There’s cheesecake. And then there’s OREO CHEESECAKE. We are not messing around today: this recipe calls for 63 Oreos. A thick and perfectly tender Oreo crust, rich and creamy vanilla cheesecake, stuffed with chopped, crushed, and halved Oreos, big enough that you can still read the Oreo imprint on the cookie. Topped with chocolate ganache and whipped cream, this recipe will stop you in your tracks. Perfect for summer potlucks, Thanksgiving, and Christmas alike!
We have been having the BEST summer, how about you??
We took a trip to visit my friend Sarah and her family. Her son Jake and my son Edison are both 5 years old, and just about ready to take over the world together. Here’s a conversation she texted me one day when I was out of the house:
Sarah explained that the boys were imitating how I sound when I am using voice-to-text to write out a text message. Has this happened to you yet?? I was leaving a voicemail for someone just the other day and actually said the word “comma” out loud in the middle of my sentence, because I forgot that I was not typing. Ahh, the strangeness of modern life sometimes, right??
But you know what’s not strange? Putting 63 Oreos in a cheesecake. HEAR ME OUT GUYS. That’s only 4 Oreos per serving. And don’t you deserve 4 Oreos in your slice of cheesecake?? You doooo
This recipe is for ridiculous Oreo lovers
If you’re like most Americans (myself included), then you probably have a healthy obsession with all things cookies & cream flavor, aka, blending Oreos into literally anything. I already have recipes like Chewy Cookies and Cream Cookies, Oreo Truffles, Black Raspberry Ice Cream with Oreos, Oreo Cheesecake Bars, or even this Layered Pudding Dessert with Golden Oreos.
Oreo cheesecake has been on my list for a while, and I’m SO happy with how it turned out. It is incredibly flavorful, with just the right texture. The Oreo crust is deliciously buttery and thick (there’s never enough crust, right?) while still being perfectly tender. It’s just the right dessert when you want to go BIG.
Cheesecake for the winnn
Guys, this recipe is surprisingly simple?? Not by design, ha! When I’m making cheesecake, I’m ALL IN.
Cheesecake is a commitment, you know? You don’t make cheesecake on a random Tuesday when you want a treat, right. Usually you’re making it for an event, and what with all the cool-down time and chill time, it’s going to be hours and hours before you get to eat it.
With this level of premeditation and man-hours, I usually am in for making the investment. My Creme Brûlée Cheesecake calls for 10 flippin egg yolks. (I mean, so annoying, but the texture is INCREDIBLLLEEE.) My favorite Classic Cheesecake recipe calls for browning the butter. Again, an extra step, but omg, so worth it, you know?
So I was ready to go all in on this Oreo cheesecake recipe. Give me the 1,000 steps I need to make it the BEST most incredible thing. But in all of my testing, I found that simple really was best! I’m not making you separate any eggs (and definitely not 10 😂). I’m not making you brown any butter. It’s a 9 ingredient recipe actually, including the Oreos.
The Oreos do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to flavor for this cheesecake, so I suppose it makes sense that it’s simple. We don’t want any distractions!!
Here is why this recipe is the BEST:
- 36 Oreos in the crust, hello. I told you we are not messing around. Thick dreamy crust or bust. (Thick, but TENDER and not too hard to cut through on a paper plate with a plastic fork if you’re at a casual cookout.)
- Lemon in the cheesecake brings out the tart flavor of the cream cheese. I know this might sound a little odd because we don’t want to be tasting lemon with Oreos, but I promise it’s not like that. Oreos have a very intense chocolate flavor, that can overwhelm the tartness that we want to bring in from the cream cheese. The lemon just gives the tartness a little lift, without tasting lemon-y.
- Sour cream is another ingredient that brings an extra level of tart, and helps smooth out the cheesecake, making it creamy and rich.
- Multiple sizes of Oreos in the cheesecake. We are crushing some of the Oreos, and only roughly chopping some of them, so we get nice big chunks in our cheesecake with the “Oreo” branding still visible on the cookies
- Ganache on top. I didn’t think this was necessary at first. Isn’t Oreo cheesecake already so rich?? I tried one test recipe without the ganache. NOPE. It’s not the same. You absolutely NEED that rich, creamy chocolate layer on top to balance the flavors. Don’t skip it!
- More crushed oreos on top. I mean hello, what’s a cheesecake without a little garnish. We eat with our eyes first, remember!
Oreo cheesecake ingredients
This list is just a quick overview of what you’ll need. For ingredient amounts and detailed instructions, be sure to look at the recipe card!
Oh that’s right, we’re going with the giant Costco size box of Oreos 😂 Not messin around.
