Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Chocolate, salted caramel or cookie stuffed, when it comes to cheesecake, I’ve preferred classic vanilla bean. It’s sweet, creamy and perfectly simple.

Years ago, I brought my first ever cheesecake to a dinner party. When I went to serve it, it was a big goopy mess, I was mortified! Since then, I’ve made dozens and dozens of cheesecakes and figured out a few tricks to make them almost impossible to mess up. Don’t over beat the mixture, lower the heat, use a pan of water to heat slowly without soaking the crust, cool it down VERY slowly and run a knife around the edges, a few times. Got all that? Don’t worry, read through the recipe a time or two before jumping in and you’ll have the most impressive cheesecakery skills in town!

I started with my favorite basic cheesecake recipe and swapped out half of the cream cheese for greek yogurt. It’s light, creamy, smooth and delicious. Top your perfect cheesecake with fresh fruit for an indulgent dessert you can feel good about, or go all-in with a drizzle of chocolate or salted caramel. Either way, it’ll be your new favorite dessert!

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Print Recipe

• Author: Kristen Olson
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 9 hours 50 mins
• Total Time: 10 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 16 Servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, well softened
• 2 cups 2% plain Greek yogurt (from a 16 ounce container)
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
• 4 eggs
• Pomegranate seeds or fresh fruit for garnish, if desired

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 325ºF. Grease 9-inch springform pan. Wrap foil around the outside of the pan to catch drips. In a small bowl, mix cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and the butter. Press evenly in the bottom of the pan. Bake 5 minutes or until set. Cool slightly. To minimize cracking of the cheesecake, place a shallow pan half full of hot water on lower oven rack.
2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed just until smooth and creamy; do not overbeat. On low speed, gradually beat in the yogurt, sugar and seeds from the vanilla bean. On low speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.
3. Bake the cheesecake 65 to 75 minutes or until the edges are set but the center of cheesecake still jiggles slightly when moved.
4. Turn the oven off; open oven door at least 4 inches. Leave cheesecake in the oven 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven; place on cooling rack. Without releasing side of pan, run a thin knife around edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake. Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes. Cover loosely; refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
5. Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake again; carefully remove side of pan. Place cheesecake on a serving plate. Store cheesecake covered in the refrigerator. Serve with fresh fruit, if desired.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Serving
• Calories: 296
• Sugar: 26g
• Sodium: 189mg
• Fat: 16g
• Saturated Fat: 9g
• Unsaturated Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 33g
• Fiber: 0g
• Protein: 7g
• Cholesterol: 90mg

What’s your favorite cheesecake topper?

Here are a few more party ready desserts…
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies from Just a Taste
Holiday Dessert Table from A Cozy Kitchen
Eggnog Bundt Cake with Rum Icing from Brown Eyed Baker

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