Baked in a muffin pan, mini pumpkin cheesecakes are tied with my mini pumpkin pies for the most delicious and convenient pumpkin dessert! Each individual pumpkin cheesecake has a cinnamon graham cracker crust and a creamy pumpkin cheesecake filling with plenty of pumpkin spice.
You can serve these mini pumpkin spice cheesecakes as is, but I like to top them with vanilla whipped cream and a drizzle of salted caramel for an extra “wow” factor. The pumpkin cheesecake isn’t too sweet on its own, so a drizzle of salted caramel really complements every bite—especially if you like your desserts on the sweeter side!
“These mini cheesecakes are so easy to make! Cheesecake always intimidates me, but making it in the food processor is such a great idea! These were quick and easy and so delicious. I made these for a party and they disappeared instantly.” -Abby
Ingredients for Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Individual pumpkin cheesecakes are made with a cinnamony graham cracker crust and a pumpkin cheesecake filling. For pure pumpkin perfection, I like to also top them with a swirl of homemade vanilla whipped cream and a drizzle of salted caramel. You’re more than welcome to serve and eat these plain, though!
- Graham crackers. Cinnamon- or honey-flavored graham crackers will work best for the cheesecake crust. Feel free to use gluten-free graham crackers or Biscoff cookies for a speculoos-flavored cheesecake crust!
- Salted butter. I recommend using salted butter for the best flavor, though you can use unsalted if you prefer. Either way, the butter helps the crumbs stick together and bake up crunchy.
- Salt. Two big pinches help to enhance the overall flavor.
- Ground cinnamon. A little extra cinnamon goes a long way to flavor the crust!
- Cream cheese. This is the main component of the cheesecake, so be sure to use full-fat cream cheese in its block form, like the 8-oz block from Philadelphia. If the cream cheese is too soft (like the kind in the tubs), the cheesecake may not set properly.
- Pumpkin puree. Pumpkin is the main flavor, but it also plays a big role in the perfect texture of this pumpkin cheesecake! Use 100% pumpkin puree (not canned pumpkin pie filling!) for best results.
- Brown sugar. Brown sugar adds sweetness, moisture, a little molasses flavor, and helps to prevent the custard from cracking while baking.
- Vanilla extract. Vanilla bean paste or extract both work well for a little extra flavor.
- Pumpkin pie spice. This common spice mix is easy to make at home with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. (Full quantities listed in the “Notes” section of the recipe.)
- Egg. Along with the pumpkin, the egg helps to firm the custard while baking for a creamy yet fully set cheesecake.
How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecakes in a Muffin Pan
I’ve learned quite a few tricks to bake perfect mini cheesecakes in a muffin pan over the last year. I’m happy to report that I think mini cheesecakes are far easier to make than full-size cheesecakes! There’s no water bath involved, and they bake up much faster. I have outlined the entire process below with step-by-step process images to help ensure your success.
How to Make the Graham Cracker Crust
First, line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Regular paper liners will stick to the cheesecakes slightly; parchment liners will barely stick to the cheesecake, which is ideal if you’d like to serve these without the liner.
Add the graham crackers, cinnamon, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. (Or, if you prefer, you can place the graham crackers in a plastic bag and smash them to fine pieces with a rolling pin or wooden spoon.) Process the graham crackers until they’re fine, then stream in melted butter. Continue mixing until each crumb is fully coated with butter.
Once the butter has mixed completely into the graham cracker crumbs, divide the cookie crust into the paper liners. This is equal to about one lightly packed Tablespoon each.
My favorite trick to give this next step an easier cleanup is by sacrificing one more paper liner! Use that liner as a barrier between the crust and a flat-bottomed ¼ or ⅓ measuring cup. Press evenly over the base of the measuring cup, then remove it and the extra liner. You should have a nice, flat graham cracker crust for the base!
If you don’t have a flat-bottomed measuring cup, you can use a small glass or even your fingers through the extra paper liner.
How to Make the Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
Cheesecakes tend to crack if too much air is incorporated into the batter. To prevent this from happening, I use a food processor to make my cheesecake fillings. The blade spins really quickly and mixes ingredients together well, but it doesn’t incorporate as much air as an electric mixer’s whisk or beater attachments. It also cuts down on the dishes, since you don’t need to wash out the bowl in between!
If you don’t have a food processor, you’re welcome to use an electric mixer or a whisk in a large bowl.
First, add the cream cheese, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, vanilla, salt, and spices to the food processor bowl. Pulse until combined, then scrape down the sides with a spatula and pulse a few more times for good measure.
Once the pumpkin cheesecake mixture is smooth, add the egg and pulse until just combined. This only takes a few pulses, a break to scrape down the sides again, and a few final pulses.
It’s imperative to scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl to remove any clumps of cream cheese. Using softened cream cheese cuts down on the lumps significantly, but it does not remove them entirely. The mixture should be smooth but voluminous, like below.
How to Fill Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
The pumpkin in this cheesecake helps it bake up really nicely! To help the cheesecakes all bake in the same amount of time, do your best to fill each one evenly.
Standard paper liners easily fit one Tablespoon of the crust and a few Tablespoons of the pumpkin cheesecake filling. Because some liners run a little small or big, I recommend filling all of the liners about two-thirds of the way full, then doubling back and adding more where needed. This is a thicker cheesecake filling that can be hard to portion accurately.
How to Bake Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
These mini cheesecakes bake for 13-17 minutes, depending on the color of your pan. Mine baked in about 16 minutes in this light aluminum muffin pan, but darker pans may take only 13 minutes. Bake the pumpkin cheesecakes at 350°C/175°C until the edges of the cheesecakes are set but the very centers are slightly jiggly.
