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These Keto Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Bars give you all the flavor of fall without added sugar and carbs.
They include three layers: a grain-free almond flour pecan crust, low carb cheesecake, and sugar-free pumpkin pie filling.
Inspired by the best season of the year, pumpkin season, this healthy pumpkin bar recipe will prove that you can have your pumpkin treats and eat them minus the guilt.
In this post, I show you how to make keto pumpkin bars, describe whether pumpkin is keto-friendly, and give tips for storing and making these ahead of time.
Why make Keto Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Bars?
The best season of the year is here! Pumpkin season is upon us. For me at least, that means making and eating some pumpkin treats!
Since all of the pumpkin flavored things usually come with lots of sugar, I’m sharing this recipe so you don’t feel like you have to miss out because you are staying keto or low carb.
These keto pumpkin bars give you all the seasonal fall flavors while keeping your carbs in check.
Pumpkin is sort of sweet. Is pumpkin keto friendly?
According to the Diet Doctor, yes pumpkin is pretty low carb friendly.
In fact, 1 cup of pumpkin has about 9 grams of net carbs. That means with a few key substitutions, you can have your pumpkin pie treats and eat them too.
In this recipe, I’m using 1/2 cup of pumpkin for 12 servings. So, the pumpkin puree adds less than 1g net carbs per serving.
Because pumpkin is keto-friendly, you can do so many things with it and maintain your low carb life.
I love making all sorts of low carb pumpkin treats. Some of my favorites include:
- Pumpkin Brandy Cheesecakes
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
- Pumpkin Swirl Cake
- Keto Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Keto Pumpkin Muffins
Low Carb Healthy Pumpkin Bars versus Traditional Pumpkin Pie Bars
Healthy is one of those words that means different things to different people. So, I’m going to take some time to share what I mean when I call these Healthy Pumpkin Bars.
The biggest changes to these keto pumpkin pie bars versus regular pumpkin bars are the crust and the way these bars are sweetened.
Low Carb Crust:
To cut carbs in the crust, these keto pumpkin bars use a nut based crust. The crust is a mix of almond flour and crushed pecans.
Both of these are very low carb and high in protein and healthy fats.
You could also substitute a low carb cake mix for the crust. You’d simply mix the cake mix according to directions on the package prior to topping it with the cheesecake and pumpkin layers.
If you go that route, I love this low carb coconut flour pound cake mix.
Keto-friendly Sweeteners:
The other big change is the sweetener. Most pumpkin pie recipes rely heavily on brown and white sugar to sweeten the pie.
My keto pumpkin bars use a monk fruit erythritol blend and keto brown sugar replacement to sweeten them while keeping your carbs in check.
Making Keto Pumpkin Bars: Can you make them ahead of time?
Making these keto pumpkin bars is best done ahead of time so they have enough time to chill and set properly.
That means it’s the perfect keto dessert to make the night before a holiday. Less stress and work the day of!
How to Make Keto Pumpkin Bars:
To make these keto pumpkin bars preheat your oven to 350.
While the oven is preheating, pulse all the ingredients for the crust in a food processor or blender.
When the crust ingredients are blended, you can press the crust down into a square pan with a spatula. Pop the crust into the oven and let it cook for 5 minutes. Then take it out of the oven.
While the crust is doing its thing in the oven, add all of the ingredients of the cheesecake layer to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until combined.
Pour the cheesecake layer to the crust and return the crust and the cheesecake to the oven. Let it cook for 8 minutes to allow it to set.
You can skip cooking the cheesecake layer if you want and just directly top the uncooked cheesecake layer with your pumpkin layer.
However, I cooked the cheesecake layer first to help me get the pretty layered look that these bars have.
As the cheesecake layer cooks, mix all of the ingredients together for the pumpkin pie layer.
Once you take the cheesecake crust out of the oven, pour the pumpkin pie layer over the cheesecake layer and spread it out evenly. Then you let the whole thing cook for 35 to 40 minutes.
After that, refrigerate the bars for at least 4 hours prior to cutting and serving.
To make them even more extra special than they already are, you can top them with any of the Honest Syrups that you like. So many of the flavors would be amazing on these bars.
Do I have to store these pumpkin cheesecake bars in the fridge?
Yes, these pumpkin bars should be kept in the fridge until they are gone or for up to 4 days.
I highly doubt they will last that long though. With their buttery crust and layers of creamy cheesecake and pumpkin pie filling, these bars get eaten super fast!
Can you freeze these keto pumpkin pie bars?
Yes, these bars freeze well. In fact, if you wanted to make them ahead of time and freeze them up to a month ahead of time you can. Just let the bars cool completely in the fridge and then freeze the whole tray.
You could even cut a few squares and freeze them for later in the event you don’t think you will eat them all within 4 days of making them.
Ingredients
Almond Pecan Crust
- 1.5 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup salted pecans
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp Granular Monk Fruit Erythritol
Keto Cheesecake Layer
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup Granular Monk Fruit Erythritol
Pumpkin Pie Layer
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 2/3 cup Keto Brown Sugar Replacement
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1.5 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp brandy optional
Key Tools I Used
- Stand Mixer
- Blendtec Blender use DRDAVINAHS for 25% off
- 9-inch Square Pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350
- Mix all of the ingredients for the crust in a blender or bowl.
- Use a rubber spatula to press the crust down into the square pan
- Cook crust for 5 minutes and remove it from the oven
- Mix cheesecake layer by adding all of the ingredients to a stand mixer
- Add the cheesecake layer to the pre-cooked crust & cook this layer for 8 minutes
- Mix all of the ingredients for the pumpkin pie layer
- Add it to the top of the cheesecake layer
- Cook for an additional 35-40 minutes. You want the center of the cheesecake to be jiggly.
