I’ve never been a cheesecake fan– with the exception of pumpkin cheesecake! And this greek yogurt version takes it over the top. Super creamy, a bit tangy from the yogurt, and full of pumpkin pie spices.
Living in a foreign country makes the holidays a bit different. Here in Malaysia, we get a lot of time off work for Malaysian holidays, Chinese holidays, and Muslim holidays. What we don’t get off is American holidays!
A lot of hotels around town do a Thanksgiving buffet. The first year I lived here, some friends and I decided to go into the city to one of the big hotels for their Thanksgiving dinner. Normally about a 20 minute drive, maybe 40 in bad traffic, ended up being a 2 hour drive that night. No, not because everyone was scurrying down to the city for Thanksgiving, but because a tree had fallen over one of the transit trains, and crews were blocking traffic trying to clean it up and get the train running again. Complete gridlock. Actually, not such an uncommon occurrence here!
I’ve also hosted dinner at my house on the weekend after the holiday. Friends from many different countries bring dishes that they think are American, and it usually turns out to be a pretty good meal. A few years, we’ve ended up with sushi on Thanksgiving (of course as a side to the turkey!).
Getting to know people from so many different parts of the world is what I cherish most about this experience. #PracticingGratitude
My brother’s two favorite desserts are pumpkin pie and cheesecake- so I suggested this to my mom as a dessert to take to his house for Thanksgiving this year. She bought all the ingredients, but he was shocked at the idea of anything but traditional pumpkin pie. He’s a purist– I am always experimenting!
I made this pie for my first informal Thanksgiving dinner last weekend at a friend’s house. It was good, but not pumpkin-y enough, and the basic oatmeal pecan crust needed a bit more pizazz. To make the flavor more similar to pumpkin pie, I reduced the yogurt, and added more pumpkin and spices. I also added molasses and spices to the crust to give it a gingersnap flavor. Very good choices!
Now, what am I going to do with most of two cheesecakes left in my fridge? There are worse problems to have! I think my colleagues will get a surprise treat this Thursday. . .
Contents
Pumpkin Greek Yogurt Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling
- 1 tablespoon gelatin +2 tablespoons water
- 8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature for a smooth cheesecake filling)
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 cup greek yogurt (I used low fat)
- 1/4 cup ray honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
- freshly grated nutmeg to taste
Gingersnap Cookie Crust
Dry
- 1 cup oats
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Wet
- 1 egg white
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons flax meal
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
Instructions
Gingersnap Cookie Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees f.
- In a food process bowl, add oats. Process for 30-45 seconds. The oats should be midway between whole oats and oat flour.
- Add pecans and the rest of the dry ingredients, and pulse 10-15 times until most pieces are broken up.
- Add all the wet ingredients to a small bowl, and mix well.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and pulse 6-8 times until all the flour is mixed in.
- The dough will be very wet. Press into the bottom of a 8" round springform pan. Other pans of similar capacity will also work. The filling sets well, so it should easily come out of any pan.
- Bake for 18 minutes. At the end of the baking time, turn oven off, and allow some heat to escape the oven. Leave the cookie base in the oven for another 20-30 minutes before removing. This allows the cookie crust to crisp up.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
- Add gelatin and water to a small saucepan or frying pan. Leave to soften.
- In a food processor bowl, add all other filling ingredients. Process until smooth. Don't process longer than necessary to smooth out the cream cheese. Over processing the filling will result in a very light and airy cheesecake- but I was after a denser filling.
- Heat the gelatin over medium heat, whisking to smooth out all lumps. Remove any leftover lumps with a spoon before adding to cheesecake.
- With the food processor running, drizzle in the gelatin.
- Add the cheesecake filling to the pan with baked, cooled cookie crust.
- Refrigerate overnight for best results, or for at least 6 hours.
- When slicing, dip a knife in warm water between each slice.
- Garnish with coconut whipped cream, whipped cream, pecans, or pomegranate arils for an extra festive dessert.
Nutrition
Other Non-Pie Pumpkin Dessert Recipes:
- Clean Eating Pumpkin Ice Cream by Gracious Pantry
- Healthy 10 Minute Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfaits, by iFoodReal
- Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, by Family Fresh Cooking
- Gooey Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake, by OhSheGlows
Thanks so much for including me! That cake looks amazing!
