It’s fall again — my favorite season! Autumn should not go by without indulging in a little pumpkin, even when you’re trying to follow a keto diet. If you ask me, keto pumpkin cheesecake is the best way to get your pumpkin fix!
(Please note that this post includes affiliate links. They’re boring, but you can read my full disclosures here if you want.)
Pumpkin isn’t exactly low-carb, I know, but at least the carbs are highly nutritious and full of good fiber! This amazing cheesecake is just as rich as its sugar and gluten-filled counterparts! But this dessert is definitely something you want to save for special occasions.
My oldest daughter wanted to serve cheesecake at her wedding a couple of months ago. I started shopping around and learned that JUST the cheesecake would cost over a thousand dollars. Costco had inexpensive plain cheesecakes, but we wanted ALL the fancy varieties, like the dessert menu at the Cheesecake Factory.
I’d made a few cheesecakes over the years, and they were pretty easy. So I decided to undertake the cheesecake-making myself. I figured I could make 2 per day for a couple of weeks and freeze them all. Cheesecake freezes like a dream — it’s seriously SO easy!
I started looking at recipes for different cheesecake varieties and noticed that all of the recipes were essentially the same, just with different combinations of flavorings and add-ins.
From there it was easy to create a huge cheesecake buffet. What’s more, it was easy to create a couple of keto cheesecakes that I could eat!
I’ve eaten mostly keto for the last five years, since I was diagnosed with Hashimotos, an autoimmune thyroid disease.
The method I use for making keto pumpkin cheesecake is exactly the same as when I make a regular cheesecake, so the result tastes authentic. The sweetener and crust are the only differences. I omit the crust from any cheesecake I make myself. And I use an almond flour (gluten-free) crust when I make a cheesecake for a special gluten-free occasion.
You can use any natural sweetener you like. Steer clear of artificial sweeteners, though. They are really bad for you!
I used stevia in this recipe. Keep in mind that stevia is sweeter than sugar, so if you use a different sweetener, you will use more. (EDITED TO ADD: I no longer use Stevia in the Raw. It has some nasty ingredients. I now use Pyure, which is also a 2:1 sweetener and much better for you.)
This keto pumpkin cheesecake has two layers — the bottom of plain cheesecake and the top of pumpkin cheesecake. I do it that way because I really love cheesecake, and frequently pumpkin cheesecakes that I purchase are lacking in the cheesecake and overwhelmed by the pumpkin and spices. This way, I get my cheesecake fix and I get my pumpkin cheesecake, too!
Oh, and I have to tell you that when I make the non-keto version of this, I make the crust with gingersnaps. Yum! I’m not ambitious enough to make keto gingersnaps AND keto pumpkin cheesecake, so I usually just omit the crust, or I make an almond crust.
Enough talking, let’s get down to business and make this cheesecake!
Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake
1. Prepare your springform pan by lining it with parchment paper. The recipe below will fill a 10″ springform pan right to the top. I like my cheesecake tall because tall cheesecakes look prettier and you get more filling!
2. Gluten-free cheesecake crust (I usually omit the crust altogether)
Pulse together in your food processor:
- 2 c. Blanched almond flour
- 1/2 c. melted butter
- 2 T. powdered stevia
Press mixture into the bottom of your prepared springform pan.
3. Sugar-free cheesecake filling
Blend together using the medium setting on your food processor (don’t overmix for the best texture):
- 40 oz. room-temperature cream cheese (if it’s cold, it won’t blend will and your cheesecake will be lumpy)
- 1 c. Pyure (I used Stevia in the Raw because it was all I had, but it’s full of maltodextrin — blech! Pyure is a combination of organic stevia and erythritol. It’s a 2:1 sweetener and it’s my favorite. Swerve is a combination of erythritol and oligosaccharides and is a 1:1 sweetener. So if you use Swerve, you will use 2 cups instead of 1. I prefer Pyure because the non-digestible fibers bother my stomach, but some people claim that the stevia in Pyure leaves an aftertaste. If it does, it doesn’t bother me. I use Pyure in everything because it tastes the best to me and because it’s cheaper since you only use half as much.)
- 5 eggs
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 2 T. vanilla extract
- dash salt
Pour half of this mixture into the crust, or directly into your prepared springform pan if you’re omitting the crust. Then add the following ingredients to the remaining filling and blend again:
- 15 oz pumpkin. Use canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, just plain pumpkin) or cook and puree your own.
- 1 T. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. cloves
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
Pour the pumpkin cheesecake filling into your springform pan, on top of the plain cheesecake filling. You can use a butter knife to swirl the two fillings together, or leave them in layers, like I did.
4. Bake at 320 F for 55-60 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center is almost set but still jiggly. I place a glass baking dish full of water in the oven with my cheesecakes, to keep the humidity in the oven high. But I never place the springform pan inside the water dish, like some recipes say to. Do not overcook? Overcooking the cheesecake will cause it to crack, and to have a more dry and crumbly texture.
5. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool on the countertop. As it cools the top will sink a little and the edges will pull back from the springform pan. Wait to remove the springform edge until the cheesecake has completely cooled. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
6. Serve with whipped heavy cream, sweetened with a dash of powdered Swerve. Garnish with a single shake of nutmeg or drizzle with a sugar-free caramel sauce.
Try serving it to some friends that don’t eat keto or particularly care about nutrition. I’ll bet they won’t be able to tell the difference!
Cheesecake freezes really well! Just make sure it is completely cooled, then place in the freezer (ungarnished) for about 1/2 hour to firm it up. Wrap in two layers of plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil.
When you’re ready to use the frozen cheesecake, move it from the freezer to the fridge at least 4 hours before serving time. Let it thaw in the fridge for 3.5 hours, then move the cheesecake to the countertop for a half hour. The flavors are best only slightly chilled.
If you, like me, are the only keto member of your family, you can make these into individual cheesecakes using a muffin tin. That way it’s easier to freeze and thaw single portions.
Or you can slice the cheesecake into individual portions before you freeze it. Just cut parchment papers into squares and wrap the squares around your knife-blade as you cut, leaving the parchment paper behind when you remove the knife, so you can easily remove individual slices, one at a time, from your frozen cheesecake.
I love that with this keto pumpkin cheesecake, I can have a decadent treat on hand anytime.
And here’s a photo of another keto pumpkin cheesecake I made at the same time, but with a keto crust.
Literally just washed this down the garbage disposal. Followed directions exactly and got a fluffy soufflé version of a cheesecake . Mad that I wasted lots of expensive ingredients on this.
If I were to guess, it’s too many eggs .., I’d reduce significantly.
I’m so sorry, Rochelle! I’d be mad about wasting all of that cream cheese, too. You can see from my photos that mine turned out creamy and dense, like an actual cheesecake. I’m sure altitude makes a difference — I’m in the Rocky Mountains at ~5000 feet above sea level and you seem to be at sea level in Florida. I wonder if that could be the entire issue?
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was delicious! I like it better than pumpkin pie. Getting ready to make another one tonight.
I’m so glad to know you liked it! Thank you for returning to comment, Molly!
Is there a typo with the oven temperature? I followed the directions to the letter and baked my cheesecake at 320. Even after 75 minutes it was still “waterbed” consistency. I thought it might firm up a bit while cooling as others usually do, but such is not the case. It’s back in the oven once again, but I’m fearful I have ruined Thanksgiving dessert :'(
No worries, Ashley! I’m not sure what waterbed consistency is, but if it’s like jiggly jello, then that’s okay. Ideal, actually! The edges should be firmed up and look cooked, and the middle should be jiggly. It will set as it cools, then finish firming up in the fridge. And you can always cook it a little longer if need be. I’m making mine today!
Thanks for your reply! After baking for an hour and a half and chilling overnight, it was still raw/liquid in the center. It tastes good, but the slices kind of “splat” on their plates. I’m not sure what went wrong, but thank you for the creative recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m so sorry, Ashley! Nothing is more disappointing than when food doesn’t turn out — especially on holidays and with guests! 🙁
This looks amazing! How do you make the non-keto crust with the gingersnaps?
It is SO yummy — you’ll love it! The gingersnap crust is just like a graham cracker crust, but made with gingersnaps instead of graham crackers.
Melt 1/2 cube butter (4 oz) in a saucepan. Pulse a 12 oz box of gingersnaps in your food processor until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and 2 tsp. brown sugar and pulse again. It will look crumbly. Press that mixture into the bottom and halfway up the sides of your springform pan, and that’s your gingersnap crust! It’s really easy, and it adds so much yummy fall flavor to your pumpkin cheesecake!
Oh great! Thank you!
This is a fantastic food recipe, thank you for sharing it with us.
Glad you like it, Adan!
This looks like a great recipe! Will be trying it soon. I’m interested to hear that you were diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and now are on the keto diet. I also have Hashimoto’s and I started keto a couple months ago. Do you find this diet to be better for Hashimoto’s than a med-high carb diet?
I think keto helps immensely with my Hashimoto’s. I can’t remember the exact numbers, but my antibodies were extremely high when I was first diagnosed. My doctor said that gluten can cause reactions, so I went gluten free, and my antibodies came down, but when I went completely grain free my antibodies finally went away completely. I’m sure it helps that I’m on a full replacement dose of NDT, too. I’ve not tried a high carb diet since being diagnosed, but low carb has helped eliminate the problem.
That’s awesome, thanks 🙂
I’d like to make these using a muffin pan, do I use muffin papers or grease the tin? Thx
Making this into muffins is brilliant! I would lightly spray some muffin papers and use both for ease and convenience.
