Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
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This Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake is a delicious thick and creamy cheesecake with a ribbon of cinnamon running through it, topped off with cream cheese icing. It’s truly exquisite!

Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake

So I hope you all love cheesecakes as much as I do. There are so many options and things you can do with them and they really aren’t hard to make. They can take a little time since they take a while to bake and cool, but as long as you have some time to work with, they really shouldn’t be intimidating.
And they’ve always been one of my favorite desserts. I’m such a texture person, so I love a thick and creamy cheesecake. I used to call them “the” favorite, but I just love so many things now it’s really hard for me to pick a favorite anymore. I have a bajillion favorites, as I’m sure you know by now. 🙂
As far as favorite flavors so, I am a sucker for cinnamon. And I don’t go light on it. You’ll find that there is no shortage of cinnamon in this cheesecake. In fact, you could reduce it, if you wanted, but it might make me a little sad.
I made a few versions of this cheesecake until I got it just right and one version actually did use about half the amount of cinnamon. While it was very good, most of my taste testers agreed with me that it was not enough cinnamon to call itself a cinnamon roll cheesecake.
So I doubled it up and I’m in love.


Tips For Making Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
As far as the ingredients for the cinnamon filling, it’s much like what you’d actually fill cinnamon rolls with. I actually started with an exact cinnamon roll filling – cinnamon, brown sugar and melted butter. But when baked into the cheesecake and cooled, it had a texture that just didn’t feel right. The butter and sugar firmed up when cold and didn’t quite mesh with the creamy cheesecake.
So I added some flour to help out the butter and it fits right in with the creamy cheesecake now, but still tastes just like cinnamon roll filling.
The icing is also a straight up cinnamon roll icing – with cream cheese. I’m pretty much convinced that everything in life is better with cream cheese. I love the stuff.
I piped it on in kind of a cinnamon roll way. It covers up some of the additional cinnamon on top of the cheesecake, but just so you know, the whole cheesecake is topped with a layer of cinnamon.


Am I making sound like cinnamon overload? It really isn’t. It’s actually just the right amount. My small group totally fell in love with the final product, some of them declaring it was their favorite yet. We actually all have the same problem – everything we try is our favorite. 🙂
The first step is to make the crust, of course. It’s pretty standard. Crushed cookies, sugar, butter, cinnamon. Bake it all up!
But once you have the cheesecake filling and cinnamon filling made, you’ll layer them on top of the crust, starting and ending with the cinnamon. You’ll have four layers of the cinnamon filling and three layers of the cheesecake. The cinnamon filling is kind of thick, so you’ll crumble it up to add the layers. The final layer will actually be right on top of the cheesecake.
Once it’s ball baked and cooled, you seriously won’t be able to resist this cheesecake. It’s amazing and totally delicious. Cinnamon and cheesecake love right here.


You might also like
Cinnamon Roll Snack Cake
Cinnamon Roll Blondies
Mini Cinnamon Roll Cheesecakes
Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Cupcakes
Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal
Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
This Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake is a delicious thick and creamy cheesecake with a ribbon of cinnamon running through it, topped off with cream cheese icing. It’s truly exquisite!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 12-14 Servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1 1/2 cups nilla wafer crumbs
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 5 tbsp butter, melted
CHEESECAKE FILLING
- 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
CINNAMON FILLING
- 2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
- 5 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup flour
- 12 tbsp butter, melted
ICING
- 2 tbsp cream cheese, room temperature
- 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 4–5 tbsp milk
Instructions
CRUST
CHEESECAKE AND CINNAMON FILLING
ICING
Keywords: cinnamon roll cheesecake, best cheesecake recipe, cinnamon roll cake, easy cheesecake recipe, homemade cheesecake, homemade cheesecake recipe, the best cheesecake recipe, cinnamon cake
Enjoy!






I'm a wife and mom to twin boys and a sweet black lab with a serious sweets addiction! Bring on the sugar!


















