mascarpone that could be used as a substitute for Cream Cheese?
Thank you! I love your recipes.
Hi Sarah, we haven’t tried using mascarpone in this recipe, but if you try it, expect a softer texture. Let us know how it turns out!
Hi Sally, is there something that can be used in place of cardamom? Thank you!
Hi Jen, you can leave it out if needed.
Absolutely delicious. The texture is very creamy. I used your graham cracker crust with chopped pecans added-outstanding!
I have no idea how to bake so I followed your recipe exactly. I can’t even express how delicious this turned out. My guests were thrilled. Thanks for your detailed instructions.
If I bake the crust and it cools off before I fill it, will this effect the results of this recipe? Thank you!!
It should still bake just fine! Hope it’s a hit, Marye.
This was absolutely AMAZING! I made it for Thanksgiving and people were actually moaning! I used Sally’s graham cracker crust recipe (I don’t eat Biscoffs because they use soy flour) and followed the filling directions exactly, minus the optional black pepper. This is going into my permanent file! Thank you, Sally and team for yet another bulletproof recipe ❤️
I made 2 pies but was rushed and had to use pre-made graham cracker crusts (Keebler brand) instead of Biscoff. Despite that shortcut this dessert was a huge hit at our Thanksgiving gathering. The spiced, creamy pumpkin filling was so good. Thanks for a great recipe.
I made this for thanksgiving this year and I have to say, it was phenomenal! I was super worried that I took it out of the oven too late, but it turned out perfect! I went for a half biscoff, half graham cracker crust as my family prefers desserts on the not-too-sweet side, and it was unbelievably good!! The cheesecake was gone within minutes. I will be making this again for Friendsgiving as well, and already cannot wait to enjoy it all over again. Thank you so much for such a great recipe!
The crust was the easiest thing ever with a huge flavor payoff. This might have been the favorite dessert at Thanksgiving everyone kept finding me and telling me that this amazing. People were literally groaning over how good this was haha. I was almost embarrassed at how many compliments it got. I used the whipped frosting topping versus the whipped cream since the pie was traveling and that just added to it! Definitely will be making again (like maybe today since the pie is gone haha, glad I got an extra package of cookies).
This was everything I imagined and more.. it’s so much better than pumpkin pie and is so light and creamy. I hand crushed the biscoff, but would recommend blending it as mentioned if you dont want the crust to be crumbly. Will make this every year going forward!!
I made this for our Thanksgiving this year and got rave reviews!!! I will definitely make this again. I used a graham cracker crust but next time will make the biscotti. I turn to Sally’s recipe over and over because I trust them. Thank you, Sally!!
Can I make this in a springform pan?
Hi Pb, while you could make this recipe in a springform pan, it would be a thin cheesecake. This cheesecake pie is thinner than a tall cheesecake. We’re unsure of the exact bake time using a springform pan. If you’re interested in a full-size cheesecake, you might enjoy our pumpkin swirl cheesecake or no-bake pumpkin cheesecake as well.
This pie was a great success – thanks! How do I adjust the baking time and temperature if I use your cheesecake recipe for making cupcakes? How many cupcakes will it make?
Hi Tia, this recipe won’t make cupcakes, but we’re sure you could use a muffin/cupcake tin to make a mini version. The recipe is similar to these mini pumpkin cheesecakes, if you’d like to follow those instructions and use this recipe. Hope they’re a hit!
Hi Sally & Crew I want to make this for Thanksgiving, can I use regular butter crust instead? I’d think I may have to parbake it first, if you get this in time please advise thanks & Happy Thanksgiving
Absolutely. Whether you use homemade pie crust or store-bought pie crust, you’ll want to follow the same par-baking instructions from this regular pumpkin pie recipe
Hi there,
I made this today, and it did get a couple cracks along the edges. I’m not too worried about it, since the whipped cream will cover it. I was just wondering what caused it, so I can avoid it for next time. (It was pretty puffy when I removed it from the oven, and after the 60 min cooling time, a couple of the smaller cracks disappeared as the filling sank down and flattened out.) It was cracked at 40 min, so I’m not sure if it was over-baking that caused the cracks or not. I also cracked the oven door twice during the 40 min to check if I needed to tent with foil. Anyway, any input would be great. It smells wonderful and I’m sure it’ll taste divine.
Hi Shannon! Cheesecake will crack if it is over-baked, or with sudden temperature changes (like opening the oven), or if the oven was too hot. We always recommend using an in-oven thermometer so you know the exact temperature of your oven!
Question, I’ve baked mine 40-45 minutes and checked the center with a toothpick, should it come out clean?
Hi Shelli! The toothpick test isn’t reliable for cheesecakes. Bake until the filling is *almost* fully set with a little wobble in the very center.
This recipe is amazing. It was relatively easy to make, the biscoff cookie crust is delicious and the filling is rich. My family raved about it!
Hi Sally! I want to make this but am without a pie plate right now. Could I make this as 8 or 9 inch squares, similar to your cinnamon roll cheesecake recipe?
Hi Sheryce, yes, this should work well in a 9-inch square pan. Enjoy!