This Blueberry Cheesecake Dessert recipe is my husband’s childhood favorite with a light, moist cheesecake topped with blueberry pie filling and whipped cream.
Before I got married over 20 years ago, my family, my husband’s family and my friends gave me a box of recipes.
I love that recipe box and still have all of the recipes. They are tried-and-true recipes that I know I will turn out. I love that the recipes are handwritten which gives them a more personal feel.
While I realize that it is somewhat ironic for someone who shares recipes online to treasure handwritten recipes, it is what it is. I decided to share one of the recipes from my box called Blueberry Dessert.
Disclaimer: This post contains links to products for making this recipe. If you use those links, I may earn a commission. Learn more here.
Brian’s grandmother gave this recipe to me because she knew it was one of his favorites. Both his grandma and his mom used to make this dessert for him.
It is light, moist cheesecake topped with blueberry pie filling and whipped cream. Here is the recipe she gave me (with her name removed to preserve her privacy).
Please be aware that I’m not sharing some secret family recipe by posting this. First of all, neither of our families have issues with sharing recipes.
If you have a delicious recipe, why wouldn’t you want others to make it as well?
Second, this wasn’t grandma’s original creation. I’m not sure where the recipe originated so if you have the source, please share it with me and I will add a link to this blog post.
*Update: A couple of readers have said the credit for this recipe goes to Philadelphia Cream Cheese although I have not been able to locate it on their website to add a link here.
How To Make Blueberry Cheesecake Dessert
Step One:
The first step is to crush 12 graham crackers.
You can use a food processor .
Or a gallon sized ziplock plastic bag and a rolling pin to do the crushing.
Step Two:
Add melted butter and sugar to the graham cracker crumbs.
Step Three:
Press into a 9×13 inch pan.
Step Four:
Cream two packages of softened cream cheese.
Step Five:
Add eggs, sugar, and vanilla.
Step Six:
Pour the mixture over the crust and bake at 375 degrees for 20 or more minutes until done (top is dry to touch).
Step Seven:
Allow the dessert to cool and top with canned blueberry pie filling and whipped cream.
This Blueberry Cheesecake Dessert is usually a part of celebrations with Brian’s family and my family loves it now too.
The buttery graham cracker crust, light, airy cheesecake topped with blueberry pie filling is simply divine!
Blueberry Cheesecake Dessert Recipe Tips and FAQs
1. What other pie fillings would be good?
Switch things up and try using other kinds of pie filling instead of blueberry. Try strawberry, cherry, apple, apricot, blackberry, lemon, peach, and raspberry.
2. Would other kinds of graham crackers be good in the crust? Yes! That’s another way to change the recipe is to change the kind of crust. Try cinnamon, vanilla, or chocolate graham crackers.
3. Can I use whipped cream instead of Cool Whip? Yes, if time allows, make three cups of whipped cream to use in place of the Cool Whip.
4. How can I make a gluten-free blueberry cheesecake dessert? To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten free graham crackers for the crust. For the topping make gluten free pie filling, or use a gluten free cornstarch to make my blueberry sauce, or use fresh blueberries instead.
5. What can I do to lighten this recipe? For a lighter version, try using 1/3 less fat cream cheese, low-fat graham crackers, replace a portion of the sugar with stevia or another sugar alternative, top with no sugar added pie filling or fresh fruit, and use light Cool Whip. But keep in mind that any alterations may change how the cheesecake turns out.
6. Do you have any suggestions for a non-fruit topping? If your family doesn’t care for pie filling or fruit on cheesecake, you can top it with chocolate pudding like I did in this recipe or caramel and pecans as in this recipe.
7. Can this cheesecake be made in a different size pan? Yes, but depending on the thickness of the cheesecake batter the cooking time may be altered.
8. Can this cheesecake be prepared ahead of time? Yes! We often make it ahead of time to bring to family gatherings. If you plan to serve it within 24 hours, you can make it and store it in the fridge. If you want to make it a day or two ahead of time, just bake the cheesecake. Store it in the fridge and add the blueberry pie filling and Cool Whip the day you plan to serve it.
9. It’s too hot to turn my oven on. Is there a no-bake version? Not of this exact recipe but I do have a no bake blueberry cheesecake recipe you can try.
10. My cheesecake didn’t turn out like yours. What went wrong? This recipe has been made hundreds of times by my extended family and by all of you, so I know it works. Issues can arise when you substitute ingredients or overmix/undermix the batter. Make sure the cream cheese is softened but not warm or runny. Weather, humidity, and altitude can affect recipes. Ovens vary and therefore so do baking times. Sometimes the type of pan you use can make a difference.
Blueberry Cheesecake Dessert Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 graham crackers about 1 2/3 cups of graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened two 8 oz packages
- 4 large eggs beaten
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 21 oz can blueberry pie filling
- 8 oz tub Cool Whip about 3 cups
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Crush the graham crackers.
- Stir in the melted butter and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.
- Press into 9x13 inch pan.
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the beaten eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture over crust and bake at 375˚F for 20-23 minutes, or until done (top is dry to touch).
- Cool and top with blueberry pie filling and whipped cream or whipped topping.
Video
Gracie Miranda says
Hi there!
can’t wait to make this! I have a question tho… it calls for 12 double graham cracker, not sure what that is. help please
thanks
Tonia says
Hiya! It’s about 1 2/3 cups of graham cracker crumbs. Enjoy!
Lucy godfrey says
Your indtructions say 1 2/3 cups of graham cracker crumbs
Janb says
Graham crackers come out of the box with two squares attached in the USA, so if yours do not come that way it would correlate to 24 squares.
