Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love the fall because that means it time to break out the pumpkin recipes!

I’ve been craving pumpkin AND cheesecake so I threw together my favorite ingredients in this healthy and flavorful pudding-like dessert. For an even lower calorie version, you can opt out of baking the crust, and just sprinkle some graham cracker crumbs on top of the pudding (by itself) instead.

Crust Ingredients

• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, low-fat
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1/2 tsp stevia or 1 tsp agave nectar
• Pinch salt

Pudding Ingredients

• Cooking oil spray or coconut oil
• 2 cups pumpkin puree, fresh
• 8 oz cream cheese, reduced fat
• 1 cup Greek yogurt, 0% fat (I used Oikos)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice
• 2 tsp stevia or 1 tbsp agave (can add more or less, to your preferred level of sweetness)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Typically I use canned pumpkin puree for my pumpkin recipes, but I decided to try my hand at making my own puree from scratch. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it really is.

To Roast the Pumpkin

Heat the oven to 350° F.

For this recipe, you will only need one of the small 4” diameter size pumpkins. Cut your pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and the stringy stuff. I put the seeds into a small bowl so that I could bake them (see pumpkin seed recipe at the bottom of this article).

Lay the pumpkin cut side down on a baking sheet covered in tin foil (sprayed with olive oil or coconut oil). Place into the oven and bake for 1-1/2 hours. Remove from oven and allow it to cool so that you can handle it.

Scoop out the roasted pumpkin, place into a bowl and set aside for use in recipe.

To Make the Crust

Heat the oven again to 350° F.

Add the graham cracker crumbs, flaxseed meal, pinch of salt, stevia, and butter cubes to a medium size bowl. Using your hands, squeeze the butter into the mixture until the butter is evenly distributed throughout the crumbs.

Pour mixture equally into 4 ramekins (or 8 if you want small servings), and using a drinking glass with a flat bottom, press the crumbs so that it coats the bottom and sides of each ramekin.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

To Make Pumpkin Pudding

Add pumpkin puree, cream cheese, yogurt, stevia, vanilla, and spices to a medium size bowl and mix using a hand/stand mixer on medium/high until thoroughly blended. Pour into cooled crusts and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving so that the pudding has a chance to set up and the spices can meld together.

Nutritional Info

Makes 4 large servings, or 8 small.

Per 8 small servings = per serving

Calories: 173
Fat: 10 g
Carbs: 14 g
Protein: 7 g