This quick and simple No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake comes together in 10 minutes! With just a handful of ingredients, this No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake is a delicious dessert for holidays and Thanksgiving. Loaded with pumpkin and spice, and a layer of creamy cheesecake, it’s always a crowd-pleaser!
A couple of days ago, I gave you the world’s best traditional pumpkin cheesecake. The one food that keeps my domestic relationship running as smoothly as it does. Without it, who knows where S.O. and I would be? Okay, I kid. We do just fine either way, but good food doesn’t hurt.
Now, the previous pumpkin cheesecake I shared is NOT hard, and it’s not a ton of work, but it does require some time. Cheesecake has to bake for so long, and cool for even longer, so if you’re in a pinch, it’s probably not the way to go.
This recipe ultimately yields a similar result, a Double Layer No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake, but in basically 10 minutes flat.
Admittedly, this No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake is not as ‘fancy’ or elegant as a traditional cheesecake, but it’s still super delicious. At the end of the day, what will people focus on? This is the recipe I relied on for years when I wanted a quick seasonal dessert on hand, and it’s also the recipe that inspired the more traditional version I made and shared.
This No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake is not my own creation – pretty sure this recipe has been floating around for decades – but it is one I keep around for good reason.
It doesn’t get faster or easier than this No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake, and it still gives you all the awesomeness that comes with combining pumpkin, spices, and cheesecake. It’s also very light, not heavy like traditional cheesecake, so it’s a good post I-stuffed-myself-silly-at-dinner option.
You can make this No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake in literally 10 minutes. Maybe even 7-8 if you reeeeally focus. That’s the beauty of no bake desserts!! I’d be lost without a few of those in my repertoire!
No-Bake Double Layer Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 8 oz. package cream cheese softened (I used reduced fat)
- 2 tbsp. milk
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 c. Cool Whip
- 1 9 oz. prepared shortbread or graham cracker crust must be the LARGE prepared crust, not 6 oz.
- 2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
- 1 c. milk
- 1 - 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp. ginger
- 1/4 tsp. clove
Instructions
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In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, 2 tbsp. milk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
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Fold in Cool Whip.
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Spread this mixture evenly into the bottom of the crust, careful not to lift up any crumbs in the crust.
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In a large bowl, whisk together vanilla pudding mixes, 1 c. milk, pumpkin, and spices until smooth.
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Carefully spread the pumpkin mixture over the cream cheese layer.
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Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Serve!
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Dollop with Cool Whip for garnish, if desired!
Now go whip this No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake up in a jif!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
October 18, 2014 at 3:28 pmI love this no-bake version, Sarah! Such a great idea if you’re in a time crunch. I’ve made cheesecakes both ways over the years, and each one tastes delicious on its own! I love that this one is a double layer too, which means more cheesecake-y goodness!
Sarah says
October 18, 2014 at 5:41 pmThanks, Gayle! Yes, it’s insanely fast to throw this together, and it’s nice and light! You can use sugar-free pudding, light Cool Whip, reduced-fat cream cheese, etc. It health-ifies pretty easily! 🙂 Hope you’re having a fabulous weekend!!
Stacey @ Bake.Eat.Repeat. says
October 18, 2014 at 4:35 pmI was wondering what part 2 could be, no bake never even occurred to me for some reason! This looks like the perfect easy no bake pumpkin dessert!
Sarah says
October 18, 2014 at 5:09 pmHaha! Since I happened to have 2 recipes for layered pumpkin cheesecakes, and they’re totally different, I just thought it would be fun to do a ‘mini-series’! This one is the easiest and quickest dessert ever. It’s nice when you want something less heavy and rich too. 🙂 I typically use sugar-free pudding, lite Cool Whip, reduced fat cream cheese, etc. This lightens up easily too! I’ll have to check to see if I remembered to include that info…. Hope you’re having a fabulous weekend!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
October 19, 2014 at 8:10 pmOh my god this pumpkin cheesecake looks so delicious.. Wish I had a slice to devour right now! Pinned!
Sarah says
October 19, 2014 at 8:20 pmThanks, Thalia! I wish I could send you some through the computer screen!!! It’s so easy though, you could whip it up in minutes! 🙂 Thanks for your kind comment!
Zainab says
October 20, 2014 at 12:59 amYumm!!! This no bake version looks delicious!! I love that it’s quicker 🙂
Sarah says
October 20, 2014 at 11:02 amTotally! It’s super fast to throw together! We all need a few recipes like that on hand! 🙂 Thanks, Zainab! Hope you had a fabulous weekend!
