No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake & Pumpkin Spice Oreo Crust

Why You Should Give This Recipe a Try

Why wouldn’t you give this recipe a try? Pumpkin cheesecake? No bake cheesecake!? What could be better? 

This No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake & Pumpkin Spice Oreo Crust came about when I was trying to think of alternatives to the other pumpkin desserts I have made (and there are many). After coming across Pumpkin Spice Oreos in the grocery store, I began thinking that they would make an amazing base for a pumpkin cheesecake. I’m not a super big fan of the iffiness of baking a traditional cheesecake however, so no bake was clearly the way to go. As cheesecake recipes go, I cannot begin to describe how absolutely delicious and easy this one turned out to be. With a light, creamy filling, the perfect amount of pumpkin spice, and a crisp cookie crust, this is the perfect dessert for pumpkin season!

Among the best features of this recipe:

Did I mention it is no bake? Instead of eggs, a combo of cream cheese, sour cream, and fresh whipped cream blend together to create a super creamy filling.

Pumpkin spices! I like to mix my own using cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, and nutmeg.

Just enough pumpkin keeps things light instead of turning your cheesecake the dense texture of a traditional pumpkin pie.

A crispy cookie crust. I used the shockingly good Pumpkin Spice Oreos, but you use several other types of cookies or graham crackers.

This dessert is simple enough to serve to the family at a weeknight meal, but fancy enough to bring to Thanksgiving dinner.

No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake & Pumpkin Spice Oreo Crust is super simple recipe that requires no special cooking techniques, and uses simple ingredients you can find at the supermarket.

Recipe Ingredients

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cookie Crust:

32 pumpkin spice Oreos  (see FAQs for alternatives)

5 tbsp melted butter

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling:

1 cup of heavy cream (very cold)

16 oz cream cheese (full fat, softened to room temperature)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

​3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup packed brown sugar 

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Helpful Tools

9-inch springform pan

Parchment paper

​No stick cooking spray

Food processor or rolling pin

Stand mixer or hand mixer

Rubber spatula

Offset spatula

Ingredient Notes

The temperature of your ingredients does matter. The heavy whipping cream should be VERY cold. The cream cheese and sour cream should be at room temperature.

You need pure pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie mix.

You can use premade pumpkin pie spice instead of individual spices. Use 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prepare the springform pan. Cut out a circle of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of the pan. 

2. Spray the sides of your springform pan as well as the bottom, with nonstick spray.

3. Place the parchment paper circle on the bottom of the pan and spray it lightly as well. Set aside.

4. Prepare the cookie crust by placing 24 cookies in the bowl of a food processor and pulsing them until they are uniform crumbs. Place the remaining cookies in a Ziploc bag and hit them with a rolling pin to create slightly larger crumbs, but no big pieces. See Tips & Tricks for more details about varying the texture of the crust.

5. Pour the cookie crumbs into a medium mixing bowl.

6. Put the 5 tbsp of butter in microwave safe dish and melt in the microwave. Start out with 30 seconds.

7. Add the butter to the cookie crumbs and blend together with a fork.

8. Pour the cookie crumbs into the prepared springform pan.

9. Press down the crumbs firmly but gently, spreading them along the bottom and a tiny bit up the sides of the pan. You can use the bottom of a measuring cup to smooth out the crumbs. For best results, don’t press very hard (jamming the crumbs against the pan) or you may have a hard time cutting it later. Set aside.

10. Prepare the whipped cream by pouring the heavy whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with the whisk attachment. 

11. Beat the cream on medium high until stiff peaks form in the cream. This means that if you remove the attachment from the mixer, the cream stays firm. NOTE: If you over mix cream, you will end up with butter, so be sure to check regularly.

12. If you only have one mixing bowl, gently move the whipped cream to a large mixing bowl.

13. Replace the whisk with the paddle attachment.

14. Blend together the cream cheese and powdered sugar on low speed until completely smooth.

15. Add the sour cream and mix until blended. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and up from the bottom.

16. Add the brown sugar, pumpkin, and spices and mix to combine.

17. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake mixture using the spatula. 

18. Pour the completed cheesecake mixture into the springform pan and smooth out evenly over the crust. You can use a small offset spatula or the back of a tablespoon.

19. Cover with plastic wrap and chill your No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake & Pumpkin Spice Oreo Crust at least 8 hours until firm.

20. When the cheesecake is firm, remove it from the fridge and drag a sharp knife or offset spatula between the cake and the edge of the pan. Open the latch and carefully remove the ring.

Check out the printable recipe card with step-by-step instructions below!

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.

Tips & Tricks

The cream in the cookies means that the crust is uniformly smooth, almost like a wet dough. I wanted to have a little variety in the texture, so I passed 24 cookies through the food processor and then crushed eight others to small/medium crumbs. Place the cookies in a large Ziploc bag and smash them on a firm surface using a rolling pin. You can also use this same method to create the cookie crumbs in case you don’t have a food processor. It is very therapeutic!

FAQs

​What else can I use to make the crust?

You can use Golden Oreos and butter to make the crust if you can’t find the pumpkin spice version. You can also make a traditional graham cracker crust or, for a little zing, a gingersnap crust. 

Graham Cracker Crust:  1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs, 6 tbsp melted butter, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar.

What toppings can I put on No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake & Pumpkin Spice Oreo Crust?

This creamy pumpkin cheesecake is super delicious on its over, but you can also drizzle some caramel sauce on top and add fresh whipped cream.

If you love pumpkin season the way I do, give some of these others a try:

Best Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Blondies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Easy Pumpkin Pie Bars with GIngersnap Crust

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles