Pumpkin Cheesecake. Does it get more fall than that? Only what’s different about these Pumpkin Cheesecake Protein Bars is that there is no cream cheese in them at all! They are made a whole bunch healthier by using greek yogurt instead!
This isn’t the first healthy cheesecake recipe I’ve done. The collection is getting huge. It first started with the original Cheesecake Protein Bars, then was the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Protein Bars, then Lemon Cheesecake Protein Bars, then Coconut Cheesecake Protein Bars and finally Key Lime Cheesecake Protein Bars. Phew. Now it feels almost complete with pumpkin in here too.
I decided to add a bit of white chocolate drizzle to these, since the filling isn’t overly sweet, so I wanted a bit of a sweet topping. I think it goes perfectly. But you can totally leave it out. Up to you (I included the nutrition for both). Some other great topping options would be whipped cream, whipped coconut cream or even some melted coconut butter drizzled on top.
Another great swap is using chia seeds instead of ground flax seeds in the crust. They both work great, so use whatever you have on hand or what you prefer.
These will go fast in our house. The girls and hubby all like them, so I’m sure it won’t be long before I’m making another pan of them.
Happy ‘almost’ October!
- 2 cups non-fat greek yogurt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (I used canned pumpkin)
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsp gluten free flour (or if not gluten free use all purpose)
- ½ cup stevia for baking (or I used 12 packets of NuNaturals) *use whatever sweetener you prefer & taste for sweetness and add more if needed
- ¾ cup crumbs from gluten-free gingersnap cookies (I used 3 of these PatsyPie Snappy Ginger Cookies) *could also use graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup whey protein, vanilla (I used Whey Gourmet, vanilla) *or sub for extra cookie crumbs if preferred
- 3 Tbsp ground flax seed (or whole chia seeds)
- 5 Tbsp butter (or coconut oil), melted
- 30 drops stevia (I used NuNaturals vanilla stevia drops) *optional
- 1½ squares of Baker's White Chocolate, melted (or 42 grams white chocolate chips)
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl (or stand mixer with paddle attachment), whisk the eggs, add in the greek yogurt, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice and whisk until smooth. Then, add in the stevia and flour a little at a time, whisking after each addition.
- Once the cheesecake filling is whisked until smooth, set aside
- Next, start the base. Mist or lightly oil an 8x8 pan.
- In a bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, flax, whey protein and liquid stevia (if using).
- Once dry ingredients combined, drizzle in the melted butter and stir until its all combined.
- Press the graham crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of the 8x8 square pan. Ensure you pack it down firmly.
- Then pour over the cheesecake filling and spread it around so its even.
- Place in the oven and bake for approx. 45-50 minutes
- When its done, it will just start to go golden around the edges, start pulling away from the pan, and won't jiggle when wiggled slightly.
- If it still seems too liquidy in the middle, bake for a few minutes longer.
- Allow to cool completely.
- If drizzling with white chocolate (optional), melt the chocolate in the microwave or on the stove, then drizzle over the entire cheesecake with a fork or spoon.
- Then put into the fridge and allow to chill completely. It will take 2+ hours to completely chill in the fridge.
- Keep stored in the fridge with tin foil over top of the pan, or cut into bars, and transfer to a container.