No Bake Cheesecake is a silky smooth dessert made with a cheesecake filling over a buttery graham cracker crust with no need to turn on your oven! It can be flavored in a variety of ways, including with fruit, chocolate, or caramel, and can be topped with whipped cream or fresh fruit for a delicious and elegant dessert. If you prefer a baked version, check out my Perfect Cheesecake Recipe!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Crust: When making the graham cracker crust, be sure all of the crumbs are coated with butter. This is the ‘glue’ that keeps the crust together. You could also use a store-bought crust if that is what you have on hand.
Lemon Juice: For best results, use freshly squeezed lemon juice. I don’t recommend using store-bought lemon juice as it doesn’t work as well and you can almost taste the difference.
Filling: The filling for this no-bake cheesecake recipe is made with a special ingredient, heavy whipping cream. I have made several no-bake cheesecakes with the traditional sweetened condensed milk and always find that it tastes a bit different, or noticeable. Using heavy cream makes this no-bake cheesecake stand up to classic baked cheesecake.
How to Serve No-Bake Cheesecake
When it comes to how you serve this cheesecake, the sky is the limit! You can add pie fillings like strawberry, blueberry (from my blueberry pie bombs), cherry, lemon, and raspberry. You could also drizzle chocolate syrup on top and a healthy dollop of whipped cream for some extra richness. My favorite way to eat this no-bake cheesecake is with fresh fruit. I love it with blueberries and kiwi and my kids grab fresh strawberries.
Chocolate No-Bake Cheesecake
To make this a chocolate no-bake cheesecake, simply add 8 ounces of your favorite chocolate. Start by melting the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Then, set it aside to cool a bit. Add the cooled melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and continue making the cheesecake as directed below. Make it with an Oreo cookie crust for even more chocolate in every bite!
Why Didn’t My Cheesecake Set Up Properly?
There are a few reasons the cheesecake may not have stood up properly. Here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Make sure to whip your heavy cream well, for at least 3 minutes. You want the consistency to be fairly firm.
- If you have chilled it for 6 hours in the refrigerator and it’s still not fully set, pop it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. The cheesecake should not freeze but will be firm.
- It’s important to use the correct pan size as specified in the recipe. If the cheesecake is baked in a pan that is too large or too small, it may not set up properly.
- Stick as closely as possible to the recipe to ensure the best results. Making substitutions for ingredients in a recipe can sometimes cause problems with the cheesecake setting up properly.
How to Store Cheesecake
To store the cheesecake, cover it and store it in the refrigerator for a day or two. If you tightly wrap the cheesecake in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container, it will last up to 3 days in the fridge.
Freezing Cheesecake
To freeze a cheesecake:
- Let the cheesecake cool completely.
- Place the cheesecake (uncovered) in the freezer for about an hour. I suggest that if you are keeping the cheesecake pie in the springform pan, remove the sides of the pan.
- After the hour in the freezer, take the cheesecake off the pan (you may have to pry it off with a knife), and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.
- Place the wrapped cheesecake into a zipped freezer bag or wrap it in aluminum foil. Be sure to label and date the cheesecake.
No Bake Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¼ cups (105 g) graham cracker crumbs, about 8 sheets of graham crackers, crushed
- ¼ cup superfine sugar, or granulated
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 2 blocks (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (20 g) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups (357 g) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Crust
- Spray a 7-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Make sure to get every crumb coated with butter.
- Pour the crust into the prepared pan, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides. Set aside.
Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Mix at medium speed until soft and smooth, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Switch to the whisk attachment and pour in the heavy cream. Mix at low speed to combine. Then, increase to high and whip until the mixture can hold stiff peaks (3 to 5 minutes).
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
- Refrigerate until the filling is firm and cold, about 6 hours or overnight.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
My whole family loved this recipe. It is creamy and refreshing. The lemon adds just the right amount of tanginess.To be honest though, I did reduce the amount of sugar by 1/4 cup. It doesn’t taste like those no bake mixes out of the store. This is superior. Even my mother loves this and she is fussy about her cheesecakes. I also love that I don’t have to wash a second bowl for the whippung cream, I just exchange the whisk for the paddle. Excellent and so eady, esspecially if youcheat like I did and use Keeblets premade deep dish graham cracker crust. Thanks, Vicky
hi amanda i am eva sombillo from philippines,i am your million avid fan in baking,i really love your videos on baking because its easy to follow all your steps in baking,its just sad that i cannott do it on my own coz i dont have an oven….
For those having trouble with it not setting up:
Try beating the heavy cream by itself to make stiff whipped cream. Then fold it into the creamed ingredients.
Whisking the cream mixture for one minute at low speed and less than one minute at medium speed was just right to make stiff peaks
Just made this and the consistency turned out great. I used room temp cream cheese and extra lemon juice. I even doubled the recipe and it I had to spread the batter into the crusts. Cant wait to serve this and try my 1st piece. Thanks
So glad Belva!!
Hola Amanda!!!!!
Tus recetas de postres haces que se vean simples, sencillas y deliciosas, gracias por mostrar tu pasión, saludos desde México!!!!!
I like the cheese cake
I made this cheesecake yesterday – beat the heavy cream in to the cream cheese for 4 minutes. I let it set for about 24 hours in the fridge. It seemed firm but it wasn’t. I now have it in the freezer and am hoping to cut a nice slice in about 30 minutes. I do have one question…the crust is hard to cut through – was that to be expected? I’m having a hard time managing a soft cheesecake and hard crust. Any tips would be appreciated. And regardless, it tastes terrific!
You are a lifesaver! I used your recipe as a filling in raspberry parfait with vanilla wafer cookie crumbs. I needed a dessert in a hurry and did not have time to let it set-up in the fridge. I made your cheesecake filling in a very short amount of time and assembled individual parfaits in 9 ounce clear plastic cups. As soon as the last raspberry garnish was on top of the last cup, I put my trays in the car and drove straight to the event where they were being served. They were a big hit. Your recipe saved the day! Thank you!
Awesome idea Melissa!!!
Excellent recipe, I omitted the lemon and added 1/4 tsp almond extract. Trader Joe’s graham cracker are great to use and half of the butter is needed with these Graham’s as they are already quite rich
Love the additional of almond extract!!