Store-Bought Cheesecakes Ranked Worst To Best

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

There is almost no dessert as luxurious as cheesecake. A good cheesecake has a smooth, creamy texture, perfectly balanced in flavor with tangy cream cheese and sweeter additives. A crunchy but not-brick-hard graham cracker crust holds it all together, adding relief from the overall richness.

There can be a difference between cheesecakes based on style, flavor, and just how rich they really are. Regular cheesecakes compared to New York-style cheesecakes show these differences: New York-style cheesecakes always have that graham crust, are baked, and are made exclusively with a cream cheese base. They're incredibly rich and dense as a result. Other types of cheesecakes can be made with dairy products like crème fraîche or ricotta, and can vary in whether they're baked or even have a crust. These cheesecakes can be light and airy or almost as dense as a New York-style one, depending on the cheesecake recipes you try.

While a classic New York-style cheesecake recipe can be fairly straightforward to make at home, everyone makes cheesecake mistakes in their own kitchens from time to time. When you want to avoid those common errors — or when you just don't have the time to make one yourself — a store-bought cheesecake can save the day. In the name of hassle-free but tasty desserts, I did a blind taste test of nine store-bought cheesecakes to see how they stacked up. Some are very similar in taste and quality, but it's clear that some cheesecakes are a step above the rest.

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

Sara Lee is a household name for a reason. The brand's baked goods like loaves of sourdough bread and pound cake have landed in the top half of our rankings of store-bought goods in the past, and I expected this cheesecake to do the same. Unfortunately, it didn't come close.

I tried a bite of this cheesecake toward the end of my blind tasting, and my first reaction was to grimace. The flavor seemed overly processed compared to samples I'd had from competitors, and I didn't get a fresh tangy flavor from the cream cheese in it like I wanted. You can chalk some of that loss of flavor up to being shrink-wrapped and frozen, other pre-frozen brands tasted delicious once they thawed.

Sara Lee's crust was unremarkable, with a substandard appearance. The wrapping was tight enough that when I opened it up, the cheesecake cracked through the middle. I didn't mind since I was just trying a bite and slicing one piece for photos, but I would have been disappointed if I was planning to serve the whole thing to guests.

Since the cheesecakes I tried varied in size, I calculated the price per ounce for each one to compare the value. Sara Lee's 30-ounce cheesecake retailed for $8.99 on sale in my local supermarket, which was about $0.30 per ounce. That ended up being one of the cheaper options, but I still wouldn't be tempted to purchase it again.

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

Nine entire cheesecakes in my house sounds like a simultaneous dream come true and health-conscious nightmare. Where possible, I purchased individual slices of cheesecakes to try. That was the case with Giant's store brand of cheesecakes, which are sold in packs of three slices for $7.99.

Initially, Giant's version looked like a pretty classic offering. The creamy texture appeared smooth like it should, and I was initially impressed with the thick graham cracker crust on the bottom. I swear by the grocery store's bakery products for my own shopping, and Giant's coffee cake was one of the best I tried in another recent ranking. That said, this cheesecake let me down. The crust, while a good texture, didn't add much of a flavor contrast to the cheesecake. And while the texture of the cheesecake was smooth, it resulted in a slightly off-putting aftertaste. Needless to say, there are better options available.

If that weren't enough, Giant's versions were also more expensive than most competitors. Individual slices in the 3-packs landed at $0.67 per ounce. Buying a whole 6-inch cheesecake is also an option for $9.99, which is a more favorable $0.62 per ounce. But even that puts Giant's cheesecake as the most expensive standard option on the list. And for a fairly pedestrian option, it's definitely not the best bang for your buck.

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

I mentioned that I did this tasting blind, and Daiya's option is one of the reasons. I knew I could be subtly biased against a dairy-free "cheesecake" — cheese is literally in the name, after all. I glanced at the ingredients, and noticed that Daiya uses coconut products, tapioca flour, and Xanthan gum to mimic the texture and flavor of a normal cheesecake. I don't mind the taste of coconut, but I was skeptical that it would taste like cheesecake and avoid being more like a coconut dessert.