- oreo cookies
- sugar
- salt
- butter
- cream cheese
- sour cream
- vanilla
- lemon juice
- heavy whipping cream
- semisweet chocolate chips
How to make oreo cheesecake
First things first, make your Oreo crust! Toss your Oreos in a food processor with some salt and a bit of sugar, and blend it up. If you don’t have a food processor, you can toss them in a ziplock and smash them with a rolling pin! See recipes notes for details.
Once you have the Oreos all crumbly, you can add in the melted butter. This helps everything stick together and adds a bit of flavor!
Dump the moistened crumbs into a springform pan:
Use a measuring cup or a drinking glass to press the crumbs into the edges of the pan. Try and get the crust as high up the sides of the pan as you can! Then bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.
Now for the cheesecake. We’re starting out with a few eggs that we’re going to beat until foamy:
We just want to make sure those thickened white protein strands have disappeared. Pull up your beater and make sure there is no stringiness hanging off the end. The eggs should be nice and foamy. Remove the eggs to another bowl, then add the softened cream cheese to the same mixing bowl, no need to wash it. (Or, if you are using a hand mixer, just use a different bowl.)
You need to make sure your cream cheese is nice and soft! Otherwise it won’t beat properly and you will have chunks in your cheesecake, no thank you. (Although…for this recipe, it’s not THAT big of a deal, see notes!)
Now add the beaten eggs back in, as well as all the other ingredients, except the Oreos! Beat it well.
Once your cheesecake is all put together (taste it! It’s divine!) It’s time to tackle the Oreos. Here’s how I like to chop up the 22 Oreos being swirled into this cheesecake. About 1/3 of them cut in half, another 1/3 quartered, and the rest chopped crumbly.
Now it’s time to stir it all together!
Now dump it into your baked crust. Make sure the crust isn’t super hot. Warm is ok, but you should be able to touch the pan with your fingers without getting burned, before you pour the cheesecake mixture in.
Oh nooooo my cheesecake cracked! Guys…it’s okay. Call me a charlatan, I just don’t care that much about cracked cheesecake. This cheesecake was perfectly moist and baked very well. The reason cheesecakes crack is because of a rapid temperature change after baking. Follow my instructions for using a water bath while baking, and your cheesecake will not be dry, even if it has a few cracks. We’re covering it with ganache anyway!
Speaking of, let’s make it. After your cheesecake has chilled completely (4 hours is fine, overnight is best), add some cream to a bowl and toss it in the microwave until bubbles appear on the edges.
Add in the semi sweet chocolate chips and let this sit for a minute or two, to let the chocolate melt. Then add in some butter:
And whisk it until completely smooth. Now pour it over the top of your completely chilled cheesecake:
Move the ganache around to make drips, if you like. Nobody is going to be hiring me to make professionally decorated cheesecakes anytime soon, folks, but you know what, my friends and family were still impressed with this!
Don’t forget to pile on a few extra crushed Oreos, for dramatic effect, you know. And you HAVE to make Whipped Cream to go with this, it’s absolutely essential for cutting the sweetness of the cheesecake.
How to store leftover cookies & cream cheesecake
Cheesecake needs to be stored in the refrigerator! Cover it well with plastic wrap or transfer the cheesecake (in its entirety or as slices) to containers with lids so it doesn’t dry out. My personal preference is to keep it in the springform pan it was baked in, and stretch plastic over the top.
Can you freeze oreo cheesecake?
Yes, totally! To freeze the whole cheesecake, let it cool completely and then cover well several times with plastic wrap. Then wrap in heavy duty foil a couple times. Freeze for 3-4 months. Let thaw in the fridge. It will take at least 12-24 hours to thaw completely, I usually stick it in the fridge to thaw overnight the night before I want to eat it.
If you plan to freeze individual servings, wait for the cheesecake to cool and set completely. Then, cut slices and add them, not touching, to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put the baking sheet in the freezer. Set a timer for 3 hours. After the flash freeze, transfer each individual slice to a ziplock bag, or layer slices with the parchment paper between them in one larger bag. Thaw the slice(s) in the refrigerator and pull this oreo cheesecake out on one of THOSE days! 🤣
Oreo cheesecake recipe FAQs
Nope! Water baths do make great cheesecakes, but they are very finicky and can lead to more problems (like sad, soggy crust) if you tear through your barrier. Instead, this recipe calls for a much easier work around to get the same steam effect by adding boiling water to a 9×13 pan underneath the baking cheesecake. Works like a charm!
The dreaded crack! First, I want to assure you that even if you do get a crack in your cheesecake, it will still taste delicious. Promise! This recipe also adds ganache, a bunch of extra chopped oreos, and whipped cream to the top, so no one need ever know.
