Jump to Recipe

Easy no-bake cheesecake recipe that is incredibly light and airy and so much easier to make than traditional cheesecake. Heavy whipping cream is whipped into cream cheese to create a silky smooth and light filling.

Easy No-Bake Cheesecake on a cake stand topped with peanut butter cups and shaved chocolate

Overview

A no-bake cheesecake is the fastest way to enjoy that luscious creamy flavor of a cheesecake when you don’t have the patience to make a traditional cheesecake. A traditional cheesecake (like my favorite New York style cheesecake) has a more dense velvety texture while my no-bake cheesecake is more light and airy.

A no-bake cheesecake is essentially whipped cream folded into whipped cream cheese creating a silky smooth filling.

How to Flavor a No-Bake Cheesecake

This cheesecake recipe can be used as a base for many different flavors. For this one I decided to go with a chocolate graham cracker crust with a peanut butter cup filling. But you could do any flavor of crust like a vanilla wafer or traditional graham cracker crust. You could even do a plain filling and top it with cherry topping or strawberry sauce.

Add my No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake to your Thanksgiving dessert table!

Left side: slice of cheesecake on plate, right side: upclose view of peanut butter cup and shaved chocolate toppign

What is the texture of a no-bake cheesecake?

My husband thinks he may like this version better than the traditional cheesecake. It is just so much lighter and less dense than a baked cheesecake. It is almost the texture of whipped cream but with a cheesecake flavor.

The other awesome part about a no-bake cheesecake is a springform pan is not required because we aren’t baking it. I used mine because it looks nice unmolded but a pie plate would work well for this too!

Easy No-Bake Cheesecake with a slice taken out on a cake stand topped with peanut butter cups and shaved chocolate

MORE RECIPES FROM BAKER BETTIE!

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might like to try another creamy cheesecake recipes.

Easy No-Bake Cheesecake on a cake stand topped with peanut butter cups and shaved chocolate
Yield: 10-12 Servings

Easy No-Bake Cheesecake

Prep Time 30 minutes
Chilling Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes

A cheesecake recipe that is incredibly light and airy and so much easier to make than traditional cheesecake. Heavy whipping cream is whipped into cream cheese to create a silky smooth and light filling.

Ingredients

For the Crust

  • 200 grams (7 ounces, about 2 cups once made into crumbs) crisp cookies of choice (chocolate graham crackers- what I used here, graham crackers, vanilla wafers, chocolate sandwich cookies, etc.)
  • 50 grams (¼ cup) granulated sugar
  • 113 grams (½ cup, 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling

  • 470 grams (2 cups, 480 milliliters) heavy cream, very cold
  • 452 grams (2 cups, 16 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 80 grams (⅔ cup) powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups chopped candies of choice (peanut butter cups- what I used here, chocolate sandwich cookies, snickers, chocolate chips, etc.)

For the topping

  • chocolate shavings (optional- what I used here)

Instructions

For the Crust

  1. Place the cookies (200 grams/ 7 ounces) into a food processor and pulse until you have cookie crumbs. Alternatively, you can place them in a zip top bag and use a rolling pin to roll back and forth over the cookies until they are crumbs. Pour the crumbs into a medium bowl. 
  2. Stir in the granulated sugar (50 grams/ ¼ cup) and the melted butter (113 grams/ ½ cup) until all of the crumbs are completely coated with butter.
  3. Firmly press the cookie crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch (23 cm) springform pan or pie plate. The bottom of a glass or a measuring cup can be helpful to press the crumbs into an even layer.
  4. Place it in the refrigerator for about at least 10 minutes to firm up before filling.

For the Filling

  1. Place the cold heavy cream (470 grams/ 2 cups) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer. Begin whipping on medium speed until stiff peaks are formed. Set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl using a hand mixer, whip the room temperature cream cheese (452 grams, 2 cups) until soft and light. Add the powdered sugar (80 grams, ⅔ cup) and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) and whip together until combined.
  3. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture using a rubber spatula.
  4. Fold in the chopped candies (2 cups) if using.
  5. Pour the filling into the springform pan or pie plate and smooth out with a rubber spatula. Top with more chopped candies and chocolate shavings if using.
  6. Chill for at least 3 hours and up to overnight before un-molding and slicing.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

© Baker Bettie
Category: All Recipes