Your ice cream recipe looked incredible! I will definitely be making some when I’m at my parents house this Christmas– I don’t have an ice cream maker, but maybe that’s a problem that needs to be rectified soon 🙂
oooh i would help you with those leftover cheesecakes! pretty neat that you get to experience and learn about all the malaysian, chinese and muslim holidays! your photos look delish, michelle!
That tree story- Geebuz. I can only imagine how hectic it would be! I guess the good thing is experiencing and getting time off for all the other holidays….then relaxing during the turkey day 😉
This looks delicious and I love how healthy it is compared to traditional cheesecake!
Random question, but how far from KL airport are you?
The KL airport is about 45 minutes out of the city — it takes about an hour to drive, a bit quicker to take the train.
Yes– it is a pretty great experience to learn about holidays in other cultures. I am sure you know– but it’s just about always some holiday here in Malaysia 🙂
I love the idea of using gelatine in a cheesecake – bet it gives it a fantastic texture!
Yes– it worked perfectly. And no need to bake it (except the crust!), making it super quick and easy to put together.
Oh my, oh my – this is HEAVEN!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
xx
killer looking cheesecake! greek yogurt can i be honest, never thought about it in a cheesecake but i feel silly for saying that because it makes total sense. high in protein, creamy, dense 🙂
Greek yogurt makes the best desserts! I also have recipes for tiramisu made with greek yogurt. So creamy, and love the boost of protein.
This looks STUNNING!!! I have never had cheesecake before in my life, and if I could, I would face plant into this one!
I’ve never liked cheesecake before– too rich! But this one is pretty light, and has the tanginess from the yogurt, and is pretty darn awesome!
Oh my – this looks AH.MAZING!!!
I love all your recipes – the yum factor + nutritional balance + low sugar / gluten-free + beautiful!
Question: Any ideas for cream cheese substitutes, for those of us that don’t digest dairy well?
I don’t digest dairy well either, but find when it’s a small quantity mixed into yogurt, the bacteria in the yogurt helps. I can’t have soy- but there are vegan soy-based cream cheeses you could sub! Otherwise– you can make yogurt “cheese” by adding greek yogurt to a strainer lined with a paper towel, leaving the strainer over a bowl, and refrigerating overnight. It will be very thick, almost cream cheese consistency, by morning. I am going to try that for a future “cheesecake” recipe!
Wow, how do you figure out all these tricks? Awesome solution for cream “cheese” – can’t wait to try. Thanks so much!
Wow great recipe! Good to share with family during Christmas season. Thanks for sharing!
I’d really like to try this, but I’m not a big fan of tart / tangy pumpkin cheesecake. Is there anything I can do to eliminate tanginess? I’m not sure sweetener works bc it’s the flavor. If not another option,would it be possible to use some creamed cottage cheese forpt of the Greek yogurt (maybe put them in blender together before adding)??
Also, dos this make a full 9″ round pie? Or 8″? Thanks!
Thanks for letting me know I didn’t include the pan size! I will add that in. I use a 9″ springform pan for this recipe. An 8″ would work, but the cheesecake would be deeper.
I am sure creamed cottage cheese would work. I use yogurt because I am lactose intolerant. I would love to hear how it turns out with cottage cheese! If you try it with greek yogurt, I would suggest using full fat greek yogurt (less tangy than non-fat), and then adding extra sweetener. It actually isn’t super tangy because it has a lot of pumpkin puree and cream cheese, so you wouldn’t have to use a lot of extra.
This is so so delicious!! Love greek yogurt desserts especially since I dont like too much butter! This looks heavenly
I also love using Greek Yogurt — it’s a great way to keep it healthy and creamy at the same time.
Pumpkin cheesecake is so much better than pumpkin pie, in my opinion! This is perfect for Thanksgiving!
Yes! I am making it for Thanksgiving again– always requested!
That looks really lovely and has a fantastic texture… I’ve never cooked a sweet dish with pumpkin and usually use it for savoury only.
I love pumpkin savory or sweet. I use it year round 🙂
Well if this tastes as good as it looks you’re on to a winner! You’ve got me drooling 😀
It’s really delicious 🙂
Oh my, I love cheesecake, but I’ve never ate pumpkin cheesecake, I’m sure it tastes amazing. 🙂
I like it better than pumpkin pie– and that’s saying a lot!
Wow this looks really incredible I love all the flavours here!!
İ am not really fan of non bake cheesecake.. but looking at yours intrigued me to try one 🙂
That’s great! Thanks for letting me know. We love this recipe.