That being said, here are some good tips to avoid cracking. The main cause of cracks is due to sudden temperature change. That’s why the cooling portion (for hours) is SO important, just leave it alone til it’s room temperature! Over mixing can add too much air to the batter, which may cause it to puff up as it cooks and then crack as it falls. Also, overbaking can dry out a cheesecake and cause it to crack. The steam will help prevent this, but make sure you’re keeping an eye on the time!
I think it is best to prebake the crust, yes. This makes for a more cohesive crust that sticks together and to the filling better, plus adds just a bit of a bite without being too hard. Unbaked crusts tend to crumble more and get mushy more easily, and that’s just a deal breaker for me. Plus, you have to press the crust in the pan anyway AND still make the cheesecake filling, so you may as well let the crust bake for 10 minutes while you do that. :)
More OREO recipes that’ll knock your socks off
Oreos are the stuff of legend, and you can’t convince me otherwise. Here are some of my favorite oreo desserts!
- Oreo Truffles >> how can you go wrong with jam-packed oreo flavor in a truffle with only 3 ingredients? You can’t, my friends.
- Chewy Cookies and Cream Cookies >> these are over the top with chopped oreos, Hershey’s Cookies & Cream candy bars, and even crushed oreos in the dough
- Black Raspberry Ice Cream with Oreos >> just TRUST me on this combo, guys, it is perfect!
- Homemade Oreos with Cream Cheese Frosting (Cake Mix Cookies) >> easiest, fastest cookies to make at home that bring on the cookies & cream flavor
- Layered Pudding Dessert with Golden Oreos >> kinda like dirt pudding, but vanilla flavored and with berries. Yes, please!
- Cookies & Cream Fudge from I Am Baker
Cheesecake recipes for cheesecake lovers
I feel like there’s a cheesecake for every occasion. Whether it’s any holiday, a birthday or other celebration, or just because, you KNOW cheesecake is going to make the day! There’s a good mix of no bake cheesecakes and traditional baked cheesecakes on my Cheesecake Recipe Page, so be sure to look through all the recipes to find your favorite. For now, here are some of mine!
- Classic Cheesecake >> this is a bold claim, but I’m going to make it: this is the BEST traditional, classic flavor cheesecake that you can make at home!!
- My Favorite No Bake Cheesecake (of all time) >> if you’re more of a no bake cheesecake fan or need something quick or light, this is my go-to!
- Brûléed Cheesecake >> when cheesecake and creme brulee have a baby, you get one of the best desserts combined in one!!
- No Bake Cheesecake Parfait Bar >> this recipe is absolutely the fastest way to have a cheesecake experience! There are only a few ingredients and it comes together in about 5 minutes!!
- Traditional Polish Sernik from Polish your Kitchen
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Oreo Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Oreo crust:
- 36 Oreos*
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
- 3 large eggs
- 4 (8-ounce) packages full-fat cream cheese, Philadelphia brand is best.
- 3/4 cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, use 3/4 teaspoon table salt
- 22 Oreos, chopped into a variety of sizes
For the chocolate ganache:
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons butter
To garnish
- 1 batch Whipped Cream, tap for recipe
- crushed Oreos, to top cheesecake, about 5 Oreos
Instructions
- Let your cream cheese soften. Leave 4 packs of cream cheese out on the counter for 3-4 hours, until completely room temperature. If you don't have time, unwrap each one and place them in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave 1 minute at a time on power level 1 until they are evenly soft. You should be able to press your finger in easily. Do NOT let the creamy cheese get melty, there is no going back.
- Prep the oven and pan: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Set out a 9-inch springform pan. Use nonstick spray to grease the top 2 inches of the sides of the pan. (Your cheesecake will be very full and rise over the crust; we don't want it getting stuck to the pan.)
- Make the Oreo crust: In a food processor,* add 36 Oreos, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Process until the Oreos are fine crumbs, stopping to stir in any stubborn Oreos that won't blend at first. Keep going until it's fine.
- Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small bowl, then pour it into the food processor with the Oreos. Process until full incorporated.
- Press the crumbs into the pan. Pour all the crumbs into the prepared pan. Use a measuring cup or the bottom of a glass to press the crumbs most of the way up the sides of the pan. Press your thumb down into the top of the edge of the crust as you press from the sides with the cup. This will help make a sturdier end crust. Press and even out the bottom and make sure it's flat.
- Bake the crust at 325 degrees F for 12 minutes on a center rack. If your crust has puffed a lot, use the back of a spoon to reshape it to how it was. Do this right away after pulling it out of the oven, before it hardens. Set aside to cool. Leave the oven on at 325.