Nobody (and I mean NOBODY) makes cakes like you, Lindsay. I’ve said it before, but honestly, you just keep astonishing me. This cheesecake is art!
Aww, thank you Mir! That means so much. 🙂
I’m in love with that pretty frosting on top, Lindsay! What a gorgeous cheesecake! I just want to dive right into this for breakfast!
Thank you Gayle! 🙂
Sounds absolutely divine. I love cinnamon as well, so this will be made for sure!
Lindsay, you totally out did yourself on this one!! I love cheesecake but this one is truly to die for!!! I had it for dessert, as a snack and for breakfast!!! Can’t wait to make this later this month when Crew and I celebrate our birthdays. We usually treat ourselves to The Cheesecake Factory but yours tops any cheesecake they offer!!
Yay! Thanks Tina! I’m so glad you got to try it! 🙂 Happy early birthday to you both!
You have outdone even yourself with this creation- simply gorgeous! This has Easter dessert written all over it!
Thank you! This would be great for Easter!
Girl seriously you are the bee’s knees. I mean the stuff you do is just knock your socks off fantastic. You are for real the best in the blogger game!
Aww, girl, that is so sweet! I don’t know about all that, but I appreciate the compliment! 🙂
Is the recipe correct? Only 2 T. of cream cheese in the icing?
I am looking forward to making this soon. It looks fabulous!
Yes, that’s correct. There’s a small amount of cream cheese and butter in the icing – it doesn’t make too much icing because you don’t need a lot. I hope you enjoy it! I’d love to hear what you think after you make it. 🙂
I made this last week and posted a picture of it to Facebook. What a reaction from everyone! You would think that all of my friends were starving! (Admittedly, it did turn out just like your fabulous photos!)
Anyway, I did like it, but I thought it was just a bit too sweet, and a bit too cinnamon-y. Next time, I will reduce the amount of cinnamon in each element (the crust, cheescake batter, and filling) and maybe use a bit less of the cinnamon filling. I normally love cinnamon, but it was a bit too overpowering in this recipe for me.
But it didn’t stop us from gobbling the whole thing up!
Thank you for another great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I could see thinking that it was a little much on the cinnamon. I’m admittedly a cinnamon fanatic and some of my taste testers must be too. 🙂
My cheesecake is in the oven atm & the icing but it looks to fluid. Is there a way i could thicken it up and save the situation?
Powdered sugar can always be added to thicken the icing.
That’s what I thought! Only 2 tablespoons of cream cheese for all that piped thick icing? I’m skeptical. Looks gorgeous, though!
There’s also 6 tbsp of butter. Together that’s 1/2 cup. You can replace the butter with additional cream cheese if you’d like.
This looks devine! Oh I wouldn´t mind a slice with my coffee right now 🙂
Your cakes are always so gorgeous, Lindsay! But I have to say this cheesecake tops them all. I would love a huge slice right now!
Thanks so much Jen! 🙂
Oh my gosh! This is amazing! Such a perfect flavor combo! I HAVE to add this to my must make list!
cinnamon rolls and cheesecake are literally my two favorite food groups! I love this!!
This is ammmmmmmmmmmmmazing! <3 <3
Oh my gosh, I want this cheesecake so bad! I’m also a sucker for cinnamon. I love how you did the frosting too! Cinnamon and cheesecake for liiiife. 🙂
This looks like perfection! I’m not usually a huge cheesecake fan, but when you make it dance with a cinnamon roll twist I am all in! I love the addition of the cinnamon roll frosting too. Everything certainly is better with cream cheese – and cinnamon of course! I can’t wait to try it!
I’m very, very into this beautiful hybrid dessert (and breakfast!)
i just clicked on email to send recipe and there is no bx to put email addresses in
What a decadent and heavenly dessert. I would love to try this! Pinned. xo, Catherine
I discovered your blog recently and it is already my favourite! I tried the Cannoli poke cake which was amazing, and now this! This is the first cheesecake I successfully bake! It’s amazing, we are cinammon lovers so we really, really loved it! Thank you so much, and thank you for writing a very detailed recipe!
Sophie
Awesome! I’m so glad you found my blog and have been enjoying the recipes! 🙂
Am I reading this correctly, 12 tbsp butter for the cinnamon filling?
Yes, that’s correct
WOW, finally my two favorites combined into one!!!! You can have your cake and eat it too!!!
Thank you.
This looks AMAZING. Just one question for the cinnamon filling it says 12 tablespoons of butter ( 1 cup) is that right? I’m planning on making this this weekend for Easter. Thanks!
Yes, it’s correct. I like the large amount of cinnamon filling, but you could reduce it.
12 tablespoons is actually 3/4 c. butter…just in case someone decides to measure by cups and not tablespoons. 8 tablespoons= 1/2 cup…so it’s a stick and a half
How far in advance can I make this?
You could make it a day or two in advance.