Kayla says
Buy a box of Graham Crackers.
You know how they break into 2 pieces. Thats a double graham cracker. Just a regular graham cracker.
Dj says
How the graham crackers come in four… Don’t break it .
Katherines Corner says
Pinned this deliciousness! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. I look forward to seeing what you share this week xo
Ginny says
Love this dessert. Been making something very similar to this and I believe Jill is correct in saying it comes from Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipes. We love the blueberry more than the cherry pie filling on top. You will not be disappointed when making it. Have been making it since the 60s,
Kim says
If I used graham crumbs! How many cups would you use?
Tonia says
About 1 2/3 cups of graham cracker crumbs.
Jill Norell says
Hi Tonia,
This has been a family favorite in our family for years also.
I believe the origin is from Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
My Mom’s recipe is labeled Blueberry Philadelphia Cream Cheese Dessert.
We have made it with cherry pie filling, also. Our family is divided about 50/50 on which is their favorite. It also works great with cherry and blueberry stripes for USA holidays. So fun to see someone else with this recipe as their family favorite too!
Becky Petersen says
This is terrific.
I also live where we can’t buy blueberry pie filling, so I used my frozen blueberries and made the filling and we don’t have Cool Whip, so I used the real deal (whipping cream 30% fat). It is DELICIOUS. Definiteily going in my “keep” pile of recipes.
Also, we don’t have graham crackers, but I just use some sort of sweetened crackers/cookies type of things and it works fine.
This is exactly the taste I was going for when I searched for something with blueberry cheesecake dessert–like what I remember from various church potluck dinners. Thanks!
Tonia says
Fantastic! It is one of our favorites!
Rachel says
Would this work with fresh berries instead of canned? Looks delicious! Was thinking of trying this for the Fourth of July this year!
Tonia says
Thanks, Rachel! I’ve never tried it, but I would suggest that you make a pie filling using the fresh blueberries. The thickened blueberry sauce really adds to the flavor.
alisha says
I tried making this….. I “creamed” the cream cheese and then added the rest of the ingredients and I got a curdling mess. The cream cheese would not blend with eggs, sugar and vanilla. It’s in the oven, I guess we’ll see how it turns out.
Amanda says
Can I make this the day before? I am guessing yes, but just checking. This will be our Thanksgiving desert!!
Tonia says
Yes, you certainly can! My friend just made this dessert. She is expecting and after seeing it on my blog she couldn’t stop craving it. She said it is super easy to make and super duper good!
Amanda says
So am I!! I thought this looked so delicious. Your pictures were just too good. I love that this was given to you when you were first married. What a great gift and cool thing to share with your family!
Silver says
This recipe looks absolutely amazing! I’d defiantly love to try it, however in my country they don’t well blueberry pie filling… Is there anyway I could somehow make some? Is it just like a blueberry syrup? Thanks 🙂
Tonia says
Thanks Silver! I’m not sure which country you are in but basically you just take the filling that you would put into a blueberry pie and use it for the cheesecake instead. Here is a recipe for Homemade Blueberry Pie Filling: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-blueberry-pie-filling/ Best of luck and thanks for stopping by! ~Tonia
Brenda @ Chatting Over Chocolate says
This dessert looks fantastic!! What a treasure those recipes are! Thanks so much for sharing!! Pinned 😉
Tonia says
Thanks Brenda!
Shannah @ Just Us Four says
oh my cheesecake is my weakness! This looks amazing!!!
Kristen Duke says
Oh my this looks amazing!! I love recipes that have been handed down – I’ll be trying this one out soon!
Bouillon de Notes says
Thank you, this cheesecake looks delicious:)
Tonia says
We sure enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by!
Tonia says
No way! That is awesome!
Tonia says
That is great gift to give! Thanks Erin!
claire lynn says
I have serous blueberry cheesecake love and I am going to make this recipe for the holidays. Thanks for sharing a scrumptious dessert –
Y’all know you can have dessert anytime, right?
Tonia says
But of course! I just heard about a couple that served all of their wedding guests dessert before they served them the main meal! Thanks Claire!
claire lynn says
Ha, Ha, — I LOVE that idea…
Karen says
Tonia,
Thanks for sharing this recipe I can’t wait to try it. Can you tell me how much graham cracker crumbs there are in 12 crushed crackers because I buy the box of graham crumbs already crushed? Thanks for your help ~ Karen
Tonia says
Hi Karen,
Until you asked, I had no idea what a complicated question that could be. I started looking into how many crushed graham crackers are in a cup and the answer really depends on what you consider a graham cracker. Is it the full “sheet”, half of the sheet or one small rectangle after cutting along all of the perforations? As best I can tell, 13 full graham cracker sheets equals 2 cups so I would suggest using a little less than 2 cups. Happy baking!
~Tonia
Karen says
Thanks again and please keep your yummy recipes coming 🙂 ~ Karen
Linda says
I sometimes like to use the Nabisco (I believe) Chocolate Wafers. Yummy
Anna Bennett says
Tonia,
I have to tell you that my daughter & granddaughter’s are so happy that you share your Recipes as I send them to my Facebook & from there I share with them.
I love getting all of your Recipes. 🙂
Rhonda says
I am going to make this today!!! I love blueberry cheesecake!!
Tonia says
Fantastic! I can’t wait to see how it turned out for you. Thanks Rhonda!
Rachel @ BubblyNatureCreations.com says
This looks so good! I’m thinking it has fruit… for breakfast right? LOL
Tonia says
Let’s see…there is dairy, grains and most importantly…fruit so I say, go for it! 🙂