If you like sweet potato pie, you have to try this brown sugar sweet potato cheesecake! Made with sweet potato puree, brown sugar, and plenty of spices, the creamy cheesecake filling packs a ton of flavor. And the crunchy graham cracker crust is the perfect contrast to the silky smooth meringue topping.

Sweet Potato Pie Cheesecake

I like to take classic Thanksgiving pie recipes and turn them into cheesecake recipes. I’ve turned pecan pie into pecan pie cheesecake and pumpkin pie into pumpkin pie cheesecake. And now, I’ve made sweet potato pie into sweet potato pie cheesecake!

I find pie cheesecakes to be way more fun than regular pie… and way more delicious! But the best part about Thanksgiving cheesecakes? You can make them weeks – or months – in advance and store in the fridge or freezer until needed.

Why You’ll Love Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Texture: Crunchy, creamy, and silky smooth, this cheesecake has all the best textures. And you get to experience each one in every bite of cheesecake!
Flavor: This brown sugar sweet potato cheesecake packs SO much flavor in every bite! The sweet potato puree is just the base flavor. Which we intensify with brown sugar, vanilla, plenty of cinnamon, and warm spices like ginger, all-spice, and nutmeg.
Convenience: Make a homemade cheesecake is definitely a labor of love. And requires patience, because this recipe requires several hours of chilling. But this is actually good news for anyone who likes to make dessert in advance! Because you can make the crust, filing, and topping up to 48 hours in advance.
Wow Factor: Sure, the textures and flavors in this sweet potato cheesecake are out-of-this-world. But this dessert is also a total showstopper! Between the bright orange filling and mile-high meringue topping, this dessert will have your guests raving.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes VS Sweet Potato Puree

I use and recommend using canned sweet potato puree. My reasoning behind this recommendation is convince. That being said, you may absolutely roast your own sweet potatoes! And they will likely give the sweet potato cheesecake delicious flavor.

Just be sure to plan ahead time wise for roasting the sweet potatoes. Cool the sweet potatoes completely before peeling them, mashing them into a puree, and adding them into the batter. You will need a food processor or blender to create your own homemade sweet potato puree. Be sure there are no lumps or chunks.

Ingredients for sweet potato cheesecake recipe.

Make the Graham Cracker Crumb Crust

A graham cracker crust adds much needed texture contrast to the creamy cheesecake filling… and tastes divine! Made with melted butter, brown sugar and spices, this one is extra delicious. Here are a few tips to help you make the best crust ever.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees at least 20 minutes before you plan on baking. This ensures the oven has enough time to reach the proper temperature!
Prep your pan by spraying it with non-stick baking spray. Then wrap the bottom and sides of the pan with heavy-duty extra wide tinfoil. You want to add a few layers here to ensure no water creeps through when you place the pan in the water bath. Here’s my guide on how to make an easy water bath for a cheesecake.
For ease, feel free to use pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs. Or, add graham crackers to a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs, then measure and use as needed.
Partially bake the crust before adding the sweet potato pie filling. This guarantees a crunchy graham cracker crust.

Make the Sweet Potato Pie Cheesecake Filling

Be sure to use room temperature ingredients! The most important being the cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs. If the cream cheese isn’t room temperature, when you try to beat the cream cheese it’ll clump up.
Beat the cream cheese and sour cream on medium-speed until completely smooth! You’ll need to stop and scrape the sides and bowl several times during this process to ensure there are no lumps hiding.
When you add the eggs, be sure your mixer is on the lowest speed setting. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until just combined. Over beating the eggs incorporates too much air into the batter. This causes the batter to rise in the oven and then fall once removed from heat.
Bake in a water bath! Do not skip this step or your cheesecake will not bake up silky smooth and creamy.
After baking, allow the cheesecake to cool inside the turned off oven. This helps the cheesecake cool slowly, which keeps it creamy and helps avoid cracking.
Do not remove cheesecake from the springform pan until you’re ready to top and serve it! It needs to chill IN the pan.

Make the Meringue Topping

To make this extra special, top this cheesecake with a billowy meringue topping! Sweet, silky smooth, and a total showstopper, it’s worth the extra effort. Here are a few tips to help you along the way:

You’ll need 5 egg whites for the topping. Save the 2 egg whites from the cheesecake filling to use in the meringue topping recipe. That way you only need to crack 3 more eggs open.
I like to make the meringue topping the day I plan on serving the cheesecake. But to save time, you can do it up to 12 hours before you plan on serving. You can top the completely cooled cheesecake with the meringue topping and then store in the fridge until needed.
To toast the meringue topping, you’ll need a kitchen torch. I do not recommend toasting the meringue under the broiler because this will heat the cheesecake back up. But in a pinch, you can do this method. Then chill for at least 30 minutes.
You can get fancy and pipe the meringue topping on the cheesecake. Or simply use a spoon to swirl and spread it cross the surface (which is my go-to method).

Special Equipment for this Recipe