2 Ingredients Cheesecake Crust (Graham cracker crust)

My perfect 2 ingredients Homemade Cheesecake crust (Graham cracker crust for cheesecake) will take your No-bake cheesecakes to the next level. In this tutorial, you will learn how to make No-bake cheesecake crust that is stable, neat, crunchy, sweet but not overly sweet. Have you ever experienced cheesecake crust that is crumbly and not able to hold its shape properly? Never again!

Jump to:

• 🌟 Why this is the best recipe
• 📝 What is No bake Cheesecake Crust made of
• 💡 What biscuit crumb to use
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• 🥣 Equipment notes
• 🎓 Expert tips
• ❓ Recipe FAQs
• 🧀 Recipes to use this crust
• 2 ingredients cheesecake crust (Graham cracker crust)

🌟 Why this is the best recipe

1. It is rather easy – As fancy as it looks, making this no-bake crust is extremely easy, quick, and no special equipment is needed
2. It is super delicious – I never compromise on taste! This is the perfect graham cracker crust that has the loveliest biscuit flavor with the most perfect crunchy texture with a hint of sea salt that balances the sweetness
3. It is an honest, detailed tutorial – This is the only cheesecake crust tutorial that you will ever need. It is a thick cheesecake crust that is very stable. While this recipe might look long, all the information I have written here, every tip and trick will help you achieve the perfect results without any issues on the way. Remember, baking is science, and every little detail written here is to help YOU!

📝 What is No bake Cheesecake Crust made of

Cheesecake crust is made of a few simple ingredients you probably already have at home. It is normally made of a type of biscuit crumb (eg. Graham cracker crumbs, Digestive biscuits, etc.) and melted butter, although I like to add a pinch of salt too in order to bring the flavors out.

Regarding butter, use always unsalted as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using 82% fat content European-style butter in all my recipes. While in most of the recipes butter needs to be at room temperature and I always recommend avoiding last-minute microwaving, this is an exception. The butter needs to be melted.

Many recipes state to add sugar too to the cheesecake crust, personally, I think Graham crackers are sweet enough and I never add sugar to my crust. My cheesecake crust is crunchy and sweet enough, no need to add sugar to it.

Can I flavor cheesecake crust? Besides Graham cracker crumb and butter, you can add all sorts of ingredients to your cheesecake crust for example spices like cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla bean, or nuts like chopped hazelnut or even sesame seeds. My raspberry cheesecake crust is made with the addition of freezed dried raspberries that add both color and flavor. Try to experiment next time with your homemade cheesecake crust!

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

💡 What biscuit crumb to use

Very often Graham cracker or Digestive biscuits is used to make cheesecake crust.

Other cheesecake crust alternatives: You can totally make cheesecake crust without Graham crackers, eg. by using Digestive biscuits or other hard biscuits depending on what you can access from your supermarket.

You can also make homemade cheesecake crust using eg. Oreo cookies, ice cream cones, pretzel (for a salty kick!), or any home baked hard biscuit. One thing worth bearing in mind is the fat content of the biscuit, if it is too fatty, it is worth reducing the butter content in the recipe. You can also make this cheesecake crust gluten-free by using homemade or store-bought gluten-free hard biscuits.

💡 Top Tip: With the same recipe, you can turn this cheesecake crust into a no-bake pie crust by using your favorite pie dish

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

1. How to make the biscuit crumb

There are generally two ways of making biscuit crumb, either the old fashion way in a zip bag using a rolling pin - that is perfect if you are stress baking! If you are using a zip bag, make sure to use a bag that is large and strong enough and won´t tear during the process.

Or, you can use a food processor and pulse blend biscuits for a few seconds.

💡 Top Tip: Either option you choose, make sure that the crumbs are even, and no visible huge pieces are left.

2. Step-by-step process

Making cheesecake crust is literally mixing butter and biscuit crumb, however, there are a couple of important tips and recommendations I would like to share with you:

1. Mix butter and biscuit crumb while butter is runny (melted). Butter will act as a binding agent in the recipe. Once it is cooled in the fridge, it will set creating a crunchy, but firm crust to hold the filling. You might have a bad experience from the past with cheesecake crust being too crumbly and not holding its shape, it’s probably due to not enough butter in the recipe
2. When butter is melted the mixture might be runny depending on the temperature of the butter but do not add more cracker crumbs. If you feel that the mixture is too runny, pop it into the fridge for 5 minutes, it will set very quickly into a consistency you can use to make the crust with
3. The one and only secret to making a firm, neat crust are to press crumbs firmly and evenly into the side and the bottom of your cake ring. Start with the side and work your way up then when it looks neat and even, continue with the bottom.
4. Once you are happy with your crust, place it into the freezer and let it set while you are preparing the filling

Since the recipe only uses biscuit crumb and butter, no need to bake it, in fact, this is particularly a No-bake cheesecake crust. The structure is supported by the butter acting like the glue that will set in the fridge holding the biscuit crumbs together.

💡 Top Tip: For pressing the crumbs together, find some equipment in your kitchen eg. a bent spoon. I spent probably a good 10-15 minutes on the crust making sure that it is even on the side and really neat.

3. How do you get cheesecake crust to stick together

Apart from having a good cheesecake crust recipe - like this one - that has the correct biscuit crumb vs. butter ratio, it is all about the technique! You have to make sure to press the Graham cracker crumb into the tin firmly and neatly on the side and bottom as well. This requires some patience and might take 10 minutes but really worth the effort! Another important point is to let the crust cool (meaning the butter to harden) before filling, never fill the crust without an appropriate chilling time!

💡 Top Tip: Do not change this recipe by adding less butter or more biscuit crumb, the recipe is designed in a way that provides the perfect result

4. How to avoid cheesecake crust sticking to the tin

Cheesecake crusts that stick to the tin usually do not contain enough fat content (butter). My crust recipe won´t stick to the tin, I have made loads of cheesecakes and never had issues with that. Since the recipe contains just enough butter (fat) there is no need to grease the tin.

5. How long does it take for the crust to set

If you chilled your crust well enough for example in the freezer, you can remove the tin as early as after one hour however safer option is to leave the tin on while the cheesecake filling is anyway setting in the crust - that is usually around 4-6 hours in the fridge depending on the particular recipe.

Make sure you do not remove the tin too early, and that when you remove it, you do it carefully.

💡 Top Tip: If you are in a rush, freeze the crust for 1 hour and it will be ready to be removed then

🥣 Equipment notes

You will be pleased to hear that making this cheesecake crust does not require too much equipment!

For assembling the cheesecake I am using a Mousse cake ring (adjustable in size) set to 16cm / 6 inches. I really like the neat tall design of it, however, it does not have a bottom so I make one using kitchen foil. Alternatively, use a springform pan but please note that it does not have such a neat side.

For pressing the crumb together I suggest using a spoon that you can bend, it´s that simple!

🎓 Expert tips

1. Heat butter in the microwave on low heat so it does not explode
2. Do not skip the salt, it will balance the sweetness of the crust
3. While preparing the crust, make sure that you press the crumbs firmly and evenly into the side and the bottom of your cake ring
4. Respect the chilling time. Chilling time is needed for the crust (butter) to set
5. Once you are a pro making this cheesecake crust, feel free to experiment with flavorings eg. adding cinnamon, roasted chopped hazelnuts, freezed dried raspberry, etc.

❓ Recipe FAQs

🧀 Recipes to use this crust