Ranking Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake Flavors Worst To Best

The Cheesecake Factory's Pineapple Upside-Down Cheesecake takes two absolutely decadent desserts and combines them into one. The result is two layers of buttery pineapple upside-down cake sandwiching a layer of pineapple cheesecake. 

One Tripadvisor reviewer said, "Really pleased to see the pineapple upside down cheesecake back on the menu as it is so tasty and more of a cake." While that review is positive, it highlights the thing we don't like about this slice of cake. It's tasty, no doubt, but it's definitely more of a cake than a cheesecake. The rich cheesecake takes a backseat to the fluffy and moist pieces of buttery vanilla cake. There are some cherry pieces and crushed pineapple in here as well, so it's really a full-on pineapple-upside down cake. It just doesn't need to be paired with cheesecake. It's too much mushy texture to be enjoyable and would work better as either one type of cake or the other. 

The mention of s'mores is enough to transport most people to campfire memories of sandwiching chocolate and marshmallow in between graham cracker pieces. It was the perfect bite of smoky, sweet marshmallow, crunchy graham cracker, and rich chocolate.

The Cheesecake Factory does a play on this classic flavor combination with its Toasted Marshmallow S'Mores Galore Cheesecake. It's a piece of Hershey's chocolate cheesecake with a graham cracker crust and a gooey marshmallow on top.

The S'more Scout, an authority in all things S'more, reviewed the cheesecake slice. They said, "I could barely taste the toasted marshmallow in combination with the other elements, however. Fortunately, the whipped cream teams up to bring in some vanilla goodness." This is unfortunate because marshmallow is an underrated flavor that brings so much to a dessert when allowed to shine. If this were perhaps a plain cheesecake with chocolate swirls, it might let the marshmallow take center stage.

We love that The Cheesecake Factory toned down its usual excess for the Caramel Apple Cheesecake. It's simply The Cheesecake Factory's signature original cheesecake baked with caramel apples. The cake has a graham cracker crust and is topped with a layer of caramel.

It's another one of those flavors that's as good as a dessert from any other chain, but when pitted against the rest of the Cheesecake Factory cakes it just doesn't have much power. The caramel flavor is nice but the apple falls flat and is just mush on top of mush. There are no texturally exciting elements. And the apple isn't even acidic enough to break up the richness of the cake.

One Yelp reviewer loved it and said, "Finished off with a Lemon Meringue Cheesecake and a Caramel Apple Cheesecake, always the best". But unless you're a die-hard fan of the flavor combination you can skip this.

We don't have anything against chocolate. That's not why this Hershey's Chocolate Bar Cheesecake didn't rank higher. It's a layer of Hershey's chocolate cheesecake in between two layers of chocolate cake. The entire cake is slathered in chocolate frosting and sprinkled with chocolate chips. 

This cake proves there really can be too much of a good thing. It's rich and probably goes overboard with so many different types of chocolate. Some plain cheesecake, white chocolate, or other balancing element would do wonders in this slice. But it does have some redeeming qualities. The textures are spot on. The moist cake layers, the rich icing topping it all off, and the fluffy cheesecake, all work well together. Just before it gets to be entirely too much chocolate, you may find that you've finished the piece.

One Yelp reviewer described the cake and said, "We got the Hershey's chocolate bar cheesecake today. (the wife loves cheesecake). It is chocolaty and fluffy from the cake. If you tried the Godiva cheesecake, it's kind of the opposite of it. It's not as chocolaty, creamy, and cheesy like Godiva."

To us, this isn't cheesecake, but according to The Cheesecake Factory, it is. The brand describes its Celebration Cheesecake as "layers of vanilla cake, cheesecake, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla Mousse with cream cheese frosting". It's an amped-up funfetti cake. And it definitely gives off party vibes with its colorful features.

Sweety High says the Celebration Cheesecake "honestly tastes as good as it looks, with the cheesecake and strawberry flavors coming through the strongest. While it's quite rich, the mousse and cake layers make it feel light and fluffy at the same time."

And while the flavor is good, it doesn't remotely give off cheesecake vibes so we couldn't rank it any higher. There's a lot going on and it's definitely a festive slice of cake that will look impressive for any sort of celebration. But there are almost too many components to be able to focus on one part of the cake long enough to enjoy it.

Fruit lovers rejoice: This is your cake. The Cheesecake Factory must have had you in mind when it dreamed up this Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake. It's got raspberry ladyfingers and raspberry vanilla cake as a base, and the filling is lemon cheesecake and lemon mousse. It is a dreamy flavor combination.

