Ultra creamy homemade cheesecake swirled with sweet blueberry sauce. All on top of my favorite buttery graham cracker crust.
Hello, gorgeous.
If I had to choose a dessert to enjoy for the rest of my life (and there would be no savory food allowed at all in this dream), I would absolutely choose cheesecake. Or apple pie. With a never-ending supply of peanut butter on the side. But definitely cheesecake, too.
This is why I have a dessert blog.
This show-stopping blueberry swirl cheesecake needs to come with a warning label. Really, it does. Cheesecake so creamy, a graham cracker crust so buttery, and blueberry swirls sooo swirly. You will not be able to stop at one sliver. Dangerous, I tell ya!
The best (most dangerous?) part: you can easily use frozen blueberries in this cheesecake recipe, making this a fruity dessert you can enjoy year round.
Don’t be intimidated by cheesecake. That sounds hilarious when you say it out loud, but seriously! I know making a cheesecake sounds tricky, but it really is not. As long as you read through the directions ahead of time, you can handle it.
I know what you’re thinking—why is my springform pan wrapped in aluminum foil?! Make sure you read my post about how to avoid cheesecake cracks.
This blueberry swirl cheesecake sits on a graham cracker crust. The recipe is basically the same as my traditional graham cracker crust, but with slightly less butter since cheesecake is so heavy and wet. The crust turns out buttery, soft, and crunchy at the same time. Don’t forget to pre-bake the crust as the recipe instructs below, otherwise your crust will be crumbly and not really stick together.
The cheesecake filling is my favorite base for cheesecake—the same recipe I use to make my Cookies ‘n Cream Cheesecake on page 74 in my cookbook. Have you tried it yet? If so, then you know why it’s my go-to. Creamy, thick, and melt-in-your-mouth fantastic.
Make sure you plan ahead because this cheesecake has a few stages. First, it takes awhile to bake through. Second, it must sit in the oven after baking as the oven cools down—this is another trick to avoid cheesecake cracks. Then, once the cheesecake is room temperature, you must chill it. Because of all these steps, this is a great recipe to begin the night before; that’s exactly what I did before I brought it to a family dinner.
I used leftover blueberry sauce from the swirl to spoon on top of the cheesecake. I could drink this sweet blueberry sauce with a straw. Maybe throw some whipped cream on top of the slices too. Why not?!
The blueberry swirl is similar to my blueberry sauce recipe; today’s is a bit thicker for the cheesecake.
More Cheesecake Recipes
- Cheesecake Recipe
- Mini Cheesecakes
- Amaretto Cheesecake
- Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- No Bake Cheesecake
- Snickers Cheesecake
- Cheesecake Pie
Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Ultra creamy homemade cheesecake swirled with sweet blueberry sauce. All on top of my favorite buttery graham cracker crust. Your guests will beg for seconds!
Ingredients
Blueberry Sauce
- 2 teaspoons (6g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) warm water
- 2 cups (380g) fresh or frozen blueberries*
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
Crust
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) graham cracker crumbs (about 12 full sheet graham crackers)
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 24 ounces (678g) full-fat block-style cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240g) full-fat sour cream (or yogurt), at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Make the blueberry sauce first: Whisk the cornstarch, lemon juice, and warm water together in a small bowl until the cornstarch has dissolved. Set aside. Warm the blueberries and sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously for 3 minutes until the blueberry juices begin to release. Add the cornstarch mixture and continue to stir for another 2–3 minutes, smashing some blueberries as you go. The mixture will start to thicken. Remove from heat and put the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl (to separate the cooked berries and the juice). Keep separated and set both (the cooked berries and the juice) aside.
- Make the crust: If you’re starting out with full graham crackers, use a food processor or blender to grind them into fine crumbs. Pour into a medium bowl and stir in sugar until combined, and then stir in the melted butter. Mixture will be sandy. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour into prepared pan and with medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom and partly up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumby/crumbly. Tips: You can use a small flat-bottomed measuring cup to help press down the bottom crust and smooth out the surface, but do not pack down too hard. For more shaping technique tips, see the graham cracker crust recipe page.
- Wrap aluminum foil on the bottom and tightly around the outside walls of the springform pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Allow to slightly cool as you prepare the filling.
- Make the filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium speed in a large bowl—about 3 full minutes until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the sour cream and vanilla, beat until combined. On low speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. Do not over-mix the filling after you have added the eggs.
- Pour the filling into the crust. Drop spoonfuls of the smooth blueberry sauce onto the batter. Using a knife, gently swirl as shown in the photo above. If you have leftover blueberry sauce, mix it with the cooked blueberries you set aside. Save for topping the baked cheesecake.
