Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake

Creamy, spiced pumpkin cheesecake with a delicious gingersnap crust – all made in an Instant Pot! The perfect dessert for fall.

When the calendar turns to September, I start thinking about fall flavors. But the weather in Nashville is still hot this time of year, with most days topping 90 degrees F, so I like to look for ways to bake desserts without turning on the oven and heating up the whole house. I’ve been craving pumpkin cheesecake, so I adapted an oven recipe for my Instant Pot with delicious results!

What is an Instant Pot?

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Instant Pot refers to a brand name of multi-use, programmable electric pressure cookers.  The Instant Pot brand offers several different sizes and there are a number of other pressure cooker brands on the market as well with comparable features.

All of the pressure cookers brands and models are pretty similar; they just name things a bit differently, so refer to your manual if I reference a button that you don’t have on yours – or leave a comment in the notes and I’ll try to help you out! This recipe was made in the Instant Pot 6qt Duo, so all of my instructions are based on that one.

Equipment Needed

To make this Instant Pot pumpkin cheesecake, you’ll need some special equipment:

1. An Instant Pot. As the name suggests, you’ll need a pressure cooker to make this recipe. This is the one that I used: Instant Pot 6qt Duo
2. A 7 inch by 3 in springform or push pan. This allows you to get the cheesecake out of the pan easily. This is the one that I used: Fat Daddio Round Cheesecake Pan, 7 x 3 inch.
3. A short trivet. This keeps the cheesecake out of the water in the bottom of the Instant Pot pan. You can use one similar to what comes with many models of Instant Pot like this or just the shorter one from a trivet set like this.
4. A hand mixer or stand mixer. This allows you to incorporate the cheesecake into the rest of the cheesecake ingredients. I have a Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer that I used for this recipe.

How to Make Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake

To make this cheesecake you’ll start by putting together a delicious, spiced gingersnap crust. Then mix the creamy pumpkin cheesecake filling, assemble with the crust, and cook in the Instant Pot. Finish up by cooling in the fridge for at least 4 hours (the hardest part of the recipe!). Add a sour cream topping if desired, and serve!

Gingersnap Crust

Start by preparing a 7 inch x 3 inch springform or push pan (like this one) by spraying the sides and bottom liberally with cooking spray or grease the sides and bottom with butter or shortening. You have two options with the crust:

1. Blind bake: Baking blind or pre-baking the crust in an oven will lead to a crispier crust. Since we’re baking this in an Instant Pot, the crust will be less crispy without blind baking, but is still delicious! I’ve made this recipe both ways many times.
2. Freeze: If you don’t have an oven or don’t want to use your oven, then after putting the crust together, you’ll freeze while you prepare the filling. This leads to a crispier crust than just leaving it at room temperature

If blind baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then for either method you’ll measure out the gingersnap cookies and place in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Crush the gingersnap cookies using a rolling pin or heavy can. You could also use a food processor to grind the cookies into crumbs. Put the crumbs in a medium bowl.

Add brown sugar, flour, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the crumbs and mix them all together with a spoon. Then melt the butter and add to the crumb mixture. Mix with a spoon until the butter is well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and press the mixture down with your hands, a small cup, or a spoon.

If you’re blind baking the crust, bake for 8 minutes. Then remove and set aside. If freezing, place the crust in the freezer and leave there until the filling is ready.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling

For the filling, it’s important that your cream cheese is at room temperature before starting!

Start making the filling by beating the cream cheese on medium using a stand mixer or hand mixer until smooth, about two to four minutes. Then add the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and spices to the cream cheese and beat for another minute or two on medium until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure nothing sticks to the sides or bottom.

Then add the eggs. Beat on low until just combined (20-30 seconds). You don’t want to overbeat the eggs or the cheesecake will not turn out as well. Then pour the pumpkin cheesecake filling into the prepared pie crust.

Add two cups of water to the Instant Pot stainless steel pot and put that pot inside the Instant Pot. Place a short trivet like the short one from this set inside the Instant Pot. Then prepare a foil sling to help you get the cheesecake into and out of the Instant Pot. Tear off about 24 inches of foil and fold lengthwise into quarters (so the final sling with foil that’s 12″ wide is about 24″ by 3″). Place the cheesecake pan in the center of the sling and fold up the sides around the pan so you can lift the pan using the foil.

Pick up the cheesecake and place in the Instant Pot. Fold over the foil sides so they don’t touch the cheesecake batter. Seal the Instant Pot lid and turn the pressure release valve to close it. Press the “Pressure Cook” button (“Manual” on some models) until it’s on “High Pressure” and press the +/- buttons until it says 00:30.