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
October 20, 2014 at 10:43 amWow! Look at those rich, creamy layers! I love no bake desserts and wouldn’t be able to resist eating a few slices of this cheesecake!
Sarah says
October 20, 2014 at 11:03 amIt’s lighter than traditional cheesecake too, so it’s easier to stuff in extra servings! Haha. 🙂 Thanks so much, Ashley!
heather @french press says
October 20, 2014 at 11:12 pmthat pie looks incredible! love the double decker 🙂
Sarah says
October 21, 2014 at 8:00 amThanks so much!! It’s the easiest dessert on the planet! 🙂
Stephanie says
October 25, 2014 at 8:34 pmLooks amazing! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
Bree says
October 26, 2014 at 6:05 pmSo Yum!! I need this now!
Matt says
November 12, 2014 at 2:28 amCan I pre make this and freeze them as little single serve cups?
Sarah says
November 12, 2014 at 8:52 amHi Matt! I have never tried to freeze it. The bottom layer is mostly cream cheese and Cool Whip, which should freeze just fine, since it’s typically frozen anyway. The top layer is mostly pudding and pumpkin – I’ve never frozen a pudding before so I can’t say for sure. I *think* it’d probably be fine too, but not certain. At the very least, you can mix up each layer in bowls a few days ahead of time, and have them all ready to go in the fridge. I hope that helps!
Matt says
November 14, 2014 at 9:28 pmThank you so much!
Sarah says
November 14, 2014 at 10:32 pmYou’re welcome! Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Dan from Platter Talk says
November 12, 2014 at 4:50 pmBeautiful job with this one!
Sarah says
November 12, 2014 at 4:59 pmThanks so much, Dan!! I’ve seen tons of delicious stuff from y’all lately too! The skillet lasagna… LOVE! 🙂
maddieandricky2014 says
November 18, 2014 at 9:54 pmthis may be a silly question- but do you make the pudding before you put it in with the pumpkin or do you just combine the instant pudding dry with the pumpkin?
Sarah says
November 18, 2014 at 10:01 pmNot a silly question! I could see that being confusing. I’ll go back in and edit. You don’t make the pudding. You add the dry pudding mix to the pumpkin, milk, and spices! Make sense? Thanks so much!
Jenna says
November 20, 2014 at 11:38 amYou only use 6 oz of cream cheese (two 3 ox packages)? Or is it supposed to be 16 oz pf cream cheese (two 8 oz packages)?
Just want to make sure I make this correctly – looks delicious!
Sarah says
November 20, 2014 at 12:49 pmCorrect! This cheesecake only takes 6 oz. of cream cheese total. It gets a lot of volume when you add in the Cool Whip, and still has lots of cheesecake flavor! Thanks so much!
Elizabeth says
November 22, 2014 at 5:00 pmLove the simplicity of this recipe, but I do have one problem. It seems like the cream cheese layer took up the entire pie shell. After making the pumpkin layer, the pie would have been overflowing if I used it all.
I used the recommended shortbread pie shell – 9″. Maybe my pudding size was too big? I used 2 – 3.4 oz. puddings.
Serving tomorrow, hopefully the ratio of the two layers isn’t too out of whack.
Sarah says
November 23, 2014 at 12:59 pmHi Elizabeth! That should be the right amount of pudding if you were using regular instant, not sugar-free. Hmmm… my pie does become quite a large mountain and pile up of filling, but I definitely like it that way. It’s not a level pie in the end, if that’s what you were expecting. You should be good and the proportions should be fine, but let me know how it turns out! Thanks for your comment! Good luck!
Sarah says
October 3, 2016 at 7:41 pmWauw! this recipe was so much fun to make. I saw it on pinterest and followed the link here. and oh my this screams Fall!! where I’m from it’s summer all year round, which gets boring..
And since it’s been finally raining I just had to try it!
so far so good! I’m making it for my family and for me of course ahaha
My name is Sarah as well 😀
could I share a picture? if so how?
Anyways, thanks and I am totally subscribing girl!!
kind regards,
Sarah
Sarah says
October 4, 2016 at 7:30 pmHi Sarah!!! Yay, another Sarah! I’m SO HAPPY that you liked the cheesecake. Isn’t it ridiculously simple and easy?? I’m in FL, and we basically only have summer too. Boo. Where are you located? Thanks for subscribing, girl! 🙂
Heather says
November 21, 2016 at 1:08 pmSuch a fun recipe and perfect for this week. Thank you!