I only have splenda on hand. How much of that do you think I should use in place of stevia?
I haven’t ever used Splenda. I’ve been using Pyure since I realized the stevia I was using was full of maltodextrin. Yuck! I love Pyure, though!
Splenda measures just like sugar, though, so I’d try 1.5 c. of swerve in place of the stevia. Then take a tiny taste of the filling before you pour it into the springform pan, and if you want it sweeter add another .5 cup. Since going keto, I tend to like things less sweet, so I always add less sweetener than called for and taste it before adding the rest.
How much Swerve would I use?
Swerve measures just like sugar, so I’d try 1.5 c. of swerve in place of the stevia. Then take a tiny taste of the filling before you pour it into the springform pan, and if you want it sweeter add another .5 cup. Since going keto, I tend to like things less sweet, so I always add less sweetener than called for and taste it before adding the rest. Let me know how it works out — I haven’t tried using swerve in this recipe yet.
Definitely making this this week. Where do you have the calories, fat,carbs and protein listed. I’m excited about trying your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Ellen, for letting me know that the nutrition info is missing! My post originally included all of that in a chart, but it’s disappeared!
Hello I want to use Monkfruit instead of stevia. What would be the measurements for it?? Apparently it’s 1:1 with sugar. Thanks!
I’m sorry, I’ve never tried this recipe with Monkfruit. Maybe someone else can weigh in?
I’m just wondering when making this cheesecake in a muffin tin how long do you bake?
I haven’t tried muffins yet, but I think I’d try baking them for 20 minutes, then check them and see if the middle is almost set. The middle should still be a bit jiggly, like jello, but it should look almost set.
How long would you bake if you made muffins? For me making 12 muffins would be easier portion control lol!
Muffins are a great idea for portion control! I think I’d start with about 20 minutes, depending on how thick they are. I’d check at 20 minutes and see if the middle looked almost set. The middle should be jiggly, but almost set, sort of like jello.
Thank you for the delicious sounding recipe, Amy! We only use 5 boxes of the cream cheese, right? (Which is 40 ounces.) There are 6 boxes in your photo, so thought I would double-check before possibly ruining my cheesecake by not using enough cream cheese. Thanks, Tina
Yes, 5 boxes (40 ounces) of cream cheese. Sorry about the photo! I actually made two keto cheesecakes that day — one with crust and one without — so I had double the ingredients and didn’t watch carefully what I added to the photo.
Unfortunately Stevia in the Raw actually contains real sugar…not Keto. They have deceptive advertising. Look at the ingredients in it. Of course, substitute that and the recipe sounds yummy!
Oy — I did not know it contained sugar! I did read that it contains maltodextrin (blech!) as a filler so I haven’t used it since.
I am confused. I’m new to using stevia so this may be a silly question.
If stevia is 300x more sweet than sugar, one whole cup of stevia would be like the equivalent to the sweetness of 300 cups of sugar?
So How can this recipe have a whole cup of stevia?
Thanks!
I’ve read that pure stevia extract can be up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, but most stevia products are mixed with something to bulk them up and improve the bitter aftertaste. The product I used was cut with maltodextrin, and the bag said it was twice as sweet as sugar. You’ll find that you have to alter recipes a bit depending on which stevia product you use.
How may servings for the 4 carb count?
1 serving of the cheesecake, cut into 16 slices, so 1/16 of the cheesecake.
Thanks Amy!! This looks amazing!! We are Christmas at Thanksgiving this year for my husbands family and I know what I will be having for dessert!!
You’re so welcome, Patti! I know I’ll be eating the keto pumpkin cheesecake for my holidays, too!
Amy! This looks awesome! One of my absolutely favorite things about fall is… PUMPKIN everything! Thank you so much for sharing! Can’t wait to try this one!
You and me both! I love pumpkin to the moon and back!
Oh my! This looks so good!!! 😉
Keto? Pumpkin? Easy? I can’t think of a recipe that fits me more perfectly! <3
Ha, ha! Glad I could help!
I’m not huge on pumpkin but this sounds amazing!
I can’t wait until fall, for this very reason! I love everything pumpkin. This looks tasty!
I love pumpkin, too! What’s better than pumpkin? Pumpkin cheesecake! And even better if it’s keto! 🙂
Oh my goodness, this sounds and looks incredible! I can’t wait to give it a tryi.
Pumpkin cheesecake always hits the spot!
That is delicious one! Can’t wait to make it once the pumpkin season is here!
What? It’s not pumpkin season yet? Lol! Just kidding — I know I’m early, but pumpkin is just such a favorite around here that we get going a little early, ha, ha!
Oh this looks SO good and I am a sucker for cheesecake!!!! I have to try this!!
Me, too! I dream of cheesecake!