This gluten-free cheesecake features a rich New York-style filling and a buttery pecan crust, making it an irresistible homemade treat. This easy baked recipe is a must-have for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any special occasion. If you're looking for the best recipe for a creamy, crowd-pleasing dessert, learn how to make this gluten free cheesecake today. Pin this delicious cheesecake to have the ultimate holiday dessert ready to impress!
Why this is the best gluten-free cheesecake recipe
This decadent dessert is delicious! Everyone loves cheesecake, and this gluten-free version will delight both gluten-free and "normal" guests alike. The crust doesn't taste gluten-free at all!
This is an easy dessert. Mix the crust, mix the filling, layer them, then bake. That's all there is to it!
The ingredients for this easy recipe are very common. You probably have most of the simple ingredients already in your pantry, and the remaining couple are available in every grocery I've ever visited. The exception is vanilla bean paste, but that is readily available on Amazon if not in your grocery store (larger ones do typically have it though). And if you need to, you can use vanilla extract in place of the vanilla bean paste.
It's an irresistible flavor combination! The combination of tangy cheesecake and the buttery pecan crust is always a crowd-pleaser.
The texture of the crunchy crust with the creamy cheesecake is a winning contrast!
The contrasting textures are perfectly harmonious. Every bite contains smooth, creamy cheesecake and crunchy, chewy crust.
What you'll need to make the best pecan crust cheesecake
Equipment
- Springform pan - You need a springform pan to make a cheesecake. This is a special kind of pan that has a ring around the edges that opens and closes and a loose bottom. You fit the bottom into a ridge around the bottom of the ring, and then you close the ring, and it all fits together and keeps your cheesecake inside.
- Pastry blender - You can see this in one of the photos below. If you're in a pinch, you can use a fork, but it's a lot harder and will take a lot more time to incorporate the butter into the pastry crust.
Ingredients
See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutritional information.
- Pamela's Gluten Free Baking Mix or all-purpose flour - I do not recommend a single type of gluten-free flour (such as coconut flour or almond flour). You really do need a baking mix or blend of several different types of flours.
- Light Brown sugar - This makes the crust sweet. Don't use white sugar here.
- Unsalted butter - This makes the crust into a pastry-type crust instead of just flour.
- Finely chopped pecans - 1 cup of chopped pecans is different from 1 cup of pecans, chopped, right? You need to start with way more than 1 cup of pecans here.
- Full fat cream cheese - If you get the reduced fat, you will regret it. You can absolutely taste the difference between a cheesecake made with full-fat cream cheese and one made with low-fat cream cheese.
- White sugar - You need sugar to sweeten the cream cheese. You can use an alternate sweetener as you prefer, but it will significantly change the flavor or the cheesecake.
- Large eggs - The eggs make the cheesecake filling set up into a cake rather than a blob of melted cream cheese.
- Salt - Salt balances the sugar in the cheesecake filling.
- Vanilla bean paste - I prefer vanilla bean paste over plain vanilla extract for two reasons. The paste has a much more potent and robust vanilla flavor, so I think that's important, but also, vanilla bean paste has actual vanilla beans crushed up in it. Vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol and then removing the beans. Vanilla bean paste is made from concentrated vanilla extract that has had crushed up vanilla beans added to it. If you don't want to get vanilla bean paste, you can use an equal amount of pure vanilla extract.
- Almond extract - You can use more or less to taste. I love almond extract so I use a lot.
For the chocolate ganache topping (optional - only add this if your cheesecake cracks and you want to hide the crack)
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips - I always use chocolate chips but you could also chop up a bar of baking chocolate.
- Heavy cream - This thins the chocolate and makes it pourable. It's sometimes called heavy whipping cream.
- Unsalted butter - This gives the chocolate a nice glossy sheen, as long as you don't cover it with plastic wrap before it fully cools.
How to make the best gluten-free cheesecake
- Preheat the oven to 350º.
- Brush your springform pan with a little melted butter to ensure the cheesecake doesn't stick. (This melted butter is not included in the ½ cup required by the recipe.)
- Whisk the brown sugar and baking mix together in a large bowl.
- Chop the butter into small pieces and use a pastry blender to mix them with the flour mixture until it is crumbly. If you don't have a pastry blender, a fork or wooden spoon will work, but it will take a lot more effort. (Do yourself a favor and buy the pastry blender. It is cheap.)
- Stir in the nuts.
- Press the crust mixture into the springform pan to the depth you prefer. Try to get it in an even layer. Set aside.
- Microwave the cream cheese, one block at a time, for 30-60 seconds until it is softened but not cooked.
- Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Be careful not to over mix the cheesecake batter or your cheesecake will rise in the oven and then fall and crack when it cools.
- Spread the cheesecake filling in the prepared springform pan.
- Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes. The center will still be pretty jiggly after this time, but turn off the oven and crack the door open. This will allow the cheesecake to cool very slowly which prevents cracking. Allow to cool in the oven for at least 1 hour, then move to a wire rack on the counter to cool completely.
- Once the cheesecake has reached room temperature, transfer it to the refrigerator for several hours or until well-chilled. Serve chilled and store in the fridge.
