If you are looking for an amazing dessert recipe that you can make in your slow cooker this recipe for Crock-Pot Cheesecake is a winner every single time!
Slow Cooker Cheesecake
It is hard to believe that you can cook a cheesecake…a CHEESECAKE in your slow cooker but you sure can!
The key to cooking this cheesecake in your slow cooker is having a small bowl or springform pan that will fit inside of your crock. This allows you to easily remove your cheesecake from the slow cooker as well as lets you cook your cheesecake in a water bath.
In this recipe I rummaged around in my kitchen cupboards for a heat safe bowl that would fit inside of my 6 quart oval crock-pot and found one. If you do not have a bowl already this 7 Cup Pyrex Glass Bowl should work in most slow cookers. You could also use a small springform pan that you have wrapped the bottom in aluminum foil before adding to the slow cooker.
Adding water around your cheesecake while it cooks allows for plenty of moisture and prevents your cheesecake from cracking.
Once the cheesecake is done cooking allow it to cool to room temperature and then chill it in the refrigerator for several hours. When you are ready to serve just carefully remove the cheesecake from the pan and eat as is or you can top with anything your heart desires.
In the photos for this recipe I used a raspberry sauce that I made (fresh raspberries and a little sugar cooked on a pan on the stove top until the berries were juicy. I smashed the berries while they cooked with a spoon. Strained off the pulp and seeds and let it cool) and of course a few fresh raspberries for garnish.
But feel free to use canned pie filling (cherry is classic), chocolate sauce, caramel, melted Nutella…the options are endless!
Products Needed:
- 6 Quart Slow Cooker (Or Larger)
- Hand Mixer
- Measuring Cups And Spoons
- Food Processor Or Rolling Pin And Freezer Bag (To Crush The Graham Crackers Crumbs)
- Silicone Spatula
- 6 Inch Springform Pan
Special Diets
More Cheesecake Flavors To Try:
- Crock-Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Slow Cooker Lemon Cheesecake In A Jar + Video
- Crock-Pot Express Pumpkin Cheesecake + Video
- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Cheesecake In A Jar + Video
- Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker Nutella Cheesecake + Video
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Crock-Pot Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling
- 24 Ounces Cream Cheese (Softened To Room Temperature)
- 3 Large Eggs
- ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
Graham Cracker Crust
- 6 Whole Graham Crackers (Crushed Into Crumbs)
- 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (Melted)
Instructions
- Using a mixer, in a large mixing bowl mix together the cream cheese and granulated sugar until well combined.
- Add the three eggs to the cream cheese mixture one at a time, mixing well after each egg is added before adding the next egg.
- Mix in the pure vanilla extract and set cheese mixture aside while you prepare the crust.
- In a separate bowl mix together the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter with a fork until the mixture resembles damp sand.
- Add the graham cracker crumb crust mixture to the bottom of a small heat proof bowl or small springform pan that will fit inside your 6 quart or larger slow cooker.
- With a spoon or the back of a dry measuring cup press the graham crackers into the bowl or pan until you have a smooth flat layer of crust.
- Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the top of the crust and spread it around to make a smooth layer.
- Place the cheesecake inside your slow cooker and using a liquid measuring cup or tea kettle with a spout carefully add 2 to 3 cups of water in the space between the cheesecake and the crock-pot insert making sure not to get any water on the cheesecake itself. The water level should reach half way up the side of your cheesecake.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours or 2 1/2 hours or until the center of the cheesecake is no longer watery when you stick a thin knife into the center of it.
- Turn the crock-pot off and leaving the lid off let the cheesecake cool in the crock-pot for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Carefully remove the cheesecake from the slow cooker and cover with foil or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to chill before eating.
- Serve cheesecake plain or with your favorite fruit topping if desired.
