I love pumpkin. I love cheesecake. I love easy recipes. If you love these things too, you’re really going to love this combo: gluten free pumpkin cheesecake bars!
This recipe has another thing going for it too — the fact that it’s easily made dairy free so even more of your friends and family can enjoy them with you, but feel free to use dairy ingredients if that works for your group.
I’ve made this recipe so many times to take to events like expos and parties and it’s always a hit; no one ever knows it’s dairy free, so why not go ahead and make it that way too, so even more folks can enjoy it?
The base to this creamy delicious filling is the yummy gluten free graham cracker crust made from my homemade gluten free grahams.
To make this recipe super easy, I keep homemade gluten free graham crackers on hand at all times like a staple in our freezer, already crushed for pie crusts and crusts like this bar recipe.
Of course, it’s nice to have a stash of them for snacking in the freezer too … you know, just as extras!
They make delicious snacks, and of course s’mores!
Either way — from full-sized crackers or already crushed crackers — it only takes a few minutes to whip up a delicious homemade gluten free graham cracker crust when the urge to make this gluten free Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars recipe hits.
Cut them into sizes or shapes you like, but I prefer bite-sized so there’s no fork needed. In fact, I’ve heard that when you don’t need a fork to enjoy the dessert, the calories don’t count!
Save this recipe for Thanksgiving, too, since it works just as deliciously baked in a traditional pie pan, and calories definitely don’t count on Thanksgiving!
And if you’re looking for a gluten-free, dairy-free AND vegan pumpkin cheesecake recipe, I have one of those, too! Check out this gorgeous recipe instead!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars (Dairy-Free too!)
An easy dessert that's not too sweet but wraps up all the delicious pumpkin spice flavors into the texture of a cheesecake topping a yummy gluten free graham cracker crust -- these Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars sound like your new favorite recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (use gfJules™ Graham Cracker/Gingersnap Mix or follow my recipe to make them from scratch) (grab my gluten free graham cracker recipe here)
- 1/4 cup butter or non-dairy substitute (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- 32 oz (4 packages of 8 ounces) Cream Cheese or Vegan Cream Cheese (e.g. Kite Hill®, Tofutti® or Follow Your Heart®), slightly softened
- 1 cup granulated cane sugar
- 4 eggs*
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin purée (canned or fresh, baked)
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp. nutmeg + 1 tsp. ginger + 1/8 tsp. cloves)
Instructions
Filling Ingredients
Preheat oven to 325º F (static) or 300º F (convection).
Crush graham crackers using a food processor or put into a large, sealed zip top bag and roll over the crumbs with a rolling pin until they are very finely chopped. Stir or process with the melted butter until the crumbs are no longer powdery and begin to stick together. If you find that your crumbs are not holding together well enough, melt another tablespoon of butter and mix it in too.
Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Place in oven as it preheats while you are making the filling.
Beat together the cream cheese, vanilla and 3/4 of the cup of sugar (reserve the other 1/4 cup).
Blend in eggs using a mixer to beat well. Scoop out 1 1/4 cup of this mixture and set it aside. Add the remaining ingredients now: pumpkin purée, 1/4 cup sugar and spices.
Once fully mixed, remove the pan and crust from the oven and pour approximately half of the pumpkin mixture on top of the crust.
Pour lines of the plain cream cheese mixture across the top of the pumpkin mixture. Using a butter knife, cut into the top of this mixture by drawing lines down the length of the pan and then again across the width (leave approximately one inch between cut lines). This will pull the cream cheese mixture through the pumpkin mixture, leaving a feathered pattern in the top.
Repeat by pouring the remaining pumpkin mixture on top, then the cream cheese mixture, then cut lines again.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until the center of the pan is fairly firm. Cool on a cooling rack, then refrigerate.
These are best served chilled for several hours to help the cheesecake to set up.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 20 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 284Total Fat 22gSaturated Fat 13gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 99mgSodium 94mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 1gSugar 14gProtein 4g
Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
Can you use coconut sugar in place of cane sugar?
Yes! I love coconut sugar in my baking – I haven’t found a recipe yet that it hasn’t worked well in. The color will change a bit, but it should still taste yummy!
~jules
Its my first year baking with pumpkin. All of the recipes I prepared came out very delicious. Thank you for posting your recipes, they are easy to make and are very delicious.
Great success!
Hi Miriam, that is BEAUTIFUL! I can’t believe this is your first year baking with pumpkin — you’ve done such a nice job!!! WOW! So glad my recipes are making it easy for you to enjoy!
