Sous Vide Cheesecake

Sous vide cheesecakes are a can't fail creamy, rich cheesecake with way less work! This easy to follow recipe will become your new favourite.

I love cheesecake! I don't care who knows it.

For years, I suffered through only having cheesecake when we were at restaurants. I tried, many a time, to bake a beautiful cheesecake. Only to fail miserably, lick my wounds and wait a few more years before trying again.

Then I got a sous vide.

Sous vide is the perfect way to cook cheesecake that's as smooth as Santana, rich as Bill Gates, and has NO surface cracking. Oh, and it's SO EASY!

This sous vide cheesecake recipe is dedicated to trying till you get it.

Jump to:

• Key Ingredients
• How to make Sous Vide Cheesecake
• Storage Information
• Variations and substitutions
• Recommended equipment
• 📖 Printable Recipe

Tips + tricks

No. 1 --> New to sous vide cooking? Check out my awesome Sous Vide 101 guide!

No. 2 --> Start with room temperature cream cheese. We're beating it all together, and room temperature cream cheese beats into a smooth batter, while cold cream cheese stays in lumps. (Ask me how I know.... Christmas Morning 2020!)

No. 3 --> Oven-baked cheesecakes are a drag, man, get into these awesome single (LOL) serve sous vide cheesecakes. You'll love them.

Key Ingredients

Graham crumbs: Don't listen to people that tell you to make a cheesecake without a graham crumb base, they are not to be trusted. Cheesecake needs a crust. This one has a crust made with graham crumbs, brown sugar and a little unsalted butter. Mmm mmm!

Cream cheese: Go full fat. Get the Philly. There's no dieting in cheesecake, and there's no replacement for Philadelphia Cream Cheese. These are the facts!

Sour cream: Cheesecake that uses whipping cream over sour cream should not be trusted! I mean, it will turn out edible, but it won't be as rich or as stable. Just like with the cream cheese, go full fat.

How to make Sous Vide Cheesecake

Make the crumb:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the graham crumbs, melted butter and brown sugar until a crumbly paste forms.
2. Divide the crust mixture into your 4 jars and using a spoon, pack it down into the base of the jar in a uniform layer. I find quick firm taps work better than a long press. If you find the crumb is sticking to the spoon and lifting off of the base of the jar, wipe off the base of the spoon. Set prepared jars aside.

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Make the batter:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth.
2. Add the sour cream, egg and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until completely combined.
3. Tap the mixing bowl firmly on the counter 3 or 4 times before beginning to transfer to jars.
4. Divide the batter into each of the 4 jars, then use a knife to scoot it into the corners, avoid tapping the jars to level the batter as it can dislodge the graham cracker crust. I usually use my large muffin scoop for this job, it makes quick work of dividing the batter.

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Seal and cook:

1. Ensure the lips of the jars are clean from batter or crumbs, then add lids and sealing rings. Seal the jars finger tight. My trick for this is to place them on the counter and tighten the jars until they start to spin on the counter. We want the lids held in place tight enough to keep water out but loose enough to allow air to escape as the jars heat.
2. Pour water as hot as your tap allows into a large pot or sous vide container. Stack the jars carefully in the water - they may want to float as they are barely half full, if this is the case, set something heavy on top of them.
3. Attach your sous vide circulator and set the temperature to 176f.
4. Cook the cheesecake sous vide at 176f for 90 minutes.
5. Once the cheesecakes are done cooking, remove them from the water bath and open the lids. Allow them to cool at room temperature uncovered until cool.
6. Dry lids, then cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours to set before serving.

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More sous vide dessert recipes

Storage Information

Fridge:

These awesome sous vide cheesecakes can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, simply add the topping before serving.

Freezer:

Oh, and these little babies freeze great too! To freeze your cheesecake, allow them to set up in the fridge overnight, then transfer the jars to the freezer. Cheesecakes will keep well for 2 months!

To use, remove from freezer and thaw on the counter for 3-4 hours before enjoying.

Variations and substitutions

This is a base cheesecake recipe, and as with ANY recipe on this website, I highly encourage you to experiment with it. There are various variations you can make to this recipe.

Toppings: Sometimes you just want a damn good classic cheesecake, sometimes you want MORE! Here are some of my favourite tops:

• Homemade fruit sauce: 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit, tossed in 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Canned pie filling
• Caramel sauce, chocolate shavings and roasted pecans

Bases: While I firmly believe that all cheesecakes should have a crust, I am not a graham cracker purist! Try these ideas instead of graham crackers

• Oreo cookie crumbs
• crushed ginger snaps
• crushed pretzels

Substitutions:

• swap plain greek yogurt for the sour cream
• use brown sugar in the cheesecake batter instead of white sugar
• switch the vanilla extract for another extract

Recommended equipment

Sous Vide - We started small with our sous vide, just to see if we'd use it, turns out we use it ALLLL the time. Our little Instant Pot Accu Slim sous vide has been a workhorse in my kitchen! You can get a sous vide on Amazon!

Mason Jars - Some people collect cool things, I collect mason jars. On the upside, I've got one for every occasion! Just like these little cheesecake jars. Because the container is being submerged and heated, a mason jar makes the most sense as they are designed to let heated air out without allowing water in. I recommend these HALF-PINT WIDE MOUTH JARS.

Jar lifter - or silicone oven mitt. You've gotta reach into a HOT water bath to grab the jars, use a JAR LIFTER. Your unburned hands will thank you!

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