But we can't help but wonder, where's the cheesecake? One Harry & David reviewer said, "If you're in it mostly for the cheesecake, choose something else ... I also found the cheesecake itself to be too sweet to enjoy, and I'm not one of those foo foo people. It's like they went full out with the lemon juice and didn't want it to taste tart so they added a TON of sugar to try and balance it out."

It's mostly mousse, which isn't terrible if you know that before you take a bite. Once you've come to terms with what this cake is, you'll enjoy every bite, but although the flavor is spot on, it doesn't have quite the texture we look for when digging into a slice of cheesecake. 

This particular combination of flavors might as well have cheated because anything Snickers flavored is always going to be a win in our book. Something about that combination of peanut, caramel, and chocolate is just divine. So with this Chocolate Caramelicious Cheesecake made with Snickers, The Cheesecake Factory was clearly hoping for another home run.

It's Snickers pieces scattered through original cheesecake sitting on top of a brownie crust and topped with chocolate, caramel, peanuts, and Snickers pieces. It's gooey and rich, and yes, it's actually pretty delicious. But it's just too much. it feels like a mouthful of cavities just waiting to happen. The original cheesecake does provide the palate a nice break from the sweetness, however.

One Yelp reviewer said, "the Chocolate Caramelicious was very sweet and had yummy Snickers chewiness ...4 out of 5. Just this cheesecake by itself was very tasty especially if you like chocolate/caramel with a thick crust and not too much of the cheesecake part." If you're brave enough to try a slice of this, be prepared to savor it slowly, otherwise, your tastebuds may be too overwhelmed by the sugar. 

Here's yet another option for chocolate lovers. The Cheesecake Factory's Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake is chocolate cheesecake topped with Belgian chocolate mousse. This is one of the better chocolate cheesecakes offered by The Cheesecake Factory. It's not chocolate overload. Well, it is, but in a way that's more appealing to every palate. It's all the things you love about chocolate like the richness and flavor without the heaviness that you might find in other iterations of chocolate cheesecake.

The cheesecake layer has a spot-on silky smooth texture, and the Belgian mousse is as fluffy and light as you expect a mousse to be. While many of The Cheesecake Factory's chocolate options incorporate too many unnecessary parts, this display of chocolate is pared down and scaled back.

One Harry & David customer said, "The blending of the mousse and cheesecake was perfect. The taste was both delectable and satisfying."

No chocolate nightmares here. It's a nice, simple chocolate cheesecake. It's not interesting or complex enough to rank higher, but if you're a chocolate lover, you'll probably enjoy this enough.

The Cheesecake Factory's Lemon Meringue Cheesecake is a combination that works. It's zingy and bright and exactly what it sounds like. This is a lemon cream cheesecake that's loaded with layers of lemon mousse and meringue. We've been pretty vocal about some of these cheesecakes lacking actual cheesecake. Thankfully, the lemon meringue cheesecake contains perfect ratios of cheesecake and meringue. The cheesecake is front and center. It's lemony and bold and the mousse and meringue are the perfect textural components.

A Trip Advisor reviewer said, "The meringue was great followed by a layer of lemon-like curd and then very light lemon cheesecake. One of the best desserts we have ever had."

it's not a particularly creative dessert or mind-blowingly delicious so we couldn't rank it any higher. But it is so simply beautiful. This is a great dessert to enjoy at the end of a large meal because it's citrusy, light, and refreshing.

The Cheesecake Factory's Salted Caramel Cheesecake is a caramel cheesecake and creamy caramel mousse on a blondie crust with salted caramel spread on top. Salted caramel is trendy, but that's because it's a combination that just works. It works because sweet and salty are just a dream team, playing off one another to ensure your tastebuds aren't bored.

One Yelp reviewer said, "Salted Caramel Cheesecake is my go-to. It has smooth, gooey, creamy caramel on top and a bottom layer of mocha cream with chocolate nibs that are the pièce de résistance."

Simply put, this is yummy. It is a lot of layered sugar but the salt sort of keeps it all in check and draws attention to the caramel. As always, the cheesecake is fluffy and silky. And the crust is a nice textural change. But overall, it's not powerful enough to be memorable. This one sits firmly in the middle. 

Sometimes The Cheesecake Factory complicates their cheesecakes. But this time they kept it simple and it worked out in their favor. For those looking for a milder dessert that works well with a post-dinner coffee, this would be a good pick.

The Cheesecake Factory's Mango Key Lime Cheesecake is squarely in the middle of our list. It's creamy mango lime cheesecake that is topped with mango mousse and sits on a vanilla coconut macaroon crust.

