M and M Cheesecake

Looking for a classic cheesecake recipe? You'll love this plain vanilla flavor that goes well with fruit!

🗝️ Key takeaways

This is so good!

M and M cheesecake is thick, creamy, chocolaty and has all of the flavor of those cookies we all love so much. The top is covered with the creamiest chocolate ganache imaginable and then more m & m candies are sprinkled on top.

Have you made one of my cheesecakes yet? If you have you know that they are rich, creamy, and perfect — if you'll allow me bragging rights.

This is a fun dessert. It isn't elegant or classy. C'mon y'all, it's M&Ms.

🧾 Ingredients

• Graham crackers
• Butter
• Cream cheese
• Brown sugar
• Sugar
• Eggs
•  Vanilla
• M&M's candies
• Sour cream
• Heavy (whipping cream)
• Chocolate chips

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below. Click on the image to see it full size.

1. Make the crumb crust.
2. Press into the pan.
3. Beat cream cheese and sugar together.
4. Add eggs.
5. Fold in vanilla, 1 cup of the M & M candies, and sour cream.
6. Pour the M and M cheesecake batter into the prepared crumb crust in the springform pan.
7. Make sure the foil is still securely around the pan.
8. Put the cheesecake pan in a 12" cake pan with high sides and put into a 375F oven.
9. Pour hot water into the 12" pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan.
10. Bake for 45 minutes.
11. Turn off oven and let set for one hour.
12. Remove cake from oven.
13. Refrigerate covered.

Expert Tip: Fold a piece of paper towel over the top of the finished cheesecake before covering and putting it in the refrigerator. It will soak up any condensation that might form.

• Always use full fat ingredients.
• Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature.
• Never whip your cream cheese mixture - you don't want excess air in the batter.
• It's done when the middle jiggles just slightly and the edges are puffed up.
• Make the m and m cheesecake a day or two ahead of time. It needs time in the refrigerator to mellow.
• Use a chocolate crumb crust instead of graham crackers for a more chocolatey flavor.

Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.

🥫 How to store

Cover your cheesecake and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Make sure there aren't any onions, fish, or other strong scented foods in there because your delicious m & m cheesecake will take on those flavors.

📚 Related recipes

• Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake has all the flavor of your favorite cinnamon roll but in a cheesecake form.
• Fudgy M&Ms Brownies with a Peanut Butter Swirl are decadently chocolatey, chewy, and have a salty river of peanut butter running though them.
• Chocolate Layer Cake with Cookies and Cream Filling is the perfect birthday cake for cookies and cream lovers!
• Cookie Dough Cheesecake is similar to this recipe but has scoops of classic cookie dough throughout the vanilla cheesecake.

Here are more cheesecake recipes.

📖 Recipe

M and M’s Cheesecake

4.70 from 13 votes

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M and M cheesecake has a creamy, dense filling that's studded with m&ms candy, covered with a decadently rich ganache, and sprinkled with even more m&ms. It's colorful and fun but most of all it's delicious.

Course Dessert - Cake

Cuisine American - Southern

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Chill: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 9 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings:16 servingss

Calories:710

Author:Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups graham crackers, crushed
• ▢ ⅓ cup butter, melted

Cheesecake

• ▢ 32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1 cup sugar
• ▢ 6 eggs, room temperature
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla
• ▢ 1 cup m&ms candy
• ▢ 16 ounces Daisy sour cream, (see note below), room temperature

Ganache

• ▢ 1 cup heavy cream
• ▢ 12 oz milk or semi-sweet chocolate
• ▢ ½ cup m&ms

Instructions

Crust

• Mix the cookie crumbs and butter and then press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9" springform pan.
• Bake at 375F for about 10 minutes.
• Set aside.
• When cool cover the outside of the pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, making sure it is at least ¾ of the way up the pan

Cheesecake

• Beat cream cheese and sugar at slowest speed until it is mixed well. Do not whip it - air will get in the batter and it will lose its dense texture.
• Add eggs one at a time, slowly mixing in for about 2 minutes after each addition.
• Fold in vanilla, 1 cup of the M&Ms, and sour cream by hand.
• Pour a layer of the batter into a prepared crumb crust in the springform pan. Make sure the foil is still securely around the pan.
• Put the cheesecake pan in a 12" cake pan with high sides and put into a 375F oven.
• Pour hot water into the 12" pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan - don't let it go over the top of the aluminum foil!
• Bake for 45 minutes.
• Turn off oven and let set for one hour. Do not open the door!
• Remove cake from oven, take off foil, and let come to room temperature.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight. Placing paper towel on top of cake will soak up any condensation
• Just before serving run a knife around cake and remove from pan.
• Pour the ganache over the top, smoothing and letting it drip down the sides as you go.
• Garnish with the remaining ½ cup M&Ms.

Ganache

• Heat the cream until bubbles form around the edge.
• Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until smooth.

Notes

Never use low fat anything in this cheesecake. Also, I use Daisy sour cream because it doesn't have any added ingredients - a lot of brands have thickeners and other unnecessary ingredients. The recipe is high calorie as are all good cheesecakes but it isn't something you are going to eat every day either.

Expert Tip: Fold a piece of paper towel over the top of the finished cheesecake before covering and putting it in the refrigerator. It will soak up any condensation that might form.

• Always use full fat ingredients.
• Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature.
• Never whip your cream cheese mixture - you don't want excess air in the batter.
• It's done when the middle jiggles just slightly and the edges are puffed up.
• Make the m and m cheesecake a day or two ahead of time. It needs time in the refrigerator to mellow.
• Use a chocolate crumb crust instead of graham crackers for a more chocolatey flavor.

You'll find more helpful tips and variations in the body of the post.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 710kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 356mg | Potassium: 306mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 1329IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

First published January 23, 2014. Last updated January 8, 2021 for better instructions and readability.