Cheesecake has an undeserved reputation for being difficult. Most of what goes wrong – cracks, sunken middles, grainy filling – comes down to three things: cold ingredients, too much air beaten in, and cooling it too fast.
These 32 recipes range from a five-ingredient no-bake lemon cheesecake to full showstoppers that need a water bath and a night in the fridge. There are minis, bars, parfaits and even cheesecake cookies for when you want the flavour without the commitment.
Every recipe links through to the full method. If you have had a cheesecake crack on you before, the advice further down this page will stop it happening again.
Our Top Picks at a Glance
- Best overall: No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Recipe – five ingredients, no oven, and impossible to crack.
- Fastest: Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Strawberries Recipe – 15 minutes and six ingredients.
- Best for a crowd: No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Balls Recipe – makes twenty and needs no oven at all.
- Best showstopper: Reeses Cheesecake Recipe – serves sixteen and it is the one people photograph.
- Most impressive technique: Fluffy Japanese Cheesecake Cupcakes Recipe – eight ingredients and a completely different texture from anything else here.
Five Rules for Cheesecake That Does Not Crack
- Everything at room temperature. Cold cream cheese will not blend smoothly no matter how long you beat it, and lumps in the batter become lumps in the cake. Take it out two hours ahead.
- Beat as little as possible. Air beaten into the batter expands in the oven and then collapses as it cools, which is what tears the surface. Mix on low, only until combined.
- Use a water bath for full-size baked cheesecakes. Gentle, humid heat cooks the custard evenly. Wrap the tin in foil so no water gets in.
- Underbake the centre. It should still wobble like set jelly when you take it out. It firms as it cools, and a cheesecake baked until firm in the oven will be dry.
- Cool slowly, chill overnight. Turn the oven off and leave the door ajar for an hour. Rapid temperature change is the other main cause of cracks. Then a full night in the fridge before slicing.
32 Best Cheesecake Recipes
1. No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Recipe
Five ingredients and no oven. The shortest ingredient list here and the most reliable, because a no-bake cheesecake cannot crack, sink or curdle. Give it the full chilling time or it will not slice cleanly.
Key ingredients: cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, Zest of 1 lemon, inch graham cracker crust
💡 Cook’s tip: Cream cheese — full-fat works best for a rich and creamy texture.
Total time: 194 min | Ingredients: 5
2. Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Strawberries Recipe
Six ingredients, 15 minutes. Strawberries hollowed, filled with cheesecake mixture and dipped in chocolate. The fastest recipe on this page and it looks like far more effort than it is.
Key ingredients: strawberries, cream cheese, vanilla extract, powdered sweetener or powdered sugar, coconut oil
Total time: 15 min | Ingredients: 6
3. Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes Recipe
Twelve ingredients, 25 minutes. Individual portions bake far faster than a full cake and never need a water bath. A good entry point if you have never made cheesecake before.
Key ingredients: original chocolate sandwich cookies, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder
💡 Cook’s tip: Bake for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool completely at room temperature before chilling.
Total time: 25 min | Ingredients: 12
4. Fried Strawberry Cheesecake Sandwiches
Thirteen ingredients, 25 minutes, serves four. Cheesecake filling between bread, fried like French toast. Absurd, delicious, and unlike anything else on this list.
Key ingredients: brioche or thick white bread, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, strawberries, strawberry jam or preserves
💡 Cook’s tip: Brioche or thick white bread — thick bread works best to hold the filling without getting soggy.
Total time: 25 min | Serves: 4 | Ingredients: 13 | Calories: 430 kcal
5. Peach Cobbler Cheesecake Cones Recipe
Sixteen ingredients, 30 minutes. Cheesecake and peach cobbler served in waffle cones. Assemble just before serving or the cones go soft.
Key ingredients: waffle ice cream cones or sugar cones, no-bake cheesecake filling, peaches, sweetener or sugar, carb baking mix or all-purpose flour, dark brown sugar
Total time: 30 min | Ingredients: 16
6. Copycat Crumbl Salted Caramel Cheesecake Cookies Recipe
Fifteen ingredients, 30 minutes. Cheesecake flavour in a thick bakery-style cookie. All the appeal of cheesecake with none of the chilling time.
Key ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, sleeves
💡 Cook’s tip: Butter — using room temperature butter ensures smooth, creamy dough.
