Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake Recipe

This year, consider skipping the traditional pumpkin pie and wow your guests with this easy and delicious Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake recipe!

Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake

This is a dessert recipe I created for Thanksgiving many years ago. It combines two of my favorite flavor combinations- pumpkin and turtle (aka: chocolate and caramel!), into one delicious cheesecake recipe. It’s fancy enough for people to think you spent a lot of time on it, but honestly, it’s pretty easy as far as dessert recipes go!

Ingredients in Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake

• Oreos. You can also use any other chocolate wafer cookie if you don’t want to use Oreos. There is also a gluten-free version out there if you want to make this gluten-free. Use a Butter Pie crust or a homemade graham cracker crust if you don’t want to use Oreos or chocolate cookies at all.
• Butter. This helps to hold the crust together.
• Cream cheese. You can use the full-fat cream cheese or the 1/3; it’s totally up to you and it all all work just fine.
• Sugar. Yes, this is cheesecake, and it uses sugar! I’ve not tried any kind of replacement.
• Vanilla extract. You can use homemade vanilla extract or store-bought.
• Pumpkin Puree. This can be homemade or store-bought, but make sure it’s just pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
• Eggs. These help give cheesecake its wonderful texture!
• Pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have this, you can add cinnamon and nutmeg instead.

I made this last week as a trial and error type thing for a pot luck this week. We liked it but thought it needed more pumpkin flavor. I think today I’ll use pumpkin pie filling. I normally interchange pumpkin with pumkin pie filling in all my recipes and have no issues. Using gluten free oreo type cookies to make it gluten free for my ‘diet’ Haha this cheesecake being diet friendly.

Colleen, Little House Living reader

Step by Step Instructions for Making Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake

Melt the butter and crush the Oreos. Spread evenly on the bottom of a springform pan. Press down on the bottom and about halfway up the sides.

Tip: If you don’t want to use Oreos you can always make a Butter Crust from scratch instead. (Or you could use chocolate graham crackers if you can find them cheaper!)

Blend the softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, pumpkin, eggs, and pumpkin pie spice. I use a hand mixer so that there aren’t any chunks of cream cheese left.

Pour into the springform pan on top of the crust. Bake at 350F for 55 – 60 minutes.

When it’s done baking, take it out and let it cool for a while. Pop it out of the springform pan.

Melt caramels and chocolate chips and drizzle on top.

Tip: This Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce would also be delicious drizzled over the top too.

You could also add pecans to make it a true turtle cheesecake. We are allergic to nuts here so we have to skip those.

Want to print this recipe for Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake? Grab it Below:

Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake Recipe

How to make an indulgent cheesecake for Thanksgiving.

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

• 2
  cups
  oreos
  crushed
• 3
  Tablespoons
  butter
  melted
• 24
  ounces
  cream cheese
  3 packages
• 1
  cup
  sugar
• 1
  teaspoon
  vanilla
• 15
  ounces
  pumpkin puree
• 3
  eggs
• 1
  teaspoon
  pumpkin pie spice

Topping

• Caramel Sauce
• Chocolate Sauce

1. Melt the butter and crush the oreos. Spread them evenly on the bottom of a springform pan. Press them down on the bottom and about halfway up the sides. If you don’t want to use Oreos you can always make a Butter Crust from scratch instead. (Or you could use chocolate graham crackers if you can find them cheaper!)

2. Blend the softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, pumpkin, eggs, and pumpkin pie spice. I use a hand mixer so that there aren’t any chunks of cream cheese left.

3. Pour into the springform pan on top of the crust.

4. Bake at 350F for 55 – 60 minutes.

5. When it’s done baking, take it out and let it cool for a while. Pop it out of the springform pan.

6. Melt caramels (or make caramel sauce) and chocolate chips and drizzle on top. You could also add pecans to make it a true turtle cheesecake.

Nutrition Facts

Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 453
Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Fat 15g23%

Saturated Fat 6g38%

Trans Fat 0.2g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 6g

Cholesterol 83mg28%

Sodium 813mg35%

Potassium 466mg13%

Carbohydrates 64g21%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 48g53%

Protein 18g36%

Vitamin A 8539IU171%

Vitamin C 2mg2%

Calcium 333mg33%

Iron 6mg33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

More Cheesecake Recipes

What’s your favorite go-to recipe for holidays? Do you like cheesecake?

Merissa Alink

Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple and frugal life on Little House Living since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.

This Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake recipe was originally posted on Little House Living in October 2012. It has been updated as of November 2025.