Easy Eggnog Cheesecake

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Searching for the best dessert to end your Christmas dinner with? Look no further than this Eggnog Cheesecake with a beautiful pomegranate seed garnish! A creamy homemade cheesecake that’s perfect for the holidays!

This Eggnog Cheesecake is Christmas Dessert Perfection

Before this post, I might have told you that there’s nothing better than a glass of cold, creamy eggnog during Christmas time. But now, I think there is. This Eggnog Cheesecake is eggnog in dessert form, and it’s glorious.

In fact, it’s so glorious that it totally deserves the place of honor on your table as the finale to your Christmas dinner. A bold statement, I know, but it’s truly worthy. With its smooth, rich eggnog filling, sweet graham cracker crust, and pomegranate seed garnish, who could resist devouring a big slice? Not me!

Eggnog cheesecake with pomegranates and rosemary.

What Does Eggnog Cheesecake Taste Like?

This is essentially an old fashioned cheesecake recipe with the addition of eggnog and warm holiday spices. I think it tastes like a glass of eggnog with a little nutmeg and cinnamon mixed into each bite. In other words, absolutely rich and delicious!

Recipe Ingredients

Ready to start on this Christmas dessert? Pop on some holiday tunes and let’s begin! Here’s what you’ll need:

Cheesecake Ingredients:

  • Cream Cheese: make sure it’s at room temperature.
  • Granulated Sugar                       
  • Eggs: should also be at room temperature.
  • Eggnog: Homemade Eggnog or store bought; either works.
  • Rum: optional, feel free to skip it!
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Cornstarch: you can substitute this for flour if you want.
  • Seasonings: Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Salt
  • 1 9-inch Graham Cracker Crust: in a 9-inch springform pan.

Optional Decoration:

  • Pomegranate Seeds
  • Fresh Rosemary
Beaten cream cheese in a bowl.

How to Make Eggnog Cheesecake

Making this special Christmas cheesecake is actually pretty easy. In just 7 steps you can have a creamy cheesecake baked, decorated, and ready to be served; here’s how you do it!

Mix Cream Cheese and Sugar: In a large bowl using a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), beat cream cheese with granulated sugar until no lumps remain.

Add Other Ingredients: Add eggs, one at a time, beating mixture between each egg, then beat in the eggnog, rum and vanilla extract. Add cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat until smooth.

Pour into Crust: Tap the cheesecake batter bowl on the counter for 30-45 seconds to remove as many air bubbles as possible. You should see them popping on the surface as you tap the bowl. Pour filling into the center of the prepared graham cracker crust in an 9-inch spring form pan and gently smooth the top.

Cheesecake batter being poured into the crust.
Unbaked cheesecake in a pan.

Bake: Bake for 30 minutes at 325ยฐF. Reduce temperature to 250ยฐF and continue baking for another 30 minutes. Once this time has elapsed, turn the oven off and keep cheesecake inside for another 30 minutes, but DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR. After the 30 minutes has passed, crack the oven door open to let cheesecake cool slowly for one hour before removing.

Let Cool: Allow cheesecake to cool to room temperature on the counter (approximately 3-4 hours) before covering with plastic wrap and transferring to the fridge to chill.

Let Chill: Refrigerate cheesecake until completely chilled (about 6-8 hours, or overnight is best). Open springform pan and remove the metal collar.

Decorate and Serve: Slice and serve or decorate with pomegranate seeds and fresh rosemary for an easy and fun Christmas decoration!

Christmas cheesecake with a slice take out of it.

Tips for Success

Cheesecakes can be a little bit tricky, so here are some tips and tricks to help you get the best results:

  • Keep Ingredients at Room Temperature: this will make the process of mixing easier, and it will ensure that you get a smooth, creamy filling for the cheesecake.
  • Don’t Over-Bake: you want the center of the cheesecake to be a little jiggly; it will keep cooking for a little bit in the pan as the whole thing cools.
  • Ultra-Smooth: For smooth cream cheese, be sure to beat the cream cheese thoroughly at the beginning of the prep process, when there are little to no ingredients combined with it. This way, you can make sure that all of the clumps are smoothed out from the get-go.
  • Don’t Beat the Eggs Too Much: this will result in cracks in the cheesecake, so try to the best of your ability not to over-mix.
  • Refrigerate After Baking: cheesecakes taste best after they have had time to set and cool in the fridge. As hard as it is, you’ll want to wait a little bit before digging in!
Slice of cheesecake on a plate.

