This Pecan Pie Cheesecake takes two of my favorite desserts and combines them into the only thing that’s better than a classic pecan pie. This incredible pecan pie cheesecake is everything a cheesecake should be, decadent, luscious and simply delicious!
I’ve said this many times before but cheesecake really is my all time favorite dessert, right there next to pecan pie. Whenever I’m at a restaurant these are usually my first two choices if they are on the menu. As you can imagine when I combine the two in this spectacular cheesecake, well that makes me really really happy.
If you’re scared of making cheesecake, don’t be. There’s nothing to worry about, it really is easy to make. The only thing is that because there are 3 layers to this cheesecake, it’s a bit more time consuming. But labors of love make the sweetest results – poetic huh?
We’ve got a pecan, graham cracker crust followed by a sinfully rich and creamy cheesecake layer. All of this is topped off with a pecan pie layer lovingly spooned over top. Pecan pie, meet your new soulmate, cheesecake – I can hear the wedding bells already!
Ingredients
Crust
- Graham crackers – These will be the binding ingredient in our crust and offer a great molasses flavor.
- Butter – Unsalted as always to control the sodium content of our dessert.
- Sugar – We want a nice clean flavor for our crust, white granulated sugar is your best bet.
- Pecans – Whole pecan halves, we’ll get them a nice consistency later.
- Salt – We want a little bit of seasoning to ensure our crust has a good flavor.
Cheesecake
- Cream cheese – I used 3 packages of whole fat Philadelphia cream cheese. Reduced fat can also be used to cut calories.
- Sugar – Granulated and brown sugar are going to give us some sweetness and some caramel notes.
- Eggs – Our key binding agent for this cake, eggs will allow it to bake properly.
- Vanilla extract – Without this, your dessert may taste a little flat.
- Salt – To season our cake, an important component.
Pecan pie topping
- Sugar – We want brown sugar for this component of our dessert to give a bit of dimension and complexity.
- Corn syrup – Light corn syrup is best to form a cohesive layer that sticks together and is sinfully sweet.
- Cream – Heavy cream is what I used today to make this layer completely drool worthy and rich.
- Eggs – We want 3 large eggs today, feel free to use 4 if your eggs are on the smaller size.
- Vanilla extract – Without this your dessert may taste a little flat.
- Salt – To season our cake, an important component.
- Pecans – The star ingredient! Chopped up to be combined in this perfect little layer.
How To Make Pecan Pie Cheesecake
Crust
- Preheat your oven to 300 F. Spray the inside of a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray.
- Combine the crust: In a food processor, pulse together the graham crackers, pecans, sugar and salt until coarse crumbs form. Add the melted butter. Pulse until combined. Press onto the bottom of the prepared pan and set aside.
Cheesecake
- Cream the cheesecake: Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugars, eggs, vanilla, and salt to the bowl of your mixer. Mix on medium speed until completely combined and smooth. About 5 minutes.
- Bake the cake: Pour the mixture over the graham cracker crust. Smooth out as much as possible with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes.
Pecan pie topping
- Combine the pecan pie: To the bowl of your mixer add all the pecan pie ingredients except the pecans and mix until well combined. Add the pecans and mix with a spatula.
- Assemble: Pour the mixture over the partially cooked cheesecake, and cook for another 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely, and then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Best Cream Cheese To Use
I prefer using Philadelphia cream cheese because it always makes a super silky cheesecake. However, if you can’t find the Philadelphia brand, use a cream cheese that is full fat for best results.
Got A Crack In Your Cake?
The best way to prevent the cheesecake from cracking is by using a water bath. Plus make sure you don’t open the oven door while the cake is baking. As you can see, mine cracked around the edges, but who cares. Even better because that pecan pie topping filled in those cracks, flavoring my cheesecake.
How Do I Know When My Cheesecake Is Done Baking
To check if your cheesecake is done baking, gently shake the pan. If the cheesecake looks nearly set, but the center is still a bit jiggly, it is done.The center will firm out as the cake comes to room temperature and chills.
Serving A Crowd?
Sometimes a cake that needs to be sliced up just doesn’t cut it when feeding the hungry hordes. Try my Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars for an easier serving crowd pleaser, or try it for some portable cheesecake on the go – sounds like my kind of business venture.
Amp Up The Flavor
To bring out the flavor of the pecans even more, toast them in the oven for about 5 minutes at 350 F degrees or until you start to smell them. You can even brown the butter before incorporating it into your filling. I know I’m crazy, but aren’t we all a little?
Storage
This sweet treat will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just store in an airtight container or wrap it up tightly before popping them in.
Cooked cheesecake also freezes really well, just place the cake fully cooled and wrapped fully in plastic wrap and aluminum foil till ready to eat. This method should ensure the cheesecake bars lasts 3 months.
Craving More Rich Desserts? Try These Delicious Treats:
- Hawaiian Cheesecake Bites
- Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Figs
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Creme Brûlée Cheesecake Bars
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops
- Tiramisu
- Chocolate Fudge
- Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake
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Pecan Pie Cheesecake
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup graham crackers
- 1 cup pecans
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup butter unsalted, melted
Cheesecake
- 24 ounce cream cheese at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 pinch salt
Pecan Pie Topping
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups pecans roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300 F. Spray the inside of a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray.