- Allow the dessert to cool. Refrigerate it for at least 4 hours.
Janice says
Omg! Delish! I did add the brandy? very rich so I only ate a small square. My husband L O V E D IT!!!
Davinah says
So happy that you enjoyed this, Janice!
Leah Temple says
Are you sure this goes into a 12″ pan (the link to purchase the pan goes to Amazon and it is a 12″ pan which made the end result extremely thin? It was delicious but may try an 8×8 pan next time.
Davinah says
Hi Leah!
Thanks so much for point that out. Sometimes, Amazon changes links or discontinues products and just directs you to the next best thing. I used a 9-in pan to make this and have updated all the links on this page.
Happy you enjoyed it!
Leah Temple says
Yes, my husband is devouring it as I am typing this email. although the pan was too large due to error … it was very very good!
Davinah says
Ha! Thanks again for pointing this out, Leah.
Ashley says
Are these gluten free? Trying to find something to make for Thanksgiving that fits everyone’s needs….a type 1 diabetic, who is low carb and a mom who is gluten free.
Davinah says
Hi Ashley,
These are gluten-free and the sweeteners that I’m usually are refined sugar-free.
Thanks for asking.
Lisa MacDonald says
These were fantastic! Really loved it, and happy that the recipe was for a square pan. Truth is mist people don’t really want to try “no sugar added” desserts. However, with this recipe, you can’t tell the difference!
Thank you!
Davinah says
Hi Lisa!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed this. Thanks for taking the time to write back about your experience.
Best,
Davinah
Julie says
Hi! Can you use regular white erythritol rather then brown? Thanks in advance!
Davinah says
Hi Julie!
Yes. Feel free to use the regular one. The brown has a slightly different flavor, but I’m certain these will still taste delicious without.
Thanks for asking.
Aliv says
Super recipe! The Pumpkin Pie layer was my favourite part, great mix of flavours 🙂
Davinah says
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop back! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Linda says
Dr Davinah Just discovered your site and am so glad I did. This pumpkin dessert is amazing!!! Just wanted to give you a big shoutout to a fellow keto foodie. I will definitely be checking your site often. Blessings on your day
Davinah says
Hi Linda!!!
So happy you stopped by. Thank you for taking the time to leave a note! Many blessings to you too!
Best,
Davinah
Doreen Garrett says
The pumpkin dessert was delicious. Being British,, pumpkin isn’t honestly something we use a lot in cooking -especially desserts! However, as it’s all Hallows around now, I thought I’d give it a go rather than waste all that beautiful fruit…what can I say…except I didn’t realise what I’d been missing out on! It’s hard to believe this is keto!! Thank you Davinah! You’ve opened my eyes. No longer will my keto life be full of the usual predictable meals. I will be using quite a number of the wonderful recipes you are so kindly sharing (once I find the British equivalent of the American names for some of the foods). Keto eating just got even more appealing!
Davinah says
Hi Doreen!
Thanks so much for your comment. I’m so happy that you enjoyed this and found it eye-opening! I started this website because I was getting quite tired of the usual predictable meals & figured others might want something a bit different every now and then too. Looking forward to hearing about the recipes that you try next.
Best,
Davinah
Mimi says
Can you use half and half instead of heavy cream?
Davinah says
Hi Mimi – yes! You can even use coconut cream if you’d like to cut the heavy cream completely.Thanks for asking.
Donna says
Can you double recipe and make in a 9×13 pan??
Davinah says
Hi Donna!
Absolutely – in fact, this is my plan when I remake this for the holidays.
Best,
Davinah
Lauren Gonzalez says
Should I adjust the cook times if I’m doubling it?
Davinah says
Hi Lauren,
When you double the recipe, you’ll need to use a larger pan. Since there will be more space, it should cook evenly using similar times. I haven’t tried this, but I imagine that it should need ~10 extra minutes.
Thanks,
Davinah
Brisbane McDonald says
Hi! This looks great and I am probably going to make this for an office pot luck! I just wanted to know, can I use just monk fruit or just Erythritol? I have lankos and swerve now and I don’t want to buy another sugar subsitute.
Davinah says
Hi Brisbane!
I’d recommend that you use Swerve. The sweetener that I’m using is an erythritol blend and so is Swerve so that would work perfectly.
Thanks so much for asking.
Best,
Davinah
MK says
This is DIVINE! It is Monday before Thanksgiving and I just made it to make sure the non-ketos would eat it. They will never know. So. Can I freeze it? (so we don’t eat it all before Thanksgiving….. Did I mention this is divine!?!?)
Davinah says
HA! I’m so happy that you enjoyed this, MK. Yes! You can definitely freeze this recipe. I tend to do that with all of my cheesecakes on Thanksgiving so that I don’t eat them all in just a few days! I prefer to freeze them pre-cut & portioned so that when I’m ready to eat this again, I can just take one or two out & sit on them counter to thaw.
Best,
Davinah
Clay says
Hi, I love the recipe and it tastes great but the crust is a little floury and I wanted to know how you utilize the butter in the mix, do you use softened or melted butter in the mix to bind it? Any feedback to assist in making this come out better would be helpful.
Davinah says
Hi Clay!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe. I’m using melted butter. It essentially works to bind all of the flour. One thing that might help is to view the video for this recipe. It shows you how the crust should look before you place it in the pan. Hope this helps. Feel free to come back if you have more questions!
Best,
Davinah