Name: Ricotta Cheesecake with Whipped Sour Cream Topping
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 195 min
Ingredients: 1 box Nilla Wafer Cookies (crushed super finely in food processor); 6 tbsp melted butter; 30 ounces fresh ricotta (room temp.); 16 ounces cream cheese (room temp.); 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs (room temp.); 2 tsp lemon juice (fresh squeezed ); 2 1/2 tsp lemon zest; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1/8 tsp salt; 7 ounces sour cream; 2 tsp pure vanilla extract; 2 tbsp powdered sugar

Jump to Recipe

This recipe for ricotta cheesecake is made with ricotta and cream cheese for a light and fluffy texture. It’s sweet, buttery and creamy. The whipped sour cream topping is the secret to this recipe and it’s absolutely delicious!

And if you love cheesecake as much as we do, check out this bakery style classic cheesecake recipe! It’s AMAZING!

Overhead cheesecake with blueberries and blackberries. A plate of cheesecake and a bowl of berries on a marble table.

I truly can’t pass up a good cheesecake and was inspired to make this cheesecake because I love adding variations to my favorite desserts. Once you have a stellar base recipe, you can alter it with different ingredients and flavors. For example, switching out the type of cheese used in the recipe.

I’ve made a goat cheesecake, peanut butter cheese, red velvet cheesecake, and now the most amazing ricotta cheesecake. Can you guess cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts?

Close-up photo of ricotta cheesecake with layers of Nilla cookie crust and a sour cream topping.

Look at those layers! A buttery cookie crust, with a thick layer of creamy ricotta cheesecake and a whipped sour cream topping. This recipe also has lemon juice and lemon zest. I love the essence of lemon zest and the flavor it adds to the cheesecake. It taste fresh!

Let’s discus more about what ricotta cheese is…

Overhead of a ricotta cheesecake with berries on top.

What is Ricotta Cheese?

Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese that is a light, fluffy, and a little grainy. It’s made from the leftover production of whey from other cheese.

It can be made from all different animal milk, but we mostly consume cow milk ricotta. If you’re interested, read this great article explaining how ricotta is made.

Slice of cheesecake with sour cream topping and blackberries on top. Served with a gold spoon.

How to Make a Delicious Ricotta Cheesecake

Nilla Wafer Crust

First, start out with a two-ingredient, buttery Nilla Wafer crust. You can always switch it up and make a simple graham cracker crust or use plain biscotti crumbs to make a crust. All will work and taste amazing.

Unfortunately you can’t buy a pre-made crust because this dessert must be baked in a springform pan. If you don’t have one, invest in it because I’m sure you’ll be making a lot of cheese cake after trying this recipe!

The crust uses only two ingredients… melted butter and crushed Nilla Wafers. Nilla Wafers are a bit old school, which is why I liked using them for this recipe. It just reminds me of something my grandma would make.

Tip for Making Cheesecake

It’s important that the ingredients are room temperature when making a cheesecake, especially the cheese so it will whip nicely and not have any clumps.

Cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, sugar, lemon juice.

Our ricotta cheesecake only has 8 simple ingredients in it. Ricotta, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and salt. The lemon adds the perfect zing to the cheesecake.

Tips for Baking a Cheesecake

This is the best way to bake a cheesecake. Since it’s similar to a custard, you want to bake it slowly. Give it resting time and bake it in a water bath.

Springform Pan

Bake the cheesecake in a springform pan. It’s the only way to remove the cheesecake from a pan because it has removable sides that can slide right off the top.

Baking in a Water Bath

Baking in a water bath can seem daunting, but I promise it’s easy. Cheesecake is a custard and should be baked in a water bath to ensure slow and even baking and moistness.

A water bath is a shallow roasting pan, large enough to fit the springform pan in, filled with water. The roasting pan goes in the oven and the cheesecake sits in the water and bakes.

Tinfoil

I always wrap tin foil under and around the springform pan to make sure water doesn’t leak into the cheesecake when baking.

Resting Time

After the cheesecake has baked in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, turn the oven off and leave the oven door cracked opened. Let the cheesecake rest in the warm oven for about 1 hour. This will let it settle and thicken.

Whipped sour cream and sugar in a bowl with white spatula

Ricotta Cheesecake Secret Ingredient

Are you ready for the secret to this cheesecake? It’s all about the whipped sour cream topping! This topping takes the cheesecake to the next level. It adds a whipped cream texture and brings all of the flavors together. It’s SO GOOD!

It’s whipped to perfection, lightly sweetened and adds the perfect amount of sourness to the cake. Truly worth every bite!

Spatula spreading sour cream over cheesecake.

It’s easy to make too! Just sour cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar all whipped together. I love how it looks on the cheesecake too. It’s so pretty with a fluffy white topping and berries.

What does cheesecake taste like?

Cheesecake tastes like a sweet cream cheese. A little tart, but more sweet. It has a light texture but it’s dense and creamy. It’s a wonderful dessert to serve. The seasonal fruit you serve it with will also alter the flavor. We love strawberries, blackberries, blueberries or cherries.

Whipped sour cream spread over cheesecake with spatula.

Using a spatula, spread the layer of whipped sour cream over the top of the cooled cheesecake.

Then top it with fresh, seasonal berries! Strawberries, blue berries, blackberries, cherries. Any berry that is in season when you make this ricotta cheesecake.

overhead of ricotta cheesecake with blackberries on a marble table.

Can you freeze ricotta cheesecake? How long does it keep for?

You can freeze this cheesecake for up to a month. Wrap it in tin foil and store it in an airtight bag. You can defrost the cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight. Just take it from the freezer to the refrigerator and let it sit overnight.

Make-Ahead Ricotta Cheesecake

This cheesecake can be made the day before. It’s always nice to get the dessert finished the day before a dinner party so you don’t have to worry about it. Just remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator 20-30 minutes before serving and add the fresh berries.

Overhead of ricotta cheesecake with blackberries and blueberries on top.

More Cake Recipes You’ll Love!

This is going to be my “Go To” Cheese Cake Recipe from now on! I followed the directions EXACTLY and the resulting cheesecake was pretty as a picture- a food sylist could have used it in a magazine- perfectly sweet and a great berry base (I’m using great, big beautiful blueberries right now) – In fact, it would make a great base for almost any topping. Dense cheese texture but somehow – airy enough to make you love it. I did not find it necessary to drain the Ricotta. 1 odd thing did happen- I thought that the 350 temp was a little high for the length of time this cake baked – and indeed, the top darkened beyond what it should have. Oddly, as the cake cooled – I was able to peel the top skin off, leaving a perfect, unblemished cheesecake underneath! Has anyone tried this at 325? Anyway thanks for the recipe. I am going to try making in smaller springform pans as gifts for Christmas. Who doesn’t love cheesecake?