Look at this creamy deliciousness. 😍 These pumpkin protein cheesecake gingerbread bars have pumpkin spice cheesecake over a gingerbread crust, both made with protein powder. You need these! And be prepared not to share. I ate all 16 of these myself.
The crust here is similar to my cookie recipes made with rice protein powder (like these peanut butter protein cookies). Mixed with nut butters and baked, rice protein gives a crumbly cookie texture that works perfectly here.
And the cheesecake layer is a pumpkin spice protein cheesecake, similar to this recipe for individual pumpkin cheesecakes.
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Ingredients
This recipe for cheesecake bars has a much longer ingredient list than most of the recipes on this site. But I promise the effort is worth it!
Ingredients for the gingerbread crust:
- cashew butter
- water
- molasses or agave - we're not using a lot, but feel free to use a sugar-free syrup here (you'd save 1g sugar/net carb per serving)
- vanilla rice protein - you can sub a vanilla pea protein blend here, but not whey
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger
- ground allspice
- ground cloves
- salt
Ingredients for the pumpkin spice cheesecake:
- Neufchâtel or cream cheese
- large eggs, whole
- Greek yogurt - I used fat-free, but any fat percentage will work
- pumpkin puree - I used canned pumpkin
- vanilla extract - I love this baking vanilla!
- unflavored whey protein concentrate - vanilla whey also works
- stevia - or your favorite sweetener
- pumpkin spice
Equipment
You'll need an 8" square pan or something similarly sized.
I suggest a mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer) for the cheesecake layer.
And I always suggest an oven thermometer. You'd be surprised at the actual temperature of your oven!
How to make these pumpkin cheesecake bars
The cheesecake ingredients will mix best when they are at room temperature. And you'll want to preheat your oven to 325 when you're ready to get started.
Start preparing the crust by mixing the cashew butter, water, and molasses (or syrup of choice), and then you'll add in the protein powder, spices, and salt and mix well.
You'll press that into the baking dish and set it aside.
Next you'll want to mix the Neufchâtel or cream cheese with the eggs, yogurt, and pumpkin. Use an electric mixer to get it smooth.
Add the vanilla, whey protein powder, stevia, and pumpkin spice, and mix until smooth again.
Pour the pumpkin cheesecake batter evenly over the gingerbread crust.
Bake for 15 minutes at 325, then reduce the temperature to 200 (without opening the oven door) and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the cheesecake when the center is just about firm.
Let cool at room temperature, then let it cool completely in the refrigerator.
Top with Protein Candy Corn (optional), cut into 16 bars, and enjoy!
Substitutions
Other nut butters can be substituted for the cashew butter in the crust. Almond butter would be a good choice!
And you can sub a pea protein blend for the rice protein in the crust.
I wouldn't recommend other substitutions. Whey protein will be the best for the cheesecake, as plant-based protein would not yield a creamy cheesecake.
Storage
🥶 Store these yummy keto cheesecake bars in the fridge!
More protein cheesecake recipes
If you enjoy these protein cheesecake bars, you may also enjoy:
- Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
- Individual Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse
- Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Hemp Heart Crust
🥣 Recipe
Ingredients
Crust:
- ⅓ cup cashew butter 85g
- 2 tablespoons filtered water 30ml
- 1 tablespoon molasses 21g
- ⅓ cup vanilla rice protein 37g
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 5ml
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger 5ml
- ¾ teaspoon ground allspice 3.7ml
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves 2.5ml
- ⅛ teaspoon salt 0.6
Cheesecake (ingredients should be at room temperature):
- 1 package Neufchâtel cheese 8oz or 224g
- 2 large eggs whole (100g)
- 4 oz fat-free Greek yogurt ½ cup or 114g
- ½ cup pumpkin puree 123g
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 2.5ml
- ¼ cup unflavored whey protein concentrate 20g
- 4 packets stevia 4g
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice 5ml
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (163C).
- Mix cashew butter, water, and molasses until well combined.
- Add remaining crust ingredients, and mix well. If the dough is too sticky (sticks to your fingers), add 1 or 2 tablespoons more of protein powder. If the dough is too dry (and crumbles), add another tablespoon of filtered water.
- Press into 8" square (or similarly sized) baking dish, and set aside.
- Mix the Neufchâtel cheese, eggs, yogurt, and pumpkin until smooth.
- Add vanilla, whey powder, stevia, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix or blend until smooth.
- Pour cheesecake batter evenly over crust.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 325F (163C), and then reduce the temperature to 200F (93C) and bake for another 15 minutes. The cake should be removed from the oven while the center is just about firm.
- Let cool at room temperature, then transfer to refrigerator and let cool completely.
- Cut into 16 bars, and enjoy! Store in the refrigerator.
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