Instant Pot Chocolate Cheesecake

Instant Pot Chocolate Cheesecake. This delicious dessert is perfect for chocolate lovers.

“It must be great having a dad who’s such a good cook!” My kids hear this all the time, but they only halfheartedly agree. Sometimes I make stuff they love, sometimes I make stuff they hate, and sometimes it’s a split decision, 2-1, decided on points.
Instant Pot Chocolate Cheesecake? No complaints, no whining. In a unanimous decision, everyone wants more chocolate cheesecake.

A piece of chocolate cheesecake, topped with whipped cream and a sliced strawberry, on a red plate, in front of a bowl of chocolate chips and strawberries. — Instant Pot Chocolate Cheesecake

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My Instant Pot is my magic cheesecake machine; perfect cheesecake is easy as long as I have my pressure cooker, a 7-inch springform pan, and a bakeware sling.

Now, I know, cheesecake in a pressure cooker sounds weird. Try it anyhow - especially this one - because the pressure cooker makes a great cheesecake steamer. It simulates a water bath, evenly cooking the cheesecake. The only hard part is patience - cheesecake needs to rest in the refrigerator for at least four hours after cooking so it can set. In my case, this meant a constant stream of questions: “Is it done yet? Can we try it now? What’s taking so looong?”

And, I don’t know why it took me so long to add chocolate; the tart cheesecake and sweet, bitter chocolate are an awesome combination. I get my chocolate from semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted in the microwave. You don’t have to use chips; semi-sweet baking chocolate is fine. But, we always have a bag of chocolate chips in the pantry, so thats what I cook with.

Join me in the Pressure Cooked Cheesecake Movement - your taste buds (and picky eaters) will thank you.

Ingredients

Oreo cookie crumbs
Regular cream cheese
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chips)
Sugar
Vanilla extract
Eggs
Whipping cream (optional topping)
Strawberries (optional topping)

How to make Instant Pot Chocolate Cheesecake

Prepare the Oreo cookie crust: Spray the 7-inch cheesecake pan with nonstick spray. Crush the Oreo cookies (I pulse them in my food processor until they are fine crumbs, or I put them in a gallon zip-top bag and pound them with a rolling pin). Spread the Oreo crumbs evenly across the bottom of the pan and pack down, pushing the crumbs up the sides a little to make the Oreo crust.
Make the cheesecake filling: Soften the cream cheese by leaving it out at room temperature for at least 1 hour. (Or soften the cream cheese in the microwave, for 30 seconds to 1 minute). Beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Slowly add the sugar and beat on medium speed until the sugar is completely blended, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and beat on low speed until completely blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer again and scrape down the sides. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each on low speed until just blended. (Don’t over-beat the eggs.) Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared cheesecake pan.
Lower the cheesecake pan into the pot: Pour 2 cups of water into your Instant Pot (or another pressure cooker.) Put the cheesecake on your pressure cooker bakeware sling, and lower it into the pot. (If you don't have a sling, use the rack that came with your cooker, and make an aluminum foil sling to lift the cheesecake. Fold a 2-foot-long piece of aluminum foil over a few times, until it is a long strip about 4 inches wide. Center the cheesecake pan on the sling and carefully lower it into the inner pot, setting it on the rack.)
Pressure cook the cheesecake for 20 minutes with a natural release: Lock the lid on the cooker. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC, or for 16 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode set to 20 minutes in an Instant Pot.) Let the pressure come down with a natural pressure release, about 20 more minutes. (If you’re in a hurry, you can quick release any pressure left in the pot after 15 minutes.)
Cool the cheesecake, then serve: Lift the cheesecake out of the pressure cooker. Loosen the cheesecake from the sides by running a paring knife around the edge of the pan. Put the pan on a cooling rack and cool at room temperature for an hour. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Slice the cheesecake into 8 pieces, top each with a dollop of whipped cream and a strawberry slice, and serve.

Equipment

6-quart instant pot (or any other 6-quart pressure cooker)
7-inch springform pan (to fit in the pressure cooker)
Pressure Cooker Bakeware Sling (or use aluminum foil to make a sling.)
Stand mixer with a paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer

Tips and Tricks

Special Equipment: The key trick to this recipe is a couple of extra pieces of equipment: A springform pan that will fit in your pressure cooker, and a bakeware sling to lower the cheesecake in and out of the pot. And, really, the bakeware sling is really just a convenience. You can use the rack that came with your pressure cooker and make a sling out of a folded piece of aluminum foil. But the bakeware sling is much more convenient, and once you've tried Instant Pot Cheesecake, you'll be glad you have a dedicated sling, because you're going to make a lot of cheese cake this way.
No Oreos: Don’t want to crush Oreos? Make a crust by mixing ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs with 2 tablespoons melted butter.
Larger or Smaller Instant Pot: I get questions about changing this recipe for different-sized cookers and pans; I haven’t had time to test them yet. I’ve heard from readers that a 6-inch wide, 3-inch high cheesecake pan will work…but it might take a little extra cooking.
Using an 8 Quart pressure cooker? I use this recipe as-is, with my 7-inch cheesecake pan in my 8-quart pressure cooker. It works great. Will it work with a larger pan in the larger cooker? In theory, yes, it should work if you increase the cooking time under pressure. But I have not tried it, so I don’t know how much time to add.
Sour Cream: Do you want to add sour cream to your cheesecake? Add ¼ cup of sour cream to the mixing bowl with the melted chocolate. I didn't include it in the recipe because I didn't taste much of a difference, but I get asked about it a lot, and there's nothing wrong with adding it. If your cheesecake feels incomplete without sour cream, go right ahead and add it.

Storage

Cheesecake freezes beautifully. Wrap the entire cheesecake tightly in plastic wrap, or individually wrap pieces, and then freeze them for a few months. Move the frozen cheesecake to the refrigerator to thaw for a few hours before serving.