Baker's tips for the best Pecan Crust Cheesecake
Use quality ingredients - Try to stick with the name brand ingredients, because the quality of your ingredients will make a huge difference in your finished cheesecake, and never use low-fat cream cheese for a cheesecake! You WILL taste a difference.
Keep the oven door closed - Don't peek at your cheesecake while it's baking. The cold air can shock the cheesecake and make it crack.
Likewise, when the cook time is done, and you've jiggled it to make sure the edges are set, put it back into the hot oven with the door cracked an inch or two, and let it cool in there for an hour. This also helps to prevent cracking.
Don't over bake - Don't over bake your cheesecake. Turn the heat off and crack the door open as soon as the outer edge is set. The center should be jiggly.
Substitutions and variations
You can switch out the almond extract for another extract, such as lemon, orange, or mint. If you use lemon, you might want to also add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and an equl amount of lemon zest. Don't use too much or it will thin your cheesecake batter.
You can make a gluten-free graham cracker crust by using gluten-free graham cracker crumbs in place of the gluten-free baking mix if you want. Pulse gluten-free graham crackers in the food processor a few times until they're fine crumbs, and then measure and add them to the brown sugar in step three.
You can make mini cheesecakes using this recipe. Use paper cupcake wrappers in a muffin pan, and press a tablespoon or so of crust into the bottom of each one. Then fill the wrapper about ⅔ full with cheesecake filling. They will cook much much quicker than the full-sized cheesecake, so check them around 15 minutes and then often until the edges are set. You can remove them from the oven while the centers are still jiggly.
You can also make mini cheesecake bites by doing the above with mini cupcake wrappers in a mini muffin pan. Just use less crust and less filling and start checking them at 10 minutes.
How to serve a pecan crust cheesecake
I like to serve this cheesecake topped with fresh berries. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries - they're all lovely.
You can top this cheesecake with homemade raspberry sauce, and that would also be delicious.
You can also top the cheesecake with cherry pie filling. (Or any pie filling, really.)
You could also drizzle the cheesecake with chocolate sauce or hot fudge sauce.
What to do if your cheesecake cracks
If your cheescake cracks, cover it with a layer of chocolate ganache, and no one will know!
- Follow this link for the easy ganache instructions.
- Allow the ganache to cool slightly so that it is thicker, and then pour a thin layer over top of the cheesecake. If you make it too thick, it won't cut easily, and your cheesecake will get crushed when you try to cut through the thick layer of chocolate.
- Once the chocolate has cooled and hardened, cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. If you cover with plastic wrap before the chocolate is hard, it will make the surface of the chocolate funky and dull.
Do I need a springform pan for this cheesecake?
Yes, you need a springform pan if you're going to make a cheesecake. The sides of a springform pan expand and can be removed so that you can slide a slice of the cake out easily. I honestly don't know what you could use if you don't have a springform pan. If you don't use one, you're going to have a huge mess on your hands when you try to cut the cheesecake.
Is a water bath necessary for this cheesecake?
Some recipes will tell you that a water bath is essential for baking a cheesecake. They claim that a cheesecake baked without a water bath will be dry, overly dense, or cracked. I have not found this to be the case with any cheesecake I've ever baked.
I personally think that water baths are risky because, if you don't get the springform pan wrapped tightly enough, the water will leak in and ruin your crust. I had that happen several times in my early cheesecake baking days.
After giving up on the springform-pan-in-the-water water bath, I used to put a pan of water on the rack below the cheesecake, allowing the steam to fill the oven. However, one time I forgot to do it, and guess what! The cheesecake was awesome. So now, I never use one because I have found that it is just not necessary. Why do the extra work if you don't need to?
Why did my cheesecake crack?
The most common reason for a cracked cheesecake is over beating the filling, resulting in an excess air in the batter. Extra air is the enemy of a cheesecake because it makes the filling puff up in the oven, and then it cracks as it cools and sinks.
You should never use a whisk to mix cheesecake filling. Don't use the whisk attachment on your mixer, either. If you're using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. If you're using a hand mixer, the beaters are good. And of course, if you're doing it by hand, go for a spatula instead of a whisk.
Even if you use a paddle attachment or the beaters, you could still add too much air if you beat and beat and beat the filling. So, never mix more than is absolutely necessary.
If you aren't sure if you've beaten it long enough, turn off the mixer and use a spatula to turn the filling over a few times and look for pockets of unmixed ingredients. If it's evenly mixed, don't beat any more.
Storage
Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to five days.
You can also freeze leftover cheesecake. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and store in the freezer for up to three months. To serve, thaw in the fridge overnight and serve straight from the refrigerator.
