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No-Bake Pumpkin Mascarpone Cheesecake

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Perfectly smooth and creamy, this No-Bake Pumpkin Mascarpone Cheesecake is a pumpkin cheesecake with mascarpone cheese & whipped cream with a buttery graham cracker crust.

A slice of pumpkin cheesecake with nuts and whipped cream

Easy No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

I am here for all things pumpkin- the bread, the ice cream, to donuts, and of course, the cheesecake. How much more pumpkin can you guys handle? Luckily for you, this recipe is quick, simple and downright amazing.

If you’ve never made a mascarpone style no-bake cheesecake, let me tell you, it’s a game-changer. The taste is so much more subtle than cream cheese, allowing the other flavors of the dessert to really come through. The texture of this cheesecake is incredible. It’s ultra-light and fluffy, it reminds me of a mousse. It’s all wrapped up in a buttery graham cracker crust.

No-bake recipes are my jam, and they’re perfect for the holiday season because you can make it ahead of time, which takes the pressure off for any last-minute preparations. This recipe keeps really well, but I guarantee it won’t last long once you slice into it.

a white cake plate with a slice pumpkin cheesecake, and a slice being removed with a spatula

Recipe Ingredients

For the Crust

  • Graham cracker crumbs- these are easy to make with a food processor
  • Light brown sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • Unsalted butter

For The Filling

  • Mascarpone cheese- cold from the refrigerator
  • Heavy whipping cream
  • Powdered sugar
  • Light brown sugar
  • Pumpkin pie spice
  • Pumpkin puree– not pumpkin pie filling

For The Topping

  • Heavy whipping cream
  • Powdered sugar
  • Pecans for ganirsh
a gold fork sinking into a slice of pumpkin on a plate drizzled with caramel

How to Make No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

The method used is in this recipe is basically like making a mascarpone whipped cream, and then add the pumpkin in at the end. It’s important that the cream is beaten until stiff peaks form so that you don’t have a soupy cheesecake.

Make The Crust

Prepare the pan: Prepare a 9-inch (22.8-cm) springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper, letting it hang out the side of the pan, then closing the edges around it. You can see a full tutorial here. Then lightly grease the sides of the pan with a paper towel and some nonstick cooking spray. Just a light coating.

Make the crust: Using a food processor, grind the graham crackers into a fine crumb. Then add the cinnamon and brown sugar, stir to combine. Finally, pour the melted butter over the graham cracker mixture and stir until there are no more dry crumbs. Press the crumbs tightly into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan. Refrigerate the crust while you are preparing the filling.

Make the Filling

Beat the mascarpone and heavy cream: Chill the mixing bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes. A nice cold bowl helps keep the ingredients cold. Combine the mascarpone with ½ cup of heavy whipping cream and beat it until the mascarpone resembled a liquid consistency (scrape the bowl as needed). Then add the remaining heavy cream and beat until the mixture has thickened.

Add the dry ingredients: Add the powdered sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Then add the brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Add the pumpkin: Finally, add the pumpkin puree, give it a few stirs, and then use a hand mixer and beat until well combined. Pour the filling into the prepared crust.

Chill: Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours until the filling has completely set.

Make The Topping

I like to add the toppings once the cheesecake has set and you can remove the sides of the pan. I make my favorite whipped cream and garnish with some chopped nuts, but this would also be good with a cinnamon maple whipped cream.

Again we’re going to chill the bowl so we can keep the cream nice and cold. Beat the heavy cream at high speed until soft peaks form. Then add the powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Decorate however you’d like.

How To Store This

Cheesecake must be stored in the refrigerator. You can wrap the pan with plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container such as a cake carrier. It will last 3-5 days.

How To Freeze a Cheesecake

Once the cheesecake is fully set, the easiest way to freeze it is in the springform pan itself. I double wrap it in plastic wrap and it will stay good for up to one month in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then add the toppings before serving. You can also freeze individual slices in an airtight container.

More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love

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A sliced no-bake pumpkin cheesecake on a white cake plate

No-Bake Pumpkin Mascarpone Cheesecake

  • Author: Julianne Dell
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Chill time: 4 hours
  • Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
  • Yield: 10 slices

Description

Perfectly smooth and creamy, this No-Bake Pumpkin Mascarpone Cheesecake is a pumpkin cheesecake with mascarpone cheese & whipped cream with a buttery graham cracker crust.

