The Best Homemade Cheesecake – get the secret for the lightest and fluffiest cheesecake ever! Graham cracker crust, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice. Super easy to make and everyone raves about it! Once you taste it you will know why!
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Pin This RecipeHomemade Cheesecake with No Water Bath
I’ve been making this cheesecake for years. The recipe came from a parent when my Mom taught school. This is truly The Best Homemade Cheesecake recipe on the planet! Chicken Legs says this is the best dessert that I make. He said other desserts I’ve made are good, but this is the absolute best!
What makes this cheesecake so great? It has a super light and fluffy texture. How does it get that way? The egg yolks are beaten in with the cream cheese and then the whipped egg whites are folded into the batter. That makes all the difference.
How to Make The Best Homemade Cheesecake
This dessert is easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Pour graham cracker mixture into a springform pan. Using a measuring cup or bottom of a glass, press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Wrap the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil and set aside.
Place cream cheese in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add sugar and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add egg yolks, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Mix well.
In a large bowl, beat egg whites with a hand mixer on high speed until stiff and creamy. Carefully fold the egg whites into the cheesecake batter. Pour batter into the crust. Bake cheesecake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and keep the oven door closed. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for an hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool it on a wire rack. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and freeze for several hours before serving.
Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- For best results have your ingredients at room temperature before making the cheesecake.
- You can use any cookie crumbs for the crust.
- Chocolate cookies, biscoff cookies, or gingersnaps are all delicious.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer.
- Do I have to freeze the cheesecake? It is best to freeze the cheesecake, but you can refrigerate the cheesecake overnight before serving if you don’t want to freeze it.
- It is VERY IMPORTANT to thoroughly chill the cake before serving. If you do not freeze or refrigerate the cake it will be too soft.
- The cheesecake needs to chill to properly set up.
- Take the cheesecake out of the freezer 30 minutes to an hour before serving.
- You can thaw the cake on the countertop or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Run a knife around the edge of the springform pan to help release the cake and prevent cracks.
- The cheesecake will keep up to 3 months in the freezer wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
How to Seve The Best Cheesecake Recipe
This classic cheesecake recipe is our absolute favorite dessert! My family and friends request this for cookouts, birthdays, and holidays. It tastes amazing! Top your slice with some fresh whipped cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, or cherry pie filling. We usually just eat it plain. Either way, this is sure to become your favorite cheesecake recipe!
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The Best Homemade Cheesecake
Ingredients:
Crust
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 5 Tbsp sugar
- ⅓ cup melted butter
Filling
- 3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 4 eggs separated
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325ºF.
Crust
- Combine all ingredients and press against sides and bottom of 9-inch springform pan. (I use a measuring cup to do this – works great!)
Filling
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy.
- Add sugar, 4 egg yolks, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- In another bowl, beat 4 egg whites until stiff and creamy. Fold egg whites into cream cheese mixture. Pour into crust in the springform pan.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour with the door closed.
- Remove the cake from the oven and cool. Wrap the pan with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for several hours, up to 3 months, before serving.
- Remove from freezer and remove from pan before allowing the cheesecake to thaw.
Notes:
- Do I have to freeze the cheesecake? It is best to freeze the cheesecake, but you can refrigerate the cheesecake overnight before serving if you don’t want to freeze it.
- It is VERY IMPORTANT to thoroughly chill the cake before serving. If you do not freeze or refrigerate the cake it will be too soft.
- The cheesecake needs to chill to properly set up.
- Take the cheesecake out of the freezer 30 minutes to an hour before serving.
- You can thaw the cake on the countertop or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Run a knife around the edge of the springform pan to help release the cake and prevent cracks.
- The cheesecake will keep up to 3 months in the freezer wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
- For best results have your ingredients at room temperature before making the cheesecake.
- You can use any cookie crumbs for the crust.
