Easy Cheesecake
This easy and creamy cheesecake is absolutely delicious! Make your own crust or use store-bought. This recipe comes out perfect every time!
A Simple 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 cheesecake.
Make A Homemade Or Use Store-Bought Crust
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: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- graham cracker crumbs – you can buy these from the store or add some graham crackers to a food processor.
- sugar – you can use a sugar substitute here if necessary
- melted butter – this is for the crust. You can use salted or unsalted, whatever you prefer.
- cream cheese – see my post on How to Soften Cream Cheese Quickly
- sour cream – you won’t taste this as a separate ingredient. My husband hates sour cream but he has no idea it is in there. This adds to the creaminess of the cheesecake.
- vanilla extract
- lemon juice (optional) – if you are going to use the lemon juice, make sure it is fresh squeezed, don’t use the bottled stuff as it is far too acidic.
- eggs – if you have time, let them come to room temperature. This helps them mix into the batter much easier.
How To Make Easy Cheesecake:
Preheat oven to 300F degrees. 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.
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 Recipes?
- No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
- Cherry Cheesecake Bars
- No-Bake Cheesecake
- Cherry Cheesecake Dip
- Easy Butter Pecan Cheesecake
- New York Cheesecake
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
- Blueberry Cheesecake
- Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits
- Strawberry Sauce Topping
Easy and Creamy Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the crust: (see notes below)
- 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:
- In a medium bowl mix together 1-¼ cup graham cracker crumbs, 3 Tablespoons sugar and 1/3 cup melted butter until fully combined (it should look like wet sand.) 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.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl using an electric hand mixer, mix together 2 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature, 1 cup sugar, 3 Tablespoons sour cream, ½ Tablespoon vanilla extract and ½ Tablespoon lemon juice until combined and smooth.
- 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. It should still be slightly jiggly in the middle. I will then prop the door open of the oven just slightly for about an hour to let it cool. Then put it into the refrigerator and allow cheesecake to cool completely before serving (about 3-4 hours.)
Video
Notes
- If you use a pre-made graham cracker crust, try to look for the crusts that says “2 extra servings.” If you can’t find it, just go with the regular ones. You will have a tad bit of filling leftover.
- This cheesecake can be made a day ahead of when you need to serve. Just keep it in the refrigerator.
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 and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: February 2011
Updated and re-published: April 2019
Hello Brandie and other followers.
Can anyone share how this recipe would fill a 7″ X 3″ spring form pan? Or how it could be altered to fill a 7″ X 3″ spring form pan?
Thanks for any insights
Love just good old plain cheesecake, so I love this recipe. One thing I’ve learned though is to not buy the store brand cream cheese. I made that mistake this time, and I had to beat the filling for a long time to get the lumps out. Sometimes it pays to go ahead and spend the extra $$ on a good brand.
Thank you so very much Patty!!
I have to say that this recipe is now my main go to when I want a quick and easy cheesecake. So easy and I was amazed at how creamy and full of flavor it came out. I am a mom to 5 and a grandma to 13 who is known for serving scrumptious deserts. I spend a ton of hours finding new things to surprise them with at family meals. I took 5 of these cheesecakes Sunday and am proud to say there wasnt a crumb left. Everybody raved it was as good as the ones I spend hours making,baking in water baths, and fighting my springform pan to release. I even used pre-made crusts so am super happy with this recpe. Thank you so much. ❤
This makes me so happy to hear Sue! Thank you so very much for taking the time to come back and leave such a wonderful comment!
Made this last night and it was so easy and DELICIOUS. But how could you turn it into a chocolate cheesecake? Or maybe you can’t.
Hi Becky! I am sure you could! Let me play around with the recipe and I’ll try and get back to you on that one! 🙂
I have tried many cheesecake recipes in the past but today I only had 2 (8oz.) blocks of cream cheese so I decided to try this recipe. I added about 1/2 cup homemade lemon curd to the batter to make it lemony (I was craving lemon desserts) and will top with a little bit more lemon curd and some fruit sauce. Looking forward to this as cheesecake is my husband and I’s favorite dessert!
Brilliant!
I made cheesecakes before, usually in a springform pan I wanted something quick and easy and that I could use my purchased walnut crust with. I made your recipe for this cheesecake last night and served it to my guests today. Everyone loved it! This is a definite keeper and I will make it again. Thank you for sharing it with us.