Total time: 30 min | Ingredients: 15
7. Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes Recipe
Eleven ingredients, 32 minutes. Peanut butter cups in individual cheesecakes. Fast, popular and about as difficult to get wrong as cheesecake gets.
Key ingredients: chocolate graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter, block-style cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract
Total time: 32 min | Ingredients: 11
8. Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust Cheesecake Recipe
Fifteen ingredients, 36 minutes. A cookie base instead of the usual graham crumb, which gives a chewier bottom layer. One of the quickest baked cheesecakes here.
Key ingredients: butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking soda
Total time: 36 min | Ingredients: 15
9. Andes Mint Mini Cheesecakes Recipe
Thirteen ingredients, 40 minutes, serves six. Mint and dark chocolate in individual portions. Chill them properly before removing from the tin or they tear.
Key ingredients: chocolate graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter, cream cheese, egg, mint extract
Total time: 40 min | Serves: 6 | Ingredients: 13 | Calories: 176 kcal
10. Fluffy Japanese Cheesecake Cupcakes Recipe
Eight ingredients, 40 minutes, makes twelve. A completely different technique – whipped egg whites folded in give a light, cottony texture rather than a dense one. The most interesting recipe here.
Key ingredients: cream cheese, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, all-purpose flour
💡 Cook’s tip: Cream cheese — use full-fat block-style cream cheese at room temperature for a smooth, lump-free batter.
Total time: 40 min | Serves: 12 | Ingredients: 8 | Calories: 150 kcal
11. Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies Recipe
Thirteen ingredients, 45 minutes. Cheesecake swirled through red velvet brownie batter. Swirl with a knife rather than stirring so the two layers stay distinct.
Key ingredients: butter ), sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla extract, red food coloring, white vinegar
Total time: 45 min | Ingredients: 13
12. Skinny Coconut Cheesecake Bars Recipe
Nine ingredients, 45 minutes. A lighter cheesecake bar that still sets properly, which is harder to achieve than it sounds. Short ingredient list and no unusual substitutions.
Key ingredients: cream cheese, Greek yogurt, honey or maple syrup, egg, vanilla extract, unsweetened coconut
Total time: 45 min | Ingredients: 9
13. Apple Crisp Cheesecakes Recipe
Fifteen ingredients, 50 minutes. Individual cheesecakes with a crisp oat topping. The topping needs to be added partway through baking or it burns before the filling sets.
Key ingredients: graham cracker crumbs, butter, full-fat cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, eggs
💡 Cook’s tip: Eggs — room temperature eggs help the filling hold together.
Total time: 50 min | Ingredients: 15
14. Matcha Cheesecake with Oreo Crust
Nine ingredients, 55 minutes. Matcha against a dark cookie crust, which looks striking when sliced. Grassy and bitter enough to balance the sweetness of the base.
Key ingredients: Oreo cookies, butter, Cream cheese, sugar, Eggs, Vanilla extract
💡 Cook’s tip: Cream cheese — ounces softened. Always use full-fat cream cheese at room temperature for the smoothest filling.
Total time: 55 min | Ingredients: 9
15. Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies Recipe
Eleven ingredients, an hour. Freeze-dried strawberry in a cheesecake cookie. Fresh strawberries add too much water – the freeze-dried version is what keeps the texture right.
Key ingredients: butter, sugar, Egg, Vanilla extract, All-purpose flour, Baking powder
💡 Cook’s tip: Strawberries — cup finely chopped, for natural strawberry flavor avoid frozen to prevent soggy dough.
Total time: 60 min | Ingredients: 11
16. Berry Cheesecake Parfaits recipe
Ten ingredients, 70 minutes, serves four. Layered in glasses, so no tin, no baking and no risk of a crack. Good for a dinner party where you want dessert done in advance.
Key ingredients: graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, cream cheese, vanilla extract, heavy cream
Total time: 70 min | Serves: 4 | Ingredients: 10 | Calories: 450 kcal
17. No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Balls Recipe
Fourteen ingredients, 75 minutes, makes twenty. Rolled and coated rather than baked and sliced. The best option here for a party table, and no oven involved.
Key ingredients: cream cheese, canned pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs
💡 Cook’s tip: The mixture should now begin to take on a dough-like consistency—soft but able to hold its shape.