Crust
- In a food processor, pulse together the graham crackers, pecans, sugar and salt until coarse crumbs form. Add the melted butter. Pulse until combined.
- Press onto the bottom of the prepared pan and set aside.
Cheesecake
- Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugars, eggs, vanilla, and salt to the bowl of your mixer. Mix on medium speed until completely combined and smooth. About 5 minutes.
- Pour the mixture over the graham cracker crust. Smooth out as much as possible with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes.
Pecan Pie Topping
- To the bowl of your mixer add all the pecan pie ingredients except the pecans and mix until well combined. Add the pecans and mix with a spatula.
- Pour the mixture over the partially cooked cheesecake, and cook for another 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Cool completely, and then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Video
Recipe Notes
- For this recipe you’ll need a 9xinch springform pan.
- The best way to prevent the cheesecake from cracking is by using a waterbath. However, I did not find this to be necessary since I covered the top of the cheesecake with the pecan pie topping.
- Make sure you wait until the cheesecake has cooled before running a knife around the rim of the pan to loosen the cake.
- Drizzle the cheesecake with caramel sauce if desired.
- This cheesecake will keep about 1 week in the fridge covered loosely with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. You can also freeze it, just make sure you wrap it tightly with plastic freezer wrap, or place it in freezer bags.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
I’m having a little bit of and issue, this is my first time following this recipe and when I added the topping to my cheesecake it all completely fell through…..was I doing something wrong??
The cheesecake might have not been cooked enough to hold the topping! Every oven is different so if it was too soft, that is probably the reason it sunk.
Mine did the same exact thing. So disappointed. Is there any way to save this or do I chunk it and start over?
It’s imperative to have the cheesecake firm enough that it will hold the topping. If you want to continue with the recipe, finish baking. You might not have a “topping” but all that deliciousness will be in the center of the cheesecake.
Hello, I plan to make this for Thanksgiving. I have a 10 inch pan, how should I adjust the recipe?
I would keep the amounts as is, or you could adjust the number of servings in the recipe to say 18 or 20, and the amounts will adjust accordingly.
Made this for a friends birthday – huge hit! Perfectly delicious!!!
Happy to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi Jo. I’m planning to make this for Christmas, but I’m wondering if there’s a measurement missing. How much butter goes into the pecan pie topping?
No butter in the topping, the post was wrong, so I fixed it. 🙂
I am planning to make this for Christmas dessert. My son has told me if its not on the table he’s not coming to eat. LAUGHING…. I have a question though, can I make this the day before, will it still be as good?
Yes! Just refrigerate it.
Making this for the first time today. Almost ready for the topping and back into the oven. So far, super easy to put together. Came across the recipe and decided to make it for Thanksgiving (hubs loves cheesecake and pecan pie so how can it not be a hit)…..can’t wait to taste it.
This recipe looks absolutley delicious. I will have to give it a try. In the past, whenever I have made a cheesecake I’ve always had trouble with the graham cracker crust pulling away from the filling after it has cooked. I use a water bath to prevent cracking and other than this they turn out just fine. Any suggestions?
Weird, I’ve never had this happen before. Sorry I can’t be of help.
If there were more stars I’d give it more. This is absolutely the best cheesecake! Im not a big sweet eater but I love pecan pie, and can usually get down a small piece of cheesecake ( it’s so rich to me) so I thought I’d give it a try and part it out to friends. It is every bit worrh the homemade made from scratch work. Updates from friends coming soon
Ha! I’m so glad you like it!
Made 2 of these because the first one, the pecan topping pooled into the cheesecake. The first one I also used a smaller springform pan, and the cheesecake mixer was liquidy. The 2nd I used a wider springform pan and my mixer was firm. Not sure what I did differently but delicious anyways.
Us a spoon to carefully disperse the pecan pie filling rather than pouring it if you have trouble with pooling. That should help you out a lot!
Just made this for a party tomorrow. 1 suggestion on the instructions is to “spoon” the pecan mixture on to the cheese cake. Pouring can be dangerous and cause “puddling” of the pecans and dips in the cheesecake (like mine did). Also, have a question, how soon can I refrigerate since its going to a party tomorrow? Can’t wait to taste! Giving it a 5 based on all the comments and the wonderful ingredients! Thanks!
I would pop it in the fridge once it’s room temp so that the heat from the cake doesn’t warm up your fridge too much. Enjoy!
Greatest recipe ever! Big hit with all relatives and friends. Don’t change a thing. have my 3rd one in the oven, 5 star recipe!
in process of baking my third . followed receipt to the tee. it was such a hit, everyone
wants me to bake them one. Don’t change a thing! Most wonderful dessert I have ever made.
I changed the crust recipe to using 2 cups graham crackers and only 2 Tbl spoons sugar, but left everything else as listed above. This turned out AWESOME and will make it again, if a dessert is requested. People at work loved it!
Will try it