Today I’m so excited to show you how to make the best Cheesecake Recipe of your life. Simple, classic, and no water bath required!! The texture is smooth, rich, and creamy, served over a crisp homemade graham cracker crust.
I’ve included tons of detailed tips and important info in today’s post so you can make the perfect creamy cheesecake every time. For a visual how-to, be sure to check out my step-by-step video beneath the recipe!
The Perfect Cheesecake Recipe
This cheesecake recipe has been a long time coming.
For a recipe with so few ingredients (cream cheese, eggs, sugar, sour cream, vanilla & salt), it took a lot longer than you might think to develop the perfect version. I’ve shared a few cheesecake variations in the past, including my No-Bake Cheesecake, but getting a perfected classic version took lots of testing. Finally, here we are.
Oh, and we are skipping the water bath! I’ve always found them to be largely unnecessary with cheesecakes. Cook yours on a low temperature and follow my tips below and you’ll have a perfectly creamy and crack-less cheesecake without all the hassle of a water bath.
Other tested/perfected classics to try: my Pound Cake, Chocolate Cake, and Carrot Cake, (to name just a handful).
Must-Know Tips for Baking the Perfect Cheesecake (Without a Water Bath!)
Use room temperature ingredients
It’s important that your cream cheese comes to room temperature before you begin making your cheesecake. This will prevent any lumps and ensure a cheesecake with a smooth, creamy texture. However, to ensure that all of your ingredients blend together nicely and give you the desired result, they should all be at room temperature before you begin.
Take it easy on the eggs
Over-beating your eggs is one of the quickest ways to ruin a cheesecake. Over-beating can ruin the texture and can cause cracks. To prevent this, lightly scramble each egg before adding it into your batter. Keep your mixer on low speed and stir until just combined. Be sure to pause after each addition and scrape down the sides and bottom of your mixing bowl.
Don’t open the oven!
I know how tempting it can be to want to check on your perfect, beautiful cheesecake, but wait until it’s finished baking (or close to it) before opening the oven door! Yes, you will have to test for doneness at some point and there’s a real possibility it will need more time in the oven, but minimize opening the oven as much as possible.
Opening the oven door can drastically reduce the temperature of your oven, which will slow the baking process and might cause your cheesecake to sink or crack.
Free your crust!
Once your cheesecake is done baking, allow it to cool for 10 minutes on top of the stove. Then, run a knife around the inside of the springform pan to loosen the crust from the sides.
As your cheesecake cools, it may to shrink a bit. If the crust is stuck to the pan, your crust won’t give but your cheesecake will (leaving you with cracks). Free the crust from the sides so it can contract with your filling as needed.
Cool at room temperature before moving to the fridge
I always let my cheesecake come to room temperature before chilling. For bests results, let it cool as gradually as possible. I put mine on top of my oven (the warmest spot in my house) so it can gradually cool off as the oven does.
This pre-chilling cooling period can take an hour or two, but it’s worth it. An abrupt temperature change (moving the cheesecake directly from oven to fridge) is likely to make it crack.
How to Store Cheesecake
Cheesecake should always be stored chilled in the refrigerator. When I’m ready to store mine, I’ll usually replace the springform ring and then cover the top with foil.
Cheesecake shouldn’t be left out at room temperature for more than 4 hours (or less if it’s particularly hot/humid!).
Can I Freeze Cheesecake?
Yes, you can freeze your cheesecake! Fortunately, this cheesecake recipe actually freezes very well. To freeze, first allow your cheesecake to cool on the stovetop and in the fridge as instructed. Once it’s chilled, you can freeze by wrapping thoroughly in plastic wrap and then wrapping in foil. Cheesecake will keep in the freezer for several months.
To thaw, transfer to the fridge and let it thaw there overnight.
Here’s a great source for more information on freezing cheesecake, including suggestions if you’d like to freeze by the slice.
Other Cheesecake Variations You Might Like:
- Oreo Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Chocolate Cheesecake
- Or try something different and serve this cheesecake on an Oreo Crust!
Enjoy!
The BEST Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust¹
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (170g)
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar (can substitute white)
- 7 Tablespoons butter melted
Cheesecake
- 32 oz cream cheese² softened to room temperature (910g)
- 1 cup sugar (200g)
- ⅔ cups sour cream (160g)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (160C).
- Prepare Graham Cracker crust first by combining graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and brown sugar, and stirring well. Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well.1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs, 2 Tablespoons sugar, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, 7 Tablespoons butter
- Pour crumbs into a 9” Springform pan and press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of your pan. Set aside.