One Yelp reviewer said, "I got their mango cheesecake and this slice was huge! I didn't even finish it and had to bring half of it home. Definitely recommend sharing with 2-3 people for this. I did feel like I should have went with a traditional cheesecake flavor instead though!"

You'll need to be a tangy fruit lover to enjoy this because it's definitely more acidic than, say, a strawberry or cherry cheesecake. It's tart and rich and has a nice tropical vibe with the coconut macaroon crust. It's such a specific flavor combination and theme so it gets bonus points for that, but it's not life-changing like some of the other cheesecake flavors.

Banana pudding lovers, prepare to fall in love with this. The Cheesecake Factory nailed the vibe of the creamy treat that's often made with vanilla wafers? The Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake is a nice simple banana-flavored cheesecake that's with a rich bavarian cream topping and freshly sliced bananas.

One Twitter user said, "The fresh banana cream cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory is the greatest thing I've ever tasted besides pizza." It's smooth and rich and made for just gobbling up in one sitting. If there is one downside, it's that this is all just mushy and all one flavor. This could perhaps benefit from a chocolate drizzle or some sort of chocolate crunch but that's just nitpicking.

Sure, it's texturally boring but the lovely flavor more than makes up for that. So if you like the idea of an entire piece of soft, pudding-like cake you're in for a real treat.

Key Lime is a dessert people feel strongly about. Some like a denser filling, some like more tartness.

Kudos to The Cheesecake Factory for not layering this Key Lime Cheesecake. It's just Key lime-flavored cheesecake sitting on top of a vanilla crumb crust. The Cheesecake Factory could have complicated this but we are glad they didn't. The way it's served today allows you to pick up all the perfect little nuances of the Key lime flavor.

Instead of being a confounding mash-up of textures, this is all the best parts of the dessert it takes inspiration from —tangy and tart, smooth and creamy. And instead of having a heavy piece of cake to weigh you down after dinner, we suggest you opt for something lighter and brighter like this. It'll be a nice pick-me-up for your palate. One Yelp reviewer loved it, saying, "My personal favorite is the key lime cheesecake. Tart and creamy."

The Cheesecake Factory's Dulce de Leche Caramel Cheesecake is a caramel cheesecake in a vanilla crust topped with caramel mousse. There's also an almond brickle sprinkled on the top. It is similar to The Cheesecake Factory's salted caramel cheesecake but has a bit more depth from the dulce de leche. It would be very easy for this cheesecake flavor to be overly sweet. Cheesecake is rich and dulce de leche, which is slowly cooked milk and sugar, is also very decadent. Combine the two and it would make sense that this would be an over-the-top sugar bomb.

But The Cheesecake Factory has managed to keep this pretty balanced and although there's no fruit, and therefore no brightness, it's not cloyingly sweet. One Tripadvisor reviewer said, "Best cheesecake in the world, and my favorite is Dulce de Leche which is Caramel Cheesecake." If you're into dulce de leche, you'll love this cheesecake.

Do we need to say much more than layers of peanut butter cups, cheesecake, fudge cake, and caramel? We didn't think so. This isn't just us being dramatic, although this involves Reese's peanut butter cups so we can't help but get a little dramatic. But The Cheesecake Factory's Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake is a heavenly mix of textures, and the peanut butter, chocolate, and cheesecake flavors go together really well.

It makes us want to take back everything we said about cheesecakes requiring more cheesecake than anything else.

One Yelp reviewer did bring a good point to the table and said, "The peanut butter + chocolate is very rich, sweet, and over the top. Need more whip cream to cut the madness!" But additions or not, this is gooey and decadent and everything that a dessert should be. We will never say no to layer after layer of peanut butter, fudge cake, and peanut butter cups.

Call us purists, but digging into a slice of plain cheesecake is the best way to assess the quality, texture, and flavor of a cheesecake. Yeah, chocolate fudge and fruit swirls are delicious but they mask some of what we think makes a cheesecake good. So The Cheesecake Factory's Original Cheesecake has claimed our top spot. It has a graham cracker crust and a sour cream topping.

An Influenster reviewer is also a fan of the original. "Good cheesecakes! My favourite is the plain New York-style cheesecake. It is creamy and smooth." Out of more than 30 other cheesecakes, the original has stood the test of time and shown it can compete with cakes that are much more elaborate.

Cheesecake Factory's original cheesecake is just good, simple, creamy cheesecake. And without it, none of the other flavors would exist. So we felt it was necessary to give it props where they're due.