This quick and easy cheesecake pie will set your tastebuds in a tailspin. The creamy, luxurious texture is as good as a traditional cheesecake that takes a lot longer to make. This recipe can be whipped together in 20 minutes and ready to chill in just over an hour. No water bath is required. Make it, bake it, and eat it once it’s properly cooled.
I love cheesecake. Who doesn’t? At least twice a year we end up having cheesecake in place of a traditional birthday cake. Hey, if my wife or daughter want cheesecake on their birthday, who am I to say no? It’s creamy, it’s delicious, it’s easy to make, and it pairs well with just about any topping. When the wild blueberries are out in the summer I usually end up making 3 or 4 cheesecakes just so we can enjoy our favorite dessert with fresh blueberry topping.
Most Important Step
The most important step to making a super creamy cheesecake pie is to have the ingredients at room temperature before you begin. The cream cheese, eggs, and sour cream should all be at room temperature before blending them together. This helps create a creamy blend and reduces the chance of having lumps in the filling.
Cream Cheese
I’ve seen multiple suggestions on how to bring the cream cheese to room temperature.. I find that the easiest and quickest method is to cut the blocks of cream cheese into tiny cubes, roughly 1/2″ square. You can cut them even smaller if you’re able. As a former chef I’m most comfortable with a knife in my hand. Sure you could use a potato masher to soften the cream cheese but I prefer a knife. If you’re not in a big rush, I find that freezing the cream cheese for 10 minutes makes cutting it into cubes a lot easier.
Sour Cream
To bring the sour cream to room temperature place it in a small bowl. Stir it every few minutes to bring the entire contents to the same temperature. Otherwise the sour cream in the bottom of the bowl will remain colder than what’s on the top.
Eggs
The fastest way to bring eggs to room temperature is to place them in a bowl of warm water. By warm I mean tap water. You don’t want the water too warm or the eggs will start to cook and you’ll end up with soft boiled eggs.
Cheesecake Toppings
The toppings for cheesecake are endless. Most fruits can be mashed or run through a blender/food processor to produce a nice juicy topping. You can crush Oreos and sprinkle them on top. Chocolate, caramel, butterscotch, or strawberry syrup can be drizzled on the top. You can also make a swirl cheesecake by adding any type of syrup into the filling and stir in just enough to create the swirl. As an example, mash fresh blueberries to make a puree. Gently stir that into the filling before pouring it into the crust. Blueberry swirl cheesecake. Yummy!
- Apple
- Blackberry
- Blueberry
- Caramel
- Cherry
- Chocolate
- Oreo Cookie
- Peach
- Pumpkin
- Raspberry
- Strawberry
Choose Your Crust
You can use either a regular flaky crust or a store-bought graham cracker crust. Of course you could make your own crust but then the recipe won’t be quick and easy. I’m not a big fan of graham cracker crust and usually go with a store-bought refrigerated crust. If you decide you want a flaky crust then it will need to be prebaked before you add the cheesecake filling.
What You’ll Need
Utensils & Tools
- 9-inch deep dish pie plate
- Wire cooling rack
- Large bowl
- Small bowl
- Electric mixer
- Spoon or spatula
- Measuring cup
- Set of measuring spoons
Key Ingredients
- Refrigerated or graham cracker crust
- Cream cheese
- Sour cream
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon juice
- Large eggs
Quick & Easy Cheesecake Pie Recipe
Utensils & Equipment
- 1 9-inch deep dish pie plate
- 1 wire cooling rack
- 1 large bowl
- 1 small bowl
- 1 electric mixer
- 1 spoon or spatula
- 1 measuring cup
- 1 set of measuring spoons
Ingredients List
- 1 refrigerated pie crust or graham cracker
- 16 ounces cream cheese 2 blocks softened at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice preferably fresh squeezed
Instructions
Prepare The Crust
- This step is not necessary if you're using a premade graham cracker crust.
- Prebake the crust as directed on the package. In most cases you'll want to bake the crust for 10 minutes at 400℉ then allow it to cool while preparing the cheesecake filling.
Preheat Oven
- Preheat the oven to 325℉.
Prepare The Cheesecake Filling
- The cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs should be at room temperature as discussed above.
- In large bowl beat the cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth. Use the mixer paddle attachment, if you have one. Keep scraping the sides of the bowl to ensure that there are no lumps.
- Add the sour cream and sugar. Mix until well blended.
- In a small bowl beat together the eggs, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.
- Slowly blend the egg mixture into the cream cheese. You can use an electric mixer but I usually just stir with a spatula.
- If you notice any lumps in the mixture, use a whisk to break them down. The filling should be smooth and creamy with no lumps.
Bake
- Spoon the filling into the pie crust and bake at 325℉ for 30 minutes or until the center is almost set.
- Check the pie after 20 minutes to make sure the top isn't browning too fast. If necessary to prevent further browning you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top.
- Pie is done when the center is mostly set. The center should be slightly jiggly.
Cool
- Allow to sit on wire cooling rack for at least an hour or until the pie plate is cool to the touch.
- Once the pie is at room temperature, refrigerate for at least 2 hours.