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Our Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake recipe is the creamiest most delicious cheesecake you will ever have! Made with simple homemade strawberry sauce, this is a smooth and creamy baked cheesecake recipe you will love and make over and over again!
It’s the perfect dessert for a dinner party. Serve it for a birthday or the holidays.
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Even if you’re a beginner to making homemade cheesecake from scratch, we guarantee you will be able to make this strawberry cheesecake stress-free and that it will turn out beautifully!
The Best Strawberry Cheesecake
I love Junior’s NYC cheesecake recipes – my favorite has always been the strawberry swirl cheesecake! It is the best cheesecake recipe, but it costs around $70. Who wants to spend that kind of money when you can make it for so much less and it is just as delicious?
This strawberry swirl cheesecake is so easy, and the flavor is incredible. You will feel like you are eating that $70 cheesecake – for the tiniest fraction of the cost. It is amazing!
What do I need to make a cheesecake?
- An 8″ round springform pan or a regular round cake pan
- Parchment paper
- Your oven
- You will also need the tools to mix the filling. This can be an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. You can use your hand and a whisk, but you will get smoother, easier results using an electric mixer.
- A food processor makes the job of making the graham crust a bit easier, but you can also use your hands to make the crust, too.
Making this decadent strawberry swirl cheesecake is much easier than your typical recipe. There is no water bath, and the mixture is easy to mix together with an electric mixer.
Best Strawberry Sauce Recipe
What brings this strawberry swirl cheesecake recipe all together is our homemade strawberry sauce recipe. It is so fresh and absolutely delicious!
How to make Strawberry Cheesecake
Graham Cracker Crust
- Crush graham crackers in a food processor until they are a fine crumb. Add the cinnamon sugar and combine.
- Combine withe the melted butter and press into the buttom and sides of a springform pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes then set aside while you make the filling.
Cheesecake Filling
- Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese on low-med speed for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- Add the sugar and vanilla and beat well.
- Mix in the eggs.
- Add the sour cream, salt, lemon juice, and zest,and beat well. The mixture should now be completely smooth and glossy and ready to pour into the graham cracker crust.
Strawberry Sauce
- Add frozen strawberries to a sauce pan with sugar, water, and cornstarch.
- The strawberries will begin to thaw and reduce into a thick sauce.
- Puree with an emulsion blender or add to a blender and blend until smooth.
Tips for the Perfect Cheesecake
- Always bring all your ingredients to room temperature. This is the key to a silky smooth cheesecake.
- Don’t overmix. This is hard because think the more mixing the better. This is not true when it comes to cheesecake. You want to just mix everything until it is well blended. If you overmix, you will risk it being too liquidy.
- You always want to make sure your cheesecake is completely cool before trying to take it out of the pan. It is important to give it lots of time to cool after baking.
FAQs
Yes! We have made this cheesecake with just a bottom crust and with crust on the sides, and both ways are delicious. If you would like to have a crust on the sides, press the graham crackers up the sides of the pan, too.
If you over-mix your batter, it will come out too liquidy and soft. Carefully mix the batter with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. Do not use a blender or food processor and make sure to only mix as instructed and not for long.
The trick to stopping your cheesecake from cracking is to allow it to cool slowly. You do this by allowing it to cool in the oven for half an hour after the oven has been turned off. Then, remove it from the oven and let it come to room temperature. Finally, cover the top and place it in the fridge to finish cooling.
You can use a regular 9×11″ cake pan or even a tin foil pan. The only difference is that springform pans make releasing the cheesecake from the pan once it’s done cooling a bit easier. You can also cut the cheesecake into pie bars – it is just as delicious this way!
After trying this method, one of our readers had this to say: Thank you so much for the tips and your help! It came out amazing and I’m so happy. -Alicia A.
Springform pans are designed so you can easily remove the cheesecake from the pan. However, if your cheesecake is sticking to the inside or if you just want to be extra careful, you can use a knife to remove it more easily.
1. Heat a sharp knife under hot water.
2. Gently run the knife along the inside edge of the pan.
3. Use the knife to carefully release any sides sticking to the pan.
4. Unlatch and remove the sides of the pan.
You can refrigerate for 4-5 days. So, take your time and enjoy eating it for dessert every day! 😉 You might even want a slice for breakfast. We won’t tell!
Yes, you can. To freeze, place the strawberry cheesecake on a flat plate or the baking tin base. Then wrap it 2-3 times in plastic wrap so that it’s very well sealed.
Baked vs No Baked Cheesecake
Every cheesecake lover asks themselves this question every time they make a cheesecake. Although similar, they have a completely different texture and eating experience.
When making a baked cheesecake, you mix the cream cheese, egg, and other ingredients, without allowing much air in the mixture.
In the no-bake version, you whip the cream cheese and other ingredients and then fold in the whipped cream at the end. This makes for a light and fluffy dessert.
While a no-bake cheesecake is light, fluffy, and refreshing, there is nothing like a dense and velvety baked cheesecake. That is where this recipe comes in!
Our new method for a no-bake version is using the Instant Pot: Instant Pot Cheesecake! This method creates the moistest and most decadent dessert. It is a must-try!
Best Strawberry Desserts
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Our Readers love this recipe!
My first time baking a cheesecake. It turn out great – light and creamy!
@jordanmariedelory
Turned out beautifully and tasted amazing!!
@tflaherty8711
Delicious 🤤 I’ll double the crust next time ( I love the crust) but excellent recipe!
@bnaylin
A first ever for me. It was FAB.🤤🤤
@atothicus
Delicious (first piece)! Second piece – tasted even better leaving it in the fridge overnight.
