This Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake has a dense, creamy filling with fresh blueberries running through it to lighten things up, finished with a crisp crumble topping for contrast.

A slice of blueberry crumb cheesecake on a white plate, with another slice and a white pitcher in the background.

This recipe is built on my New York cheesecake, which is the foundation for most of the flavored cheesecakes on this site. The texture is what makes it work: dense but still creamy, not so dense that it's heavy. I already used this base for my apple cheesecake, and blueberry was the next flavor I wanted to try.

Helpful Ingredient Tips

The recipe card at the bottom of this post includes the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions.

Recipe ingredients neatly arranged on a gray surface and labeled, items include graham cracker crumbs, sugar, blueberries, brown sugar, flour, eggs, cream cheese, butter, whipped cream, vanilla, lemon juice, sour cream, and cinnamon.

Blueberries: I love fresh blueberries when they are in season, but I've found that frozen work really well also, as long as you add them to the flour mixture straight from the freezer, so they don't bleed into the batter.
Cream cheese: I have the best luck with Philadelphia brand full-fat cream cheese bricks. It has less water than other brands, so the cheesecake texture is perfection.
Eggs: I did a lot of testing with the ratio of eggs, and found that using whole eggs with a couple extra yolks gives you a velvety, custardy texture that is less likely to crack.
Lemon juice: I use lemon juice in almost all of my cheesecakes because the acidity helps the filling set. And in this recipe it also brightens the flavor of the blueberries.

Step-by-Step Tips for Making Blueberry Cheesecake

Side-by-side bowls: one with crumbly graham crust mix, one with pressed, smooth graham crust.

Prepare Graham Cracker Crust

The finer you grind the graham crackers, the more stable your crust will be. Big chunks make the crust crumble when you slice.

Four stages of cake batter in a glass bowl, from thick mixture to smooth batter with an egg added.

Make the Cheesecake Filling

Drop the mixer to low speed once you add the eggs and other wet ingredients. High speed pulls air into the batter, and that air is what causes cracks during baking.

Pro Tip: I like to prepare the cheesecake filling before I make the topping so that it has time to settle. This helps with the texture. Wait to pour into the graham cracker crust until you are ready to add the toppings.

Left: crumbly mixture in a bowl. Right: crumb topping spread over fruit in a round baking pan.

Make the Crumble

I tested this topping with cold, softened, and melted butter. Cold butter gave me a sandy mixture that didn't clump and softened butter turned into a paste. But the melted butter clustered into the craggy, crispy pieces I was looking for.

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Left: Blueberries in a glass bowl. Right: Blueberries on top of batter in a round cake pan.

Coat the Blueberries

The flour mixture is what keeps the blueberries from sinking into the batter. Have the crumble ready before you spoon the blueberries over the batter so they don't start to sink before they get to the oven.

Don't Be Scared of a Water Bath

Using a water bath is important for more than just avoiding cracks. The moist heat also helps the cheesecake bake evenly, which results in a taller cheesecake with a creamier texture.

For an easy water bath, skip the old aluminum foil wrapping method. Instead, invest in a silicone pan wrap. It's foolproof and prevents water from seeping into the crust and making it soggy.

You can also place your cheesecake pan inside a slightly larger cake pan, then set that inside a roasting pan filled with 1 inch of boiling water.

Two peach-colored sparkle shapes on a light gray background.

Top Tip!

Don't rush the cooling. Once the outer 2 inches are firm and the center is still jiggly, turn the oven off and crack the door. Let it sit for an hour without touching it. That slow cool is what gives you a smooth top and a creamy texture.

Top view of a crumbly topping on a cheesecake with a slice missing.

Make It Special✨

If you want to dress this up a little, a quick powdered sugar glaze drizzled across the top makes it look like it came from a bakery. Whisk ½ cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of milk and ¼ teaspoon of vanilla until smooth, then drizzle it over the chilled cheesecake right before serving.

Helpful Ingredient Tips