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Delicious lactose free and grain free Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with a pecan crust and a pumpkin spice streusel topping!
Let’s keep the pumpkin recipes rolling with a delicious gluten free dessert option- PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE BARS!
I’ve been partnering with Green Valley Creamery for the last few months to create dishes with their lactose free dairy products. I gave up dairy after my Celiac diagnosis to help with the gut healing process, and it’s probably one of the things I miss the most. I’ve found that I do really well with Green Valley’s organic lactose free dairy products, and I am SO excited about it!
This month, I’m highlighting their cream cheese. Rather than doing something boring like a bagel shot, I figured why not doing something that screams fall? and better yet…fall DESSERTS!
This crust is similar to the crust in my paleo/vegan strawberry cheesecake bars! I had never tried baking it before testing this recipe, and it works really well. I get my pecans from Trader Joe’s – raw and unsalted.
You can definitely use regular cream cheese for this recipe, but if you’re looking for lactose free, I highly recommend Green Valley Creamery. Here is a store locator so you can find some near you!
The key to getting the regular cream cheese layer and then the pumpkin layer is to let the white part freeze for at least 1-2 hours before pouring on the pumpkin layer. Otherwise it may turn into a pumpkin swirl (which is still pretty cool!)
I highly recommend letting these sit in the fridge overnight (once completely cooled)…so definitely make them the night before your event or party.
Ok, let’s get cookin’!
Grain Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Pecan Crust
- 2 cups raw unsalted pecans
- 7 pitted dates
- ¼ cup coconut oil, in solid form
- ⅓ cup almond flour
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Cheesecake filling
- 24 oz lactose free cream cheese, I used 3- 8oz tubs
- 1 cup sugar , can sub coconut sugar - just note it will change the color of the cheesecake since it's brown!
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree
Pumpkin Spice Streusel Topping
- ¾ cup almond flour
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup ghee or coconut oil
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325. Lightly spray a 9x12 baking pan with coconut oil or cooking spray. (or line with parchment paper). Make the crust. Combine all crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute or until a sticky granola consistency is reached. Use your hands to press the mixture down into the pan so it covers the bottom evenly. Put it in the freezer while you make the filling.
- For the filling, combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and eggs in a bowl and mix well until a creamy consistency is reached. (don't add pumpkin yet!) Remove the pan from the freezer and add HALF of the cream cheese mixture. Use a spatula to spread an even layer on top of the pecan crust. Return the pan to the freezer.
- Add the pumpkin puree to the remaining cream cheese mixture and mix well until combined.
- Once the white cream cheese layer has set in the freezer for 1-2 hours, add the pumpkin cream cheese layer evenly on top. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the streusel topping. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and use your hands to sprinkle the streusel mixture all over the top. Bake for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Refridgerate overnight, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition facts are an estimate and automatically calculated. While I fact check them using My Fitness Pal, please note that they may not always be 100% accurate and depend on ingredients used. Weigh your total and divide by the number of servings for the most accurate grams per serving size.
The middle doesn’t appear to be set, even after the full hour in the oven. Any advice?
Hi, so sorry I didn’t see this until now. I am not sure what could have gone wrong. What type of cream cheese did you use?