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EASY AND CREAMY CHEESECAKE (+Video)

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5 from 41 votes

HOW TO MAKE EASY AND CREAMY CHEESECAKE

This is one of the easiest cheesecakes you will ever make. Cross my heart. And forget about all those cheesecake recipes from the past where you had to leave the oven door open for 5 hours after baking for the cheesecake to set. This recipe has an easy baking method that takes all of the scariness out of making cheesecakeslices of cherry cheesecake on plates .

Y’all might remember from my last post, BEST EVER POTATO SALAD, that I got this cheesecake recipe from my husband’s Navy boss at the time, Chief Wilson. It was a recipe his Mom had given him so I was so grateful when he gave it to me. He made this cheesecake for every get together (he usually made two). They were famous in our little American military community in England. Everyone requested he make a couple of them when we had potlucks. And I loved it because it was more of a sweet cheesecake rather than tangy.

MAKE A HOMEMADE CRUST OR USE STORE-BOUGHT

I have changed it a bit over the years. I added sour cream to help give it a slightly smoother texture. Chief always made this cheesecake using premade graham cracker crusts. And most of the time, I do as well. Every now and then I’ll make the crust from scratch so I’m going to include that recipe in here also.

Easy Cheesecake recipe (topped with cherry pie filling) Recipe from The Country Cook
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
For the crust: 
graham cracker crumbs
sugar
melted butter
For the filling:
cream cheese, softened
sugar
sour cream
vanilla extract
lemon juice (optional)
eggs
cream cheese, cherry pie filling, sour cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon juice
Cook’s Tip: You can use a store-bought graham cracker crust. Look for the crust that says “2 extra servings.”

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR EASY CHEESECAKE:

Preheat oven to 300F degrees. 

For the crust:
Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter and pack mixture firmly into bottom and sides of 9-inch pie pan. Chill in the refrigerator while preparing the filling.
homemade graham cracker crust
 
For the filling: 
Mix cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, vanilla extract and lemon juice in a mixer. Add eggs one at a time to the mixture and thoroughly combine. The key to getting a really creamy cheesecake is to mix these ingredients together really well until the mixture is kind of thick and smooth (about 4-5 minutes.)homemade cheesecake filling in a bowl
Pour filling into prepared pie crust.
homemade cheesecake filling poured into prepared graham cracker crust
Bake for about 65-70 minutes. finished cheesecake, cooling
Chill in the refrigerator a few hours before serving. Optional: top with cherry or strawberry pie filling or drizzle with caramel sauce.Easy cheesecake with homemade graham cracker crust, slice on a white plate with fork
 Enjoy!

Originally published: February 2011
Updated and re-published: April 2019

Easy and Creamy Cheesecake

This easy and creamy cheesecake is absolutely delicious! Make your own crust or use storebought. Cream cheese, eggs, sugar, sour cream make it the best!
5 from 41 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Easy Cheesecake
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 611kcal
Author: Brandie @ The Country Cook

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 1-¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/3 cup melted butter

For the filling:

  • 2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp sour cream
  • ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ½ tablespoon lemon juice, optional
  • 2 eggs

Instructions

For the crust:

  • Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter and pack mixture firmly into bottom and sides of 9-inch pie pan.
  • Chill in the refrigerator while preparing the filling.

For the filling:

  • Preheat oven to 300f degrees.
  • Mix cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, vanilla extract and lemon juice in a mixer.
  • Add eggs one at a time to the mixture and thoroughly combine.
  • The key to getting a really creamy cheesecake is to mix these ingredients together really well until the mixture is kind of thick and smooth (about 4-5 minutes).
  • Pour into pie crust.
  • Bake for about 65-70 minutes at 300f degrees. Allow cheesecake to cool completely in the refrigerator before serving (about 3-4 hours)

Video

Notes

You can make the pie crust, or you can just use a premade one from the store. If you use a pre-made one, try to look for the crusts that says “2 extra servings." I you can't find it, just go with the regular ones. You may just have a tad bit of filling leftover.
Chill in the refrigerator a few hours before serving. Optional: top with cherry or strawberry pie filling or drizzle with caramel sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 611kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 474mg | Potassium: 164mg | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 1445IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 1.3mg
Did you make this recipe?Share it on Instagram @thecountrycook and mention us #thecountrycook!

Craving more cherry desserts? Try these!
MINI CHERRY CHEESECAKE PIES
CHERRY CHEESECAKE DIP
NO-BAKE CHERRY YUM YUM
CRESCENT CHERRY CHEESECAKE COBBLER

About Brandie @ The Country Cook

I’m a regular home cook, like most of you, doing my best to get a good meal on the table for my family. I like to say the recipes on here are recipes for the busy cook (you know who you are). You can still get a good meal on the table, with a few shortcuts to help you along the way. I hope you’ll find lots of recipes here that you’ll love and hopefully will become family favorites. Read more...

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rainah green says

    Hey I’ve never made a cheese cake before but I followed your recipe, and the cheese cake is perfect 🙂🙂🙂🙂

    Reply

  2. Colleen Desbois says

    5 stars
    This was my first cheesecake I have ever baked and it turned out beautiful and delicious… my son wants me to make one for his birthday in May

    Reply

  5. Isabel Ramirez says

    5 stars
    I tried this recipe about a year ago ever since then the only way I make a cheese cake is by this recipe . Everyone loves it thank you

    Reply

  10. Raja says

    5 stars
    I’ve never made a cheesecake before and I made this for the first time and it came out perfect everyone loved it thank you so much for this recipe I used a store board gram cracker crust the first time. I am encouraged by my first try and want to do a homemade graham cracker crust this time. Should I bake the crust and let it cool or just refrigerate it ?

    Reply

  11. Hyde says

    5 stars
    Made this cheesecake on Sunday morning for my birthday on Monday. Followed the instructions to the “T”other than subbing heavy cream for sour cream because I mixed them up when purchasing ingredients. After baking for 70 minutes I cooled ok a rack for 1.5 hours before refrigeration. Ate it last night and wow, turned out absolutely amazing! First time making my own crust and it was SO much better than store bought. My friend raves about how tasty it was too. Thank you for such a great recipe! Highly recommend for anyone who is nervous about making cheesecake because it’s easy and foolproof.

    Reply

  12. Sandy says

    5 stars
    Wow, this was so delicious, creamy and just one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever eaten. This will now be my go to recipe for cheesecake. Thank you for sharing this wonderful easy but amazingly delicious full proof recipe. ❤️

    Reply

  13. Angela Chason says

    5 stars
    Good morning! Loved this cheesecake with our dinner last night. It went well with our smoked ribs. Question: Is the nutritional info per serving?

    Reply

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