My niece has been bugging me to bake a cheesecake with her. Today was the day we made it and right now we’re enjoying it. My sisters says they’re better than the store bought one. A real hit with the family.
Phenomenal! Perfect texture and flavor.
Has anyone used Rumchata as a stir in for this base cheese cake pie? If so what measurement and was it replacing anything?
I haven’t tried it Camille but I think it would be wonderful! Let me know if you try it!
Oh, no! I was mixing up recipes, added 3 eggs rather than 2! I hope it turns out ok! The batter tastes wonderful so fingers crossed. Will update after trying it.
Can I freeze these if I make several at a time.
Hi Mary! You sure can!
I am going to make this in a spring form pan, what size do you suggest?
Good morning! Loved this cheesecake with our dinner last night. It went well with our smoked ribs. Question: Is the nutritional info per serving?
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. ❤️
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.
Amazing comment – thank you so much Hyde for taking the time to come back and leaving feedback. Love hearing that!
how much heavy cream did you use
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 ?
Can I put the store bought Graham crackers crust crumbs into a springform pan?
You should be able to also do this in a springform pan – yes. 🙂
I hope the springform pan worked. I cant find my go to cheesecake recipe because I just moved & already made my crust in my springform pan & then noticed this recipe didn’t call for springform! Hopefully it’ll work out. 🙂
Can I make this a day ahead?
Hi Carolyn, yes you sure can! Just keep it in the refrigerator. 🙂
I never leave reviews but this recipe will be the only cheesecake recipe I use! It was amazing!!
I am honored then that you would write a review for this one! Yay!! Thanks so much Jenna!!
Best cheesecake EVER
Woo Hoo!! Thank you so much Liz!!
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
This makes me so happy!! Thank you so much Isabel!
This recipe was so easy and turned out awesome! Thank you for sharing.
Woo hoo!! Yay!! Thank you so very much for the lovely review!!
Can you use this recipe for the small pie crusts that some
Stores carry ?
Heck yes!!
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
Hey I’ve never made a cheese cake before but I followed your recipe, and the cheese cake is perfect ????????????????
Hi Rainah! Yay!! Love, love hearing this!! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know!
No problems I had a lot of fun making it
I made this recipe for my daughter’s birthday. She said it’s the best cheesecake she has ever eaten! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!!! I’m making it again tonight for a dinner I’ll be attending
Hi Brandie, currently baking this cheesecake …
Once it has baked for the right amount of time am i to leave it in the oven to cool, or am i taking it out right away and putting it in the fridge?
Some instructions for after baking would be very helpful, thanks 🙂 it smelled wonderful cant wait to eat it 🙂
I never write comments on blogs, but this recipe deserves a rave review!
Made it for Christmas Eve dinner, which is also for my cousin’s birthday, so the pressure was on to make a tasty cheesecake. This was my first attempt at making a cheesecake, and it was easy peasy! Other recipes I found used a springform pan (which I did not have) or a water bath (which seemed like too much work), so I skipped those. This one had easy to find ingredients and simple instructions, so I had to try it.
The result? A creamy, slightly tangy, and not too sweet cheesecake that was a hit with the family! My brother even said it was the best cheesecake he’s had, promptly after getting his second slice.
Thank you for this great recipe!
Made this cheesecake for our Harvest Dinner at church and it was a hit! It’s so easy to make and is smooth and creamy with good flavor. Will be making this again soon!
DH has been having some serious cheesecake cravings, so rather than going out and buying one, I figured I’d try it myself. This is the first cheesecake recipe I came across, and the first one I ever made. It was FABULOUS. 4 out of 4 approved. No cracks at all, which is something I’ve seen a lot of complaining about (other recipes). Tried a different recipe, chocolate cheesecake, for the second, and it was horrible, and cracked all over the place, texture was off, taste was lame.
I know it goes against the “rules”, eating uncooked batter, but how can you not taste it, seriously? Scrumptious! I’ll take my chances.
This cheesecake lives up to it’s name, Easy and Creamy. Just do it, you won’t regret it.
It turned out great
Hi my cheesecake is in the oven. Of course I tasted the batter and I was extremely impressed. Wouldn’t change a thing! My question is after I take it out of the oven how long do I let it cool before putting in the fridge???? Help. Thankyou.
