Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecakes Packed With Protein
It’s the first day of October. And that means pumpkin season is officially upon us. I know, I know . . . pumpkin spice lattes have been on the menu since late August. But there’s just something about flipping the calendar to October that makes me crave pumpkin. So today, I’m sharing a super versatile recipe with you: Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecakes packed with Protein.
Why You’ll Love It:
This Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecake recipes combines familiar flavors, like pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg, with smooth and tangy Greek yogurt, ricotta cheese, and cream cheese for a fall classic you are sure to love.
This dish is low in sugar, but high in deliciousness. (Is that a word? Well . . . it is now).
The best part about this healthy pumpkin cheesecake recipe is that it tastes like a decadent dessert, but it’s actually packed full pf protein. Which means you can eat it anytime. Breakfast. Lunch. Late night snack.
Most of the time I do enjoy these healthy pumpkin cheesecakes for breakfast. Because is there anything better than cheesecake for breakfast? But I also love to pack them in lunchboxesI Or enjoy them after dinner with a cup of tea.
How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecakes:
The Crust:
The dessert begins with an oatmeal graham cracker crust. I’ve experimented with this a lot over the years, and this is my favorite combination. of course, you can use a plain graham cracker crust of you want to. Just double the graham crackers and omit the oats. Everything else can stay same.
But don’t leave out the graham cracker. The oats alone can’t stand up to the weight of the pumpkin filling. Believe me, I’ve tried.
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin tine with cooking spray. I usually get about 16 mini cheesecakes with this recipe, so if you have two pans, go ahead and use them both.
In a medium bowl combine the oats and graham crackers crumbs with a little bit of cinnamon and a dash of salt. Drizzle in about two tablespoons of our maple syrup. You could use honey too. This part isn’t necessary. The graham crackers are already a little bit sweet, but I find it helps the crust to stay together better. Then mix in about a cup of melted butter. The mixture will be crumbly but that’s okay.
Scoop about 2 tablespoons of crumbs into the bottom of each liner and push them down. Then bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. You just want the crust to be lightly browned and fragrant.
The filling:
The filling for these healthy pumpkin cheesecakes combines a number of protein packed ingredients. Greek yogurt, ricotta cheese and protein powder.
In a large bowl combine the Greek yogurt, softened cream cheese, ricotta cheese and pumpkin puree using a hand mixer. Be sure to buy plain pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. Mix until creamy.
Add three eggs, vanilla and collagen powder and mix well. The three eggs offer volume, height and lightness. The collagen powder offers an extra dose of protein to help fill you up.
These healthy pumpkin cheesecakes are lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup or raw honey and just two tablespoons of brown sugar. Classic pumpkin pie spice provides warmth and flavor. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can combine cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. The Pioneer Woman gives you specific amounts.
Mix everything together until well-blended. Then, using an ice-cream scoop add about 1/2 cup batter to each muffin cup. You can fill the cups almost to the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minute until the edges are set. The middle might still be a little bit wobbly. That’s okay. It will firm up as at sits.
A note about cracking . . . you can see from the photos that some of my cheesecakes are cracked. I don’t have a good solution for that. Typically you use a water bath to prevent cracks in cheesecake, and if you had a large baking sheet with a lip you could try that. But for me the cracking happens when I take the cheesecakes out of the pan. You could try paper liners in your muffin pan. But I’ve never done this so I’m not sure of the cheesecakes would stick. If you try it, let me know in the comments. Or maybe try this silicon pan.
Whipped topping:
Finally, I made some fresh whipped cream to serve with these healthy pumpkin cheesecake. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, whip together 1 cup whipped cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 tablespoons of powdered sugar on high until stiff peaks form. Be sure to use the bowl guard if you have it, or you will have cream all over your kitchen. Ask me how I know.
Many recipes recommend chilling your bowl and whisk first. There’s no harm in doing this. But in the interest of transparency I can honestly say I rarely do this. I don’t plan ahead the far. And I’ve never had a problem making whipped cream. Just beat on high and you’ll be good to go.
Enjoy!
This recipe started as a way to bring a little joy to breakfast time. I’d been mixing together pumpkin and ricotta, drizzling with maple syrup and sprinkling with granola when I had the brilliant idea to fancy it up a bit. And to this day, I do enjoy healthy pumpkin cheesecake for breakfast. They make a fun, make ahead addition to your brunch table.
But they are also perfect for dessert. Individual servings are so much fun. And so easy, too.
My kids love to pack these in their lunch boxes. And the great thing is they can be either the lunch or the snack. My vegetarian daughter often takes them as a protein-filled lunch.
You can make them in a larger dish though. Try a 9 X 13 pan and simply slice and serve.
And of course, the whipped cream is completely optional.
I hope you love these healthy pumpkin cheesecakes as much as I do!
Happy Eating!
PS: You can find more yummy dessert recipes HERE.
Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecakes Packed with Protein
Print RecipeIngredients
Crust
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 12 sheets of graham crackers, crushed
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 cup butter melted
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups Greek Yogurt full fat or 2%
- 1 block cream cheese softened
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 cups softened pumpkin puree
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 2 scoops plain collagen
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 pure maple syrup or melted raw honey
Whipped Topping
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, oats, salt, cinnamon and butter.
- Add 2 tablespoons of crumbs into each muffin pan and bake for 7-8 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned.
Filling
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl beat together Greek yogurt, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, and pumpkin puree with a hand mixer.
- Add eggs, collagen powder, and vanilla and beat until well-combined.
- Add spices, brown sugar, and maple syrup and mix until thick and creamy.
- Pour pumpkin mixture over crust and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes until batter is just set (center should be a little bit wiggly).
- Let cool for 1 hour and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.
Whipped Topping
- Beat heavy whipping cream and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer for about 5 minutes until stiff peaks form. Serve immediately over cheesecake.
2 Comments
Comments are closed.