~jules
These turned out nothing like the pic! Way too sweet to start and hardly tasted pumpkin in them. Expensive to make so I was disappointed with the results ☹️
I’m sorry to hear that, Roz. You can always up the spices for more pumpkin-y flavor, since pumpkin itself doesn’t have much taste. It’s possible, as well, that your spices might need refreshing, as they do lose their oomph over time and need replaced. Regarding the sweetness, I suppose that’s always a personal preference and can be dialed back; just this weekend I had someone tell me on FB that they used Swerve instead and even added 1/3 cup more Swerve and found that there was not enough sweetness, but that they still tasted delicious, but next time they would add more sweet stuff.
Good notes to take for next time so you know!
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment so others will have a guide. I’ve never heard anyone say they were too sweet, but if someone reading this has a tendency to prefer things on the less sweet side, they may want to take note!
~jules
Hi Jules,
do you have a recipe for a pumpkin cheesecake/plain cheesecake, not vegan or dairy free?
Hi Kimberly – you can feel free to use regular cream cheese with this recipe (it already calls for eggs). It works equally well WITH dairy as it does DAIRY-FREE. Enjoy!
~jules
Ohhhh, yum! I see this post is many years old but it’s the first I’ve come across it! LOL. This looks amazing! Although I’m vegan, what would you suggest substituting for the eggs? Would flax eggs work or perhaps neategg? Maybe even just adding more pumpkin? Sometimes I use pumpkin or applesauce as an egg substitute although I’m not sure how that would work in this recipe. Thanks!
Yes, it’s an oldie but goodie!
Regarding the egg sub, I use pumpkin or applesauce as egg subs too, but not in a recipe that already calls for 1 cup of puree. I find it’s better to mix it up. Using a sub the bars may not set up as well, but it’s worth a try. Check out my recommended egg substitutes and see what looks like it might work well; I like using a combination of more than one when the recipe calls for 4 eggs. So maybe Neategg for 2 eggs and flax eggs for 2 eggs — something like that. Let me know how it goes! It should taste yummy even if the texture isn’t as firm.
~jules
My family loves your pumpkin cheesecake bars. How would you suggest I change the recipe to create raspberry cheesecake bars as well?
Thank you!
Hi Debbie, I would substitute sour cream or soy sour cream for the pumpkin and don’t add the spices, then stir in raspberries. I would also make a raspberry coulis and drizzle on top — yum!!!!
I had the opposite experience with this recipe. The non dairy cream cheese and sour cream gave this a terrible back taste and after taste that lasted close to 2 hours. I used the Tofutti products and was VERY disappointed in the results. Not enough pumpkin to ask the substitute non dairy cheese.
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the Tofutti products, Marie. We usually find them to be quite mild, and have enjoyed the recipe many times with those products and with Go Veggie and coconut yogurt instead. Maybe try those options next time?
~jules
I agree totally that this is not just easy to make but also very easy to eat.
So glad you loved making and eating them!!!
~jules
What can you use for the cream cheese if you are dairy and soy intolerant?
There are lots of products out now that are soy-free, like KiteHill which is made from almonds and also Daiya brand. Check out my list of preferred dairy-free substitutes here: https://gfjules.com/best-dairy-free-substitutes/
~jules
Made these for the first time for a neighborhood party and they were the bomb!!!! People loved these, and yes they are just like a cheesecake! I used gluten free vanilla graham cookies smashed for the crust! thanks so much for making a new celiacs life so much sweeter!!!
You are so welcome! I’m so happy to hear you are baking happy and sharing the love!!!!
~jules
Wow, these look good!Just got an order of your flour in so these are on my ‘must-do’ baking list
Wonderful to hear, Rhonda!!! I can’t wait to hear how you love them!
~jules
Word to the wise if you need dairy free AND soy free: Earth Balance has several different types of tub margarine. One is non-soy as well as non-dairy. However, the sticks are non-dairy but have soy in them.
Yes, and there is a Soy-Free Earth Balance Stick option now, as well as many soy-free options in cheeses and cream cheese brands. I try to cover as many as I can in my dairy-free substitutes article here: https://gfjules.com/best-dairy-free-substitutes/
Hope it helps!
~jules
MMMMMmmmmmMMMMMMMmmmmm!!!!!
I want some of these stat!
I hope you get some soon, Wendy!!!
~jules