Healthy pumpkin cheesecake bites are outrageously delicious with a gingersnap crust! High in protein, and low carb these mini cheesecakes are perfectly healthy and made with real pumpkin puree!
Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- Warm fall flavors: Pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice, bringing all the best parts of a pumpkin pie together for this no bake pumpkin cheesecake recipe! Instead of a graham cracker crust, a gingersnap crust makes this recipe perfect for the pumpkin time of year. Just like this recipe for moist pumpkin cake!
- Wholesome ingredients: This creamy pumpkin cheesecake is made from real unprocessed ingredients that will make you feel energized (not leave you in a sugar overload or slump, which is the goal for all my recipes)!
- Naturally gluten-free dairy-free cheesecake: The gingersnap crust is made from ground-up oats making a simple gluten-free cheesecake crust. The cheesecake filling is made from cashews instead of cream cheese making this cheesecake dairy-free. There is no white sugar or brown sugar in this vegan cheesecake, it is sweetened with maple syrup! Next try my strawberry cashew cheesecakes!
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- Ingredients Needed For Healthy Cheesecakes
- Nutrition Insight About Pumpkin
- How to Make Healthy No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Top Tip for Making Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecake Bite Variations
- Storage and Freezing
- FAQ
- Healthy Treats & Snacks
- Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
Ingredients Needed For Healthy Cheesecakes
As always the ingredients for recipes here at Beside the Mountain are as nutrient-dense as possible, but also not too hard to come by with the goal that most of them are already in your kitchen.
Gingersnap Crust for Pumpkin Cheesecake:
- Rolled Oats: The crust of the mini cheesecakes is ground-up rolled oats, making a nutty flavor for the gingersnap base.
- Almond Butter: Nut butter brings together the base making it nutrient-dense and high-protein cheesecake bites.
- Coconut Oil: Use melted coconut oil for this recipe, it keeps the cheesecake crust together.
- Molasses: You can have a gingerbread crust without molasses! This makes the full flavor explode!
- Powdered ginger: If you don't have powdered ginger you can use the real thing - ½ teaspoon of finely grated ginger.
Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Filling:
- Cashews: Raw unsalted cashews are the base of these no-bake cheesecakes. Using cashews for this cheesecake instead of cream cheese makes these bites naturally vegan and high in protein. The cashews need to be soft to make the creamy cheesecake batter, they need to be soaked for 2-8 hours or boiled for 20 minutes.
- Pumpkin Purée: You can use canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree for this recipe. If you use homemade pumpkin puree, make sure it is thick, if not strain it first to make it thick.
- Maple Syrup: To sweeten this recipe, instead of white sugar we will use maple syrup, this increases the mineral content making these mini cheesecake bites more nutrient-dense.
- Vanilla: To increase the flavor, we are using vanilla in the cheesecake batter!
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Pumpkin pie spice is sold in the baking aisle with the spices. If you can't find it you can use cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger - exact details in the recipe card notes. These spices make the bold pumpkin flavor.
- Sea salt: In this recipe, sea salt gives the other ingredients a boost making the fall taste come together.
See the recipe card below for full quantities.
Nutrition Insight About Pumpkin
The bright orange pumpkins are a winter squash. Pumpkin is a complex carbohydrate meaning energy is released to your body slower (instead of a simple carbohydrate where your blood sugar will rise quickly and crash quickly after eating).
Pumpkin is a good source of Vitamin A, C, potassium and magnesium.
Looking for another wholesome pumpkin recipe? Try this pumpkin snacking cake, or add pumpkin puree to homemade high-protein hummus!
How to Make Healthy No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecakes
If you have never made a no-bake cheesecake also called a raw cheesecake before, it's easy! I've been making healthy cashew cheesecakes for over 10 years, (and healthy cakes for over 15 years) and this style of vegan cheesecake is my favourite to make!
Firstly: Soak your cashews in water for 2-4 hours to make them soft.
Make the crust: Start by grounding your oats in a food processor by blending until it makes a flour-like texture, about 1-2 minutes.
Then pour ground oats into a bowl and add almond butter, ¼ cup coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of molasses and the powdered ginger. Stir until well combine, it will form a smooth dough.
To easily remove these cheesecakes from the muffin tin, place a strip of parchment paper in the tin first, make sure it's long enough to pull out of the muffin cups once they are ready! Or line the muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Using a muffin tray, press 1 tablespoon of the gingersnap dough into the bottom of each muffin cup. Set aside.
Make the cashew cheesecake mixture: In a high-power blender or food processor place the soft cashews, pumpkin purée, maple syrup, ⅓ cup coconut oil, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, sea salt, and 1 teaspoon molasses.
Blend for 5 minutes or until very smooth and creamy. If it is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until blending well (don't add too much or they won't become firm in the fridge).
Assemble: Add about 1 heaping tablespoon to each gingerbread crust. Add pecans on top and drizzle with almond butter. Put into the fridge to set for 2-4 hours and up to one week.