Depending on how evenly each cheesecake was filled and your oven, some cheesecakes may be fully set while others are a bit jiggly. That’s okay and totally normal!
If you prefer firmer cheesecakes, bake for an extra minute to two. The cheesecakes will start to dome up, but only the very edges will begin to brown.
Once the cheesecakes are baked to your perfection, remove from the oven and cool in the pan for about an hour.
How to Remove Mini Cheesecakes from a Muffin Pan
At first glance, you might worry about how to remove these mini cheesecakes once they’ve baked. Fortunately, it doesn’t require any special equipment! I use clean hands myself, but you can also use a fork or offset spatula.
Once the pan is no longer too hot to touch, pinch the very top of a cheesecake’s paper liner with your fingers. Pull upwards quickly to unstick it from the pan, then place it on a cooling rack or plate.
If you have long nails (or simply don’t want to use your fingers), you can also slide a knife, fork, or offset spatula in between the muffin pan and the paper liner. Then, pop out the cheesecake from the bottom. A metal utensil may scratch your muffin pan, so use caution!
Once you have them out of the pan, chill in the fridge for at least two hours. These are best served cold, after all!
How to Top Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
I love pumpkin and caramel together (that’s why I have a pumpkin caramel recipe!), so I top each individual pumpkin spice cheesecake with a swirl of vanilla whipped cream and a drizzle of salted caramel.
You could also top these with a dash of pumpkin spice, if you like!
FAQs about Mini Cheesecakes
Other Recipes You May Enjoy
If you’re a cheesecake lover, you’ll probably also love my mini Biscoff cheesecakes and my mini turtle cheesecakes!
These pumpkin cheesecake macarons are similar in flavor to these pumpkin cheesecakes and are also individually sized for easy serving.
For more muffin pan desserts, browse my mini pie recipes, muffin recipes, and mini cheesecake recipes.
Dish Cleanup: A Lil Messy
I rate my recipe cleanups on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is only a handful of dishes, and 5 is everything including the kitchen sink.
These mini pumpkin cheesecakes have a cleanup rating of a 3. There’s the food processor bowl, a number of bowls used to hold ingredients, and a relatively clean muffin pan left behind. That’s it! I recommend rinsing out your food processor bowl as soon as you put the cheesecakes in the oven, or else you’ll be doing quite a bit of scrubbing later.
Mini Pumpkin Spice Cheesecakes Recipe
Thanks so much for stopping by!
If you make these mini pumpkin cheesecakes and love them, please don’t forget to leave a review to let others know how it turned out.
Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the Graham Cracker Crust
- 8 sheets (125 g) cinnamon graham crackers
- 4 Tablespoons (56 g) salted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
- 12 oz (340 g) cream cheese 1.5 blocks, softened
- ½ cup (125 g) pumpkin puree
- ½ cup (105 g) brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice see note for substitution
- pinch of salt
- 1 large egg at room temperature
Instructions
To Make the Pumpkin Cheesecake Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C, and line a standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
- Crush the graham crackers until fine in the bowl of a food processor (or with a rolling pin in a bag or parchment paper). Then, with the food processor running, pour the melted butter through the feeder tube over the crumbs. Add cinnamon and salt, and process until combined.8 sheets (125 g) cinnamon graham crackers, 4 Tablespoons (56 g) salted butter, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Divide the crumbs into the paper liners in the muffin pan, about 1 Tablespoon in each. Press the crust into the liners with your fingers or a small flat-bottomed measuring cup to pack the bottoms, then set aside.
To Make the Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
- In the bowl of a food processor,** add the cream cheese, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, vanilla, spices, and salt. Pulse until smooth and combined.12 oz (340 g) cream cheese, ½ cup (125 g) pumpkin puree, ½ cup (105 g) brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, pinch of salt
- Then add the egg. Pulse just a few times until smooth, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse one or two more times until just combined.1 large egg
- Divide the cheesecake filling evenly into the paper liners, about 3 Tablespoons per liner. The cups will be very nearly full.
To Bake the Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the edges are set and only the very centers of the cheesecakes are slightly jiggly. (Some cheesecakes may be fully set while others are still a little jiggly—that's okay!) For firmer cheesecakes all around, bake for an extra minute or two until all of the centers are fully set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about an hour on a cooling rack.
- When only slightly warm, remove the mini pumpkin cheesecakes from the pan. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least two hours, until the bottoms of the mini cheesecakes feel cold.
- Optional: Top with vanilla whipped cream and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce, then serve. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Recommended Supplies
Nutrition
I’d love to see how your pumpkin cheesecakes in a muffin pan turn out: Take a photo and tag me on Instagram @floralapronblog to share with me, or use the hashtag #floralapronbakes.
These mini cheesecakes are so easy to make! Cheesecake always intimidates me, but making it in the food processor is such a great idea! These were quick and easy and so delicious. I made these for a party and they disappeared instantly. Now my husband is begging me to make them again! This is a winner.
WONDERFUL recipe with a delicious flavor. A must-try with that leftover pumpkin. I used an immersion blender for mixing the filling and it worked beautifully. I also used reusable silicone liners and that worked great, too! Perfect size mini cheesecakes so you can feel like you’re not over-indulging. You honestly can’t be misled with Alyssa’s recipes!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Chaeli! Thanks for sharing your process, too—good to know about the immersion blender and silicone liners!
Hi, I can’t wait to try this recipe! Can I freeze the baked mini cheesecakes for longer storage?
Thanks!
Yes, mini cheesecakes freeze really nicely for up to 6 months. The day before you want to serve them, transfer to the fridge so they thaw overnight 🙂