- Chocolate cookies, biscoff cookies, or gingersnaps are all delicious.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Steph
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This is the best cheesecake ever! And so easy to make. Better than any restaurant or bakery. I’m very impressed. I refrigerated it overnight and it was perfect the next day. It is creamy yet firm. Heavenly.
SO glad you enjoyed it!
This is my 4th time making your cheesecake. It is my favorite, go to cheesecake recipe that I finally wrote down just in case Pinterest ever fails me. I will use this forever, it’s the perfect consistency for my liking – smooth, creamy yet still fluffy, great flavor for plain or adding toppings, better than what I find living in NY! Just made it again to show off for my coworkers. Try it everyone!
I love this cheesecake (favorite one I’ve ever made!) and I only deducted a star because it’s too sweet for my personal taste. I really enjoy the balance of sweetness and tanginess in cheesecakes so I use half the recommended amount of sugar and it’s perfect for me that way. This is the perfect base for any other type of cheesecake you’d want to make too. Thanks for a delicious and fluffy recipe!
Did this and it was amazing, just like a store bought one but better.
I’ve made this recipe many times – it is the best one out there! I always refrigerate it instead of freezing it and it still comes out fantastic every time.
To share what I learned: Do not use the same mixer attachment in the egg whites that you used with the cheese mixture. Either the cream cheese or probably the lemon juice prevented it from getting peaks. I was able to scrape off some fluff from the top, but ended up having to dump it and got three new egg whites.
Yes never use same beaters or bowl. I have a hand mixer I use for mashed potatoes and whipping eggs or meringue. While the mixer is going with the first ingredients, I’m whipping the whites. Also cuts down on preparation time 🙂
This cheese cake is so delicious and so easy. I have had everyone that’s tasted it has said it is the best they have EVER had. Thank you Stephanie
YAY! I agree. This really is the best!
Delicious flavor, but I couldn’t get the fluffy texture described. No matter how long I beat my eggs they would stay foamy, so I thought it would be good enough. Any tips on how to get them fluffier next time?
I’ve made this recipe at least 10 times now. It’s always a hit. This is my favorite recipe for cheesecake. I don’t think I’ll ever use another recipe.
A lot of recipes for cheesecake u bake the crust for 10 min before adding the filling do u bake the crust before u add the filling in this recipe
I made this as written and do not bake the crust first. Feel free to make this however you wish.
Should it be somewhat firm after 35 mins of cooking? Middle is very loose …adding a few minutes of time but don’t want to overcook.
It won’t be completely firm. It will continue to cook as it sits in the oven for an hour. It will also be firmer after it has chilled. It is essential to chill the cheesecake overnight.
Hi, I want to make this cheesecake, however I want to make it 1 week before I need it. Does it keep well in the freezer for that long? Please let me know
Yes
This is the most awesome cheesecake recipe EVER! I typically make 1.5 recipe which gives me 1 9″ and 2 6″ cakes. I’ve also make mini. Cheesecake tarts with this recipe. THANKS, Steph.
This is a winner cheese cake!
I am playing around with the times either to cook longer or leave it in the oven longer because once it is done cooking and being in the freezer. I take it out to thaw a little, when its time to cut the cake is melted…. Like the cheese did not cook in the middle. I am going to bake again for my mother on Mothers day and top it off with strawberry topping. Hopefully it all goes right and not liquidy.
Maybe try cooking it 5 or 10 minutes longer. All ovens are different, so maybe in your oven it just takes a few extra minutes.
This is my favorite cheesecake. Make it all the time. Any advice for making a pumpkin cheesecake??
This cheesecake has a great texture (halfway between dense supermarket cheesecake and fluffy Japanese style cheesecake) but is a little too sweet for me. Don’t get new wrong, it’s delicious and my family and I finished it within a week lol but I like my cheesecake a little tangier. It was really easy so I’ll definitely make it again, but with less sugar. Thanks for the recipe!
I couldn’t separate all of my egg yolks, is this part necessary?