Top Tip for Making Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
I have tested this recipe over 5 times, to make sure that the pumpkin filling firmed up well and tasted incredible. Therefore I increased the coconut oil and reduced the pumpkin puree to do this. Having 1 full tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice is really the key to good flavour even if there is only ½ cup of pumpkin puree.
Smooth Cashew Filling:
- Soak the cashews. I have made the mistake of not soaking the cashews first and the texture becomes grainy! Make sure to soak the cashews for at least 2 hours or boil them for 20 minutes to make them soft. This is important in making the best cheesecake/pumpkin pie filling!
- Use a high-powered blender or food processor. The cashew filling will not become completely smooth without a high-power machine, it will stay slightly grainy. My blender takes about 3-4 minutes to make it smooth and when I used a food processor I blended it for 7-8 minutes.
Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecake Bite Variations
Here are a few ways you can change these easy pumpkin cheesecakes to suit your preferences!
- Rolled Oats: Instead of rolled oats you can use quick oats. Or to skip grinding oats use oat flour or almond flour.
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars: To make these into healthy cheesecake bars instead of individual bites, make the recipe in an 8x8 square pan.
- Crunchy Pecan Crust: To add another crunch, sprinkle chopped pecans onto the gingersnap crust before placing the cheesecake filling on top.
Storage and Freezing
Fridge: These no-bake cheesecakes should be kept in the fridge. They will last up to two weeks in a sealed container.
To Freeze Mini Cheesecakes: You can keep cheesecake bites in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. To thaw, remove them from the freezer and let them sit at room temperature for about 1-2 hours.
FAQ
Yes, you can freeze pumpkin puree. Whether it's canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree you can place it in a sealing bag or sealing container, remove any air to prevent freezer burn and place it in the freezer for up to 12 months. The texture and taste will slowly deteriorate so it is better to use the pumpkin puree sooner than later.
Most mini cheesecakes can be frozen. It depends on what ingredients are in the mini cheesecakes. If they are a no-bake mini cheesecakes they can be frozen. If they are baked mini cheesecake the texture can be compromised when they come out of the freezer. For best results follow the storing instructions on the specific recipe.
To freeze mini cheesecakes store them in an airtight container or freezer bag, remove as much air as possible (this will prevent freezer burn) and for best taste and texture eat within three months. To defrost, remove from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for 1-3 hours.
Leftover pumpkin puree can be used for various recipes: pumpkin snack cake, pumpkin muffins, add it to creamy hummus, use it as baby food, pumpkin pie, a pumpkin cheesecake, homemade pumpkin spice latte, or make savoury dishes like pumpkin soup. There are so many awesome pumpkin puree recipes!
Healthy Treats & Snacks
Here on this corner of the internet, you will find wholesome yet simple snacks and healthier treats to enjoy every day. Try these:
Looking for more things pumpkin? Try this pumpkin snack cake (with optional cheese cheese frosting), it's moist and fluffy!
If you made this recipe for healthy pumpkin cheesecake bites I wanna hear your thoughts! Give this recipe a star rating and leave a comment below. I love hearing from you!
Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
Ingredients
Gingersnap Crust:
- 1 cup rolled oats or almond flour
- ¼ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 teaspoon powdered ginger or ½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger
Cheesecake Filling:
- 1 ¾ cups cashews soaked 2-8 hours
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice notes below to make your own
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Garnish:
- Pecans
- Almond Butter
Instructions
- Prepare: You will need to soak your cashews for 2-8 hours before making these cheesecakes. To easily remove these cheesecakes from the muffin tin, place a strip of parchment paper in the tin first, make sure it's long enough to pull out of the muffin cups once they are ready! Or line the muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- To make the crust: Start by grounding your oats in a food processor by blending until it makes a flour like texture, about 1-2 minutes. Then pour ground oats into a bowl and add almond butter, ¼ cup coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of molasses and the powdered ginger. Stir until well combine, it will form a smooth dough. Using a muffin tray, press 1 tablespoon of the gingersnap dough into the bottom of each muffin cup. Set aside.
- To make the cheesecake filling: In a high power blender or food processor place the soft cashews, pumpkin purée, maple syrup, ⅓ cup coconut oil, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, sea salt, and 1 teaspoon molasses. Blend for 5 minutes or until very smooth and creamy. If it is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until blending well (don't add too much or they won't become firm in the fridge).
- Assemble: Add about 1 heaping tablespoon to each gingerbread crust. Add pecans on top and drizzle with almond butter. Put into the fridge to set for 2-4 hours and up to one week. These no bake cheesecakes will last in the freezer up to three months.
Notes
-
- Soak the cashews. I have made the mistake of not soaking the cashews first and the texture becomes grainy! Make sure to soak the cashews for at least 2 hours or boil them for 20 minutes to make them soft. This is important in making the best cheesecake/pumpkin pie filling!
-
- Use a high-powered blender or food processor. The cashew filling will not become completely smooth without a high-power machine, it will stay slightly grainy. My blender takes about 3-4 minutes to make it smooth and when I used a food processor I blended it for 7-8 minutes.
Amanda
SO good, whole family loved them!
danikavanderpyl
Amazing! Love hearing this!!