Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake with Spiced Pepitas
Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake is another great recipe from my dessert adventures while working at Millard’s at the Summit. What’s fall without pumpkins? This is by far the creamiest cheesecake I have made in my Instant Pot. The pumpkin flavor is spot on with just the right amount of spice and pairs perfectly with homemade whipped cream. The roasted sugar and spice pepitas are fun to make while adding a bit of crunch! Pepitas make a great S snack for a lunch box or use them as a salad topper for a bit of sweet and crunch.
This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon or other programs. I do earn a small commission from the sales made through these links; however your price never changes.
Tips for Pumpkin Cheesecake with Spiced Pepitas
The Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe was tested and cooked in both the Instant Pot DUO Plus and the Instant Pot DUO 80. Also, the cheesecake pan size is very important due to the batter volume. I used the Fat Daddio 7 x 3 inch cheesecake pan resulting in a very high cheesecake. I would also highly recommend the Fat Daddio 8 x 3 inch cheesecake pan for this recipe when using the DUO 80, 8 quart pot.
Accessories and Ingredients Used
Here are a few of the accessories and ingredients used to create the Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe.
- Serves: 12
- Calories: 177
- Fat: 15g
- Carbohydrates: 6g
- Sodium: 270mg
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 91mg
- ¾ cup THM Baking Blend
- 4 teaspoons THM Gentle Sweet
- ¼ teaspoon THM Himalayan High Mineral Salt
- 1/16 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/16 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/16 teaspoon nutmeg
- dash ground cloves
- ¼ cup butter (melted and cooled slightly)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons spiced pepitas
- 16 ounces cream cheese, low fat (2-8 ounce packages, room temperature)
- 5 tablespoons THM Gentle Sweet
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
- 2 eggs (large, room temperature)
- 2 egg yolks, whole (room temperature)
- Set all ingredients out bringing them to room temperature for best results
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare your cheesecake pan. My cheesecake pan of choice for this recipe is the Fat Daddio 7 x 3 inch Cheesecake Pan. Remove the center plate and set on a piece of parchment paper to trace a circle. Cut out the circle, place removable plate back in the pan, spray lightly with coconut oil spray, lay parchment circle into your pan, smooth out.
- Mix all dry ingredients(THM Baking Blend, THM Gentle Sweet, mineral salt and spice) thoroughly in a medium bowl. Add melted butter and vanilla; mix with fork until you get a nicely coated crumbly consistency; stir in spiced pepitas.
- Place crust mixture into your prepared 7 x 3 inch Fat Daddio cheesecake pan; press crust evenly into the bottom and out to the edges of the pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 9-10 minutes. Remove from oven. allow the pan and crust to cool on a cooling rack while you prepare the filling.
- In a large mixing combine cream cheese and gentle sweet and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Flip mixer to low speed and gradually sprinkle in the xanthan gum, mix until thoroughly incorporated.
- Add pumpkin puree and spices, beat on low speed until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs, one egg and one egg yolk at a time until just incorporated.
- Lightly spray the sides of the cooled pan with coconut oil spray, add cheesecake batter, smooth out with the back of a smooth. Cover pan tightly with foil.
- Add 1½ cup of water to the Instant Pot liner, add liner to the pot. Using either an aluminum foil sling or long handled trivet lower the cake into the Instant Pot.
- Set the Instant pot using either the [Cake] or [Manual] settings, set time to 30 minutes. Allow the pot to NPR (natural pressure release) for 15 minutes. When finished remove pan to a cooling rack. Dab water from the foil cover with a paper towel, remove and gently dab any water from the cake top with the corner of a paper towel. Cool 10 minutes then run a thin knife around the edge to release cheesecake from sides allow to cool to room temperature. Chill at least 4 hours or over night.
- Serving Suggestions:
- Serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon and garnish with spiced pepitas.
Hi Carey!
All of your cheesecake recipes sound divine! This is one that I have to make for my Hubs! If I can make a suggestion. I went to Amazon and bought the pre cut circles of parchment liners, as when I first started making the cheesecakes I hated the waste of paper when cutting the circles out. Perhaps this is an item you could add to your affiliates links? Again, thanks for bringing us so many great recipes! <3
That’s a great idea Jen – thank you for sharing with me.
Do you need a special insta pot cheesecake pan or will any springform pan do the job?
You can make it is a traditional spring form pan, but depending on the size of your pan the cheesecake may be shorter in height.
Is it necessary to bake the crust ahead? The Pampered Chef quick cooker has a dessert setting which I used to make a regular cheesecake in the springform pan and it was good
Hi Joan – I am not sure what results you will have by not baking the crust. I always bake my cheesecake crusts prior to pressure cooking.
Any idea how baking in traditional oven would work? The ingredient list sounds delicious!
I have only made this in the Instant Pot but you could use a traditional baking method using a water bath and adjust the cooking time to about 50-60 minutes depending on your pansize.
Do you have any suggested substitutions for the spiced pepitas in the crust. I don’t know where to buy them.
Here’s the recipe link for the spiced pepitas – https://www.thehealthymilestone.com/roasted-sugar-spice-pepitas/
I purchase my raw pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds) in the bulk section of the grocery store or a health food store. You can leave them out by adding an additional tablespoon of almond flour.