Pressure Cooker Maple Bacon Cheesecake is sweet and a bit salty and made with fresh Candied Maple Bacon and Pure Maple Syrup.
I know this is crazy. Bacon in a cheesecake? Well, Maple Bacon Doughnuts are all the rage, so why not?
I mean, it’s not fried like a doughnut, so it’s not as fattening, right?
Ahhhh, I wish. Before you go all, oh my G-d, this is so bad for you, how could she do this, remember, this is a specialty cheesecake and one you won’t want to eat every day. It’s okay to indulge every once in a while.
This recipe uses Grade A Pure Maple Syrup, so that’s something, right?
Cooking cheesecake in a Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker is so much easier than cooking it in the oven with a water bath.
Before you get started making this Pressure Cooker Cheesecake, please read my article called Perfect Pressure Cooker Cheesecake Tips & Guide, so that your first cheesecake will be a success.
Some people like to make individual size cheesecakes using Mason Jars. If you would like to do that for this recipe, you will only need six Kerr Half Pint (8 oz) Mason Jars or 12 Ball 4 oz Mason Jars.
They can be made with or without crust. Just divide the crust (if using), filling and topping equally between each jar.
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Other Yummy Cheesecakes to Try:
New York Cheesecake Style Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
For a Lighter Cheesecake
- Italian Ricotta Cheesecake
- Italian Meyer Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake
- Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Japanese Cotton Cheesecake is a totally different take on a cheesecake.
For fun Holiday Mini 4 oz size Mason Jar Cheesecakes, check out my Red White and Blue Cheesecake Singles.
Select Sauté or Browning on your Pressure Cooker and allow to fully heat. Heat a stainless steel pot before adding the fat, will help to make the pot non-stick.
Chop the bacon into pieces and add it to your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker cooking pot. Add a bit of water. Don’t worry, you won’t get splattered with grease. Adding water and allowing the bacon to cook for a bit will give you straighter pieces of bacon, as the fat will render better.
Spread the bacon cover the bottom of the Pressure Cooker cooking pot to evenly cover the bottom.
Allow the bacon to cook for a bit and then mix it around the cooking pot. When the water is almost evaporated, add some Pure Maple Syrup and mix in. Continue cooking until bacon is fully cooked. Make sure you use Grade A Maple Syrup, not pancake syrup, as that is flavored corn syrup and you want the deep Maple flavor.
Remove the bacon to a paper towel.
Pour the Bacon Grease into a bowl and set aside. Instead of using butter to grease the pan for this recipe, we will use Bacon Grease. What? Come on….. Butter is animal fat and I don’t see you complaining about that!
We always save our Bacon Grease and use it to cook Pressure Cooker Southern Style Cheesy Grits, New York Coffee Shop Home Fries, Pressure Cooker Butternut Squash Pasta and much more. So, save your Bacon Grease.
You are probably freaking out about now, wondering how you will ever got your pot clean. Well, don’t worry. Soak the pan now and prepare the crust and filling. Most of the gunk will loosen up and rinse right out.
Then to kill two birds with one stone, we cook the Pressure Cooker Maple Bacon Cheesecake in the same cooking pot and the hot water and steam will loosen the gunk and make clean up a breeze. And oh yeah, we’ll cook a cheesecake too!
I prefer the 6″ Fat Daddio’s Push Pan, because clean up is so very easy, but some people prefer a Spring Form Pan.
Use the Bacon Grease to grease your Cheesecake Pan and then place a Parchment Round into the bottom of the pan. Grease the Parchment Round. If you don’t have parchment, don’t worry. It just might be a little more difficult to separate the cake from the bottom of the pan.
I like a 6 inch Push Pan because I like the height of the cheesecake. However, if you have and/or prefer a 7 inch pan and want a taller cake, just make one and a half recipes and you will have a very tall cake. If using an 8 inch pan in an 8 Quart Pressure Cooker (or larger), double the recipe.
Add the graham crackers to the bowl of a Food Processor. I used cinnamon because that is what I had on hand. Any crispy cookie will work. Pulse until small crumbs form.