- Make the cheesecake: In a large bowl or stand mixer, add 3 eggs. Use the whisk attachment to beat the eggs on medium speed for 3 minutes, until they are light yellow and starting to foam. Make sure there are no gloopy bits (a technical term) when you lift the spatula, otherwise mix another minute. (You can also remove any stubborn gloopy bits.)
- Remove the beaten eggs to another bowl and set aside.
- Add 4 packs of softened cream cheese to the original large bowl, no need to wash it. Beat the cream cheese with the same whisk attachment. Scrape the bottom and edges. Beat again for another 1-2 minutes, until it is smooth, creamy, and there are absolutely no lumps. If there are lumps in this mixture, there will be lumps in your cheesecake.** Don't be a fool.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except not the Oreos: Add the beaten eggs back in. Add 3/4 cup full-fat sour cream. Add 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt (use 3/4 teaspoon if all you have is table salt).
- Beat these ingredients into the cream cheese, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue beating on medium for 1-2 more minutes, until the mixture is completely smooth.
- Chop the Oreos. Spread 22 Oreos out on a cutting board. Use a chef's knife to chop about 1/3 of them in half. Chop another 1/3 into quarters. Chop the remaining 1/3 into a coarse chop, see photos.
- Fold in the Oreos. Add all the Oreos and any fine crumbs from the cutting board into the bowl with the cream cheese mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold it all in evenly.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture into the cooled (or mostly cooled) Oreo crust. Yes, all of it! Even out the top and try to keep it away from the edges of the pan, if you can.
- Heat a kettle or pot of water on the stove until it's boiling.
- Prepare the steam set up: Place one oven rack in the center of the oven, which should be set to 325. Place the other rack below it. Place a 9×13 inch pan on the lower rack. Pour the boiling water into the 9×13 inch pan.
- Immediately place the cheesecake in the oven on the higher rack, directly above the steaming water. Shut the oven door as fast as you can to keep that steam in.
- Bake the cheesecake at 325 with steaming water in the pan below. Bake for 40 minutes.
- Turn the oven off but leave the door shut. After 40 minutes, the cheesecake will have risen to the tippy top of the pan. (View it through the window; try not to open the door.) The edges may be turning a very light golden brown. Turn the oven off at this point (If it's not looking set at all on the edges, continue baking in 3 minute increments.)
- Let cool in the oven. Leave the cheesecake in the unopened , turned off oven for 3-4 hours.
- Remove the room temperature cheesecake from the oven. The cheesecake will have sunk down a bit and a few cracks may have formed, that's okay, because we are covering it with ganache later.
- Refrigerate. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 6 hours.
- For the ganache: When you are ready to serve, make the ganache. In a small bowl, add 1/3 cup cream. Microwave the cream in 30 second increments, checking it frequently until you see small bubbles along the edge of the bowl. Do no let it boil all the way to the center.
- Add 2/3 cup chocolate chips but do not stir. Let it sit for about a minute to let the chocolate melt. Then whisk the chocolate and cream together until completely smooth.
- Add in 2 tablespoons butter to the chocolate, and stir until smooth.
- Let the ganache cool slightly. Wait 10-15 minutes, until the ganache is still pourable, but not so piping hot that it will melt the top of your cheesecake.
- When you are ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the fridge and carefully remove the plastic wrap. If a bunch of water gets on the top of the cheesecake from the condensation, gently soak it up with a paper towel.
- Pour the ganache over the top of the cheesecake. Use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate to the edges, pushing it over the edges in a few spots if you want some drips down the sides.
- Return the cheesecake to the fridge for 10-20 minutes until the ganache is a little harder, if you want it set. (optional)
- Serve with freshly Whipped Cream and a sprinkle of 5 or 6 medium-chopped Oreos. Don't skip the whipped cream! It really balances the heaviness of the cheesecake!
- Storage: Cheesecake needs to be stored in the refrigerator! I like to keep it in the springform pan it was baked in, and stretch plastic over the top. It will keep for a couple weeks! But will get dried out after day 3 or 4.
- Freezing: To freeze the whole cheesecake, let it cool completely and then cover well several times with plastic wrap. Then wrap in heavy duty foil a couple times. Freeze for 3-4 months. Let thaw in the fridge. It will take at least 12-24 hours to thaw completely, I usually stick it in the fridge to thaw overnight the night before I want to eat it.If you plan to freeze individual servings, cut slices and add them, not touching, to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put the sheet in the freezer. Set a timer for 3 hours. After the flash freeze, transfer each individual slice to a ziplock bag, or layer slices with the parchment paper between them in one larger bag. Thaw the slice(s) in the fridge!
I haven’t made this yet (yet being the key word), but you get an A+ on the photography Karen, it looks so delicious!! And I’ll be back soon with comments on the actual cheesecake. I can hardly wait to make this!