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Using just 4 ingredients in a few simple steps, plus no added sugar, you can make the perfect Homemade Graham Cracker Crust for cheesecake and more! It takes just 15 minutes to make, and is as easy as it gets. This is an amazing crust for cheesecakes of all kinds, key lime pies, and more!
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Graham Cracker Cheesecake Crust
If you know anything about me, you must know how much I love cheesecake. It is my favorite dessert above any other! The flavor doesn't matter- I'll take strawberry cheesecake, to raspberry cheesecake, chocolate, and anything in-between.
For me, one of the most important elements of any great cheesecake is the graham cracker crust. Store-bought cheesecakes always seem to have a crust that's a little too chewy, or the flavor isn't as good as it could be. The same goes for store-bought crusts.
With this homemade graham cracker cheesecake crust, I guarantee you will enjoy a cheesecake unlike any you've had before. And trust me- it is so easy to make! All you need are graham crackers, a couple of simple spices, and butter.
Cheesecake Crust Ingredients
- Graham crackers: You can use your favorite graham crackers, or even use chocolate graham crackers!
- Cinnamon: A little cinnamon brings a twist of warm spice to the crust that perfectly complements the flavor of graham crackers!
- Ground ginger: In my experience, a pinch of ginger adds a lovely layer of spice that adds dimension without overpowering.
- Unsalted butter: Unsalted melted butter is much preferable to salted! This way, you can make sure to add salt to your tastes; I prefer none at all in crust.
How to Make a Graham Cracker Crust
1: Blend Crackers
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease the base and inner sides of an 8-inch round springform baking tin with butter or nonstick spray. Then add the graham crackers to a blender or food processor, and pulse until finely crumbled.
2: Add Spices
Add cinnamon and ginger, and stir well to completely combine. If desired, you can add more sugar at this step; I find it sweet enough without!
3: Add Melted Butter
Melt the butter carefully in the microwave, then add it to the crumb mixture and stir until completely incorporated.
4: Par-Bake
Add the mixture to your prepared springform pan and bake for 10 minutes. Your crust is now ready to use!
*You can use this graham cracker crust with another kind of pie dish, such as a 9-inch pie plate, but springform tins are best type of pie pan for cheesecake.
Easy Cheesecake Recipes
Tips for Making Cheesecake Crust
- If you don't have a food processor or blender, you can also add the graham crackers to a bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
- You can use gluten-free graham crackers to create a gluten-free cheesecake crust, if desired. Gluten-free graham crackers can be slightly more dense, so after crushing them, measure them a second time to make sure you have the right amount. It will taste just as good as regular crust!
- Regardless of the type of cheesecake you're preparing, bake the crust while you prepare the filling for best results and to save some time. If you're making Instant Pot cheesecake, however, you don't need to bake the crust.
- You can add other seasonings, too! I like adding a pinch of nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, or replacing the seasonings entirely with pumpkin pie spice!
- With baking, measuring is the most important part to getting it right. A full set of measuring cups and a kitchen scale make this easy.
Make-Ahead Cheesecake Crust
You can easily make this crust ahead of time and store it in the fridge or freezer until it's ready to use!
- Frozen: Fully prepare the crust, then let it cool. Wrap the springform or pie tin pan in plastic wrap, then place it in the freezer for up to 4 months!
- Refrigerator: Graham cracker crust can be made up to 4 days ahead of time. However, I recommend only making it 1-2 days ahead at most, to preserve how long the finished cheesecake will last in the fridge.
- Thawing: You can thaw a prepared and frozen cheesecake crust by placing it in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, you can bake it from frozen; cheesecake will need long enough time in the oven to cook it completely.
Graham Cracker Crust Recipe FAQ
Technically, you don't need to pre-bake graham cracker crusts for cheesecake. If you want to skip the baking step, you can! However, I find best results when I bake this crust for at least 10 minutes before filling.
You can use biscoff cookies, Nilla wafers, shortbread cookies, or any type of similar biscuit-like cookie to make a cheesecake crust if you don't have graham crackers on hand.
Graham Cracker Crust Desserts
- Instant Pot Cheesecake
- Key Lime Bars
- Fruit tarts: Fruit tarts with Chantilly cream pair deliciously with graham cracker crusts. Try making one using my graham cracker crust recipe and my Easy Berry Compote.
- Whipped pies: Creme pies are delicious with a graham cracker crust, including coconut cream pie, chocolate cream pie, and banana cream pie.
- Holiday pies: Sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie fillings work beautifully with a graham cracker crust. Try my fluffy pumpkin pie with this crust.
Don't forget the whipped cream!
If you enjoyed the recipe, leave a comment and a rating below!
Homemade Graham Cracker Crust
Equipment
- Springform pan*
Ingredients
- 2 packages graham crackers - crushed
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 stick unsalted butter - melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease the base and inner sides of an 8-inch round springform baking tin with butter or nonstick spray and set aside. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until they are a fine crumb (see tips for other methods), then pour the crumbs into a bowl.2 packages graham crackers
- Add cinnamon and ginger, and combine.¼ teaspoon cinnamon,¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- Melt unsalted butter, then mix it through.1 stick unsalted butter
- Add the mixture to your prepared springform pan and bake for 10 minutes. Your crust is now ready to use!
Notes
- If you don't have a food processor or blender, you can also add the graham crackers to a bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
- You can use gluten-free graham crackers to create a gluten-free cheesecake crust, if desired. Gluten-free graham crackers can be slightly more dense, so after crushing them, measure them a second time to make sure you have the right amount.
- Make sure to grease the bottom of the pan and the sides of the pan.
- Regardless of the type of cheesecake you're preparing, bake the crust while you prepare the filling for best results and to save some time. If you're making Instant Pot cheesecake, however, you don't need to bake the crust.
- You can also use this as a pie crust for other types of pies, not just cheesecake. Try making my no-bake pumpkin pie with it!
- If you like nutmeg, feel free to add a pinch to taste.
- With baking, measuring is the most important part to getting it right. A full set of measuring cups and a kitchen scale make this easy.
Video
Nutrition
Updated 8/26/2024 to include more useful information.
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