Today was the first time I ever made a cheesecake and this recipe is so easy to follow, I gave my daughter a slice and she gave me a big thumbs up, it’s so delicious!
Turned out beautifully once again. Thank you for this wonderful recipe
Just made this and it turned out soo good!!! Thank you for sharing, will be my go to recipe! Very easy, didn’t change a thing!
Made this tonight, and added chocolate chips! It was amazing! Thanks for sharing!
My husband loves his sweets. Unfortunately, I don’t really consider myself a “baker”. I found this easy recipe and thought I would try it. My husband absolutely loved it. It is so easy to put together and I really don’t mind making it for him. I’m on my second time tonight and feel it Will come out even better than the first time. So glad I found this recipe! Thank you.
I made this last night and wasn’t overly optimistic that it would be good since it was so easy, but wow, was I pleasantly surprised! It’s a good as any of the more difficult recipes I’ve used, and is now my new “go to” cheesecake recipe. Thank you so much for sharing.
Woo hoo!! Love hearing that! Thanks Lora!
My family loves this recipe. I have made it 3-4 times and it comes out perfectly. I cool it, refrigerate overnight and add cherry topping in the morning and put back in the fridge until ready to serve. 5 stars!!
I love cheesecake and I knew before I tried this, it was going to be easy, but I did not know it would taste sooo good. I used Strawberry topping. The texture is wonderful and so tasty!. Thanks for sharing!
The only issue I have with this recipe is it says preheat to 300° but I can only assume that is the same baking temperature?
Thanks so much for your wonderful recipe. It was the first time I had made a cheesecake and your recipe was truly easy and turned out delicious. I made one for Thanksgiving to take to my sisters house and have already made two more since then. I plan to make more for a few special friends when I go for a visit. Thanks again, it’s so nice to have a sweet treat you can make with very little effort that you know will turn out so great every time!
Omg thank you so much. I bought the wrong amount of cream cheese for the recipe I was making for Thanksgiving so I was looking all over the place for a simple recipe with the ingredients I had on hand. I decided to try this and at first I thought it was a fail because it was super poofy and cracked on top. I also cut into it before I let it cool completely, and it wasn’t great. My mistake. BUT, we just tried it after letting it cool overnight and oh my word. My whole family loved it. I’m going to definitely print this recipe and stick it in my binder. It’s a keeper for sure. So dang delicious!! Next time I’m going to double the recipe. So so so good. Thank you for sharing it with us!
somewhere on your site is there a recipe for peanut butter cheesecake with a chocolate ganache topping?
Hi Marilyn! Sorry, that wasn’t me. Hope you find it though! 🙂
Hi ,I’m kind of confused doesn’t the cream cheese mixer melt when baked in the oven or I must only bake the crust?? Please clarify
Ugh – am I the only dumb one that can’t see what the bake temperature is?? Help!!
never mind – I see it in the notes! 300!
I made two if these and that cook time was too long on the first. My husband and daughter loved it but an hour was to long of a cook time. The second one I adjusted the cook time and it was PERFECT. I also put the second in a water bath. ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS recipe. ..
Glad you found what worked in your oven. I know they are all a tad different. Mine has a hot spot on the right side so I have to constantly rotate – ha! So happy you liked this recipe – YAY!
Can you use a simple pie crust, instead of Graham cracker crust?
No water bath needed?
Amazing! So I was looking for a recipe that didn’t call for alot of cream cheese. (I had 2 blocks in my fridge, not enough for a “regular” cheesecake) Which was perrrfect! I recently had a baby shower and I bought these fantastic mint chocolate covered espresso beans for a mexican themed “jelly bean” counting game and I had a ton extra. Soo I smooshed them up into my crust using chocolate graham crackers and 3 and half tbsps of butter and pressed it into a spring form instead of a pie crust. I cooked it at 325 for 50 minutes and turned it off and let it sit like a regular cheesecake ( I also was a little scared to cook it like the recipe so I put it in a water bath). I put a white chocolate lace on top and oh boy that is some amazing cheesecake!!! Thank you for this recipe, I’m sure i’ll be preparing different variations soon! BTW I bought the espresso beans at NUTS.com. great site.