- Place the aluminum foil-wrapped springform pan into a large roasting pan and place into the oven. Fill with about 1 inch of hot water. The foil wrapped around the pan will prevent water from leaking inside. Read more about preventing cracks in cheesecake with a cheesecake water bath.
- Bake for 50–60 minutes or until the center is almost set.* Turn the oven off and open the door slightly. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight (preferred). Loosen the cheesecake from the rim of the pan and remove the rim. Cut into slices and serve chilled. Top with remaining chunky blueberry sauce, if desired. Cover leftover cheesecake and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: You can easily freeze this cheesecake for up to 2 months. Cover tightly and freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Blueberries: If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw.
- Avoid overbaking the cheesecake. When the cheesecake is done, there will still be a 2- or 3-inch wobbly spot in the center; the texture will smooth out as it cools.
- Non-US Readers: Don’t have graham crackers where you live? Use 200g ground digestive biscuit crumbs (about 2 cups; 13–14 biscuits), 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar, and 6 Tablespoons (85g) melted butter. Pre-bake the crust for a bit longer, about 12–14 minutes. And from what I understand, spreadable cream cheese sold in a tub in countries outside of the US is a little different from the spreadable cream cheese in the US. It’s thicker, sturdier, and more solid and should be OK to make this pie. I have no experience with it, but this is what I’ve heard from other non-US readers. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
Keywords: blueberry swirl cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake
Could I make these as individual cheesecakes? If so, much would one recipe make? Thank you!
Hi Carrie, definitely! You can follow this recipe and make them in a muffin pan as we do for mini cheesecakes.
amazing recipe !!!!!!! Everyone loved it.
I made this with the King Arthur sugar substitute and it turned out beautifully. Looked amazing, tasted amazing — not a bit left uneaten.
★★★★★
Why didn’t you add lemon juice to this recipe
Hi Debra, The lemon juice is used in the first step of making the blueberry sauce. Sally uses it there, so it’s not really necessary in the cheesecake batter. Whisk the cornstarch, lemon juice, and warm water together in a small bowl until the cornstarch has dissolved.
I was wondering the same thing – Sally usually adds a bit of lemon juice to her cheesecake fillings.
Hi Danielle, since it’s in the blueberry swirl, I don’t also add it to the filling. But feel free to add a teaspoon or so!
It is one of the best cheese cake. Everyone loved it. Thank you Sally.
★★★★★
This is THE BEST recipe for blueberry cheesecake on the internet. Do the advanced techniques as described and you’ll come out with a perfect cheesecake. I let mine sit for 2 days in the fridge, set up perfectly. I was immediately asked by picky bf to make another in 2 weeks. Bon appetit!
★★★★★
The top of my cake ended up burnt, what is the usual cause of this? I baked at 350 for 50 minutes
★★★
Hi Aaron! Over-baking or baking too close to the heating element could cause a burnt top. Always keep an eye on baked goods in the oven as your oven may run hot, or try moving your baking pan away from the heating element.
Would it be ok to add a little lemon juice or zest to the filling?
Hi Lynne, we’d beat in about 1 Tablespoon of zest and 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice.
THIS RECIPE IS SO GOOD I LOVE ITTT I MAKE IT EVERYTIME FOR MY FAMILY & THEY LOVE IT
★★★★★
looking at the ingredients list of the recipe, you said you can sub out sour cream for yogurt- just wondering what kind of yogurt? is there a certain flavor that works best here?
Hi Shannon! A plain, full fat yogurt will work best.
Having baked the original several times to rave reviews I must give this recipe a definite 5! But… There is a diabetic in our family (many actually) So I came up with some modifications to make a diabetic-friendly chocolate swirl using this recipe as a base.
Substituted Swerve for the sugar in the crust.
Substituted Swerve for the sugar in the filling, added 6 oz of melted and slightly cooled Hershey’s Zero sugar chocolate chips, and added an additional egg.
Made a ganache from the recipe on this site using 6 oz of the Hershey’s Zero sugar chips and 6 oz heavy whipping cream. Used 3 tablespoons on top of the cake before it went into the oven and marbled it just as the blueberry.
It was BE-Freaking-UTIFUL and very rich but no sugar.. Diabetics and normies both loved it.
★★★★★
I have made this countless times, the recipe is easy to follow for new bakers and it is a crowd pleaser. Everyone loves it, but I was wondering how this recipe may change by trying to use other berries: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries? Any and all help would be great!
★★★★★
Hi Tiffany, swapping blueberries for those other berries should work great! We actually make a raspberry version quite often. For strawberry, we recommend using our strawberry compote recipe instead. It’s similar to this blueberry sauce. Enjoy!
