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!
THE BEST FOOLPROOF CHEESECAKE RECIPE
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 cheesecake.
MAKE A HOMEMADE CRUST OR USE STORE-BOUGHT
I give directions below for both. Most times I am just picking up a store-bought graham cracker crust. When buying a graham cracker crust for this recipe, you will want to look for the one that says "2 extra servings" on the packaging.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- graham cracker crumbs
- sugar
- melted butter
- cream cheese, softened
- sugar
- sour cream
- vanilla extract
- lemon juice (optional)
- eggs
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST 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.
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.).
Pour filling into prepared pie crust.
Bake for about 65-70 minutes.
Chill in the refrigerator a few hours before serving. Optional: top with cherry or strawberry pie filling or drizzle with caramel sauce.
CRAVING MORE DESSERTS?
Easy and Creamy Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1-¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- ⅓ cup melted butter
For the filling:
- 2 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons sour cream
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice, optional
- 2 large 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
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: February 2011
Updated and re-published: April 2019
Love J.
Blessings country cook tribe,
Wow!!!! is a great word to describe this cheese cake recipe.
It was simple, quick and Oooohhh sooooo good.
Perfect texture, sweetness, and flavor.
The longer it chills in the refrigerator the more rich and creamy it becomes.
My husband and both agree it's the best cheesecake I've ever baked.
Great job!!
Brandie @ The Country Cook
Thanks so much Love! You are so sweet. Thank you for taking the time to come back and leaving such a wonderful comment!
Amelia V.
This recipe is perfect every time! My husband doesn’t like many sweets, but he loves cheesecake and has been all over the world. This recipe is his favorite!
Brandie @ The Country Cook
I’m picky when it comes to cheesecake too so I get where he’s coming from - ha! You made my day Amelia - thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Chelsea Atkins
This recipe turned out perfectly! i made it for my dad for Father’s Day- I didn’t peek in the oven at all, and refrigerated it overnight, then added fresh berries on top. Everyone raves about it! Will absolutely make this again!
Brandie @ The Country Cook
Aww Chelsea - what a sweet daughter you are! And you are also so sweet to come back and leave a review. Thank you so very much!
Alexa
Made this the other day with an Oreo crust. It was absolutely perfect and so easy! Definitely my new go-to.
Karen Tomer
I followed the recipe exactly and also made the crust. I left in the oven with the door open...no cracks. It was easy and so good!
Jay Davis
My apartment's oven only has the bottom heating element working, so I turn down the temperature by about 50 degrees when baking to avoid the bottom element heating up too much. I've made this recipe a few times and love it. I do, however, add a couple tablespoons of corn starch to thicken up the filling. I just made it with a hand mixer for the first time (I used to use an immersion blender) and had to leave out some of the filling from a store-bought crust (gonna use it for brownies) and it came out beautifully.
Mayra Marin
People like it so much my friend like to
Samantha
Thank you so much for this recipe! I was looking for a simple one to make my mom a cheesecake for her birthday. I had never made a cheesecake like this before even though it is my absolute favourite dessert. I'm addicted to this and so thrilled I can just make a cheesecake anytime I want now!
Sandy
I made this two nights ago and it was Amazing! I can’t say enough about this recipe ; it was Creamy , Delicious , Perfect. Didn’t include the lemon juice at all.
My husband loves it and can’t stop eating it.
Elaine Fox
Hi! I know a good recipe when I see it..all ready to go, yet I'd previously prebaked my graham cracker crust prematurely..Do you think fully wrapped up in tin foil in water bath can prevent ruining by all this cooking it again? Deeply appreciate yr help. Have slot of confidence in you TKS for soonest reply..
Brandie @ The Country Cook
You’ll be fine. It will still work even if you pre-baked the crust.
Debbie Hatz
This is the best cheesecake and so easy to make. It has become a favorite for birthdays and special occasions. Following the recipe exactly, yields a perfectly, creamy, tasty cheesecake. I made my own crust - also easy to do. We switch up fruit toppings. Let me add that my young grandchildren love it, too. AND be sure to add in the lemon - it adds a subtle enhancement. Thanks for creating and posting this dessert recipe. 5 Stars! Delicious!
Paula Hale
Excellent and easy to make.
Naomi
This was so easy to make and so creamy!
It disappeared 5 minutes after I put it on the table!
Thanks for such a great recipe!
Brandie @ The Country Cook
Thank you so very much Naomi!!! Yay!
Rachel K
I made this cheesecake and it is delicious! Very creamy and thick. I used store brand cream cheese and had no problems with it. Made the crust from scratch. I used a 9 inch pie plate and I guess it wasn’t deep enough because I had a little extra filling. I used a mini heart shaped pan and baked the extra in that. Turned out great! Definitely making this again.
Donna
Very easy & quick cheesecake. Very creamy, I added a cherry topping. My husband really liked it. I added a teaspoon of vanilla & the lemon , still think it could have used more flavoring.
I baked it for 58 minutes , I would do 55 minutes next time.
Definitely recommend.
Liz
This was the BEST cheesecake...so easy to make! The lemon zest added a freshness to the cheesecake... I used a pre-made crust. My family loved it!!! Thank you for posting
Josie
Can you use a spring foam pan and does it need to cool in the oven??
Kristi
My son and I made this yesterday and I was skeptical - I’ve never made a cheesecake without a water bath. Wow this was wonderful
It turned out absolutely perfect, creamy and delicious. Thank you!
Jake
I used this exact recipe with 3- 4inch springform pans. Perfect amount of ingredients.
Annette Chapel
thats what i am using in a bit i was wondering if it turned out with the springform pan ,,,mmmm can't wait to taste it