No-Bake Cheesecake

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

2 Comments

10 servings
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Refrigerate 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes
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No-Bake Cheesecake is an easy light, fluffy cheesecake made with cream cheese, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. No Jello and no baking!

Rich and creamy New York Cheesecake is a classic Dessert for special occasions, but takes a bit of patience to get perfect. This no-bake recipe is creamy perfection with half the work!

No-Bake Cheesecake sliced with fresh strawberry garnish

NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

This sweet and simple-to-make cheesecake recipe cuts out all the hassle of baked cheesecake without losing any of the creamy texture and delicious flavor. You don’t need a water bath and you don’t need to turn on your oven because even the Graham Cracker Crust is no-bake. This may be the easiest cheesecake recipe you will ever make!

A No-Bake Cheesecake is the perfect dessert to make ahead for special occasions, especially when your holiday menu is long and your oven will be occupied. It takes at least 6 hours for No-Bake Cheesecake to fully set, but it only takes minutes to whip together. A graham cracker crust holds up well with creamy fillings, so no need to worry about soggy crusts if you make it a few days ahead of time.

Graham crackers and brown sugar in food processor for No-Bake Cheesecake

This No-Bake Cheesecake recipe is made without Jello or Cool Whip, so it’s completely homemade with the perfect balance of sweetness and tangy cream cheese. Since there is no gelatin or vegetable oil, it does need longer to set, but the creamy fluffy texture is worth it. You will know the cheesecake is set when you can wiggle it and the filling doesn’t move. If your cheesecake filling isn’t setting, refrigerate it a few hours longer.

Unlike our normal graham cracker crust recipe, this crust is made with brown sugar so it is chewy with a slight caramel flavor. You can always make a traditional graham cracker crust or check out the variations for other ideas that you don’t need to bake. Easily make this into Mini No-Bake Cheesecakes by pressing the crust mixture into a muffin tin that’s well greased or lined with paper liners.

Cream Cheese mixture in mixing bowl with whisk attachment for No-Bake Cheesecake

There are so many ways to serve this No-Bake Cheesecake! Enjoy the light and creamy sweet vanilla cheesecake plain or add some of the amazing topping ideas we have below. If you are feeling adventurous, or just to give this cheesecake extra pizazz, check out the variations section for flavor ideas. Let us know what other flavors you come up with too!

SOME DELICIOUS TOPPING IDEAS:

Toppings for No Bake Cheesecake

  • Chocolate: Cover the entire top of the cheesecake once it’s set with Chocolate Ganache. You can also add chocolate shavings, chocolate sauce drizzle, or dust with sweetened cocoa powder.
  • Fruit: Fruit and creamy cheesecake are the perfect pair. Spread an even layer of homemade fresh fruit toppings like Strawberry Topping on top after the cheesecake is set. You can also use fresh berries or chopped fruit.
  • Sweet Cream: A sweet cream like Cool Whip or Whipped Cream is an easy topping to serve on a No-Bake Cheesecake. You can serve with a dollop on top of a single slice, or spread a thin layer of creamy topping over the whole cheesecake.

No-Bake Cheesecake filling mixture spreading onto crust in pan

VARIATIONS ON NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

  • Mix-Ins: Gently stir in up to ½ cup mix-ins like chocolate chips, crushed candy canes, rainbow sprinkles, M&Ms, peanut butter chips, or chopped peanut butter cups. Add dollops of chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, or Caramel Sauce and swirl with a knife before the filling sets.
  • Cookie Crust: Instead of graham crackers, you can use 12-14 crushed Oreos (with or without filling), Shortbread Cookies, animal crackers, vanilla wafers, or gingersnap cookies.
  • Substitutions: For a tangy cream cheese filling, replace ½ cup heavy cream with 1/3-½ cup sour cream. For a fluffier, sweeter cheesecake, use 1 tub Cool Whip and 1 cup heavy cream. Swap the regular granulated sugar with powdered sugar for maximum sweetness.
  • No-Bake White Chocolate Cheesecake: Melt 1 cup white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second bursts until melted and smooth. Fold melted chocolate into cheesecake filling mixture. Add ½ cup fresh raspberries to the filling for White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake.
  • No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake: Add in 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest with the lemon juice. Once set, spread a thin layer of Lemon Curd over the top and garnish with candied lemon slices.
  • No-Bake Cheesecake Bars: Double the graham cracker crust mixture and press into a greased 13×9 baking dish. Prepare cheesecake filling as usual and spread evenly over crust. Set for at least 5 hours and cut up into bars.

No-Bake Cheesecake sliced with fresh strawberry garnish on plate with fork

MORE CHEESECAKE DESSERTS:

HOW TO STORE NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

  • Serve: Allow No-Bake Cheesecake to refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours, preferably overnight, to fully set. Keep at room temperature for up to 2 hours before returning to the refrigerator to store.
  • Store: Cover No-Bake Cheesecake tightly with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container. Refrigerate No Bake Cheesecake for up to 1 week without toppings and up to 3 days with toppings.
  • Freeze: Once filling is completely set, wrap No-Bake Cheesecake tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze cheesecake up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

No-Bake Cheesecake sliced with fresh strawberry garnish

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Dinner, then Dessert

No-Bake Cheesecake

No-Bake Cheesecake is an easy light, fluffy cheesecake made with cream cheese, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. No Jello and no baking!
Yield 10 servings
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
No-Bake Cheesecake on plate with strawberry
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

Graham Cracker Crust:

  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar , packed
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter , melted

Cheesecake Filling:

  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream , very cold
  • 24 ounces cream cheese , softened
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions

Graham Cracker Crust:

  • Spray a 9 inch springform pan with baking spray.
  • Mix the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar sugar and melted butter and press into the bottom of springform pan and 1 inch up the sides.

Cheesecake Filling

  • Add heavy cream to your stand mixer on low speed, raising it to a higher and higher speed and beat until stiff peaks form, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Remove the whipped cream from the bowl and set aside.
  • To your stand mixer add the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • On the lowest speed add in the whipped cream until just evenly combined.
  • Spoon mixture over crust, spread evenly.
  • Refrigerate, covered, overnight. The longer it refrigerates, the firmer it will be.

Nutrition

Calories: 445kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 398mg | Potassium: 180mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 1234IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 1mg

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Easy No-Bake Cheesecake collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Do you think pulverized freeze dried raspberries could be mixed in for a change from the lemon? Or would it not be silky?

    Reply