Total time: 75 min | Serves: 20 | Ingredients: 14 | Calories: 100 kcal
18. Brownie Bottom Cookie Dough Cheesecake Recipe
Twenty ingredients, 95 minutes. Three desserts stacked into one. Ambitious, entirely unsubtle, and the recipe most likely to get a reaction when you bring it out.
Key ingredients: butter, sugar, unsweetened natural cocoa powder, fine sea salt, vanilla extract, eggs
💡 Cook’s tip: Add the eggs one at a time, beating gently after each, then stir in the flour and salt just until combined—avoid overmixing.
Total time: 95 min | Ingredients: 20
19. Apple Crumble Cheesecake Recipe
Seventeen ingredients, 100 minutes, serves twelve. Cheesecake under a proper crumble topping. Autumn baking, and it serves twelve, which makes it a good Sunday dessert.
Key ingredients: Graham crackers, butter, sugar, apples, Ground cinnamon, Lemon juice
💡 Cook’s tip: After cooling to room temperature, I refrigerate the cheesecake for several hours.
Total time: 100 min | Serves: 12 | Ingredients: 17
20. Loaded Butterscotch Cheesecake Recipe
Fourteen ingredients, 110 minutes, serves twelve. Butterscotch through the filling and over the top. Rich in a way that means slices should be smaller than you think.
Key ingredients: Graham cracker crumbs, Brown sugar, butter, Cream cheese, All-purpose flour, Vanilla extract
💡 Cook’s tip: Graham cracker crumbs — i prefer crushing my own from about 15 sheets for the freshest flavor.
Total time: 110 min | Serves: 12 | Ingredients: 14
21. Festive Ginger Cheesecake Cookies Recipe
Sixteen ingredients, 110 minutes. Ginger and spice in a cheesecake cookie. A Christmas recipe, and the spice cuts the richness better than most flavour combinations here.
Key ingredients: grams cream cheese, grams powdered sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, grams all-purpose flour, ground ginger
Total time: 110 min | Ingredients: 16
22. Boston Cream Pie Cheesecake Recipe
Eleven ingredients, two hours. Custard, cheesecake and chocolate ganache in layers. Let each layer set fully before adding the next – rushing this is the only way to ruin it.
Key ingredients: graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter, batch vanilla cake batter, cream cheese, eggs
💡 Cook’s tip: Batch vanilla cake batter — homemade or boxed I prefer homemade for a tender crumb.
Total time: 120 min | Ingredients: 11
23. Reeses Cheesecake Recipe
Twelve ingredients, two hours, serves sixteen. Peanut butter cups through and on top. The showstopper on this list – it serves sixteen and it is the one people photograph.
Key ingredients: Brownie mix, Egg, Semi-sweet chocolate chips, Peanut butter chips, Cream cheese, Sugar
💡 Cook’s tip: Cream cheese — make sure it’s at room temperature for smooth mixing.
Total time: 120 min | Serves: 16 | Ingredients: 12
24. Samoa Cheesecake Recipe
Eleven ingredients, two hours. Toasted coconut, caramel and chocolate on a cheesecake base. Toast the coconut properly – pale coconut tastes of very little.
Key ingredients: Oreo cookies, butter, Pinch of salt, bricks neufchatel cream cheese, sugar, vanilla Greek yogurt
💡 Cook’s tip: Vanilla extract — elevates the flavor homemade works best for depth.
Total time: 120 min | Ingredients: 11
25. Strawberry Oreo Cheesecake Cup
Seven ingredients, just over two hours, serves four. Individual cups with a short ingredient list. Almost all the time is chilling rather than working.
Key ingredients: strawberries, Oreo cookies, butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract
💡 Cook’s tip: Cream cheese — always use full-fat cream cheese for the creamiest texture. Let it soften at room temperature.
Total time: 135 min | Serves: 4 | Ingredients: 7 | Calories: 280 kcal
26. Luscious Lemon Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cups Recipe
Thirteen ingredients, just over two and a half hours. Raspberry swirled through lemon cheesecake in individual portions. The acidity keeps it from feeling heavy.
Key ingredients: graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, egg
Total time: 155 min | Ingredients: 13
27. Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes Recipe
Sixteen ingredients, just under three hours, makes twelve. Individual pumpkin cheesecakes, which portion better than a full one at a holiday table where there are other desserts.