If you don’t have a Food Processor, take a large baggie and put the graham crackers inside. Seal it and take a rolling pin and crush the crackers.
Add a little butter and Pure Maple Syrup and process until incorporated. Press the crumb mixture into pan using a Fox Run Tart Tamper or your fingers, forming a neat border around the edge and slightly up the sides.
A tip for this Pressure Cooker Maple Bacon Cheesecake and all other cheesecakes, is that when pressing the crumbs into the cheesecake pan, don’t push them up too high on the sides. You don’t want moisture to get into the crust, causing a gummy crust.
Place the Cheesecake Pan with the crust into the freezer while you are preparing the filling.
Wash out the Food Processor, so that you can make the filling.
Mix cream cheese, sugar, Pure Maple Syrup, vanilla and cream until smooth. If you don’t have heavy cream and you have some Homemade Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream, either will work well. Process until very smooth. Add one egg.
Add just one egg at a time. Use the pulse button for one second after each egg added. It is okay if you see some of the yellow yolk. Look closely at this photo. See how much of the egg is showing and not incorporated? That is what you want!!!!!
Before you get started making this Pressure Cooker Cheesecake, please read my article called Perfect Pressure Cooker Cheesecake Tips & Guide, so that your first cheesecake will be a success.
Please use Pure Maple Syrup, not the fake stuff. It makes a difference.
The Candied Maple Bacon will stick together. Dice up the bacon. Place 3/4 of the bacon into one bowl and 1/4 of the bacon into another bowl.
To the larger bowl of bacon, add a bit of flour. Using your fingers, incorporate the flour into the Maple Bacon, so that the pieces separate. This will help when mixing into the filling and will keep the Maple Bacon from falling to the bottom.
To the smaller bowl of bacon, sprinkle on Maple Sugar and a light dusting of Ground Pepper. Mix through and set aside for the Garnish.
Remove the blade from the Food Processor and fold in the Candied Maple Bacon, which you have just floured. It will easily incorporate into the filling.
Remove the cheesecake from the freezer and pour in the filling. Wiggle the pan, so that the filling is evenly distributed and flat.
The foil should be loosely covering the pan. If it is secured all around, the cheesecake will not cook enough and then you will wonder why your cheesecake is runny in the middle.
If any moisture gets on the cake, just dab it off with a paper towel.
It is cheap to make and you will find yourself using it all your Pot in Pot cooking. If you don’t want to make this Homemade Sling, you might prefer this Silicone Sling/ Vegetable Steamer which is a nice product.
A cheesecake is done before the center of it is set. It will be a bit jiggly in the center and the sides will be slightly higher.
Don’t feel the urge to cook longer or else the top will crack. The heat that is trapped inside will continue to cook the center while the cheesecake cools.
Look how nice and flat this Pressure Cooker Maple Bacon Cheesecake is….perfect outcome. Let the Cheesecake sit on the counter for about an hour and then move it to the refrigerator.
Prepare Perfectly Homemade Whipped Cream, using Maple Sugar, instead of White Sugar. If you don’t have or don’t want to buy Maple Sugar, just use Light Brown Sugar.
Place the Whipped Cream into a baggie to make it easier to Pipe onto the Cheesecake. Keep in the refrigerator, until ready to Garnish the Cheesecake.
It’s safe to remove the sides from the Cheesecake after a couple of hours in the refrigerator.
Any jar that will fit into the opening of the Push Pan will work. I usually remove the sides of the Push Pan after a couple of hours in the refrigerator and then cover and chill until the next day.
A Cheesecake desperately needs at least 12 hours in the refrigerator, so please, please, make your Cheesecake the day before you need it and let it set up properly in the refrigerator overnight.
It will taste much, much, much, better. Really, I am not joking. Your Pressure Cooker Maple Bacon Cheesecake will taste pretty good on the same day, I suppose, but will taste incredible the next day.
I use this LamsonSharp Chef’s Slotted Turner to remove the cheesecake to a plate. It’s super thin and fits easily between the Cheesecake and the base of the pan. It is not a good idea to cut the cheesecake on top of the Push Pan base, as it will scratch and sticking will become a problem.
