This strawberry cheesecake recipe is a stunning summer dessert featuring a golden graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake base, and heaps of fresh summer strawberries.
Strawberry desserts are very loved in this household. From sourdough strawberry shortcake, to strawberry cheesecake ice cream and sourdough strawberry cream cheese cobbler. These recipes are always on rotation when these vibrant berries are in season.
Along with some of our other most loved summer desserts, this strawberry cheesecake has become another new favorite. This classic cheesecake recipe is elevated with a homemade strawberry sauce and boasts the most creamy and delicious texture. Not to mention the crisp graham cracker crust holding everything together. This cheesecake will be a show stopper at your next summer gathering!
If you love this recipe, and are looking for a fall version, checkout my pumpkin cheesecake!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
No water bath needed – A steam tray on the bottom rack helps prevent cracking without the hassle.
Make-ahead friendly – This cheesecake is perfect to prep the day before for stress-free serving. It is a beautiful dessert that slices cleanly and serves a crowd.
Flavorful – Sour cream adds a gentle tanginess that lifts the richness of the cheesecake, and pairs wonderfully with the fresh strawberry flavor of the sauce.
Ingredients
Graham crackers – This is a great recipe to use homemade sourdough graham crackers if you want to make them from scratch.
Vanilla extract – Try making your own homemade vanilla extract. It is so simple and really elevates any baked good.
Strawberries – This is the perfect recipe to use fresh and in season strawberries that you can find at local u pick farms, farmers markets or at the grocery store.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake
Step 1: Make the Crust. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a medium bowl until well combined.
Step 2: Press ⅔ of the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan and the remaining ⅓ around the sides of the pan. Use a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup to press it firmly in place. Chill for at least 30 minutes while you make the filling.
Step 3: Prepare the Cheesecake Filling. Preheat the oven temperature to 350° Fahrenheit. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth with the sugar.
Step 4: Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, scraping the bowl as needed. Stir in the sour cream and vanilla until smooth.
Step 5: Pour the cheesecake batter over the chilled crust and gently tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles.
Step 6: Bake the Cheesecake. Place a casserole dish filled with hot water on the lower oven rack to create steam. Set the cheesecake on the upper rack. Bake cheesecake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until the center is just set. Turn off the oven, crack the oven door, and let the cheesecake cool inside for 1 hour.
Step 7: Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. A little cracking is fine—it’ll be covered with sauce.
Step 8: Make the Strawberry Sauce. Whisk together sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. In a medium saucepan, combine frozen strawberries, the sugar-cornstarch mixture, and cook over medium heat until thick and bubbling, about 5–10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and lemon juice.
Step 9: Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds and pulp. Let cool completely.
Step 10: Assemble and Serve. Quarter fresh strawberries and toss with the cooled strawberry sauce. Spoon over the cooled cheesecake just before serving. Enjoy!
Tips
- Be sure to use room temperature ingredients for the filling!
- Don’t worry too much about cracking because the sauce and strawberry topping will cover it.
- Gently jiggle the dish to check for doneness—the edges will be set, and the center will wobble slightly, like set Jell-O.
- Strain the strawberry sauce – Pressing it through a sieve makes it silky smooth and removes seeds for a clean finish.
Recipe FAQs
To test the cheesecake for doneness, you will give it the jiggle test. You’ll know it’s done when the edges on top of the cheesecake are set and the center wobbles slightly, like set Jell-O.
Some of the most important tips for the best results are: use room temperature ingredients for the filling, don’t over bake, and allow plenty of cooling time in the oven after baking before transferring to the refrigerator.
This recipe calls for sour cream. It provides a delicious, more pronounced tangy flavor which I think pairs perfectly with fresh sweet strawberries.
More Dessert Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Bundt Cake
- Easy Hand Pies
- Easy Sourdough Lemon Cake
- Easy Sourdough Blueberry Bread
- The Best Sourdough Discard Monster Cookies
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
How To Make The Best Strawberry Cheesecake
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer or handheld electric mixer
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 8 tablespoons melted butter, 113 grams
- 5 8 ounce packages of cream cheese
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- ¾ cup full fat sour cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups frozen sliced strawberries, or fresh
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 pint fresh strawberries, 340 grams
Instructions
- Make the Crust. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a medium bowl until well combined.
- Press ⅔ of the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan and the remaining ⅓ around the sides of the pan. Use a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup to press it firmly in place. Chill for at least 30 minutes while you make the filling.
- Prepare the Cheesecake Filling. Preheat the oven temperature to 350° Fahrenheit. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth with the sugar.
- Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, scraping the bowl as needed. Stir in the sour cream and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour the cheesecake batter over the chilled crust and gently tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles.
- Bake the Cheesecake. Place a casserole dish filled with hot water on the lower oven rack to create steam. Set the cheesecake on the upper rack. Bake cheesecake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until the center is just set. Turn off the oven, crack the oven door, and let the cheesecake cool inside for 1 hour.
- Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. A little cracking is fine—it’ll be covered with sauce.
- Make the Strawberry Sauce. Whisk together sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. In a medium saucepan, combine frozen strawberries, the sugar-cornstarch mixture, and cook over medium heat until thick and bubbling, about 5 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and lemon juice.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds and pulp. Let cool completely.
- Assemble and Serve. Quarter fresh strawberries and toss with the cooled strawberry sauce. Spoon over the cooled cheesecake just before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Be sure to use room temperature ingredients for the filling!
- Don’t worry too much about cracking because the sauce and strawberry topping will cover it.
- Check doneness with a gentle jiggle. The edges should be set, and the center should wobble slightly, like set Jell-O.
- Strain the strawberry sauce – Pressing it through a sieve makes it silky smooth and removes seeds for a clean finish.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have had such good luck with all of the recipes on Farmhouse on Boone that I decided to give this one a try. My first cheesecake and it was so good! I also made the sourdough graham crackers (already a hit over here) for the crust. Delicious.
I found a very similar recipe for this cheesecake in a 1950’s cookbook…The Family Home Cookbook…called Lucious Lemon Cheesecake. This recipe is so old, it called for the crust to be made with Zwiebacks. I had no idea what they were. I have used graham crackers or vanilla wafers. One day I bought Zwiebacks from the baby department, and they tasted like animal crackers and fairly expensive for a little 3-ounce box. So, from then on, I’ve bought any of these for my crust. I tried it once with grated lemon peel but didn’t care for it at all. It has been a hit for family functions, one family member told me joking, if I didn’t bring it…don’t come. Took to work, didn’t have time to make any topping. Our ER doctor asked me, where’s the topping. I told him, go to the cafe and pick up some chocolate, or caramel syrup, or something. Later, eating it, he was telling me, it is so good, it doesn’t need any topping. Glad you shared this cheesecake recipe on your website. It is the Best !!!