Daiya's Cheezecake had a smooth texture, but was a touch too tart and nutty in flavor. The crust wasn't the texture or flavor I hope for in a cheesecake, perhaps because it was gluten-free. But all that said, I literally had to ask my husband (who was helping with the blind part of the taste testing) which number the Daiya cheesecake was at the end. I couldn't pick up the coconut flavor until I was searching for it, and while it wasn't the best cheesecake in the roundup, it fooled me enough where I also didn't immediately realize it was dairy-free. It retails for $8.99 at local grocers but is just 14.1 ounces, making it $0.64 per ounce — also the most expensive option on the list. If you're newly dairy-free and just really need a slice of cheesecake, this will scratch the itch. But that said, there are better dairy-free desserts out there.

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

Confession: I've never eaten at The Cheesecake Factory, despite loving cheesecake. This is probably my loss. However, it means I also wasn't pre-conditioned to loving this store-bought version of the restaurant's namesake specialty.

The Cheesecake Factory's cheesecake comes frozen, and like most high-quality frozen options, it layered squares of parchment paper between the pre-cut slices so that it would be easy to serve picture-perfect wedges of cheesecake. I appreciated this attention to detail. It was also visually appealing: It has a slightly golden hue on top from the baking process without cracking or being overdone, and the slices stood taller than most of the cheesecakes I tried.

This cheesecake had a creamy texture, but veered a bit too sweet for me. Cheesecakes that ranked higher tended to have a better balance between the sugar content and the zing factor from the cream cheese. When I checked the nutrition panels later, I confirmed my taste buds weren't lying: The Cheesecake Factory's one slice of cheesecake had a whopping 27 grams of added sugar. By comparison, Philadelphia's version (which is up a few spots) only had 16 grams of added sugar per slice. I also didn't love the overpowering cinnamon flavor in the crust for this option. Other brands also list cinnamon in the ingredients, but this was the only one where it seemed to take over the flavor profile. At $17.99 or $0.53 per ounce, it's in the middle of the pack in terms of price.

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

It doesn't get more New York-style than a cheesecake born in Brooklyn. Junior's, a family restaurant and bakery, tested countless recipes for its own version of a New York cheesecake in the 1950's, and the winning recipe is still in use today. The diner was soon surpassed by the notoriety of the famous cheesecakes, which Junior's calls "New York's most iconic cheesecake." Now, they are shipped all over the U.S., including to grocery shelves (probably) near you.

I skipped the larger Junior's cheesecake options and tried the "Little Fella," which is an impossibly cute 4-ounce circle of cheesecake goodness found in the aisle of frozen treats at Wegman's. Up until this point on the list, I could take or leave the different kinds I tried, but I would definitely buy Junior's version again. It was perfectly rich and creamy like a cheesecake should be. It wasn't overly sweet — and perhaps leaned a bit more toward the cheese flavor than some others. I also missed the texture variation of having a crust, since this "Little Fella" version is crustless. I can't speak to whether the crust would have elevated Junior's standing on this list, although I suspect it might have.

The tiny version retails for just $3.49, making it a fun individual-sized dessert at a reasonable price for the quality you get. The 6-inch original cheesecakes Junior's also sells are $13.99, or $0.58 per ounce, which is on the higher end of the cost range.

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

The company synonymous with high-quality cream cheese now has a cheesecake, too. I hadn't seen these boxes of frozen cheesecake before, explained because Philadelphia just launched the new products in October 2025. According to the company, more than 50 million cheesecake slices are made with Philadelphia cream cheese each holiday season — and now the company is offering an easy alternative to making your own.

Philadelphia apparently spent three years perfecting the recipe for its frozen cheesecake, and those efforts paid off. The ratio of crust to cheesecake filling was great, and the cheesecake itself was incredibly smooth. It had a perfect blend of tangy cream cheese flavor with the blend of sweetness you want in this dessert.

When I'm making a dessert for a special occasion, the iconic silver and blue bricks are what I reach for. That said, I do think Philadelphia could spend a little more time glamorizing its cheesecake boxes. I get what they're doing: I immediately associated the cheesecake labeling with the cream cheese packaging. But cheesecake is supposed to be more glamorous, and there's nothing about this box that would normally make me want to pick it up, aside from the stellar reputation of the brand. Luckily for Philadelphia, the blind taste testing doesn't judge a cake by its cover, and this was the best frozen option I tried. It was on sale at my grocery store for $9.99, or about $0.42 per ounce, which was also incredibly reasonable for the quality.