I made this yesterday but I wish I wouldn’t have put my foil wrapped springform pan inside the pan of water. Water seeped through into my crust and it got waterlogged! Next time I will just put the pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven instead. I also cut the cinnamon to 3 tablespoons instead of 5 in the filling (5 was too much!) It is beautiful though and I’m still taking it to Easter dinner this afternoon. Hopefully it will taste as good as it looks!
I hope you enjoyed it! That can happen with the water bath sometimes – even to me. 🙂
It tasted fantastic and everybody loved it! Thanks for sharing your incredible recipe 🙂
Can I freeze this?
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried it.
I’ve never made a cheesecake before and I just tried making this for my first one ever. It was very good! Thanks for the recipe. Also maybe it’s just my preference but I would recommend making a bit more crust than the recipe calls for. I’ll have to wow my family with this sometime.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Patrick!
Dear Lindsay,
The Cheesecake tastes fabulous but there’s NO way, and I mean literally NO WAY that a 9″ platter is sufficient! I now have 2 cakes, one 9″ and one with 7.9 inches.
I had to transform the oz into g but that shouldn’t change anything, so…
(Just wanted to let you know)
Thank you for the recipe! (:
I definitely have made this several times as a 9 inch cheesecake. Perhaps the conversion of ingredients was off and resulted in more batter? I know the conversions sites aren’t always very accurate.
i also am currently making this in a 9″ springform pan…it fit perfectly! (took it OUT of its water bath though as another suggested…too fearful of that soggy crust!)<—hope it's not too late
Hi Lindsay,
After the 1 hour and 2 minutes, what is the cheesecake supposed to look like? Jiggly in middle like other cakes? or firm?
Yes, the cheesecake will still be a little jiggly when it comes out of the oven. It will firm up when it cools in the fridge.
I found this recipe while searching for a dessert to make for a Thanksgiving dinner. As soon as I placed the cheesecake on the dessert table, there was quite a buzz about it! After the family photos were taken, everyone wanted to dive into the cheesecake. Needless to say, this cheesecake was the highlight of the dinner. Everyone wanted the recipe. The only sad part was that there was none left over for me to take home!
I’m so glad it was a hit! Thanks Linda!
The recipe says to “break apart” the cinnamon mixture, my cinnamon mixture is very wet and I feel like I had to drop globs of it into the pan. Is this normal? I also didn’t end up having enough to cover the entire top layer, do you think this will effect the cheesecake?
It sounds like the cinnamon mixture is fine. It definitely shouldn’t be super dry. I’m sorry if “break apart” is misleading. You could describe it as crumbly, globby – it sounds like it’s fine. It should be fine without an entire layer of it on top. It still has the same amount of cinnamon in it and should taste great.
If you stick a knife into the middle of the cheesecake once the time is up, should it come out clean? How do you know when the cheesecake is done?
Oh please don’t stick a knife in the middle of the cheesecake. 🙂 That would ruin the beautiful even top of it. In fact with cheesecake, you don’t even use a toothpick to test it. You kind of eyeball it. When you actually turn off the oven in step 9, the cheesecake won’t quite be fully baked. It’ll still be a little jiggly and wet in the center, but the edges should be set. It will continue to bake during the next 30 minutes (with the oven door closed) and will really only firm up after it’s completely cool. If you stick anything into the cheesecake before then, it won’t come out clean. And even after it’s cool, unlike cake it’s very creamy and probably wouldn’t lend a clean toothpick.
Is the brown sugar mixture supposed to be dry or moist?
It should be dry enough that it crumbs but the melted butter should naturally have it moist.
Hi… I just made this cheesecake for a family dinner tomorrow… it looks amazing… will let you know who it turned out!
This is looks and tastes fantastic! Super happy I stumbled across this blog 🙂
When you say “Place springform pan (covered with aluminum foil) inside another pan.” Do you mean the top of the springform pan is covered with foil in addition to the pan being wrapped in foil? Or do you just mean wrapped in foil?
No, just the foil wrapped pan.
I am so confused by this step. Can you explain? Do I put foil all on the outside of the pan? How does the water not leak through? What would happen if I skip this step?
You don’t have to use a water bath for cheesecakes, but I’d recommend it personally. Without a water bath, cheesecakes can easily crack when cooling, sink in the middle when cooling and often brown on the edges. The cheesecake flavor will be the same, but it tends to have a less creamy texture (in my opinion, anyways). If you choose not to use a water bath though, you’ll likely want to reduce the baking time by maybe 15 minutes or so. If you’d like to see how I often set up my pan to avoid it leaking, check out my tutorial here.