Cheesecake
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl (using a hand mixer) add cream cheese and stir until smooth and creamy (don’t over-beat or you’ll incorporate too much air).32 oz cream cheese²
- Add sugar and stir again until creamy.1 cup sugar
- Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and salt, and stir until well-combined. If using a stand mixer, make sure you pause periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula so that all ingredients are evenly incorporated.⅔ cups sour cream, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low speed, gradually add lightly beaten eggs, one at a time, stirring just until each egg is just incorporated. Once all eggs have been added, use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again and make sure all ingredients are well combined.4 large eggs
- Pour cheesecake batter into prepared springform pan. To insure against leaks, place pan on a cookie sheet that’s been lined with foil.
- Transfer to the center rack of your oven and bake on 325F (160C) for 50-60 minutes (or longer as needed, see note 3). Edges will likely have slightly puffed and may have just begun to turn a light golden brown and the center should spring back to the touch but will still be Jello-jiggly. Don't over-bake or the texture will suffer, which means we all suffer.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on top of the oven⁴ for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes has passed, use a knife to gently loosen the crust from the inside of the springform pan (this will help prevent cracks as your cheesecake cools and shrinks). Do not remove the ring of the springform pan.
- Allow cheesecake to cool another 1-2 hours or until near room temperature before transferring to refrigerator and allowing to cool overnight or at least 6 hours. I remove the ring of the springform pan just before serving then return it to the pan to store. Enjoy!
Notes
1) Graham cracker crust
For more details on making this crust or to use whole graham crackers, please see my Graham Cracker Crust Recipe.2) Cream cheese
Make sure that you use the brick-style cream cheese, not the spreadable version that is available in tubs.3)Bake time
Exact bake time can vary depending on your oven, whether you bake your cheesecake on a baking pan or not, the color of your springform pan (light or dark), and even the precise temperature of your ingredients. Because of this I recommend checking your cheesecake at 50 minutes and adding time as needed. However, it is not uncommon for the cheesecake to take as long as 75 minutes to bake, but it's better to check sooner.4) Cooling cheesecake
I recommend the top of the oven because it is usually the warmest place in my house (after it’s been on for over an hour). This will help to cool the cheesecake more gradually and will also help avoid cracks).Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Michelle
Hi,
I made this recipe last night and it tasted really good, it didn’t crack but the middle part of the cake seems undone, or rather not fluffy. I’m not sure if I made a mistake by not letting it cool down prior to putting it in the fridge to chill.
Thanks for your recipe, it was my first time attempting to bake a cheesecake and hoping I can improve on it come friendsgiving.
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Michelle! Congrats on making your first cheesecake! I am sorry that you experienced issues but happy it still tasted delicious. It sounds like it may have needed a few additional minutes. Next time, you will want to let it cool before putting it in the fridge. That could have been the issue as well. I hope that you have a wonderful friendsgiving! 🙂
D. Gunderson
I had such high hopes for this cheesecake recipe, and the result ended up in the garbage. I was glad I lined my baking sheet with foil because butter from the crust was all over. The crust itself was okay after the extra butter ran out. The cake itself turned out grainy and eggy looking, resembling a quiche. The cake was too tangy for my liking so I would omit the sour cream if you want a milder flavor. The cake raised up beautifully, but the top was a very dark brown. The baking time was far too long. In the end, I baked a new cheesecake using the recipe on the box of cream cheese and had much better results.
Sam
Hi D.
Unfortunately it sounds like the cheesecake was way over-baked which is why you had the results you had. The texture and appearance you are describing indicate a cheesecake that was either baked on much too high of a temperature or for much too long. As you can see in the pictures/video the top should not be brown at all (with the exception of the edges possibly beginning to turn a light golden color) and the texture should be smooth and creamy. I would verify that your oven temperature is accurate and make sure you bake on the middle rack and not too close to the heating unit of your oven. I hope that helps!
Wendi M
Hi! I’m planning to make this cheesecake for Thanksgiving. Can you recommend a strawberry topping/glaze recipe to go with it? Thank you!
Maya
I’m making a cheesecake similar to this but with gingersnaps instead of graham crackers and a ginger caramel sauce. It’s delicious! Especially for the holidays!
Siobhan
on the butter, should purchase sweet or salted – thanks!
Sam
Hi Siobhan! For the crust you can use either salted or unsalted, either is fine. I usually use unsalted because that’s what I tend to keep on hand.
