You’ve officially seen it all. Cheesecake made in the instant pot. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. But not only is instant pot cheesecake easy to make; it’s just as good as it’s oven counterpart. It starts with a buttery graham cracker crust and is topped with a velvety smooth cream cheese mixture and then pressure cooked for a little less than an hour. It’s also a manageable 6-inch cheesecake so you can make it for dinner parties or during the holidays when you’re trying to stretch the dessert table a little more and don’t want to have TONS of cheesecake around after. Side note: who are those people that don’t want to have cheesecake around? I’m one of them! In the name of recipe testing, I have gone through many, many slices.
I have to tell you, the last time I made cheesecake before this instant pot version, was when I was in my third year of college, years ago. I was so traumatized by the experience; it took me a whole ten years to recoup. It was a Sunday afternoon, I had invited a few close friends over for lunch, and I thought cheesecake would make the perfect dessert after a light meal. To skip ahead: the cheesecake was delicious; the crust was an entirely different story. I baked the crust as the recipe stated. The cheesecake mixture was creamy and tangy. I even decided I’d bake it in a water bath to ensure a crack-free cheesecake. But what I didn’t anticipate is that the water bath would end up doing more harm than good. You see, in my naivety, I poured the water so far up the sides that it ended up getting inside the foil wrapping. That first bite was nothing but a soggy-bottom, mouthful of mush. Making instant pot cheesecake means there’s no need for a hot water bath or squatting every twenty minutes next to the oven to make sure your beloved cheesecake isn’t going to have cracks. Both of which I’ve been tortured with before. None of that nonsense when you’re making cheesecake in the pressure cooker.
To be honest with you, I never thought I’d be making anything sweet in the instant pot (affiliate link). Chicken broth? Yes. Soups? Definitely. Rice? That’s a given. But dessert? Um.. really? The first time I made cheesecake in the instant pot, I learned a valuable lesson that I’m going to pass on to you. If you’re like me and use a ton of garlic or onions in your instant pot recipes, do yourself a favor, and buy an extra sealing ring (affiliate link) before you attempt to make this cheesecake. You can tell if you need a new sealing ring if when you lift the lid of your IP, the smell of ____ (insert last meal cooked in instant pot) starts invading your nostrils. The first time I made instant pot cheesecake, I almost died, because the top layer smelled// tasted// emitted smells of garlicky beef soup. I’m all for beef soup and cheesecake – just not together on the same plate, please and thank you! So please, whatever you do consider ordering a new seal before you serve this cheesecake to loved ones, it’s quite a mortifying experience. One that almost had me halting my cheesecake making for yet another decade.
Tips on perfecting instant pot cheesecake:
Dear Cheesecake Lovers: How about this year we make instant pot cheesecake and leave the oven to things like turkey//stuffing// rolls// pies and everything else that requires the ovens attention during the holidays? I’m keeping it ultra classy with my New York-Style Cheesecake right here.
9 graham cracker sheets is roughly 1- 1 1/4 cups of crumbs.
Update (1/30/2018): A few readers have mentioned the cheesecake didn’t set for them in the middle as it did for me in the time noted. For this reason, I’ll be retesting the recipe. This recipe was tested multiple times and my cheesecake was perfectly set in the time noted. In the meantime, a helpful reader suggested to help the cheesecake set, you can wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it overnight. This seems to help solidify the center a bit more. You can also check the cheesecake once the pressure releases and if it is still pudding-like in the center, you can continue to pressure cook it for an additional 5-10 minutes (depending on how puddingy it is) then natural pressure release with the ‘keep warm’ setting on. SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave
