Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars are the perfect fall dessert! With layers of streusel, cheesecake filling and a swirl of pumpkin, they're gorgeous and so delicious!
Jump to Recipe
When do you start thinking "pumpkin?" For me, it's August. I know, I know.....some of you are rolling your eyes saying that's wayyyyyy too early! But when the school buses are out, football is back in season and I start seeing trees changing color, I'm 100% on the pumpkin bandwagon!
Why You'll Love these Delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- You get the creamy cheesecake layer without needing a hot water bath and a springform pan like a traditional cheesecake.
- Plenty of crumb topping!! I love a good crumb topping and for this recipe, you'll press some of it on the bottom as the "crust" and the rest on the top. (PS. Though I also love a classic cheesecake's buttery graham cracker crust, this pecan-studded buttery mixture is too good to pass up!)
- A cake mix simplifies the crumb topping, helping you get these dessert bars into the oven ASAP!
- Great pumpkin flavor! You'll get pumpkin spice flavor in the crumb topping as well as the pumpkin pie filling layer!
- It's always a huge hit with family and friends, especially this time of year! (Therefore I love that it's baked in a 9x13-inch baking dish so there's plenty for seconds!)
Ingredients Needed
- Cake Mix - I prefer the flavor of yellow cake mix, but white or vanilla cake mix would work great, too.
- Salted Butter
- Pumpkin Pie Spice - Use store-bought or make your own with a mix of ground cinnamon and other fall spices
- Chopped Pecans - If your family doesn't enjoy pecans in their desserts, you could certainly skip these
- Cream Cheese - You'll want to be sure this is softened, so you don't have any lumps in the mixture. I also recommend using full-fat cream cheese so it's the right consistency.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk - Not to be confused with evaporated milk!
- Vanilla Extract
- Pumpkin - Be sure to grab pure pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie mix
- Eggs - I use "large" eggs
- All-Purpose Flour
- Sugar - I use granulated sugar but you can use brown sugar instead if you'd like
- Evaporated Milk
VIDEO: How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Line the pan with parchment paper. This will make it easier to remove the bars from the pan once they're chilled.
Mix the crust with a wooden spoon or in a food processor. Press half of the mixture into an even layer in the baking pan. I use a metal 9x13-inch pan, but you could opt to use a glass pan instead (but note that it may take a few more minutes in the oven.)
Make the cream cheese filling. To get the creamy consistency you're going for, be sure to mix the cream cheese by itself first so it's nice and smooth. I find it easiest to do this with an electric mixer or a stand mixer. Then, you'll add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined.
Next up is the pumpkin filling! It's very similar to mixing up a pumpkin pie filling. Essentially, you'll add all of the ingredients to a bowl and whisk until smooth.
Now you'll scoop the two fillings alternately into the crust and use a butter knife to swirl the fillings together a bit.
Then crumble the remaining "crust" mixture over the bars and pop them into the oven!
Bake until the center of the bars don't move when gently jiggled, remove from the oven, let cool completely and refrigerate.
How to Store
Due to the filling in these bars, it's important to store these in the fridge. They'll last 5-7 days stored in an airtight container or on a platter covered tightly with plastic wrap.
Other Yummy Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin Crisp – It’ll take about 1 bite of this goodness to realize Pumpkin Crisp is your new favorite fall dessert! With smooth, perfectly spiced pumpkin filling and the crunchy topping with gingersnap cookies, it is truly a match made in heaven!!
Pumpkin Churro Mini Muffins – These pumpkin mini muffins are super moist, loaded with fall flavors and coated in a “churro” coating. They’re cute, pop-able and nearly impossible to have “just one!”
Pumpkin Coffee Cake – Pumpkin Coffee Cake has a moist, pumpkin-spiced base, thick crumb layer and a beautiful drizzle of icing to top it off! It’s the quintessential start to a crisp fall day with a cup of hot coffee!
Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Frosting – These pumpkin bars are far from ordinary!! With a moist pumpkin bar base and a creamy browned butter frosting, you’ll FALL in love with these in no time!
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Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Bottom + Top Layer
- One 15.25 ounce box yellow cake mix
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Layer
- One 8 ounce package cream cheese softened
- One 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Pumpkin Layer
- One 15 ounce can pumpkin (pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie mix)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ½ cup sugar
- One 5 ounce can evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line the bottom and sides of a 9x13 pan with parchment paper. Lining the pan helps to remove the bars and cut them easier.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, melted butter, pumpkin pie spice and chopped pecans.
- Press about half of the mixture into the bottom of the pan and set aside the remainder.
- In another bowl, stir the cream cheese until nice and smooth. Then add the sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla and whisk until smooth; set aside. NOTE: This mixture will be runnier than a typical cheesecake.
- In a separate bowl, combine all ingredients for the pumpkin layer. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
- Scoop the cream cheese filling and pumpkin filling over the crust, alternating to create a marbled look. Use a butter knife to carefully marble the fillings together. Again, these fillings are both quite runny, but will set up after they bake. (See video for a better understanding of what the batter will look like).
- Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the top of the fillings.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes* or until the bars don't move when jiggled.
- Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“Dance Around the Kitchen” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Tiffany says
The pumpkin is lovely, but the cheesecake flavor gets very diluted with all the sweetend condensed milk.
Crystal Ward says
Made this exactly as the recipe stated. It was great, settled and solidified fine and was a hit at Friendsgiving. (I may have made the pumpkin pie spice heaping teaspoons!)
Shauna says
These are so delicious! I make them every fall. This year I am wondering how they will do if I freeze them. Have you frozen them before?
kelsey says
Though I've never frozen them (they don't last that long, ha!) I think that would be just fine!! ~Kelsey