Greek Yogurt Cheesecake With Fresh Strawberry Sauce Wellplated Com

Can I still call her my baby sister even though she’s now three inches taller than me, infinitely cooler, and walking down the aisle in four months? Why yes, yes I can. Older sister privilege. Another older sister privilege: being one of the shower hosts! My middle sister and I co-planned it. Full disclosure: as the in-town hostess, she did the majority of the heavy lifting, for which I owe her an extra-big slice of Greek Yogurt Cheesecake and then some. Yogurt cheesecake is absolutely delicious for a lighter dessert option. This easy, lightened-up cheesecake recipe is made with Greek yogurt. The cheesecake has a buttery, graham cracker crust and is topped with fresh strawberry sauce. Hands down, the best yogurt cheesecake I’ve ever eaten! We have a variety of surprises in store for our bride-to-be. Be sure to watch my Instagram story (@wellplated) tomorrow to catch the fun, including an up-close and personal look at the star of our shower menu, the dessert tray.

The next time you need a sweet showstopper of your own, I can’t recommend this Greek Yogurt Cheesecake (and my Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes) recipe enough. Ignore everything you’ve heard about cheesecakes being fussy to make, prone to cracking, or heavier than a pile of bricks. This Greek Yogurt Cheesecake tastes wonderfully light and creamy. The recipe is attainable for a novice baker, and I’ve included every helpful step you need to ensure the cheesecake emerges from your oven crack-free. And even if the cheesecake does crack? The fresh strawberry topping has you (literally) covered.

How to Create Healthier Cheesecake

Creating a lighter, healthier cheesecake recipe that still tastes satisfying and indulgent has been on my recipe development bucket list for a while. As much as I enjoy the idea of a sky-high New York–style cheesecake, they are often overly dense. I also usually start to feel a little comatose after more than a few forkfuls, a sensation I attribute to the five bricks of cream cheese, carton of sour cream, and half dozen eggs + egg yolks called for in many recipes. Baking a New York cheesecake also usually demands a water bath, a process I find aggravatingly high maintenance and prefer to avoid whenever possible.

Not only is this baked yogurt cheesecake recipe blessedly water-bath-free (I took a major shortcut by combining the ingredients in a food processor), it delivers the luscious, creamy indulgence the name “cheesecake” promises, but in a more balanced way. I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, reduced-fat cream cheese in place of full, and a more moderate quantity of eggs. Lemon zest and pure vanilla extract give the yogurt cheesecake flavor depth and pop. And the buttery graham cracker crust I know you’re hoping for? Present!

I served this Greek Yogurt Cheesecake at a friend’s dinner party, and to be honest, I was nervous as to how it would be received. I didn’t tell the group that I’d used low-fat ingredients or mention the Greek yogurt—“low fat” and “cheesecake” are not to two words one can casually place in the same sentence without generating serious skepticism—but I was worried they’d still be able to tell. The report: not only did my friends devour the Greek Yogurt Cheesecake, but they stated that it was one of the best cheesecakes they’d ever had. Even my friend who admitted that he didn’t usually like cheesecake went back for a second slice. Although the Greek Yogurt Cheesecake tastes delicious on its own, I included a recipe for a fresh strawberry cheesecake topping. It’s wonderful for summer, especially if you’ve been as powerless to resist the beautiful cartons of fresh strawberries in the grocery store as I have and need a way to use them. The strawberry topping lasts in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, so after you’ve polished off the cheese, you can spoon any leftovers over vanilla ice cream or use it to jazz up a morning bowl of oatmeal or treat yourself to a Greek yogurt breakfast parfait.

Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Recipe Tips

For a smooth, velvety, no-crack cheesecake:

Follow the recipe! Everything from using room temperature ingredients to letting the cheesecake cool gradually is key to ensuring you have a beautiful, crack-free cheesecake. This article from King Arthur Flour has some excellent baked cheesecake tips and explains the reasoning behind them in more detail. Because this cheesecake is made in a food processor instead of a mixer, they won’t all apply to this specific cheesecake recipe, and I don’t follow every single one of them to the letter, which you will see reflected in the recipe below. That said, if you really want to hone in or are struggling to bake a successful cheesecake, this might help you identify problem areas.