If you need to make a lighter fall dessert, try this Low Fat Pumpkin Cheesecake.
The fall holidays are upon us, and it’s time to start thinking about what fall desserts we want to make! This cheesecake still has 15 grams of fat per serving, but compared with a traditional slice of pumpkin cheesecake at 32 grams of fat per serving, it’s a little bit lower in fat. So we’re calling it a low fat pumpkin cheesecake!
Ingredients needed:
- reduced-fat vanilla wafers
- butter
- low fat cream cheese
- white sugar and brown sugar
- all purpose flour
- ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger
- salt
- vanilla extract
- eggs
- canned unsweetened pumpkin purée
How to make Low Fat Pumpkin Cheesecake:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
PREPARE THE CRUST:
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Preheat oven to 400° F.
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Place the cookies in a food processor; pulse until finely ground. Add the butter; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. If you don’t have access to a food processor, place the cookies in a large zip bag and bang away at them until they turn into fine crumbs. Scrape them into a bowl and then stir in the melted butter.
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Firmly press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with nonstick spray. Bake for 10 minutes; cool on wire rack.
MAKE THE FILLING:
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Reduce the oven temperature to 325° F.
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In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheeses at high speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and next 8 ingredients (through vanilla), beating well. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the pumpkin; beat well.
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Pour the filling into the prepared crust; bake at 325° for 1½ hours or until almost set. (The cheesecake is done when the center barely jiggles when the pan is touched).
Remove the cheesecake from the oven; run a knife around the outside edge. Cool to room temperature; cover and chill at least 8 hours.
Cheesecakes are best when they’re made ahead of time. You can prepare this one up to three days before your event; just cover and chill it until time to serve.
Cheesecake is pretty much my favorite dessert of all time. It might sound a little out-of-sorts, but as food goes… I’m thankful for cheesecake. I like it plain and unadorned, and I often dream about that red velvet type. I wanted to have cheesecake at my wedding, but went the traditional route with wedding cake instead.
You know what’s great about this cheesecake? It’s creamy, it’s rich, and it’s delicious, even though it’s lower in fat! I’m a big cheesecake fan here, and this cheesecake turns out to be some pretty incredible stuff. It’s a nice “alternative” dessert to include at Thanksgiving (because I’m a firm believer that you should have at least a couple of dessert options on Thanksgiving Day!) And if you have to eat gluten free, I’ve included tips on how to (very easily) adapt this recipe to be gluten free too. Enjoy!
Cheesecake Recipes:
- No Bake Banana Rum Cheesecake
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
- Boston Cream Pie Cheesecake
- Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
- Carrot Cake Cheesecake
- Snickerdoodle Cheesecake
Low Fat Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients
CRUST:
- 56 (about 8 ounces) reduced fat vanilla wafers
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
FILLING:
- Five 8-ounce packages ⅓ less fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 dash allspice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- One 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree
Instructions
PREPARE THE CRUST:
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Place the cookies in a food processor; pulse until finely ground. Add the butter; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Firmly press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with nonstick spray. Bake for 10 minutes; cool on wire rack.
MAKE THE FILLING:
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325° F.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheeses at high speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and next 8 ingredients (through vanilla), beating well. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the pumpkin; beat well.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust; bake at 325° for 1½ hours or until almost set. (The cheesecake is done when the center barely jiggles when the pan is touched).
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven; run a knife around the outside edge. Cool to room temperature; cover and chill at least 8 hours.
Notes
- If you don't have access to a food processor, place the cookies in a large zip bag and bang away at them until they turn into fine crumbs. Scrape them into a bowl and stir in the melted butter.
- If adapting this recipe to be gluten free, use a gluten-free cookie in place of the vanilla wafers, and use a GF flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. (Adapting to GF will change the nutritional information.)
- *Cheesecakes are best when they're made ahead of time. You can prepare this one up to three days before your event; just cover and chill it until time to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
There’s nothing cheesecake to it. All you taste is pumpkin and ALOT of yogurt.
I’m super confused about your comment. There is no yogurt in the recipe. It’s all cream cheese.
First time trying this Low Fat Pumpkin Cheesecake. Batter tastes good.
I made a different crust.
PS I did not use the vanilla wafers but a couple of gram crackers and some almonds ground to a crumb, I removed all but one yolk from the eggs and I only used one 8 oz of the reduced fat and one no fat cream cheese. It still tasted real good but did not look as good as yours, not as creamy
Hi Lori!
This recipe looks like a winner, so I’ll give it a try!
However, when I make it, I’ll be using Splenda sugar replacement (they make both white and bown sugar substitutes), and Egg Beaters.
Graham cracker crusts have never been my husband’s favorite, so I was happy to see that this recipe calls for vanilla wafers.
I have type 2 Diabetes, so I try to omit or replace sugar in my cooking and baking.
I’m 99.9 % sure (I’m never 100 % sure about anything!) that even with my substitutions, this Pumpkin Cheesecake will be a resounding success.
If it’s not successful, it’ll be my own doing, but I’ll be sure to let you know either way.
Thanks!
Sounds good- let me know how it goes!
I love this pumpkin cheesecake. I made it last year and it turned out great. However, I just HAVE to share this story. Last night I was making this to bring to Thanksgiving dinner this year. It looked great. I was letting it cool on my cooling rack and had covered it with a towel because I have a 4 month old kitten around the house who will get into things on the counter. I went to check on it and apparently he had walked across it somehow. There were two distinct large dents where he had walked. My husband and I decided it was salvageable of course since the cat had only touched the towel, but didn’t want to take it my aunts. Well I guess he was slightly upset and wasn’t thinking clearly. When he carried it over to sit in the microwave to let it finish cooling, he dropped it onto the counter. The whole middle fell out. I almost died laughing from this disaster. He scooped it back and I think we will have a cheesecake to ourselves. Man. I guess I will be trying again tonight.
thanks for sharing your funny story 🙂
Hi Lori, Have you ever baked this cheesecake in a water bath? I know in the past when baking a cheesecake, ones baked in a water bath come out so smooth and creamy. Just wanted to know in case you tried it and you prefer just baking without the water bath?
Hi Linda, Sometimes I bake cheesecakes in a water bath too. For me, the water bath helps to avoid cracking the top. This particular one I did without the bath. It worked out okay!
I’m going to give this recipe a try…I also have an old Cooking Light recipe that has a cranberry/apple topping that makes it great. You say you like yours unadorned, would the topping be too much with this recipe?
@Tricia, No, I don’t think it would be too much… I just tend to like things plain.
Thank you for this. First let me say, I’m not a good cook or great baker. But I try. I like that this is lowfat, but more than that the protein count is high – which is great for a dessert.