Nutrition
Linked up at Eat at Home Ingredient Spotlight
I am loving your recipes! I would love for you to guest post on my blog about some of your favorite crockpot desserts, so let me know if you would be interested! Thank you so much for linking up to the Recipe Party @ The Sweet Spot. I hope to see more great recipes from your blog next week!
Hmmm, Im really liking this idea! Perfect for hot weather months when I want a cool cheesecake, but don’t want to use the oven to overheat my house!
That is one of the nice things about the crock-pot, your house does not get heated up!
Dear Katie,
I know that you use about a 6 quart crock pot- about what size inner pan/dish? I have a small casserole dish I can try, just wondered if you have a quart size you can suggest? THanks
Just filled that dish with water to get a good idea…it is a 1.5 quart dish (filled to the brim).
The inner pot is it the one you put the cheesecake in or the water? Sorry little confused.
cheesecake in the inner (smaller bowl) and then water in the bottom of the larger crock-pot bottom. (kind of like a pool floatie in the pool)
think of a floatie in a pool. the floatie doesnt have water in it, but the pool does. so you want the water in the crock-pot and the cheesecake in a pan sitting in that water. hope that helps a little bit more.
How can I substitute the sugar…have diabetics and love cheesecake
Cheesecake is a funny animal. It is the one food that you can easily ruin with one beat too many on an egg, or adding an ingredient wrong. I think (stress the think part) you can use a sugar substitute. But i recommend eating just a smaller portion. having had gestational diabetes twice and a strong love for cheesecake, that is what I had to do.
Try splenda mine was great
Thanks Sherry for letting us know that Splenda works in this recipe!
Use splenda ! Its comes in a big..you wouldn’t have to open 100 packets..lol
can you use low fat cream cheese (or even fat free) in this?
Yes you should be able to. I have used the low fat/fat free one before in other recipes and the flavor is all the same.
You can use low fat, I have for my daughter, but maybe it’only me but I only use Philadelphia
Cream cheese brand. I can tell the difference from other cheap brands
I have one quick question. What kind of pan did you use? I have a spring form pan that I usually use for cheesecakes. Will that work?
You should be able to use the spring form pan, as long as it will fit in the crock itself. I used a “crock” type pan (it is an old one that has a lid to it) and I also used a regular old baking pan (non stick rectangle one) for a pumpkin cheesecake (recipe is coming!!). If you are concerned about marks being left on the bottom of the crock-pot itself, put in a small trivet or a rack. Then put your pan on top. I will say that I have yet to have any marks left on my crock-pot.
or ball up some aluminum foil… a few balls should old it off the bottom 🙂
Yes! Foil will help keep it off the bottom also.
Also – I have used aluminum or other metal in a crock pot. For example, cans of sweetened condensed milk. They can leave rust marks in the bottom of your crock – So I lay down a clean but old kitchen cloth to prevent metal rings on the bottom of my white pot.
can you uer corning ware disd for the cheese cake
Yes that would work.
a springform pan would probably let water seep in. Most don’t have a seal or a gasket, so if you place it in water I think it would totally ruin your crust if not the whole cake.
Definately should not use one of the springform pans. You need something solid.
That’s why the recipe instructs you to double wrap the spring form pan with aluminum foil. . .to stop the water from seeping into the pan and ruining the cheesecake.
You might need to wrap the out side of a spring form w/foil to keep the water out.
what about condensation from the lid? did water drop on top and if so was it a problem? still going to try this, love love cheesecake.
Yes there was condensation on the lid. And it probably did drip into the mixture, but it was not enough to dilute the recipe. When I was checking the cheesecake, I could see a little puddle of water in the middle of the cheesecake. I am sure this is what it was from, but that dried up as the cheesecake cooked. The biggest think is making sure you dont put too much water in that it gets into your pan, but yet you need to make sure there is water in there as it cooks. I used just over 2 cups and that lasted just fine. I also used a 6 qt oval crock pot.
hope that helps.
Someone gave me this bit of advice about lifting crock pot lids. Or, for lifting lids inside the crock pot like this recipe. Keep the lid straight and lift upwards without tilting. It’s the tilting of the lid that allows the condensation to run into the food. I make a dynamite ricotta cheese/panatone bread pudding that I cook in the crockpot and I am careful in lifting the top of the inside top. If there is a lot of condensation, I take the top off and wipe it dry. Maybe I shouldn’t do that but I feel that it’s worth it.
I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi, can u share your ricotta slow cooker bread recipe with us ?
i had to make cornmeal dumplings for a pork recipe and the recipe suggested to eliminate the condensation problem to place a kitchen towel over the top and then cover it and it worked great ..hope this helps 🙂 im gonna try this cheesecake just as soon as i can figure out which pan will fit ok into my oval crock
Try putting a large paper towel underneath your lid. You can’t look at it, but it does trap all the condensation and won’t soak your goods. 🙂
You can use a towel under the lid to catch condensation.
There is no mention of temperature. Which setting do you use on the crock? Thank you!
Oh my gosh! I cant believe I left that out. Cook on High. I am sorry, but thanks for pointing that out!
You never left out the tempeture, It is right there in the recipa. Cook on high 2hrs. to 2hrs. & 30. minutes.
Can I use a disposable pan as long as it fits as well?
Ester, I am leaning towards yes you should. Are you talking the metal pans?
Okay, I went out and looked at the store at the Foil disposable cooking pans. These should work just fine. I have used foil itself in the crock-pot and have used glass jars and both came out just fine. The 8in foil one fit tightly in my round crock-pot and the oval one I have. So that would work, but you wouldnt be able to remove it easily. A rectangle one would work.
I know you said it should be on high but I’m wondering if it would work on low. Since it only cooks for a couple hours it would buy me time! Also I’ve been thinking about the “why?” of cooking dessert in a crockpot in general, but as in above comments it would not heat up the house in the summer….:)
It also saves a lot of energy cooking in the crock-pot vs cooking in the oven as well, which saves you money. I can’t answer the low vs high, when Lady Katie gets back I’ll have come on over and answer.
Cooking dessert in the crock-pot can help in many ways. If you have a gas stove, you are using electricity instead which can be cheaper. Your crock-pot can be used to make the dessert while your oven is cooking the main course. And it is a way to “wow” your family as I did when I said “this was cooked in the crock-pot. lol.
I cooked it on high. I would say yes you could cook it on low. you would have to at least double the time to 4 hours to 5 hours total. If you do cook it this way, let us know what happens. The next one I make I definately will try this and see how much time it would take.
Two things I thought of :
1. The other “why” is because a cheesecake cooked in a water bath is much more moist and yummy;
and
2. I don’t recall what the temperature is of a low setting on a crock pot, but theoreticlly, you should be able to cook the cheescake on low and it will be even creamier.
When I was a teenager, I used to make cheescakes. A lot of them. I would bake them overnight in a 180-200 degree oven in a water bath. I baked them for anywhere from 10 to 15 hours depending on the time of year, type of cheesecake, humidity levels in the house, etc. they were honestly the best cheescakes I have ever had, hands down. My parents still talk about them… 🙂
Have fun!
Thanks Susan for the great information. It is great to know that low will net a creamer cheesecake Now to plan my next one!
What are the benefits of cooking it this way? As you can tell I don’t crock pot much.
There are lots of great benefits!
1. you are not using your stove thus not heating up your entire house (think summer months)
2. your stove is now available for other parts of the meal (ie dinner is in the oven and this is dessert, or the other way around)
3. if you have a gas stove, you arent using gas. Which in my area is more expensive then the electricity. Saves me money.
4. As far as regular food cooking (dinner), there are many recipes you can load and go. You can leave them in the crock-pot to cook for longer periods of time and not worry about having to be right there to make sure they do not burn. The newer crock-pots have timers on them so you can start or stop at a certain time.