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

Pellman's bakery is based outside of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and I grew up eating fan-favorite desserts like Key lime pie, Black Forest cake, and other baked goods from the company. The brand is most well-known, however, for its  decadent cheesecakes. (For what it's worth, the raspberry and chocolate chip varieties can't be beat.) Luckily for those living in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware, they're fairly easy to track down these days, with distribution through a number of local grocery stores and farmer's markets.

I didn't want to be biased toward a hometown favorite, so it was yet another reason for the blind taste test. I honestly don't know if I've ever had the plain version before (I never skip the aforementioned raspberry flavor), but it didn't matter: It was still a top pick. Pellman's version is slightly less dense than some of the other varieties on the list, but still just as rich and satisfying.

The only reason this didn't rank higher was because I did miss more of a crust: Pellman's offering has a very thin one, though the graham cracker flavor that's present is very tasty. The advantage is that if it is frozen at any point (and some can be sold that way), you won't end up with any soggy bottoms, à la Mary Berry. These are also on the pricier side: I bought two slices for $5.49, but a whole cheesecake sells for $22.69, or about $0.61 per ounce.

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

I debated the No. 2 spot between Pellman's and Costco for a long time. I technically think Pellman's has just the slightest edge in terms of flavor, but by a small margin. And if you're going to feed a crowd, you simply can't beat the value of the Costco version, which is a tremendous 12 inches in diameter and serves 16 slices of cheesecake to the masses. I picked mine up for just $19.99, which comes out to about $0.28 per ounce — also making this the most affordable per ounce on the list.

There are a few things that set the Costco version above the others so far. The graham cracker crust is in good proportion to the filling and has great flavor, although it leaned slightly toward soggy in some parts. The filling's density was spot-on for me: Rich and smooth without becoming claggy. The sweetness was perfectly balanced with the more tart cream cheese flavor, which tasted fresh and clear.

Another unique touch is that Costco spreads a thin layer of sour cream topping on its cheesecakes, which is hardly noticeable except for the very faint color variation on the top of each slice. When it's inside the cheesecake, sour cream can soften the filling and add moisture. When it's layered on top, it can hide any cracks that might happen during the baking process. In either case, it can add an extra tangy element that prevents the cheesecake from being cloyingly sweet.

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

I was first introduced to the standard of high-quality store-bought goods when a friend in college dragged me to a Wegman's in Syracuse, New York. At the time the grocery chain was still fairly regional in the Northeast, but now Wegman's reach extends along the East Coast in more than 110 locations.

Wegman's maintains quality control over its baked goods with a central bakery located in Rochester, New York, and many bakery recipes are developed onsite. Most are produced there as well, and then shipped to Wegman's locations throughout the country. That includes their cheesecakes, including the top-notch plain one I sampled for the first time during this venture.

I tried Wegman's offering in the middle of the blind tasting, and kept coming back to it for small tastes again and again. The texture was supremely smooth and creamy and the sweetness was expertly balanced with the tangy cream cheese base. The crust was thick without being overpowering, and managed to walk the perfect line of being crumbly without falling apart, and without being distractingly hard to cut into. The dollop of whipped cream on top added a touch of flair. Needless to say, the only downside was that I purchased just one slice to sample, instead of the whole cheesecake for leftovers. One slice retails for a steep $4.75, but a whole cheesecake sells for $27.00, or about $0.54 per ounce, putting it more in the middle of the pack in terms of value.

Nikelle Murphy / Mashed

I bought nine cheesecakes from brands that have at least a regional presence in my area, all from local chains of grocery stores. I sampled the plain versions of the cheesecakes for the most straightforward comparison, and taste-tested them without any toppings or changes from what came in the packaging. If they came frozen, I followed the directions on the boxes to properly thaw them.

I tried cheesecakes that were either New York-style recipes, or classic cheesecakes that mimicked the New York type of density and richness. (I avoided some store-bought versions that were "whipped" cheesecakes for this reason.)

I photographed each one and cut pieces to sample, then asked my husband to randomly number them and hand me a bite of each one. This way, I could avoid seeing them, since some versions like the Daiya Cheezecake had a very distinct appearance. I ranked the cheesecakes primarily based on taste and texture. If factors like the appearance, packaging, or cost affected the ranking, I noted that for the individual products.