Savory Herbed Cheesecake Recipe

Savory Herbed Cheesecake has an elegant, crisp Parmesan and rosemary crust which makes a pleasant complimentary flavor.

This cheesecake is a good choice for an appetizer for a potluck or party.  It bakes up with a firm yet silky texture that is perfect to use on bread or crackers as a spread. The savory herbs are a taste sensation that will bring you back around the buffet line for another wedge and more bread. It is also an impressive appetizer set as a centerpiece on your buffet table.

You can also serve it cut into wedges on individual plates as a starter course.  Also excellent served with wine.

You can prepare and bake cheesecake up to 1 week ahead of time and refrigerate.  Yes – you can freeze cheesecakes.  I do it all the time.  I have frozen them over a month and they were great! This is the wonderful thing about cheesecakes, is that you can freeze them ahead and use later. Freezing for more than a month is not recommended to retain the best quality.

 

Savory Herbed Cheesecake

 

Savory Herbed Cheesecake Recipe:
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
 
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Savory Herbed Cheesecake Recipe
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
Parmigiano-Reggiano Crust:
  • 4 ounces Parmesan Cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano), grated
  • 1 cup bread crumbs, dried*
  • 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, minced
  • 1/3 cup (5 tablespoons) butter, unsalted, melted
Herb Filling:
  • 10 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 1/3 cup olive oil, extra-virgin
  • 1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, softened
  • 8 ounces creme fraiche or sour cream (1 cup)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons flour, all-purpose
  • 1 teaspoon salt, plus extra to taste
  • 2 tablespoons parsley, minced
  • 1 tablespoon chervil, minced
  • 1 tablespoon basil, minced
  • 1 tablespoon oregano, minced
  • 1 tablespoon sage, minced
  • 1/3 cup red bell pepper, finely-diced
  • 1/3 cup carrot, finely-diced
  • Black pepper, freshly-ground, to taste
  • 2 egg whites, at room temperature
  • Additional herbs and/or vegetables, for garnish
Instructions
Savory Herbed Cheesecake Instructions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.  

    Step 1: Prepare Parmigiano-Reggiano Crust.

    Step 2: Prepare Herb Filling.

    Step 3: Assemble Savory Herbed Cheesecake.

Step 1 - Parmigiano-Reggiano Crust Instructions:
  1. Mix Parmigiano-Reggiano, bread crumbs, rosemary and butter in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the 9-inch springform pan then chill while preparing the herb filling in Step 2 below.

Step 2 - Herb Filling Instructions:
  1. Place the unpeeled cloves of garlic in a small ramekin or ovenproof dish and drizzle with the olive oil.  Bake, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until soft when tested with the tip of a knife. Remove and set aside to cool slightly.  Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

  2. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins and mash or chop the garlic, along with the olive oil, to a puree.  Combine the garlic puree, cream cheese, creme fraiche, eggs, flour and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 2 minutes.  Add the parsley, chervil, basil, oregano, and sage; process for 1 minute.  Pour the cream cheese mixture into a large bowl.  Stir in the red bell pepper and carrot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  3. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Blend a spoonful of egg whites into the cream cheese mixture, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Step 3 -Assembling Savory Herbed Cheesecake:
  1. Pour herb filling batter into the chilled Parmigiano-Reggiano Crust.  Prepare a drip tray by lining a baking pan with aluminum foil. Set the filled 9-inch Springform Pan on top of the foil (to catch any drips).  Using the additional herbs and vegetables, float a design on top of the batter.

  2. Place the the drip pan, with filled 9-inch springform pan, in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes.  When done, the cake will have risen and the center will be almost set.  Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to remain in the oven for 1 hour longer, without opening the door. Don't worry if the cake is cracked.  Remove the cheesecake and set it on a rack. Immediately run a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake. This allows the cake to contract away from the sides of the pan as it cools, helping to prevent cracks. Let cool for 1 1/2 hours.

  3. When cool, remove the outer ring of the springform pan.  Loosen the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan, using a knife, and slide it onto a serving plate.

  4. Serve at room temperature, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator at least 2 hours before serving and allow it to come to room temperature . If desired, decorate the top of the cheesecake using herbs and or vegetables.

  5. Makes 12 servings.
     

Recipe Notes

* Check out Making Homemade Bread Crumbs.

 

Source:  This fantastic Savory Herbed Cheesecake recipe is from the cookbook The Cheese Lover’s Cookbook and Guide by Paula Lambert.  Photo from The Nibble online magazine.

 

Comments and Reviews

11 Responses to “Savory Herbed Cheesecake Recipe”

  1. alicia

    I was very excited to try this; I’ve never made a cheesecake of any kind so I was going in blind. I did everything according to the directions and it all looked perfect. But when I cut in to it, it was quite runny. The edges were set and perfect but the center soupy. Any tips, other than cooking it longer?

    I must say that the flavor was excellent. I’d easily make this again, if for nothing else than to get the cooking time corrected.

    Reply
  2. Marsha Rosenthal

    Instructions call for creme fraiche

    Reply
    • Whats Cooking America

      Thanks for the catch! The recipe does call for creme fraiche. I have fixed the ingredients list.

      Reply
  3. Heidi

    This was very good. However, the directions are a little bit of a mystery while baking. Was the crust supposed to be baked? The instructions are out of order and confusing. I’m not new to making cheesecake but these instructions left a little to make up yourself.

    Reply
    • Nancy

      Thank you for your feedback. I went thought the instructions and did some recording. Hopefully the instructions are more clear.

      Reply
  4. Tracy Dobson

    it says creme fraiche or sour cream… I’m making in two days and want it perfect. Can’t I use sour cream if I can’t find creme fraiche?

    Reply
  5. Donna

    Help! It still does not state whether or not you bake crust first? It says “put filling in chilled crust”?

    Reply
    • Nancy

      Donna, after preparing the crust, chill it in your refrigerator. No need to bake it before hand.

      Reply
  6. Patricia

    Sounds scrumptious and I’d like to try it making small cakes rather than one big one. Do you think it would work to make muffin-sized ones? I would use sprayed parchment cups to line the tins and fill accordingly. From your experience making this as a large cake, do you think changing the size would work at all? Thank you for any thoughts that come to you. And thanks for developing this dish. It really does sound heavenly!

    Reply
  7. Laura

    I was wondering if I could use dried herbs instead of fresh. It’s a lot to invest for a small amount of each of the herbs I would have to buy. Of course, I’d use 1 teaspoon VS 1 tablespoon fresh.

    Reply

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