Bennigan’s Strawberry Cheesecake is one of those restaurant desserts people still remember, thanks to its creamy texture and unmistakable diner-era charm.
Photo by Tyler
Copycat Bennigan’s Strawberry Cheesecake
Bennigan’s Strawberry Cheesecake is a rich, classic cheesecake topped with strawberries and sauce, served as a dependable, crowd-pleasing dessert. It’s indulgent without being fussy.
This is a solid choice when you want a restaurant-style dessert that feels familiar and celebratory. The key is keeping the cheesecake smooth and letting the strawberry topping stay bright and simple.
Quick Recipe Overview
- Best For: Dinner parties, holidays, make-ahead desserts, cheesecake lovers
- Flavor Profile: Creamy and rich with a sweet-tart strawberry finish
- Skill Level: Intermediate but approachable
- What Makes It Like the Restaurant: A dense, smooth cheesecake base paired with a classic strawberry topping
Bennigan’s
Bennigan’s was a major player in casual dining during its peak years, known for a menu that balanced comfort food with slightly indulgent twists. The brand built its reputation on approachable American favorites served in a relaxed, pub-style setting that encouraged lingering.
Desserts played an important supporting role on the menu, offering familiar finishes that felt rewarding without being overly trendy. Even as locations became harder to find, many former guests still remember specific menu items that defined their Bennigan’s experience.
A Dessert People Still Ask About
Strawberry cheesecake has long been a staple of American casual dining, especially in chain restaurants that favored recognizable desserts over experimental ones. The combination of a dense cheesecake base and fruit topping checks all the boxes for broad appeal.
What sets restaurant versions apart is consistency. The texture stays smooth, the sweetness stays balanced, and the presentation feels complete without extra garnish or flair. That reliability is exactly what makes this style so easy to recreate at home.
Bennigan's Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe
Make our Bennigan's Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe at home tonight for your family. With our Secret Restaurant Recipe your Strawberry Cheesecake will taste just like Bennigan’s.
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups Vanilla Wafers or Chocolate Wafers
- 1/2 cup sifted Confectioner's Sugar
- 7 tablespoons melted Butter
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Filling
- Five 8-ounce packages Cream Cheese at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
- Grated zest of 1 Lemon
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 3/4 cup Sugar
- 3 tablespoons Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 5 Eggs
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
- Large fresh Strawberries sliced, to top
Instructions
Crust
- In food processor, crush cookies until very fine.
- Place rest of ingredients into the processor bowl.
- Mix until well blended.
- Pat the crumb mixture into and up the sides of a 9" springform pan or a pie shell, set aside.
Filling
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In a large bowl or food processor, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla, lemon zest and juice.
- In small bowl, mix sugar, flour and salt together. Add to cheese mixture.
- Add eggs and egg yolks, a tbsp at a time, beating after each addition.
- Gently stir in the cream.
- Pour batter into crust-line pan.
- Bake for 12 minutes; reduce heat to 300°F and continue baking for 55 minutes, or until center tests done.
- Remove from oven.
- Allow to cool for 30 minutes, then loosen sides of the cake with a spatula.
- Remove from pan after 1 hour.
- Chill at least 2 hours before serving.
- Garnish with fresh strawberry slices.
Related Copycat Recipes
Get All New Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes as Soon as We Publish Them
Just Follow Us on on Your Favorite Social Media Sites and Never Miss a New Recipe.
Stay in Touch, Get More Recipes from All of Our Sites and Help Us Spread the Word about Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes to All Your Friends.
Thank You.
Questions People Ask
Is this a baked or no-bake cheesecake? This recipe is a baked cheesecake, which gives it the dense, creamy texture associated with restaurant-style desserts.
Can I make this cheesecake ahead of time? Yes. It actually benefits from chilling overnight, which helps the texture set and improves slicing.
Do I have to use fresh strawberries? Fresh strawberries are ideal, but frozen can work if cooked down properly for the topping.
How close is this to the original Bennigan’s version? The flavor and texture are designed to closely match the classic restaurant-style cheesecake most guests remember.
How should leftovers be stored? Keep the cheesecake covered and refrigerated. It holds well for several days.
Related Recipes
Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake
Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake layers a dense chocolate cheesecake base with a light chocolate mousse topping and a clean chocolate finish.
Make Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake at home and recreate the rich, chocolate focused dessert served at the restaurant.
Make Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake at Home
Arizona Biltmore Cheesecake
The Arizona Biltmore Cheesecake is a classic resort-style dessert known for its smooth texture and understated richness, long associated with the Biltmore’s elegant dining tradition.
Recreate the Arizona Biltmore Cheesecake at home with this copycat recipe inspired by one of the resort’s most recognizable desserts.
Make Arizona Biltmore Cheesecake at Home
Spotlight Recipes
Cheesecake Factory Miso Salmon
Cheesecake Factory Miso Salmon features grilled salmon glazed with a savory miso sauce, served with sautéed spinach and crisp rice cakes for a balanced, restaurant style entrée.
Make Cheesecake Factory Miso Salmon at home and recreate the popular seafood dish known for its rich glaze and clean presentation.
Make Cheesecake Factory Miso Salmon at Home
Romano’s Macaroni Grill New York Cheesecake
Romano’s Macaroni Grill New York Cheesecake is a traditional, restaurant-style dessert known for its smooth texture, classic graham crust, and simple fruit topping.
Make the Romano’s Macaroni Grill New York Cheesecake at home with this copycat recipe that delivers the familiar, polished finish guests expect from a New York–style cheesecake.
Make Romano’s Macaroni Grill New York Cheesecake at Home
Photo of Strawberry Cheesecake is by Tyler and is used by permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) License. Photo of “Bennigan’s” is by Phillip Pessar and is used by permission under the Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License. Read the Full License Here – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode.en. Thank you, Tyler and Phillip. Great Pictures. Photos may be representative of the recipe and not the actual finished dish. All photo licenses listed were correct at the time of the posting of the page. Recipe is our adaption of several recipes formally widely-circulated on the internet – courtesy of the Wayback Machine. Additional Information is from original research done by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes and/or courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.
Share this recipe using the Facebook, X, Pinterest, or Email buttons below.
It takes 10 seconds and it helps more hungry people find their new favorite copycat.