Mom's Creamy Cheesecake with Sour Cream Topping is amazing! It's baked in a 9x13 without a water bath, so it's easy and no fuss. You'll love its refreshing tang and buttery graham cracker crust!
You'll want to print this one for keeps, folks.
I never thought Mom would share her cheesecake recipe with me, let alone allow me to publish it! This is big.
This Creamy Cheesecake with Sour Cream Topping has been devoured at countless New Year's Eve celebrations, graduations, and who knows how many dinners.
Mom's probably made it nearly 100 times.
She got a version of this recipe from a friend many years ago, then adapted it along the way. After hearing all the changes Mom made, I informed her this was her recipe now.
You're going to love it!
Recipe ingredients
Let the cream cheese and eggs sit at room temperature for an hour before starting. You want to be able to easily mix the batter.
Half and half is used in this cheesecake to make it creamy. Mom even increased the amount of half and half from the original version, for a super creamy cheesecake recipe.
If you're looking for a more airy cheesecake, try this Fluffy Crustless Cheesecake!
9x13 graham cracker crust
Mom's graham cracker crust is the best! It isn't dry at all.
Extra butter produces a moist crust that gets even softer after a couple days.
I wish I knew Mom's secret years ago! It would've spared me the sandy results I use to get from following standard graham cracker crust recipes.
And I love the convenience of using a 9x13 pan here instead of a springform one, which can leak. I use a 9x13 with square edges, similar to this one (affiliate link).
Make the cheesecake
See the recipe card at the end of this post for full instructions. Make this the day before you want to serve it, so it has time to chill and set overnight.
You just need to beat the ingredients until smooth and pour the cheesecake batter onto the unbaked graham cracker crust.
Bake the cheesecake at 325 degrees F until set. My oven takes 45-50 minutes, but a couple readers needed a longer baking time in their ovens.
And...no water bath is needed! The cheesecake won't crack at this low temperature. Plus, the sour cream topping would cover it anyway.
Make the sour cream topping
The sour cream cheesecake topping is so easy to make! Just stir or mix fresh sour cream with a little sugar and spread it right on the cooled cheesecake.
It'll greet your taste buds with a refreshing tang.
How to serve it
Mom always slices her cheesecake bars into dainty squares, unlike my lasagna-slab portions you see here. Hey, I had to fill up the plates for the photos, you know?
And Mom simply serves this cheesecake with sour cream topping, unadorned.
It's delicious like that, but I have to say, it's fabulous with fresh blueberries on top! I love the way their crisp, juicy texture complements the creaminess of the cheesecake.
You also could use Italian strawberries with Sugar or one of these Cheesecake Toppings from Scratch.
You'll have to experiment!
And invite me over.
Don't freeze the topping. You can freeze the plain cheesecake, without the topping. Thaw the cheesecake overnight in the refrigerator, then add the sour cream topping before serving it.
No. You'll simply mix sour cream with sugar and spread the sweetened sour cream on top of the cheesecake.
More desserts like this
Enjoy!
Debbie
Well I have passed the 45-50 minute baking time, still way to jiggley in the center. Hope it turns out because I have no other dessert for Christmas. Just keep checking on it in the oven. I did check my oven to make sure it was hearing corrwctly
Mamma C
Hi Debbie - How long did it end up taking?
Debbie
Loved the cheesecake, but the cooking time as ruffly an hour and a half before middle set.
Mamma C
Hi Debbie - I'm so glad you loved it! I'm trying to figure out why it took so long to set for you. What kind of pan did you use? Do you live at a high altitude? Was the cream cheese too soft?
Debbie
I used a 9x13 stainless steel pan. No I live in Florida, no high altitude here. I left the cream cheese out for 1 he our along with eggs to come to room temp. Ni sweat, I will make again I will just adjust the time for me.
Mamma C
OK, thanks for letting me know!
Marge
Just made this for Easter. Absolutely amazing! Very creamy. I followed the recipe to the letter, except I alway add a touch of cinnamon to my graham crust. I will be printing this one and putting in my book. Thanks
Mamma C
Hi Marge - I'm so glad you loved this cheesecake! The addition of cinnamon in the crust sounds wonderful.
Rachel Gallagher
Oh my goodness! I just made this for my daughter’s birthday. She requested cheese cake and I had never made one. Which is surprising,, as I love to bake and cook. I scoured the Internet- kept going back and forth between no bake and baked. I settled on this one. SO glad I did!! I accidentally (happily!) used heavy cream instead of half and half- still amazing!! I’m at so happy at how well this turned out. Thank you for sharing!
Mamma C
Hi Rachel - I'm so glad to hear that! We've loved this cheesecake for decades. Thanks for letting me know!
Chris
I have been cooking and baking for years, I followed this recipe to a T and the cheesecake mixture was so watery! It took way over 50 mins to set.... closer to an hour and a half. It’s cooling now but man I hope this is good, otherwise that was a lot of work and wait for nothing.
Mamma C
Hi Chris - We've made this cheesecake 100 times without issue, so I'm trying to figure out what went wrong for you. Is your oven working correctly? I hope the cheesecake turned out good, once it set for you.