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
November 21, 2016 at 3:40 pmThis looks utterly delicious, and utterly simple!
jenni says
November 22, 2016 at 7:07 amWow! What a great dessert! Love that its double layer and no bake!
Lane & Holly @ With Two Spoons says
November 22, 2016 at 9:29 amI love this! Looks simple and delicious!
monika says
December 25, 2016 at 6:01 pmhey! i made the pie tonight & the cream cheese mix came
out too watery for some reason & when i put it in the crust, i wasn’t able to
even add the pumpkin cus it’ll just go right into the cream cheese cause it was so thin & watery. was it maybe because the cool whip was frozen? how am i able to fix it?
Sarah says
December 27, 2016 at 11:05 amI’m sorry – I have no idea! It definitely could’ve been the frozen cool whip. I’ve never had it turn out watery at all. It’s very possible that the whipped topping created more liquid as it thawed!
Dianna D says
December 25, 2016 at 7:45 pmJust made it and loved it! Very simple and easy to make. A perfect quick and easy recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Sarah says
January 4, 2017 at 6:10 pmOh yay!! I’m so glad it turned out for you, and that you liked it. Thank you so much for letting me know! Hope you had wonderful holidays, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Amanda M says
November 22, 2017 at 8:07 pmBest recipe ever! I’ve made it the last 2 Thanksgivings and just popped one in the fridge. It’s always a huge hit with the family and friends!
Sarah says
November 23, 2017 at 5:15 pmYessss!! I’m so happy to hear this. Your comment seriously made my day. I’m so glad you like this cheesecake. 🙂 I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Nancy Niller says
December 15, 2017 at 9:57 pmI’m making the no-bake pumpkin pie for the second time, it’s delicious. I want to do the No. 1 pie, but was wondering if it would work as a pie? I hate to admit this, but I am 81 and don’t know how to use spring form pan. Been carrying an old one around for many years, but the damn thing scares me. I love reading your recipes. If you could send me a quick answer on email I would appreciate it. I am 81 and want to make sure I can use spring form before its too late?❤️ Thanks. Nancy Miller
Sarah says
December 15, 2017 at 10:58 pmI think the traditional cheesecake is probably too big for a regular pie plate! If you had a deep dish pie plate, it might work! How funny that you’ve never used your springform pan, but I TOTALLY understand having kitchen fears because I still get intimidated when making anything yeast-based – I never know if it’s going to turn out or not! The springform is a cinch. Just make sure to cool the cheesecake before removing the edge of the springform, and it also helps to chill it. Run a knife around the edge, and then pop it off. It won’t pull any edges of the cheesecake if you’ve cooled it enough, and if you’ve greased it!! 🙂 The regular cheesecake is one of our FAVORITE DESSERTS OF ALL TIME!!!
Chantel says
September 16, 2018 at 12:09 pmHi! Just curious if you can make whipped cream instead using whipped topping? I just have a bottle in the fridge and wanted to know if that would work or if I need to go to the store! I’ve made this plenty of times with the whipped topping though:)
Sarah says
September 16, 2018 at 12:55 pmYes, for sure! If you have heavy whipping cream, and you want to make homemade whipped cream, and then use that instead, that would definitely work! 🙂
John-Mark says
November 11, 2018 at 8:51 amIn the recipe ingredients list, you say 8 oz. of cream cheese, but in the comments you say:
“This cheesecake only takes 6 oz. of cream cheese total.”
So, would you please clarify? … is it 6 oz. or 8 oz?
Thanks!
Sarah says
November 11, 2018 at 9:46 amHi there! Thank you for checking, and thank you for pointing out the discrepancy!! Originally, the recipe took 2 – 3 oz. packages of cream cheese. I never see 3 oz. packages of cream cheese anymore, so I eventually just started using 1 – 8 oz. package. The 2 oz. difference doesn’t affect the pie, and it’s easier to find an 8 oz. package. I’ll go back into the recipe to clarify that. Thank you so much for checking!
Gwen says
November 17, 2018 at 1:13 pmI love this pie! My own favorite touch is to make my own crust in a 10″ plate using crushed spiced wafers mixed with some melted butter, with a few crumbs sprinkled on top. The wafers are such a delicious compliment to the pumpkin flavor!
Sarah says
November 18, 2018 at 3:04 pmAaaaah!!! I LOVE that idea! That’s fantastic. I sometimes make the crust from scratch with crushed shortbread cookies, and I have other pumpkin recipes that use gingersnaps for crust. I love the idea of crumbs on top, kind of like a streusel. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Jaya says
November 19, 2018 at 6:49 amHi Sarah, thanks for the recipe. I made this last night and both my cheesecake ahs pumpkin layers are runny and haven’t set despite being in the fridge overnight. What can I do when I make it next to ensure that doesn’t happen?
Sarah says
November 19, 2018 at 7:15 amHi there! It’s nearly impossible for the layers to be runny. They’re both thick before they go in the pie, so that’s odd! The first layer is just cream cheese, a little milk, sugar and whipped cream. The second layer – the pumpkin one – is exceptionally thick before you even spread it in the pie. One thing: you don’t make the pudding – you mix the powdered pudding mix with the pumpkin and spices. Did you make the pudding beforehand? I’m sorry, I’m not sure how the layers could be runny because they’re both thick, but I would recheck your measurements. Here’s the Kraft version of the pie, and mine follows it very closely:
https://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipe/054636/double-layer-pumpkin-pie
Belinda says
November 21, 2018 at 12:47 pmI haven’t eaten it yet, but I think the cream cheese should have been melted, at least partially. The cream cheese was chunky after beating and even after folding in cool whip. Kind of a cottage cheese consistency. Also there was about twice the amount of that mixture, I had to throw half away because it filled the whole shell up before even adding the pumpkin mixture. Excited to try but I had those hang-ups while preparing.
Sarah says
November 21, 2018 at 1:11 pmThe cream cheese should be softened to room temp, definitely, as indicated in the recipe instructions, but I would imagine that melting it wouldn’t be necessary. Also, it does call for the larger 9 oz. prepared crust, NOT 6 oz. crust so that everything fits. Which size crust did you purchase? The pie is tall, and that’s how I intended it to be, so that is the CORRECT amount of cheesecake layer. Sorry that it’s too much cheesecake for you – that’s how I like this pie! It’s based on an old, tried-and-true, Kraft recipe – and I didn’t make many changes, so it’s definitely correct. Sorry that it wasn’t the right pie for you! Have a great Thanksgiving!
Courtney says
November 22, 2018 at 12:15 pmThis recipe was perfect! I made it almost exactly as directed except I didn’t have all the extra spices (so I just used double pumpkin pie spice) and I put one recipe into two 6 inch pie plates since I didn’t want it heaping over the top.
Thank you!
(PS I’ve never made anything resembling cheesecake and that was so easy!)
Courtney says
November 22, 2018 at 12:16 pmI even made a crustless version in a 9×9 baking dish.
Sarah says
November 22, 2018 at 6:46 pmOh, that’s awesome!
Sarah says
November 22, 2018 at 6:09 pmDouble pumpkin pie spice was probably perfect! I bet that made for a great substitution. Great idea to make two smaller pies! I bet those were plenty full enough. I’m so glad you found it easy, and I really hope you like it!!! Thank you so much for your comment, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Beth says
November 22, 2018 at 2:01 pmI think next time I will skip the cloves not a fan the rest of the ingredients go together looks good I’m serving it later today fingers crossed
Sarah says
November 22, 2018 at 6:08 pmUnderstandable! Cloves are pretty potent! Yep, leave them out or cut them down to just a pinch or something! Please let me know how it turns out for you otherwise! 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!
Mary says
November 23, 2018 at 5:10 pmI made this for Thanksgiving.YUMMMM.I used a Graham cracker crust and sprinkled chopped pecans on top.Everyone raved about this pie.Thanks for the recipe!
Sarah says
November 23, 2018 at 8:48 pmThank you so much, Mary! Hope you had a wonderful holiday!
Kathryn says
November 27, 2019 at 11:52 amThis will be my 5th year making this for Thanksgiving. I do NOT cook and don’t even really bake so it’s been a lifesaver. I did discover one year that using Jello Cheesecake pudding instead of vanilla made it taste more like a real cheesecake, but other than that I follow the recipe. You really have to do make sure you do a good job on the bottom layer mixing the cool whip and cream cheese together. The very first time I didn’t mix it enough but it LOOKED mixed, and then when we ate it there were blobs of cream cheese in certain spots.
Sarah says
November 27, 2019 at 1:16 pmHi Kathryn: Thank you so much for your kind comment. I’m so happy this has been a go-to recipe for you the last few years, that feels so wonderful to hear. Of course, I didn’t originate this recipe, but I’m glad that you stumbled across it on my blog here! I remember finding this recipe 15+ years ago, and felt like it was a near-instant gem to me too… I’ve been making it for years. More and more, I find that I want to share things that are super, incredibly easy so that EVERYONE, non-bakers like you, get the chance to feel like they can pull together a simple dessert, and this is certainly a recipe that does that. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!