Choose from six Instant Pot cheesecakes and one oven-baked, gluten-free key lime bar recipe. Find the flavor that fits your table, check the pan, and plan for cooling, chilling, and any topping.
Start the day before whenever possible. Cooking is only one stage; the cheesecake needs time to chill before serving.
Find Your Cheesecake
- For fall or Thanksgiving: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple Glaze. The glaze is optional.
- For Christmas: Gingerbread Cheesecake for gentle spice, or Peppermint Bark Cheesecake for white chocolate and mint.
- For chocolate or fruit: Chocolate Cheesecake or White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake.
- For Irish cream: Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake with chocolate ganache.
- For the oven, gluten-free as written: Gluten-Free Key Lime Cheesecake Bars.
How Much Finishing Is Involved?
- No separate cooked topping: gingerbread, chocolate, and peppermint bark can be served after their cooling and chilling stages.
- Optional topping: pumpkin’s maple glaze is prepared separately before serving.
- Ganache: Baileys gets cooled chocolate ganache after the cheesecake has chilled, followed by time for the topping to set.
- Fruit sauce: white chocolate strawberry needs cooled sauce and at least two more hours in the refrigerator after topping.
- Curd during assembly: key lime bars get their lime-curd layer before the final short bake and cooling sequence.
The six Instant Pot recipes leave the oven available for the rest of the meal. See the preparation plan below.
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple Glaze
This pumpkin cheesecake grew out of a family recipe Rachael enjoyed growing up. The filling is creamy and lightly sweetened, with a graham-cracker crust and a sweeter cooked maple-cream glaze. Choose it for pumpkin flavor in a cheesecake, with the option to leave off the glaze.
Method: Instant Pot. Pan: 7×3-inch cheesecake pan. Pressure cook: 33 minutes at high pressure. Finish: Optional maple glaze. Yield: 12 servings.
Make the cheesecake ahead and let it chill. If using the glaze, follow its separate preparation and cooling instructions before pouring it over the cake.
Gingerbread Cheesecake
The cinnamon-and-ginger filling is gently spiced, while the gingersnap crust brings its own sweet, spicy flavor. Choose this for Christmas when you want a creamy cheesecake with a cookie crust and no extra sauce to prepare.
Method: Instant Pot. Pan: 7×3-inch cheesecake pan. Pressure cook: 28 minutes at high pressure. Finish: No separate cooked topping. Yield: 12 servings.
The crust goes into the freezer while you prepare the batter. Allow for natural pressure release, cooling, and at least six hours of chilling before unmolding.
Peppermint Bark Cheesecake
White chocolate cheesecake, crushed candy-cane bits, and a chocolate-mint cookie crust bring the flavors of peppermint bark together. You do not need premade peppermint bark: the white chocolate and candy belong in the filling, with mint cookies underneath.
Method: Instant Pot. Pan: 7×3-inch cheesecake pan. Pressure cook: 40 minutes at high pressure. Finish: Candy cane bits in the filling; optional candy decorations. Yield: 12 servings.
Chill before unmolding and slicing. Read the cookie and candy notes before shopping; mint appears in both the crust and the filling.
Chocolate Cheesecake
Cocoa and semisweet chocolate give this lightly sweetened cheesecake its chocolate flavor, with a chocolate graham-cracker crust underneath. Choose it for a silky chocolate dessert that is finished without making an additional cooked topping.
Method: Instant Pot. Pan: 7×3-inch cheesecake pan. Pressure cook: 40 minutes at high pressure. Finish: No separate cooked topping. Yield: 12 servings.
Prepare it ahead and allow the full refrigerator chill before slicing. The recipe explains how to melt the chocolate with cream and fold it into the filling.
White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake
White chocolate flavors the creamy filling, and fresh strawberries become a separate sauce on top. Diced berries cook into the sauce first; reserved strawberry halves go in later. Choose this when you want a fruit-topped centerpiece.
Method: Instant Pot. Pan: 7×3-inch cheesecake pan. Pressure cook: 40 minutes at high pressure. Finish: Cooled strawberry sauce, then a final 2-hour chill. Yield: 12 servings.
Chill the cheesecake in its pan, unmold it, then add completely cooled sauce. Refrigerate for at least two more hours after topping. Plan that final chill before choosing a serving time.
Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake
Irish cream flavors the filling above a chocolate sandwich-cookie crust, with chocolate ganache on top. Coffee is optional in both the crust and ganache. Choose it for an adult dinner party or a St. Patrick’s Day menu.
Method: Instant Pot. Pan: 7×3-inch cheesecake pan. Pressure cook: 40 minutes at high pressure. Finish: Cooled chocolate ganache, followed by time to set. Yield: 12 servings.
Add cooled ganache to the fully chilled cheesecake and allow it to set. This recipe contains alcohol. Baileys is not guaranteed gluten-free, so a gluten-free cookie swap alone does not settle that question.
Gluten-Free Key Lime Cheesecake Bars
These bars followed a lemon cheesecake I made for a retirement dinner and Rachael mentioning how long it had been since she had key lime pie. The result has three separate layers: a gluten-free graham-style crust, baked lime cheesecake, and lime curd.
Method: Oven. Pan: 12×4-inch metal loaf pan or 8×8-inch square metal pan. Bake: 40–45 minutes at 275°F, then 5 more minutes after adding the curd. Finish: Lime-curd layer. Yield: 12 bars.
Both metal pans are tested. Follow the full cooling and refrigerator sequence, then lift the chilled bars with the parchment and slice. This is the collection’s gluten-free recipe as written.
Plan Ahead Before You Start
- The day before: read the chosen recipe, check the pan, and prepare the cheesecake. The round cheesecakes cool after natural pressure release and need at least six hours in the refrigerator.
- Allow for every stage: getting to pressure and releasing pressure add time beyond the programmed cook time. The key lime bars have their own oven, counter, and refrigerator sequence.
- Plan the finish: give glaze, ganache, or strawberry sauce its preparation and cooling time. Strawberry also needs its two-hour chill after topping.
- Follow the selected recipe: use its water amount, cooking time, release, and assembly instructions. The different fillings and toppings have different schedules.
- Check dietary details individually: use the listed gluten-free crackers for key lime bars and read the ingredient notes on any other recipe you adapt.
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