Save This Recipe
Just drop your email here and We'll send it right away!
This 4-ingredient Slow cooker cheesecake dip is warm, creamy, and ridiculously easy — just stir everything together and let the Slow Cooker do the work. It tastes like strawberry cheesecake without any of the fuss, and it’s always the first thing to disappear.
Why You’ll Love It
Only 4 ingredients — cream cheese, jam, sour cream, and sugar. That’s it.
The Slow Cooker does all the work — stir it together and walk away for two hours.
Feeds a crowd — stays warm on the WARM setting for hours, perfect for gatherings.
Endlessly adaptable — swap the jam flavor and it’s basically a different dip every time.
Tastes like cheesecake — without the crust, the springform pan, or the cracked top.
A Word About the Ingredients
The cream cheese needs to be softened. I know people say that and then you’re standing there poking a cold block with a fork wondering why nobody just says let it sit on the counter for an hour. So. Let it sit on the counter for an hour. Or a little less. Or a little more. It’s fine. You’re looking for it to squish easily, not for it to be melted.
Jam — I use strawberry, obviously, but I have made this with raspberry and with cherry preserves and with this mixed berry situation I found at the farmers’ market one time that I’ve never been able to replicate. They all work. The strawberry is the most crowd-pleasing because people recognize it immediately, and with a dip like this, familiar is your friend.
Sour cream is what gives it that slight tang that stops it from being cloying. Some people try to skip it and the dip ends up too rich, too sweet, like eating frosting. Don’t skip it. If you absolutely must swap it, plain Greek yogurt will do, though the texture gets a little looser.
Sugar — I use granulated. Half a cup feels right to me, but I’ve also made this with closer to a third and it works fine if you prefer things less sweet. Start with less and taste it at the end.
Ingredients
16 oz cream cheese (two blocks), softened
1 cup strawberry jam — I use whatever’s in the fridge, honestly
1 cup sour cream
About ½ cup granulated sugar, maybe a little less depending on how sweet your jam is
Let’s Make It
Lightly grease the inside of your Slow Cooker first — just a little butter smear or a quick spray — because otherwise the edges get this slightly caramelized crust that isn’t terrible, but it’s not what we’re going for here. I learned this the hard way. More than once, actually, which tells you something about how well I retain lessons.
Cut the cream cheese into chunks and drop them in. Don’t try to put in a whole block — it just sits there like a brick for the first hour and you’ll be tempted to crank up the heat. Spoon the jam over the top, then add the sour cream and the sugar. Give it a rough stir — it won’t look pretty, it’s going to look like a mess — and then put the lid on and walk away.
Cook on LOW for an hour and a half to two hours, stirring every thirty minutes or so. I usually stir it at thirty minutes, then go fold some laundry, stir at an hour, and then it’s usually done by the time I’m back from whatever else I’ve wandered into. You’re looking for it to be fully smooth and hot all the way through, with the sugar dissolved. Taste it at the end — this is the important part — and add a little more jam or sugar or nothing, depending on what you think.
If you’re serving it right away, it can stay in the slow cooker on WARM basically indefinitely. I’ve had it sitting there for three hours at a gathering and it was still good. Stir it occasionally so the edges don’t thicken up and get weird.
Variations
Adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract makes it taste more like “real” cheesecake. I’ve started doing it too, though I don’t always remember.
I’ve also tried swirling extra jam on top right before serving, which looks very pretty and impressive for something that took zero effort. Drag a spoon or a butter knife through it for a marbled effect. People will think you did something.
What I haven’t tried: adding lemon zest, which a few people have mentioned to me. Something about the cold lemon against the warm cream cheese doesn’t appeal to me, but I am probably wrong about this. I’m wrong about food things more often than I like to admit.
Storage
Leftovers go in the fridge in a container and will keep for — I want to say four or five days, though I don’t think I’ve ever actually gotten to day five because it doesn’t last that long. Reheat it gently in the microwave in short bursts, stirring in between, or just set the whole slow cooker insert back in the base on low and let it come back slowly. If it’s gotten too thick — and it will thicken up in the cold — stir in a tiny splash of milk or cream. Just a little. You’re not making soup.
Slow Cooker Strawberry Cheesecake Dip
Ingredients
- 16 oz cream cheese softened, cut into chunks
- 1 cup strawberry jam
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar adjust to taste
Instructions
- Lightly grease the inside of the slow cooker with butter or non-stick spray.
- Add cream cheese chunks to the slow cooker. Spoon strawberry jam over top, then add sour cream and sugar.
- Stir lightly to combine (mixture will look uneven at first), then cover with lid.
- Cook on LOW for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, until smooth, hot, and fully combined.
- Taste and adjust sweetness with additional jam or sugar if desired.
- Serve warm or keep on WARM setting, stirring occasionally to maintain a smooth texture.