Our Best Cheesecake

  4.7 – 284 reviews  • Cheesecake Recipes

With a thick, creamy texture and cherry topping, this cheesecake recipe is our favorite and is one of the simplest to prepare.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Additional Time: 4 hrs
Total Time: 5 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 16

Ingredients

  1. 1 ¾ cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs
  2. ⅓ cup butter, melted
  3. 1 ¼ cups sugar, divided
  4. 3 (8 ounce) packages PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
  5. 1 cup BREAKSTONE’S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
  6. 2 teaspoons vanilla
  7. 3 eggs
  8. 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Mix graham crumbs, butter, and 1/4 cup sugar.
  3. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
  4. Press crumbs onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
  5. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
  6. Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well.
  7. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
  8. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended.
  9. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
  10. Pour mixture over crust.
  11. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
  12. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
  13. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate cheesecake 4 hours.
  14. Top with pie filling before serving.
  15. Size-Wise: Since this indulgent cheesecake makes 16 servings, it is the perfect dessert to serve at your next party.
  16. Substitute: Prepare using PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese.
  17. When cutting creamy-textured desserts, such as cheesecake, carefully wipe off the knife blade between cuts with a clean damp towel. This prevents the creamy filling from building up on the blade, ensuring nice clean cuts that leave the filling intact.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 341 kcal
Carbohydrate 36 g
Cholesterol 98 mg
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Protein 5 g
Saturated Fat 11 g
Sodium 277 mg
Sugars 18 g
Fat 21 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Anthony Reynolds
I liked the ease of this recipe. I also added a extra splash of vanilla extract and cinnamon to the mix. Came out very tasty and almost tasted like a snickerdoodle crescents
Tammy Alvarado
easiest cheesecake ive ever made
Victoria Price MD
Chenee, thank you for such an EASY recipe! Cheesecake can be intimidating, but you made it easy. I love that no crust and no springform are required. The smooth, light texture and caramelized flavor on the “burnt” part are so lovely. I will be adding this to my regular rotation.
Ricky Hart
Easy peasy! I substituted Nilla Wafers for Graham Crackers and it was awesome. Will surely be making this one again.
Michelle Walters
This is a family favorite you can top it with anything the only thing I changed was a little more vanilla
Lauren Jordan
I loved this as a base cheesecake. Alterations were needed for perfect sweetness. I love the author’s recipe and style. You can modify this in so many different directions,
Jennifer Miller
I think oven was a little too hot. Crust had a burned taste even though it wasn’t burned just a little dark. Took it out after 1 hour. I’ll move on to another recipe
Mrs. Brittney Odom
This is my go-too cheesecake. LOVE it. I don’t make any changes, but the possibilties are there..add fruit in or on it, put chocolate chips or other add-ons in it. I once topped it with ganache.
Nancy Duncan
This was the first time I had ever made a cheese cake from scratch. I searched through a good number of recipes and found this one using only 3 blocks of cream cheese. Which is all I had at the time. It turned out spectacular!
Craig Liu
Made this for christmas. Tuned out great.
David Shelton
My Mom took her cheesecake recipe to the grave with her and the world (if you ask anyone who’s tasted it) is a sadder place for it. This classic is a pretty darned close second and a winner in it’s own right. The only change I make is to use 1 tsp each of vanilla and almond flavoring which is the only part of Mom’s recipe that we can vouch for. Heavenly!
Justin Simpson
Best Cheesecake recipe. I first made it for my dad’s birthday this year. Now it’s my son’s favorite so I had to make it for Thanksgiving. Followed recipe & didnt substitute!
Charles Carter
Sure thing everytime, gave my daughter the recipe. I add just add tad more sugar to mix approx 1/2 cup more…PERFECTION❣️
Gregory Pearson
This recipe is fantastic. I make it yearly for my husbands birthday and he says it’s the best cheesecake he’s ever had. Very creamy and delicious. Add a little cinnamon to the crust mix. Make a fruit (raspberry/strawberry, etc!) compote to go with it, don’t get jarred cherries. People will rave about it.
Brooke Gonzalez
I’ve made this recipe many times now!! Instead of using a springform pan like the recipe calls for, you can fill two 9-inch store-bought graham cracker crusts 🙂
Mark Blevins
I have made this for years and never had any complaints, people ask me to make it for them. So easy, absolutely no water bath required. Just follow directions. Excellent. Don’t try to fix what is already perfect.
Isaac Mays
This recipe was easy as stated and was delicious. Although the cake is quite large, I wouldn’t count on serving 16 people. It would serve 10-12 small slices. I will definitely make this cheesecake again. No cracking and no water bath needed!
Jodi Jones
A man’s perspective: Girlfriend and I made it. The recipe makes allot more than fits in one LARGE so called 9″ spring form pan”. So make an extra Gram Cracker crust and have TWO : ) Aren’t two ALWAYS better than one ? Yes, two of the small 9″ pans made two perfect Cheese cakes. See, one for me and split the other.
Christopher Horn
I read the reviews and made some changes. Baked the crust, used a little less sugar, baked at 325 in a water bath for 80 mins , left it in the oven with the door cracked open and it came out perfect and creamy with no breaks. Everyone loved it. Made a strawberry compote with frozen strawberries. Just delicious. Will make again!
Vincent Allen
This came out quite well. A little brown on top, but since it was my first attempt at making a cheesecake, I was still impressed. The only adjustment I made was an additional tsp of vanilla, which makes everything better.
Michael Meadows
This is my absolute go to recipe for cheesecake. It has never failed me. my secret to keep it from cracking is to bake it in a water bath and letting it set in the oven for about 45 minutes to cool a bit. Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting and serving.

 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top