Daja
Do you think the sugar could safely be replaced by honey?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Daja! Having not tried it, I am not certain how it will turn out. 🙁
Daja
Made it with coconut sugar, and it was delicious! It turned brown as I expected, but was beautiful with only 1 small crack. I didnt have a pan big enough to fit the springform, so used a pan underneath. This is my go-to recipe for sure!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Daja! I am so glad that you enjoy the cheesecake. Thank you for commenting. 🙂
Julie
This cheesecake is so easy and delicious. I would like to use it as the basis for a pumpkin cheesecake. Do you have a recipe for a pumpkin cheesecake modification?
Susan Myers
I am going to definitely make this but am wondering how much peanut butter you could add to make it even more delicious? I sometimes add those mini chocolate chips at the end and it’s really tasty!
Sam
Ooh, hard to say for sure how much peanut butter is safe to add without having tried it myself, I’m sorry Susan! If you do experiment with adding peanut butter I’d love to know how it turns out for you, though!
Mary J.
Could I use neufchatel or light cream cheese for this recipe?
Sam
Neufchatel may work but I haven’t tried it, I would not recommend light cream cheese.
Debra Wishan
I have already purchased the jumbo cream cheese spread in a tub,. It is not the whipped variety. Can I use this product. Thank you!
Sam
Unfortunately the kind in the tub doesn’t work, it needs to be the brick style or the cheesecake won’t turn out properly 🙁
Mike
Hi Sam😁.
Can I hand mix? I don’t have any power tools other a stick blender and food processor.
Can I put in a tiny bit of this years Huckleberry reduction sauce right at the end for a swirled/ marbled effect?
Sam
Hi Mike! The important thing is that the ingredients are well-combined. If your cream cheese and all other ingredients are at room temperature I think you could get away with doing this by hand, it might just be a bit of an arm workout creaming the cream cheese and sugar together. I wouldn’t recommend the food processor because I think that would definitely over-do the eggs and you don’t want to over-mix, either.
I think the reduction sauce would be great swirled on top! Sometimes when I add swirls of jam or anything like that it ends up causing cracks but usually it’s worth it for the taste. I hope you love the cheesecake!
Margie
I have made this recipe several times. It is great a a good crowd pleaser. I have to try the chocolate cheesecake recipe next. Thank you for the tips definitely made the difference to a perfect cheesecake.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you have found the baking tips helpful, Margie. I am so glad that you enjoy this recipe. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Anne
Love this recipe! I had some leftover batter that’s been sitting in the fridge for about a week (uncooked). Do you think I would still be able to bake this?
Sam
Hmm, I’ve never kept the batter that long so I’m honestly not sure how it would work. I guess I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, and if you do try it I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!
Harmony
You could always add it to a brownie recipe!!!!
Kim
I just took money out of the oven and it looks like a soufflé 😂
Sam
Oh no! Puffed and deflated? Sometimes that will happen if the eggs were overbeaten and/or the oven temp was too high. What a bummer, I hope it still tastes good!
Kiah
This cheesecake was a huge hit! A friend requested one for his birthday not expecting it to be homemade, and he was blown away. I didn’t have brown sugar, and never use it, so I didn’t want to buy a whole package. Instead, for the crust, I used coconut sugar and agave to replace the brown and white sugar (I did buy white sugar for the actual cake part). The crust was moist and held together really nicely (used to a cheesecake crust crumbling — maybe this was the agave?)
My cake did crack despite being very careful not to over-whip — though I feel my mixer doesn’t truly have a “low” setting. The other factor was temperature of the kitchen. It was probably about sixty degrees when I took the cake out of the oven, so I am thinking this was too chilly for a “room-temperature” place to cool.
Regardless, I was super pleased with the texture of the cake. Not too dense, not too fluffy. I will certainly be using this recipe again, and recommend it to friends! Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you for choosing my recipe to try, Kiah! I am so glad that it was a huge hit! I am so sorry that your cheesecake cracked but so glad it was enjoyed. 🙂
Miranda
Made both this cheesecake and your chocolate cheesecake for my daughter’s birthday. Both tasted great!! The regular cheesecake sank once it was all cooled but it still tasted awesome. Your recipe was very easy to follow.
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Miranda! Thank you for choosing my Cheesecake and Chocolate Cheesecake Recipes for your daughter’s birthday. I am so glad that you enjoyed them both. I am sorry that one of them sunk in the middle, usually when this occurs it is a result of over mixing. If too much air is incorporated into the filling, the cheesecake will puff when baked and sink as it cools. Regardless I am glad they tasted awesome. Thanks for commenting. I hope your daughter had a wonderful birthday celebration! 🙂