Key ingredients: graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter, cream cheese, canned pumpkin puree, egg
💡 Cook’s tip: Cream cheese — use full-fat and let it sit at room temperature for best texture.
Total time: 160 min | Serves: 12 | Ingredients: 16 | Calories: 180 kcal
28. Strawberry Cheesecake Lasagna Recipe
Seven ingredients, just over four hours. Layered in a dish rather than baked in a tin – no oven, no cracks, and it serves a lot of people. Short ingredient list for the effect.
Key ingredients: cream cheese, sugar, heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, graham crackers, strawberries
Total time: 255 min | Ingredients: 7
29. Irresistible Blueberry Dream Cheesecake Recipe
Thirteen ingredients, six hours, serves twelve. Most of that is chilling. Blueberry compote over a classic baked base – a proper full-size cheesecake done conventionally.
Key ingredients: Graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, Cream cheese, Sour cream, Heavy cream
💡 Cook’s tip: Cream cheese — oz full-fat gives the creamiest texture; let it soften fully to avoid lumps.
Total time: 360 min | Serves: 12 | Ingredients: 13
30. Cinnamon Roll Honeybun Cheesecake Recipe
Fourteen ingredients, six and a half hours. Cinnamon swirl through a baked cheesecake with a glaze on top. The best of the breakfast-adjacent desserts here.
Key ingredients: graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, cream cheese, eggs, sour cream
💡 Cook’s tip: Cream cheese — room temperature ensures a creamy, lump-free batter.
Total time: 385 min | Ingredients: 14
31. Banana Pudding Cheesecake Recipe
Nine ingredients, six and a half hours, serves twelve. Banana pudding and cheesecake combined, with vanilla wafers. A short ingredient list for something that takes most of a day.
Key ingredients: Bananas, Nilla Wafers, Sugar, Butter, Cream Cheese, Sour Cream
💡 Cook’s tip: Cream Cheese — ounces full-fat and at room temperature. Full-fat cream cheese gives a creamy, smooth texture.
Total time: 400 min | Serves: 12 | Ingredients: 9
32. Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake Recipe
Eighteen ingredients, seven hours, serves a crowd. The strawberry crunch topping is the whole point – make extra, because it is the part people go back for.
Key ingredients: Golden Oreos ), strawberries ), strawberry Jello powder, butter ), blocks cream cheese, sugar
💡 Cook’s tip: To the remaining crumbs, add the melted butter and strawberry Jello, stirring until just moistened (don’t overdo it — you don’t want a soggy crust.
Total time: 420 min | Ingredients: 18
On planning: nearly every baked cheesecake here needs a full night in the fridge before it will slice cleanly, so read the total time before you start. A cheesecake made on the day of a dinner is a cheesecake that falls apart on the plate. The no-bake versions and the minis are the ones that can be done in an afternoon.
On slicing: use a long thin knife, dip it in hot water and wipe it dry between every single cut. It sounds fussy and it is the difference between clean slices and a plate of rubble.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my cheesecake crack?
Three usual causes, often together. Too much air was beaten into the batter, which expands then collapses. The oven was too hot or lacked a water bath, so the edges set long before the centre. Or it cooled too quickly. Mix on low speed only until combined, bake in a water bath, and turn the oven off and leave the cake inside with the door ajar for an hour before moving it.
Do I really need a water bath?
For a full-size baked cheesecake, yes – it surrounds the tin with gentle, humid heat so the custard sets evenly rather than overcooking at the edges. Wrap the outside of the springform tin in two layers of foil so no water seeps in. Mini cheesecakes, bars and anything no-bake do not need one, which is part of why they are easier.
How long does cheesecake need to chill?
At least six hours, and overnight is better. The structure sets as it cools, not in the oven, so a cheesecake cut after two hours will be soft in the middle and will not hold a slice. No-bake versions need the full time even more, since chilling is the only thing setting them.
Why is my cheesecake filling lumpy?
The cream cheese was too cold when you started. Cold cream cheese will not smooth out no matter how long you beat it, and beating longer only adds air, which causes cracks. Leave it at room temperature for at least two hours, then beat it on its own until completely smooth before adding anything else.
Can I freeze cheesecake?
Yes, and it freezes better than most desserts. Chill it fully first, then freeze whole or in slices, wrapped well – up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge rather than at room temperature. Avoid freezing anything with a fresh fruit topping; add that after thawing instead.