@tiffcrespo
This was my first cheesecake and it was so yummy!! Would definitely recommend making 😊
@yairafalcon
📋 Recipe
Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
Equipment
- Springform pan*
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Graham crackers crushed, or up to 1 cup
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 3½ oz unsalted butter (melted)
- 3 packages cream cheese (softened; 8 oz. packages)
- ¾ cup superfine sugar
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 1 egg yolk room temp
- 1 cup light sour cream room temp (a little less than one cup)
- ½ lemon juice and zest
- Pinch of salt
- ⅔ cup strawberry sauce
Instructions
Creating the graham cracker crust
- Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F / 140°C fan forced. Grease and line the base and sides of an 8-inch round springform tin with baking paper.Crush graham crackers in a food processor until they are a fine crumb. If you don’t have a food processor or blender, put them in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
- Add the cinnamon and ginger and combine.
- Mix through the melted butter.
- Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared tin.
- Bake for 10 minutes then set aside while you make the filling.
Creating the cheesecake filling
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese on low-med speed for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as required.
- Add the sugar and vanilla and beat well. Again, scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Mix in the eggs and beat through.
- Then, add the extra yolk and beat until fully incorporated.
- Add the sour cream, salt, lemon juice, and zest, and beat well. The mixture should now be completely smooth and glossy.
- Pour half of the cheesecake mixture over the base.
Putting the strawberry swirl cheesecake together
- With a teaspoon, dollop about half the strawberry sauce in small blobs over the top of the cheesecake mixture you just added to the base.
- Carefully spoon over the remaining cheesecake mixture.
- Smooth out the top just a little, then again use a teaspoon to dollop over the remaining strawberry sauce.
- Drag a knife through the little strawberry patches to give it a swirl effect.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven. There should be a slight wobble in the center.Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for half an hour with the door closed.After a half hour, remove it from the oven and let it cool at least a further 45 minutes at room temperature before covering (a plate over the top of the tin is fine) and placing in the fridge to set completely. Let it set for at least 4 hours.Remove from the pan, serve, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Some photography by Marie Roffey
Alicia says
Hello! Thank you for this easy to follow recipe! I have a question regarding the pan to use. I have an 8in pan as well as 8in tin foil pans, but I do not have the pan stated in the recipe. Does this make a difference? Thanks I’m advance 🙂
Em Beitel says
Thank you so much for your comment and question, Alicia! You can use a regular 8″ baking pan to make your cheesecake. The only difference the springform pan will make is that it’s easier to remove a cheesecake from a springform pan than it is to remove it from a regular pan, since you can remove the sides of a springform pan.
If you use a tin foil pan, you could carefully cut it away from the cheesecake after it’s done chilling. You can also line the inside of a regular pan with parchment paper. Hope this helps!
Angela says
Has anyone ever used yogurt instead of sour cream. I have only a 1/2 cup so I hope it comes out.
Em Beitel says
Hi Angela! Greek Yogurt should work just fine in place of sour cream, but regular yogurt might be too thin. We would love to hear how your cheesecake turns out and hope it’s delicious!
Angela says
I’m trying it out tonight. I will let you know soon!
Angela says
I tried it out and it came out creamy, but still firm. I used a cup of full fat greek yogurt and used 3 whole eggs. The top cracked, but tasted great. Too bad I can’t post my picture.
Em Beitel says
Hi Angela! That is great news! I wish we could have seen it as well, but we’re happy to know that using Greek yogurt worked well for you. Thank you so much for sharing with us!
Janet says
If I wanted to do individual servings how would I do that and how long would I cook it for
Em Beitel says
Hi there, Janet! Thank you so much for your question. We are planning on making mini cheesecakes soon and will let you know!
Sunshine says
How much lemon juice and zest? 1/2 tsp?
Em Beitel says
Hi Sunshine! It’s the juice and zest from half a lemon. Hope this helps – thank you!
Michelle says
A couple things, everyone in my house was fighting over how much is 7oz of graham cracker crumbs ? Do I use a measuring cup? That would be a little less than a cup of crumbs- 8oz in a cup- Or do I use half a box of graham cracker crumbs ? The box says 13 oz and that would come out to 1.75 cups of crumbs.
Also in several of the photos you show crust all the way up the sides of the pan but the recipe only says press in the bottom of the pan.
Em Beitel says
Hi Michelle! Thank you for your question. We’re updating the recipe to reflect it but we would recommend 1 full cup of graham cracker crumbs.
The crust is up to preference – you can build it up to the sides of the pan for a crust on the sides, or only coat the bottom if you don’t want a crust around the edge. We made this cheesecake both ways, so some of our photos show the crust only on the bottom and others show it on the sides. It will come out just as delicious either way, so it’s up to how you like it!
Rima says
Hii,
mine is still in the oven after 60 min and is still very wobbly.. I am afraid it is not cooked enough theough yet.
I am not sure why but could be the kind of cheese? mine looked a bit more liquid than yours in the pics.
anyway how long can I still keep it in the oven without overcooking it?
Em Beitel says
Hi Rima! It’s hard to say what could have gone wrong but if you think it might be the cheese, we recommend using the block cream cheese and not whipped or another variety. It’s also possible it might have gotten overmixed. If you overmix cheesecake batter it can become too soft, so you want to be super careful making the mix and not use a blender or food processor. Thank you for letting us know and we hope it turned out alright for you!
Oriana Reed says
Has anyone tried using fruity pebbles as a crust before?
Em Beitel says
Hi Oriana! We haven’t had anyone try that yet, but would love to know what you think of it if you do!