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 2 ¼ cups (225g) graham crackers crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons (42g) brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (2.5g) ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

  • 8 ounces (226g) mascarpone cheese, cold
  • 1 ½ cups (414 ml) heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup (65g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (2.5g) pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ cup (61g) pumpkin puree

For the topping:

  • ½ cup (118ml) heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup (32g) powdered sugar
  • Crushed pecans for garnish

Instructions

For the crust

  1. Line the bottom of a 9-inch (22.8-cm) springform pan with parchment, wrapping around the removable bottom of the pan. Lightly grease the edges of the pan with cooking spray and wipe with a paper towel.
  2. Grind the graham crackers into a fine crumb. Mix together with the brown sugar and cinnamon, then stir in the melted butter until well combined. Press the crumbs tightly into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan. Refrigerate the crust while you are preparing the filling.

For the filling

  1. Place mixing bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill. Beat the mascarpone at a low speed, add 1/2 cup heavy cream (scrape down the bowl as needed) until mascarpone resembled a liquid mixture, and then add all remaining heavy cream. Increase speed to medium-high beating until thickened. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Next, add the brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice and continuing beating until combined.
  2. Then add the pumpkin puree and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Cover and refrigerate 4-6 hours.

For the topping

  1. Placing the mixing bowl in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Pour the heavy whipping cream into the chilled bowl and use an electric mixer to beat the heavy cream at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add the powdered sugar and continue beating at high speed until stiff peaks form.Pipe whipped cream along edges of the cheesecake using a large open round tip. Sprinkle pecans along the inside edge.
Nutrition Information:
1 slice
501
23.4 g
177.2 mg
38.4 g
35.9 g
1.1 g
3.9 g
106.5 mg
  • Category: Cheesecake
  • Method: Refrigerator
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: no-bake pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin recipe, pumpkin dessert

Ohio Dairy Adventure

While the ADA Mideast team invited me and covered my expenses for the trip, writing this post was not required. I really just wanted to share my adventure with you. A special thanks to the ADA Mideast team, the Indoe family of Richmond Farms and Frank Burkett of Clardale Farms & the Cleveland Browns for hosting us.

I wanted to tell you guys a little bit about a recent trip I took to Ohio with the American Dairy Association Mideast. We were wined and dined and stuffed full of delicious cheese, but more importantly, we had an opportunity to visit two different farming operations.

I could have spent all day at the farms learning about farming. They are just so passionate about their work and let’s face it, farmers never take a day off. The cows have to be milked 2-3 times a day and there’s always plenty of work to be done. One thing that was made very clear to me is how much the farmers truly care about the health of their animals. So much goes into every part of the process from the feed, to animal care to the processing of the milk. It was incredible.

I also thought it would be helpful for you to have some  Dairy Nutrition information from the American Dairy Association that might answer some of your questions.

Leave a Comment

Recipe rating

16 Responses
  1. Victoria

    This recipe was not good at all. Mascarpone has no flavor compared to cream cheese. It did not make much filling and ended up tasting like a spiced whipped pie. Ended up getting tossed and making a Philadelphia cream cheesecake.

    1. Julianne - Beyond Frosting
      Beyond Frosting

      Hi Victoria, I appreciate your feedback but respectfully I don’t agree. This is actually one of my favorite pumpkin desserts because the mascarpone doesn’t overpower the pumpkin. If you were hoping for a pumpkin cream cheese flavor, this definitely isn’t it.

  2. Laura

    This was really good. I made it for Thanksgiving. Everyone loved it! I like that it tastes like pumpkin but is not pumpkin pie. It came together very easily. I did it Thanksgiving morning. I accidentally baked a gluten free graham cracker crust in a pie dish, and it still worked and was easy to cut and serve. Thank you!

  3. Debbie

    Hi Julianne, I hope your still checking your older post. Love your cheesecakes have made many of them. And this one looks delicious also, but I have a lot of cream cheese and was looking for a no bake pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving of course I checked you blog first. But only found this one do you have one for pumpkin cheesecake with cream cheese and my pan is a 10 inch springform pan. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes.

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