The Instant Pot will say “On” until it comes up to pressure and will then start counting down from 30 minutes. After it’s done, leave it to naturally release for 30 minutes. To do this, just leave the Instant Pot alone after it beeps. It will start counting up until it says “L00:30.” Then release any remaining pressure by opening the pressure release valve and opening the lid once the pressure is released.

Gently remove the cheesecake using the foil sling. Place on a plate and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 or so minutes. Then run a small knife around the rim of the pan to release the filling (it may not have stuck at all, this is just to be safe). Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight.

When you’re ready to serve the cheesecake, gently remove the sides of the springform or push pan. For the springform, just release the sides and slip the pan off the base. For the push pan, just push the bottom right through. Do this gently and use a small knife to release any stuck spots.

Place the cheesecake on the serving plate. If you want to add a sour cream topping, then mix together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl. Gently spread over the top of the cheesecake. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired. If you’re not using the sour cream topping you may want to top with whipped cream. Then cut into slices and serve!

If you try this recipe for Instant Pot pumpkin cheesecake, please leave me a comment and a review below! Looking for more fall dessert recipes? Try these pumpkin cream puffs, mini caramel apple cheesecakes, or salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars.

Print Recipe

5 from 7 votes

Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake

Creamy, spiced pumpkin cheesecake with a delicious gingersnap crust – all made in an Instant Pot! The perfect dessert for fall.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Cooling Time4 hours hrs

Total Time5 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Danielle Howard

Ingredients

Gingersnap Crust

• 4 1/4 oz (120 g) gingersnap cookies (or substitute equal weight of graham crackers)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling

• 16 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 eggs

Sour Cream Topping (optional)

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Gingersnap Crust

• Prepare a 7" x 3" springform or push pan by spraying the sides and bottom liberally with cooking spray or grease the sides and bottom with butter or shortening. Set aside.
• If blind baking (see note) preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. If not, then proceed to the next step.
• Measure out the gingersnap cookies and place in a large Ziploc bag (I used a gallon-sized bag). Crush the gingersnap cookies using a rolling pin until they are the consistency of crumbs. Alternatively, you can use a food processor to grind into crumbs. Place the crumbs in a medium bowl.
• Add the brown sugar, flour, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the same bowl and mix together with a spoon.
• Melt the butter and pour into the bowl with the crumbs and spices. Mix until the butter is combined well. Pour the mixture into the pan and press down on the bottom with a small cup or spoon.
• If blind baking the crust, bake in the oven for 8 minutes, then remove and set aside. If not blind baking, place the crust in the freezer until the filling is ready.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling

• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium until smooth, about two to four minutes.
• Add the remaining ingredients except for the eggs (pumpkin puree, brown sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and spices) to the cream cheese and beat for another minute or two on medium until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure nothing is stuck to the sides.
• Then add the eggs. Beat on low just until combined (20-30 seconds). Then pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust.
• Add two cups of water to the Instant Pot stainless steel pot. Place the pot inside the Instant Pot.
• Place a short trivet in the Instant Pot. It should not touch the water. Prepare a foil sling to help you get the cheesecake out of the Instant Pot. To do this, tear off about 24 inches of foil and fold lengthwise into thirds (so the final piece is 24" x 4" or so if your foil is 12" wide). Place the cheesecake in the center of the foil sling and fold up the sides around the pan so you can lift the pan using the foil. Pick up the cheesecake and place in the Instant Pot. Fold over the foil sides so they don't touch the cheesecake batter.
• Seal the Instant Pot lid and turn the pressure release valve to close it. Press the "Pressure Cook" button ("Manual" on some models) until it's on "High Pressure" and press the +/- buttons until it says 00:30.
• The Instant Pot will say "On" until it comes up to pressure and will then start counting down from 30 minutes. After it's done, leave it to natural release for another 30 minutes. To do this, just leave the Instant Pot alone after it beeps. It will start counting up until it says "L00:30." Then release any remaining pressure by opening the pressure release valve and opening the lid once the pressure is released.
• Gently remove the cheesecake with the foil sling and allow to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. Run a small knife around the rim of the pan to make sure the filling is not stuck to it. Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
• When you're ready to serve the cheesecake, gently remove the sides of the springform or push pan. For the springform, just release the sides and slip off. For the push pan, just push the bottom right through. Do this gently and use a small knife to release any stuck spots. Place the cheesecake on a serving plate.

Sour Cream Topping (optional)

• Skip this step if not using the sour cream topping. If adding the topping, mix together the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl with a spoon. Gently spread over the top of the cheesecake.
• Cut the cheesecake into slices and serve!

Notes

Blind baking the crust leads to a crispier crust in the end.  The step is completely optional, I’ve made the cheesecake both ways (either blind baking or freezing), so if you don’t feel like using the oven, then skip the step.