Check out these other delicious gluten-free desserts:
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cherry Cake - Easy Black Forest Cake
- Baked Gluten Free Glazed Donut Recipe with Almond Flour
- The Best Crustless Gluten-Free Pecan Pie Recipe
- Gluten-Free Hot Fudge Brownie Sundaes
- Flourless Chocolate Cake (Gluten-Free)
- The Best Coconut Macaroon Recipe (Quick & Easy Gluten-Free Cookies)
Check out these other delicious cheesecake recipes:
- Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake
- Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
- S'mores Cheesecake
- Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
- Candy Cane Kisses Cheesecake
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies
- Cherry Cheesecake Brownies
- Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
- No Churn Cheesecake Ice Cream
Recipe
Gluten-Free Pecan Crust Cheesecake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Pamela's Gluten Free Baking Mix or all-purpose flour if you're not gluten-free
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup butter unsalted
- ¾ cup pecans finely chopped, (1 cup chopped pecans is different from 1 cup of pecans, chopped, right? You need way more than 1 cup of pecans here.)
- 32 ounces cream cheese This is 4 regular-sized blocks. Full fat. If you get the reduced fat, you will regret it.
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1-3 teaspoons almond extract to taste
For the chocolate ganache topping (optional)
- 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons butter unsalted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350ºF.
- If your springform pan is not a nonstick variety, brush it with a little melted butter before getting started.
- Whisk the brown sugar and flour together in a medium bowl.
- Chop the butter into small pieces and use a pastry blender to mix them with the flour mixture until it is crumbly. (If you don't have a pastry blender, a fork or wooden spoon will work, but it will take a lot more effort.) Stir in the nuts.
- Press the crust mixture into the prepared springform pan to the depth you prefer. Set the pan aside.
- If you remembered to set the cream cheese out to soften, congratulations! You can skip this step. I never remember to do that, so I soften mine in the microwave. Soften it one block at a time in the microwave. I put each block in my microwave for 30 seconds, then stir it a bit and put it in for 20 seconds more. That is good for me. Your microwave is probably different from mine, so experiment to see how long you need to put yours in for. You don't want to cook it, but you do want to make it soft.
- Mix your softened cream cheese with the sugar, eggs, salt, vanilla, and almond extract. I prefer to mix mine in my KitchenAid, but it will mix using a whisk (will require a LOT of work on your part) or a hand-held mixer. Be careful not to overbeat the batter or it will rise and then fall while it cooks.
- Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes. The center will still be jiggly after 45 minutes, but turn the oven off and crack the door open a bit. Leave it in the cooling oven for an hour, then move it to the counter to finish cooling.
- Once fully chilled, the cheesecake is ready to serve.
carol says
This looks amazing! I have missed cheesecake dearly since going gluten free. I can't wait to try it
Tara Ziegmont says
Do it! You'll love it! I served it at Christmas dinner, and everyone said it was as good as a regular cheesecake. I was the only one who was gluten-free.
Jane Marstell says
I wrap my cheese cake pan with Reynolds aluminum foil. Buy the long roll not the short. Wrap the cheesecake pan only 2 to 3 times. Pour water in a turkey size roasting pan about 1 inch deep. Place your cheesecake pan in a roasting pan and bake as directed. Do not open oven door during baking process. Only during the last 15 minutes baking time. When cheesecake is done turn oven off and keep cheesecake in oven to cool for 1 hour. The moisture from the water will keep your cheesecake from cracking and sinking down.
Amber Kelly says
I found a trick online about preventing cheesecake from cracking. When you bake it, put a plate (yes a plate) full of water in with it. It keeps the atmosphere moist and keeps it from cracking. I'm a novice baker and it works for me!
Tara Ziegmont says
I usually put a 9x13 pan half full of water underneath, and it's never made a difference for me. Most baking "experts" tell you to wrap your springform pan tightly in foil and place the entire springform pan in a waterbath. I've never done that because I'd rather risk a cracked cheesecake than a watery one. 🙂
Plus, I usually cover it with chocolate ganache anyway, so the crack is a non-issue.
Caroline says
Can you make this without the almond extract?
Tara Ziegmont says
Sure. You could use another flavor of extract or a little extra vanilla.
Jennifer says
How long would you suggest baking this is I were to make 4 - 9" minis instead of 1 large one??
Tara Ziegmont says
I've never tried to make it in smaller pans. Did you try it?
Mandy says
I plan to halve this recipe. Any advice on type of pan to use and how long to cook for half? Also, I'd like to make it salted caramel instead of chocolate. Any advice on that is welcome too! Thanks for posting this recipe - I looked at about 8 different GF cheesecake recipes and this one sounds the best.
Tara Ziegmont says
I've never tried to halve a cheesecake, so I don't have any advice there.
Lizzy says
What size spring form pan did you use for this cheesecake?
Tara Ziegmont says
I used my Pampered Chef springform pan. I think it's 9 inches across.
Jodie says
I miss my cheesecakes especially at restaurants!! But LOVE the sound of this one gonna give it a go!! Thank-u x
Lori says
Thank you for the recipe! I can't wait to try it!
Debora Cadene says
Sounds delish!! When do I add the ground pecans??
debbie.
Debora Cadene says
sheesh...never mind. If all else fails....read ALL the directions and don't just skim through it.... thanks.
Maureen K Abrigg says
Can I freeze this cheesecake??
Tara Ziegmont says
You definitely can. I'll add the instructions to the post, but here they are again: Cool completely on the counter, then chill overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, wrap tightly in plastic wrap then aluminum foil. You can store it in the freezer for up to one month. To serve, let it defrost on the counter or in the fridge overnight.