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.
Nicole
Love this recipe! Can I use an already made pie crust for it? Would the cooking times be the same?
Sam
Hi Nicole! You can use a premade pie crust but they are much smaller and won’t hold all of the batter. Since they are much smaller it won’t need to bake for nearly as long. 🙂
May
Hello! I was wondering if this would work well if I halved or quartered the recipe? I wanted to try out my mini spring form pan 🙂 would I have to change the temperature or time in the oven?
Sam
Hi May! You will just want to make sure to cut all of the ingredients down proportionally. The temperature would stay the same but I can’t be sure about the bake time. Enjoy! 🙂
Megan
I’m confused about the cream cheese quantity. Is it 32oz or TWO TIMES 32 oz?
Sam
Hi Megan! You would use 32 oz. I hope you love it! 🙂
Rita
Hi! This is my first homemade baked cheesecake attempt in 10 years, the last being a huge flop. My only springform pan is for a bundt cake. How much do I adjust the baking time since it’ll be taller but not so consistently wide ?? or would it just be better to use a CorningWare pan? Sorry for stupid questions but I have High hopes for this!
Sam
Hi Rita! I’m not sure what kind of pans you are using. I’m not sure how it would turn out if there were different thicknesses in different spots. I would recommend a pan that keeps the thickness rather uniform. Having not baked it in these different kinds of pans I am not sure what the bake time would be. Just keep an eye on it while it bakes. 🙂
Amy
Sooo easy to make. Came out beautiful. It’s my husband’s choice for his birthday “cake”. Delicious.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Amy! 🙂
TIm
Hello this is my first time with your recipe, I’m using 9” disposable pans and making 3 I have a double oven do I need to warm the bottom one to cool or should I bake all 3at Once ?
Sam
Hi Tim! As long as all 3 cakes fit in one oven you shouldn’t need to use both. Cooking times may vary if you have a lot in the oven. 🙂
Lucia
This sounds delicious. What can I use instead of sour cream?
Sam
Hi Lucia! You can substitute greek yogurt.
Cici
Can I substitute already prepared Graham cracker crust
Sam
Hi Cici! They are typically smaller and don’t hold all of the batter but you can use one just don’t overfill it. 🙂
Fran Johnston
Sam,
I made your Vanilla Cake (and yes it should be in Caps) for a birthday party at a brewery. Strangers were asking for a taste after seeing the reactions of our guests!
I’m making your cheesecake right now. Don’t stop baking, girl! You sure know what you’re doing!
Sam
Thank you so much, Fran! I am so glad everyone has enjoyed everything so much. 🙂
Connie
I want to make this in a 12 inch springform pan. How much of all ingredients should I add to fill for 12 inch springform pan?
Sam
Hi Connie! I am not quite sure what the capacity of your 12″ springform pan is. The 9 inch springform pan I use has a capacity of 10 cups, although I’m not sure there are 10 cups of batter when all is said and done here. Once you know the capacity of your pan you can use this information to scale up the recipe. 🙂
Jennifer Spears
Hello thanks for the recipe. I do not have a spring form pan. Can I make this recipe without one?
Sam
Hi Jennifer! It really works best in a springform pan, but others have baked it in other pans. 🙂
Tracy Anderson
I tried this for the first time about 6 months ago. I made the mistake of letting my step daughter take a slice home with her. I have now made over 20 of these! Every single time a person eats some, they ask where I bought it from. Tonight I am making one for my step daughters mom for her birthday. Its 12:46 am and it has 9 more minutes to bake. You can’t get any easier than this recipe. Its pretty fool proof. Thank you for sharing your recipe! I have passed it out to many, but It seems to come back to me to bake them!
Sam
I am so glad you have enjoyed the cheesecake so much, Tracy! Sounds like everyone is keeping you nice and busy with cheesecake making, which isn’t a bad thing in my opinion. 🙂
Ari
Have to share a short story. Have made a LOT of cheesecakes in My Lifetime (usually waterbath types) but decided to give this one a try. Wasn’t really paying attention as I went and finished it up and put it in the oven. Timer rang saying it should be done, opened the oven and the thing was 9 1/2 TALL! lol Ok, KNEW right away what happened. DO NOT OVER MIX!!!! It shrunk back (actually cracked very little considering how much it shrunk). With Me, cracks or not, it gets EATEN – that’s the whole point, right?!? Actually liked the taste. A little “fluffy” to be called true cheesecake so I called this one “don’t say a word – just eat it cheesecake!’ IT WAS GOOD!!! Gonna try again soon (when I shed the pounds off from “cheating” on My diet) and PAY ATTENTION NEXT TIME!!!
Sam
🤣 I am so glad you were still able to enjoy it. 🙂
Candace
I would like to put the cheesecake on top of my chocolate cake recipe. Planning on baking both cakes in same size pan. If I put parchment paper on the bottom of the pan do you think I could remove the bottom of the spring form pan and remove the cheesecake and place it on top of the chocolate cake without cracking? Any suggestions?
Sam
Hi Candace! I actually do something very similar in my cheesecake layered carrot cake. You can check those instructions for how I did it. 🙂
Candace
Thank you so much! Your carrot cheesecake looks amazing as well. I am only going to do two layers (vs the three layers of your carrot cheesecake) with the cheesecake on top and chocolate on the bottom. Which cheesecake recipe would you suggest, this one or the other?
Sam
I would probably use the one in the cheesecake layered carrot cake here. 🙂
Candace
I had to make the cheesecake for my son’s birthday before I received your reply so I ended up making this one. It was wonderful! It worked beautifully with the chocolate cake. I iced the chocolate cake and sides of both cakes and left the top of the cheesecake au natural with fresh strawberries and the birthday greeting. Thank you for your delicious recipe and your communication. Will definitely try your other recipes!
Sam
I’m so glad it turned out! Sounds like a delicious cake. 🙂
Charity
Hello,
What is the reason for not using spreadable cream cheese? My kids received about 10 containers of spreadable cream cheese from their school lunches during distance learning. I decided to use the strawberry flavored ones to make your recipe. I literally just put it in the fridge, and now see that I shouldn’t have used the spreadable. It looks fine so far, but I wondered why you said we need the brick kind.
It looks and smells amazing! I can’t wait to try it tomorrow after it has been refrigerated!
Sam
Hi Charity! The spreadable cream cheese has extra ingredients in it to make it spreadable and it will just make the whole cheesecake different. The texture won’t be right, it’s just not a good option here.