I just pulled this out of the oven and with the topping I can’t tell what consistency it is, only that there is a lot of greasy butter around the edges and liquid butter even came out the bottom of the pan inside the tinfoil. I guess I just want to know if this is normal…? I’m hoping it will reabsorb once cooled…?
I have baked this twice ( love it! ) but have the same issue with butter seepage. Would love to know what I’m doing wrong.
I’m not sure if you’re doing anything wrong or not, but you could certainly reduce the amount of butter a bit to help with that.
If you use unsalted butter, use less I always have seeping issues with unsalted butter
How long does this need to chill? It’s just finished cooking in the oven for 5 mins with door open. Looks fabulous!!
Most likely about 4-5 hours to get completely firm.
Have you ever thought of using cinnamon graham crackers instead of nilla wafers for the crust? I’m thinking of trying that instead. Any thoughts?
That would probably be delicious!
How long does it take to prepare and cook this cake?
I tried making this before and the icing didn’t thicken up. :(( how can I keep it from turning crumbly?
I made this recipe (times 2/3 for a pie plate), and it was AMAZING. I couldn’t get enough of it, which was a problem, but it was delicious. I added walnuts with the cinnamon crumble/filling. Thanks for a great recipe!
I want to make this and your funfetti cheese cake at the same time. Is there a way to modify the baking and cool down time tobmake this work?
I probably wouldn’t suggest baking two cheesecakes at the same time. It can slow down the baking process for both of them and make it kind of difficult.
Can i use a 10″ springform pan for this recipe or do i need to add more to the recipe?
You can, but you’d have a thinner cheesecake and want to bake it a little less time. I haven’t made it as a 10 inch, so I’m not entirely sure of the exact changes.
did you use salted or unsalted butter?
Salted
I made this for Easter and it is amazing! I was always scared of making “real” cheesecake… i made a continuous swirl shape of the frosting to look more like a cinnamon roll…
Cheesecakes never have enough flavor for me, but this one definitely hits the spot!! Thanks for the recipe. Cheesecake may be my new thing…..
Awesome to hear that! Thanks Amy!
I’m really confused about the warm water part and the wrapping the pans in foil
I have a tutorial (link) on a cheesecake water bath. I hope this is helpful!
Here’s a tutorial where I show how I set up my water bath.
What piping tip did you use to make the lattice top?
It’s been a while, so I don’t remember specifically but I’m guessing it was Wilton tip 12.
For the crust, should the butter be melted, or no?
Yes, melted.
Absolutely incredible. I hosted a Xmas party and this cake was a huge hit, especially for my 12 year old daughter! She LOVES cinnamon rolls and this cake was her pick.
….and yes, it is the perfect amount of cinnamon:):) all your cakes are spot on – you are always my go-to.
That’s awesome, I love cinnamon rolls! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cheesecake!
I made this cheesecake in 8oz mason jars & cooked in my instant pot. WOW are they tasty. Tastes just like a cinnamon roll. Due to the amount of steps to layer in the jars I won’t make it in the jars but will add to my favorite list of cheesecakes and will make it in my 8” spring form pan & will cook it in my Instant Pot. Awesome recipe.
Thanks!
★★★★★
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed!
How long did you bake in mason jars
Hi Lindsay I am planning to make this but I need to know what can I replace Nilla wafer with as I am in Australia and we don’t get Nilla wafer. what kind of biscuits nilla wafer is?
Nilla wafers are a vanilla wafer type of cookie. You could use graham crackers if those are available. I hope that is helpful!
Did you use unsalted butter?
I used salted butter.
The smell in my house is amazing!! I’m making this cheesecake for my husband’s birthday. I’m sure he will love it! All the sweet and all the cinnamon!! Fabulous, easy recipe! Your directions are precise and easy to follow!!
★★★★★
Wonderful! I hope you all enjoy!
Hi Lindsay, I hope you’re still getting notifications of comments for this recipe! I had a question about the cream cheese; does it have to be the “bricks” of cream cheese, or can it be the kind that comes in a tub… which has lots of different flavors?!
You want to use the kind that comes in the bricks. I haven’t ever used the tubs, but I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t get the desired result.
I made this for the 4th of July and it was a huge hit! I followed the directions exactly but adjusted the bake time a bit (1 hour 5 min) because I baked it using a convection oven. It turned out perfectly. No cracks and a velvety cheesecake consistency with an explosion of cinnamon sugar flavor in every bite. I will definitely make this again!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!