No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

A slice of cheesecake on a white plate with caramel sauce drizzled over top of it.

This decadent No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake is the perfect blend of fall flavors and warm pumpkin spices. A homemade Nilla wafer crust is filled with a no bake cheesecake filling made with pure pumpkin, cream cheese, and whipped topping.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword no bake pumpkin cheesecake, no bake pumpkin cheesecake recipe

Prep Time 20

Refrigeration Time 8

Total Time 8 20

Servings

Calories 375kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Equipment

Ingredients

1 box (11 oz) Nilla Wafers
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (divided)
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter melted
12 ounces full-fat cream cheese softened
1/3 cup dark or light brown sugar packed
1 cup pure pumpkin
1 tub (16 oz) Cool Whip thawed

Instructions

Using a food processor or a Ziploc bag with a meat pounder, add the Nilla Wafers and 1 teaspoon of the pumpkin pie spice. Crush until it's completely crumbled.
Remove 2 tablespoons of the crumb and set it aside for later (optional for the garnish).
Pour the melted butter into the food processor and pulse to combine it with the crumbs.
* If using a Ziploc bag, add the crumbs to a mixing bowl and pour the melted butter in. Stir together with a fork to combine.
Press the crust mixture into a 9-inch springform pan, creating an even layer on the bottom and pressing it firmly together.
* No need to go up the sides. Just press an even layer on the bottom.
Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit in the freezer while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, or use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and brown sugar until light & very fluffy.
* This will take about 3-4 minutes. You want to make sure you whip lots of air into it until it's fluffy and much lighter in color.
Add in the pure pumpkin and the remaining 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Beat until smooth and combined, about 1-2 minutes.
* Be sure and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times with a spatula to make sure everything is getting in mixed together well.
Gently stir in 3 cups of the Cool Whip with a spatula or wooden spoon.
* Be careful to not over-mix this. Just gently stir it in until combined. Do not use the hand mixer for this!
Scoop the cheesecake filling into the prepared crust and spread it into an even layer.
Pipe or spread the remaining 1 cup Cool Whip on top of the cheesecake filling and garnish with the reserved crumbs that were set aside earlier.
Cover the springform pan well with plastic wrap and let it refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours.
* I recommend making this the day before and letting it refrigerate overnight. You can make the cheesecake up to 24 hours in advance.
When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and the springform ring. Cut into slices and serve chilled from the fridge.

Notes

Serving Suggestions : Add some chopped pecans, caramel drizzle, chocolate drizzle, chocolate curls, or serve it as is with the whipped topping.

Tip : I think it's easiest to just spread the remaining 1 cup of Cool Whip over top the cheesecake. That is usually what I do. For pictures, it looks better piped on which is why the photos show that.

Brown Sugar : I prefer using light brown sugar but if you want a deeper, richer flavor then use dark brown sugar. It pairs nicely with the warm pumpkin spice.

Cream Cheese : The cream cheese needs to be well softened, to room temperate, before preparing this cheesecake. If it's not, you will end up with little chunks of cream cheese that will not incorporate smoothly into the cheesecake mixture. Put the cream cheese out at room temperature for 1-2 hours before starting this recipe. You can also remove the cream cheese from the wrapper, put it on a microwave-safe plate, and microwave it in short 15-20 second increments until softened. You don't want it hot at all, just softened but still at room temperature.

Don't Over Mix : Avoid over-mixing the cheesecake once you have added the Cool Whip. You can't really overmix if before this point but if you beat the Cool Whip in (like with a hand held mixer) instead of folding it in, you might end up with a flat and thick cheesecake rather than a light & fluffy cheesecake (which is what we want!). So just make sure that you are folding the Cool Whip into the cheesecake mixture. Which means, use a wooden spoon or spatula to gently fold/stir it in just until combined.

Use Full-Fat Cream Cheese : I highly recommend only using the regular, classic full-fat cream cheese. It has a much richer and thicker flavor & texture that does really well in no bake dessert like this one. Avoid using the lite cream cheese (1/3 reduced-fat cream cheese).

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