Pipe on your Perfectly Homemade Whipped Cream over the Cheesecake.
Sprinkle the Peppered Maple Bacon over the Whipped Cream.
Grab a fork and enjoy. This Pressure Cooker Maple Bacon Cheesecake really doesn’t need another topping, but, if you want to make it even more sinful, try some Gooey Hot Fudge Sauce. Now that is decedent.
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot DUO 6 Quart
- J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- Stainless Steel Trivet
- Cuisinart Large Food Processor
- 6″ Fat Daddio’s Push Pan
- LamsonSharp Chef’s Slotted Turner
- Pure Maple Syrup
- Pure Maple Sugar
- Perfectly Homemade Whipped Cream
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Here is your handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
Crust
- 3/4 cup Cinnamon Graham Crackers about 14 squares or other Crispy Cookie
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Salted Butter
Bacon
- 12 ounces Bacon Chopped
- 1/4 cup Fresh Water
- 2 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
- 2 teaspoons Maple Sugar or Light Brown Sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Filling
- 16 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
- 1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Maple Sugar or Light Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 3 large Eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup Whipping/Heavy Cream
- 3 ounces Maple Bacon diced
Topping
- Homemade Whipped Cream using 2 Tablespoons or Light Brown Sugar instead of White Sugar
- Peppered Maple Bacon Pieces
- Pure Maple Syrup
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Please read my article Perfect Pressure Cooker Cheesecake Tips & Guide, before proceeding.
Bacon
- Select Sauté or Browning on your Pressure Cooker and allow to fully heat.
- Add chopped bacon and 1/4 cup water to the Pressure Cooker cooking pot and spread to cover bottom. When water is almost evaporated, add 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup and mix in. Continue cooking until bacon is fully cooked.
- Remove bacon to paper towel and pour bacon grease into a bowl.
- Add hot soapy water to your Pressure Cooker cooking pot and let soak.
- Dice bacon and divide into two bowls, 3/4 and 1/4.
- Add flour to 3/4 of the bacon and mix through to separate pieces.
- Add pepper and maple sugar to the remaining bacon and mix through.
Crust
- Add graham crackers to the bowl of food processor and pulse until small crumbs form.
- Pour in maple syrup and butter and pulse until just combined.
- Use bacon grease to grease the 6 inch cheesecake pan. Add a parchment round to the bottom. Pour cookie mixture into greased cheesecake pan and press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan and one inch up along the sides.
- Place pan with crust into freezer until you are ready to add the filling.
Filling
- Blend together cream cheese, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and heavy cream until smooth.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined. Do not over mix the eggs.
- Fold floured bacon into filling.
- Pour filling into the pan, on top of the graham cracker crust.
Cook
- Rinse out Pressure Cooker cooking pot to remove all soap. Add 1.5 cups of water to the bottom of your pressure cooker and then place a trivet inside the pot.
- Place cheesecake into pressure cooker using a sling and then cover with a paper towel and then piece of aluminum foil and secure to pan.
- Lock on lid and close Pressure Valve.
- Cook at High Pressure for 35 minutes. Allow a 15 minute natural release.
- After all pressure has been released, open pressure cooker and gently remove the pan. Remove the foil and paper towel and dab off any liquid that may have accumulated.
- The center will be a bit jiggly, but don't worry. The heat that is trapped inside will continue to cook the center while the cheesecake cools.
- Let cool on wire rack for at least one hour
- Place in refrigerator and remove sides after a couple of hours. Lightly cover and keep in refrigerator overnight.
Topping
- Prepare Perfectly Homemade Whipped Cream, using Maple Sugar instead of White Sugar. Pipe all around Cheesecake.
- Drizzle a little Maple Syrup and Sprinkle Peppered Maple Bacon on top of Whipped Cream.
Notes
If using the mini 4 inch pans, cook for 12 minutes, with a 15 minute Natural Pressure Release. For Single Serving Jar Cheesecake
8 oz Wide Mouth Glass Jar - cook 7 minutes
4 oz Wide Mouth Glass Jar - cook 4 minutes
16 oz Glass Jars - DON'T DO IT!
15 minute Natural Pressure Release