Looks awesome. But the only problem I found is the temperature is to high for the cake itself. Definitely try 325 degrees and check on it every 5 minutes after the hour mark to see if it’s done. Still love this site so much
★★★
My family and coworkers absolutely loved this! I’ve gotten quite a few orders as well for this so I’ve been looking for ways to help me out. Is it possible to make this in a ready crust from Walmart and still bake it the same way? I don’t want to keep handing out my springform pan
★★★★★
Hi Yasmine! You should be able to use a store bought graham cracker crust for this recipe – no need to par-bake before adding the filling. You’ll likely have leftover cheesecake filling as the pre made crusts can hold less than a springform pan and the bake time will likely be shorter as well. Let us know if you give it a try!
Hi Trina, I managed to make this for a coworker last weekend. I used 16 oz of cream cheese and only 2 eggs but kept everything else the same. I still had a bit leftover but it still turned out great in the pre made crust.
Dear Sally,
if i only have a 8-in pan, what should i do?
thanks!!
Hi Lily, this will be a bit too much crust and filling for an 8 inch pan, but you can use any leftovers for mini cheesecakes. Enjoy!
I have made alot of times and my friends loves it… we love you recipe. Thank you so much. God bless you
★★★★★
This seems to be taking way way longer to cook than the recipe indicates. I have confirmed that my temp is at 350F with my infrared thermometer, and I have the foil-wrapped springform pan in a pan of water (boiling when added at the beginning of the bake). At 50 minutes, almost the entire top of the cheesecake was still wobbly. I keep checking every 8 minutes, and at 1h22m most of the top is still wobbly and the outsides are JUST starting to puff up, take on a little color, and get more solid. Any ideas why this might be? (Baking while I type this, haha)
Hi David! What kind of cream cheese did you use? Make sure you are using full fat block cream cheese, not cream cheese spread sold in a tub. Were your ingredients room temperature prior to beginning the recipe? In the future, you can also try lowering the position of the rack you’re baking your cheesecake on in the oven. Hope these tips help!
Thanks for the reply! Yes, I got the big ol’ block of full fat cream cheese from Costco. The ingredients had been sitting out for several hours but it is possible that some of them, especially the cream cheese, were still a tad cool. It was also a cool morning. But I really didn’t think that any low temperatures would persist through the mixing process! I have since taken it out of the oven, and it took on some color but no so much that it is not appealing… will see how it comes out!
If I don’t use all the blueberry sauce, how long will it stay good in the fridge?
Hi Yasmine, the blueberry sauce should stay well in the fridge for a few days.
Hi sally,
Could you please tell me what would be the changes in the measurements of everything if I were to make it to serve to 6 people?
Thank you!
In the note section you mention if using frozen berries don’t thaw. Won’t they thaw when you cook them? I’m confused lol
Hi Sally,
Can you explain what it means to “adjust oven rack to the lower third position”? If I have my oven rack placed in the very middle should I just move the rack down 1 position and that’s it? I may be overthinking it but I’m confused on if its 3rd from the top or 3rd from the bottom. So I think the simplest way to put it is, if I already have my oven rack set to the middle do I just lower it by 1 position?
Thank you!
Erika
Hi Erika! Yes, moving the oven rack down a level would likely be the correct spot. Happy baking!
If I wanted to not do the water bath, because I don’t have a roasting pan, could I follow all the rest of the instructions (as far as cooking time and temp) and expect it to come out good but just cracked?
Hi Erika! Some readers have baked cheesecakes with a large pan of hot water on the rack beneath the baking cheesecake. In this manner, the cheesecake does not bake directly in a roasting pan of water. This is a wonderful alternative if you do not own a large roasting pan or are nervous about your springform pan leaking. Simply place a large baking pan filled with 1 inch of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven.
Thank you so much! I will give that a try 🙂
Great recipie. I find the crust too sweet . Next time won’t add so much sugar. Loved the rest of it. Yumm
So fantastic. This site has become my go to when looking for recipes. I feel like the extra tips about blending for 3 min, putting the tin foil around the pan, and baking it on a tray or roasting pan with the water really makes a difference.
★★★★★
This is so delicious my family loves it, the first three times was without fail. Now it won’t set up right. What could I be doing wrong? I don’t want to give up on it because it’s the most amazing cheesecake EVER!!!
★★★★★
Can this whole cheesecake be made into minis and what would be the baking time ?
Hi Chelsea, for a mini version, we’d recommend following our mini cheesecakes recipe. You can take the blueberry sauce from here and add it to the mini cheesecakes as you would a large cheesecake. Enjoy!
The crust and cheesecake are both baked at the same temp of 350?
Correct!
Water leaked in around the cake. Is there a way to save the crust?
Before putting in oven to bake in the water bath, make sure to cover the bottom and up the sides of the pan with tin foil.