Topping Ideas

What can you top this cheesecake with besides pomegranate seeds and rosemary? Take a look at some of these ideas:

  • Whipped Cream: I mean, what dessert doesn’t it go with?
  • Cinnamon: a dusting of cinnamon over the top would be a welcome addition.
  • Caramel Sauce: people will love a drizzle of caramel on this cheesecake.
  • Fruit: maybe some chopped strawberries or a cherry sauce?

How to Store Homemade Cheesecake

Refrigerate leftovers (if you have any!) in an airtight container, or covered with saran wrap, in the refrigerator for 5 days.

If you want to freeze the cheesecake, keep it in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in a couple layers of plastic wrap, and eat it within 3 months. Thaw cheesecake in the fridge overnight before serving.

Slice of eggnog cheesecake.
Eggnog cheesecake with pomegranates and rosemary.
4.6 from 22 votes
Print Pin Recipe
Yield: 8 serves 8-10

Eggnog Cheesecake

Eggnog Cheesecake is the best Christmas dessert! Filled with Christmas spirit and flavor, you can't go wrong with this nutmeg-infused creamy cheesecake, on top of sweet graham cracker crust!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cheesecake:

  • 3 ( 8 oz) blocks cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • ยพ cup eggnog
  • 2 tablespoons rum
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch, or flour
  • ยฝ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ยผ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ยผ teaspoon salt
  • 1 (9-inch) graham cracker crust, in a 9-inch springform pan

Optional Decoration:

  • pomegranate seeds
  • fresh rosemary

Want to save this recipe?

We’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl using a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), beat cream cheese with granulated sugar until no lumps remain.
  • Add eggs, one at a time, beating mixture between each egg, then beat in the eggnog, rum and vanilla extract. Add cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat until smooth.
  • Tap the cheesecake batter bowl on the counter for 30-45 seconds to remove as many air bubbles as possible. You should see them popping on the surface as you tap the bowl. Pour filling into the center of the prepared graham cracker crust in an 9-inch spring form pan and gently smooth the top.
  • Bake for 30 minutes at 325ยฐF. Reduce temperature to 250ยฐF and continue baking for another 30 minutes. Once this time has elapsed, turn the oven off and keep cheesecake inside for another 30 minutes, but DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR. After the 30 minutes has passed, crack the oven door open to let cheesecake cool slowly for one hour before removing.
  • Allow cheesecake to cool to room temperature on the counter (approximately 3-4 hours) before covering with plastic wrap and transferring to the fridge to chill.
  • Refrigerate cheesecake until completely chilled (about 6-8 hours, or overnight is best).ย Open springform pan and remove the metal collar.
  • Slice and serve or decorate with pomegranate seeds and fresh rosemary for an easy and fun Christmas decoration!

Notes

Storage:
  • Refrigerate cheesecake in an airtight container, or covered with saran wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
  • If you want to freeze the cheesecake, keep it in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in a couple layers of plastic wrap, and eat it within 3 months. Thaw cheesecake in the fridge overnight before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 slice, Calories: 465kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 161mg, Sodium: 377mg, Potassium: 178mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 30g, Vitamin A: 1281IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 125mg, Iron: 0.5mg

Categories:

More Delicious Cheesecakes To Try

Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Related Posts

Comments

We LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or comment here and don’t forget to leave a rating! Click the icon below to upload a pic of your creation!

Recipe Rating:




12 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

5 stars
This was amazing! Many family members want me to make it for their birthdays now haha! Thank you for the recipe!

Made this on 12/24/22 for Christmas eve. Everyone loved it!
They didn’t have to deal with the mess or frustration, but their enjoyment of the cheesecake made it worth the trouble. My oven and then the kitchen filled with smoke as liquid of some sort ( I’m assuming butter from the crust?) hit the hot oven bottom, I don’t recall at what point ..but we removed the pan from the oven, opened doors and windows, turned on fans .and my husband got on his knees and cleaned the oven bottom…the cake was very much still “rippling” so I returned it to the oven in 10 min. periods…I could’ve cried if not for my husband. ..I’d say that COOK time ended up at 2 hours rather then the 60 minutes listed in the recipe. I used the graham cracker crust recipe from the link…wish I knew what happened so I could avoid a recurrence, but fear will prevent me from making it again

I do not have a spring form pan. Will baking this in a premade graham cracker crust be okay?

Can I use rum extract

Is the garnish just to look nice, or do you think it complements the flavors and should be eaten?

If I am cooking the cheesecake in a glass pie pan, will that change any of the cook time?

How many eggs?

Thank You For Being Here!

Jessica
For the past 15 years, Jorge & Jessica have loved getting to share their families' favorite recipes with all of you. They live in Florida with their 3 kids.