5. There is nothing like putting a lovely dessert on the table and everyone “eewwing and awwing” and then they think you are god when you say “all from the crock-pot.
6. You do not have a working stove and want to make food you normally would cook in there in the crock-pot. A crock-pot can be cheaper than a new stove.
My favorite benefit to the crock pot is that you can start dinner in the morning and it’s ready at dinner time. I usually put everything together at night and drop the crock in the pot on my way out the door to work. Slow cooker liners make it all the better!
I came across your crock-pot cheese cake recipe that was passed around on facebook. I’m not a big cheesecake fan, but have family that is, so i look forward to making & trying it.
you mentioned reason’s for using a crockpot & wow’ing family. for almost a year I was w/o use of my oven, the element went out & trying to find a replacement for an old appliance that you couldn’t read the model # info was a pain. So I started using our BBQ grill to cook everything that I baked. I’ve made cookies, bread, enchiladas, roast’s, etc. in it. My family loved it, family & friends (& strangers) were all surprised. Now I have a double oven (antique) which is a God send. but I look forward to trying this in the crockpot & on the grill 🙂 And reading your blog as I am a SAHM of 4 🙂
thank you. A crock-pot can be used for just about anything. I am glad you had at least a BBQ to cook with when your oven went out. I have cooked cookies, cakes, breads, and brownies in the crock-pot. I love it.
That is so cool that you were able to bake on your grill! LOVE IT!
how many servings does it make?
Depending on how big you slice the cheesecake, 6-8 maybe 10 if you go for a smaller slice. They are fairly thick as you can see by the picture.
Think you could add chocolate chips??
oh definately!! after you get the basic recipe in (after the eggs are mixed one by one), toss in your chips and give it a mix and then put it in your pan. Or if you just wanted the chips on top, I would cook it for a little then add them on top.
I am planning a baby shower and was wondering if you could cook this in baby food jars?
I would think so. You would really have to watch the time on it as it would be less than a full size cake. I have done bread in a ball glass canning jar in the crock-pot before so I know the glass portion should be okay. Let me know how it turns out if you do it!
So did you do this in one of those wide oval crockpots? My crockpot is an older round one and there’s no way a pan big enough for this cheesecake would fit inside. Maybe one of those 6 inch cake pans at best, and that would be tight. It looks fabulous though!
The one I used is oval and it was in an older oval 6qt. And definately, it would be hard to fit yours. A 6in would be your closest best fit.
Is there anyway you could post more pictures of the step when you put the pan inside the crockpot?
Scarlett, I posted two pictures in the Cheesecake post itself (at the bottom). One is of the bowl I used (any cooking typ pan, bowl or glass pan that can be used in the stove will work). The other is the bowl sitting in the crock-pot. Sorry no cheesecake in the bowl! Hopefully this gives a clearer picture of how I did it. If not, let me know and I will try to take more!
Thanks for posting! Sounds great!
Made this tonight and it was wonderful! The hardest part for me was getting the pan out of the crock pot.
I used an oval stoneware dish in my oval 6qt crockpot. Took a couple of extra hands, but we got it out and I served it w/ raspberry sauce and/or chocolate sauce. Delish!
Glad you had some extra hands! Raspberry and Chocolate sound yummy with it!!
I love finding a way to make dessert in the crockpot. This looks fabulous.
Could you cut this recipe in half? Does it still have the same results?
I have never had an issue with cutting a recipe in half, but know that sometimes it can cause a slight variance in the results.
Do you think I could use this cooking method with any cheesecake recipe? Also, did the crust firm up or was it soggy?
Hi! Yes you could use the water bath method on any cheesecake recipe you decide to make. And the crust turned out just perfect. Not soggy at all and not too hard.
Oh, I am totally going to make this. I have some pyrex little 2 cup bowls that I think I could use too, but I think the first time will be in a nice oval baker dish I have. Perfect! Saw it on pinterest!