Philadelphia Cheesecake Recipe—Vanilla or Chocolate Chip (2024)

Jump to RecipePrint

Philadelphia Cheesecake Recipe is a creamy, decadent dessert but is an easy recipe to make as classic vanilla or with mini chocolate chips—it will become your signature dessert.

This "impress the family and friends" cheesecake recipe is easy to make at home. It will leave them asking for the recipe.

It is about as foolproof and simple as a cheesecake recipe can get. No water bath, no aluminum foil, and no handling like it will break. The batter is cream cheese, eggs, and sweated condensed milk. The crust is Oreo cookies or Graham crackers with butter. Add vanilla or mini chocolate chips, and you will be the talk of the party.

Check out these other cheesecake recipes, like Cheesecake Bars, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Cheesecake Cupcakes, and Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake.

This is not a "for two" recipe and will not scale down. It is a full-size 9-inch cheesecake. No "inspired by" link. This recipe has been the rounds my wife's grade school for years.

🥣Ingredients

• Cream Cheese at room temperature
• Eggs at room temperature
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Crust—Oreo cookies, butter OR graham crackers, butter, sugar
• Vanilla extract or Mini-chocolate chips

Required Equipment

• 9-inch springform pan
• Electric mixer—hand or stand mixer

👨‍🍳How to Make Philadelphia Cheesecake

1. Make a crust of crushed Oreo cookies and melted butter or crushed graham crackers, sugar, and butter. Press into a buttered springform pan. Don't bake the Oreo crust; the Graham cracker crust should be baked for 10 minutes.
2. Beat cream cheese with a mixer until creamy—2-3 minutes.
3. Slowly beat in sweetened condensed milk and optional vanilla until smooth.
4. Add eggs one at a time beating slowly until smooth but do not over-mix.
5. Fold in half the mini chocolate chips if using.
6. Pour batter into the prepared pan, smooth, and top with the remaining chocolate chips.
7. Bake for 1 hour in a 300° oven until the edges are browning some, but the center may not look set.
8. Turn off the oven and crack open the door for one hour. Then transfer to the refrigerator for a 6-hour minimum.

🌡️When is a cheesecake done?

The edges will be slightly puffed and brown. There will still be a 2-inch to 3-inch wobbly spot in the center.

If you don’t mind a hole in the surface, the internal temperature should be 150° when done. Never over 160°, or it will crack.

✔️Tips to make the best cheesecake

• Cheesecake is not low fat. Use full-fat cream cheese.
• The cream cheese and the eggs must be at room temperature before starting, or you will see more cracks.
• DO NOT over-mix. It will add tiny air bubbles, which will expand and cause cracks.
• Quality matters—use good quality materials.

👨‍🍳How to Prevent Cracks in Cheesecake

First, cracks in the cheesecake happen. I have rarely had many issues, and it is not the end of the world if it does happen. Here are some tips if you want to avoid them.

1. Air bubbles in the batter can cause cracks, so don’t over-mix. Be sure the cream cheese is warm so you can mix it easier and have no lumps. Be sure to add the eggs carefully and don’t over-mix since the eggs trap air easily.
2. The cheesecake will shrink a bit when it cools. If it sticks to the side while that happens, it will crack. So be sure to grease the pan well and run a knife around the edge of the cake about 15 minutes after turning off the heat.
3. Use a water bath—optional for me. Humidity can help avoid cracks. I don’t usually do this. It is not complicated but can be a bit messy if you are not careful, just set the springform pan in a large pan of water.
4. Avoid opening the oven door to keep checking the cake. The drafts and temperature changes can lead to cracking.
5. In general, an oven temperature for cheesecake should never be over 325°. This recipe uses 300°; if you are unsure of your oven's accuracy, check it with an oven thermometer.
6. Overcooking is probably the most common cause of cracking.

🍴How to store and serve cheesecake

Chill for at least 6 hours after cooking. Cut with a sharp knife and wipe between slices with a warm wet cloth. Allow the slices to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. Top the vanilla cheesecake with fresh fruit like strawberries or blueberries.

Store refrigerated and covered with plastic wrap for 4 days. You can store it in the freezer, sealed airtight, for 3 months. I suggest cutting into individual slices, freezing solid, then wrapping tightly.

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.

Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Allow the cream cheese and eggs to rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 300° (350° if baking the crust first).

For the Oreo crust: Crush 18 standard Oreo cookies (about 1 ½ cups).
For Graham cracker crust: Crush about 12 whole sheets of Graham crackers (Nabisco™ Honey Maid preferred) to make about 1 ½ cups of graham cracker crumbs and add 4 tablespoons sugar.

Melt butter, 4 tablespoons for Oreo crust, or 5 tablespoons for Graham cracker crust in a microwave for about 20 seconds until liquefied.

In a medium bowl, mix the melted butter into crushed cookies and mix well.

Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter. I like to use a small ziplock bag and about one tablespoon of butter.

Crush the crust mixture into the bottom of the pan using a fork. Break up any remaining larger pieces, and be sure to get complete coverage. It will not look like enough, but it is.Do not bake the Oreo crust. For the Graham cracker crust, bake for 10 minutes in a 350° oven until browning some, then turn the oven down to 300°.

Start the filling with three 8 oz packages of cream cheese. Beat at a medium speed (4 on a stand mixer) for 2-3 minutes to make it a little fluffy and a creamy texture.

Add one 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract if making vanilla cheesecake. Mix at a slower speed until combined.And now, add the eggs one at a time into the mixture until smooth but do not overbeat. For chocolate chip cheesecake, fold in ½ of the 12oz pack of mini chocolate chips at the end of mixing.

Pour cheesecake filling into the prepared pan. For the chocolate chip version, top with remaining chocolate chips.

Bake for 1 hour until edges begin to brown, but the center may not look set. Do not go poking it with toothpicks or anything else to check for done.

Turn off the oven and crack open the door to cool. About 15 minutes into cooling, run a knife around the edge to help release it from the pan. Cool in the oven for 1 hour before moving to the refrigerator for 6+ hours more. You may remove the springform pan after refrigerating.

📖 Recipe

Editor's Note: Originally Published December 20, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.