As the weather is changing I’m loving all of my recipes that call for pumpkin, apples, and cranberries. I’m craving time in the kitchen to make lots of warm food for my family. This easy Pumpkin Cinnamon Cheesecake recipe is wonderful for fall, and perfect for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). Made with 7 ingredients it’s a total winner!
With so many nutritious ingredients, Pumpkin Cinnamon Cheesecake is a super easy dessert recipe that kids love. It’s so healthy that you can serve it for breakfast, though I prefer to save it for dessert in our house. I love the ritual of dessert and tea at the end of our meals. The boys enjoy making tea every evening and are now old enough to hold the kettle of hot water after it has boiled. They are growing up!
Pumpkin Cinnamon Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 medium pie pumpkin, acorn squash or butternut squash
- 1 quart whole milk yogurt, strain overnight using a yogurt strainer, discard whey
- ½ cup honey or agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
Instructions
- Fill the bottom of a baking dish with a little less than ¼ inch of water
- Cut pumpkin in half, remove seeds, and place face down in baking dish
- Roast pumpkin in the oven at 350°F for 45-55 minutes until soft
- Allow pumpkin to cool and scrape flesh into a bowl, then measure out 2 cups
- In a food processor, combine 2 cups pumpkin, strained yogurt, honey, vanilla, and lemon juice and process until smooth, about 1-2 minutes
- Process in cinnamon and salt
- Pour batter into a 8 inch springform pan
- Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes, until firm
- Cool for 1 hour
- Serve
For those of you looking for a paleo pumpkin pie recipe, I have a recipe for that dish in my gluten-free cookbook, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. While my Pumpkin Cinnamon Cheesecake is lactose-free if made with the right type of yogurt, the Pumpkin Pie recipe in my book is completely dairy-free and is another family favorite!
Here are some of my easy paleo pumpkin recipes for you!
Lee says
How does this set without eggs?
Elana says
Lee, the pumpkin, yogurt, and sweetener hold it together perfectly :-)
Kathy says
Can you substitute kefir for the yogurt?
Elana says
Kathy, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Deborah says
Can you use Greek yogurt instead of strained yogurt? If so, how much?
Elana says
Deborah, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
BJ says
So where is the cheese? I don’t get it…
Elana says
BJ, thanks for your comment! This cheesecake uses thick yogurt as its base :-)
Christy says
In one place it says to use a baking dish and in another it says to use a springform pan. Which one is correct?
Elana says
Christy, thanks for your comment! The baking dish is for the pumpkin, the springform is for the cheesecake :-)
Sally Rumpf says
Hi,
I am baking the pumpkin cinnamon cheesecake and I notice the recipe does not call for crust to put on the bottom.
Is it necessary to line the bottom of the springform pan to prevent the cheesecake from sticking to the pan?
Thank you
Elana says
Sally, thanks for your comment! No need to line the springform pan :-)
Gershon says
How much store bought canned/container pumpkin would I use instead of a fresh pumpkin?
Elana says
Hi Gershon, I hope you are well! I haven’t tried this with store bought pumpkin so not sure. This is one of those recipes that tastes fantastic with fresh roasted pumpkin. Here’s a link to my How to Roast a Pumpkin recipe for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/how-to-roast-a-pumpkin-in-10-steps/
It’s easier than you think!
Elana
Teresa says
Elana, if I have made homemade yogurt with raw milk, do I still need to strain the yogurt?
Thanks,
Teresa
Elana says
Teresa, yes :-)
Dora says
Hi Elena,
How do you strain the yogurt?
Thanks!
Elana says
Hi Dora, if you click on the green text in the ingredients portion of the recipe that says “yogurt strainer,” you will see the device I use to strain the yogurt :-)
Abby says
Once the whey is gone, about how many cups yogurt will the 1 quart measure out to be?
Elana says
Abby, I’m so sorry, I haven’t ever taken that measurement. If you do I hope you’ll stop back by and let us know what it was :-)
Abby says
Oh, OK. Thank you for getting back to me!
Elana says
You’re welcome :-)