This is my favorite recipe for no-bake cheesecake. It’s simple and quick to make and holds its shape well.
Writing my last post about my favorite kitchen products brought back memories from my days as a novice baker. Before having a “real” oven, I used a tiny toaster oven for any baked goods, believing that there wasn’t much of a difference between the two. While theoretically you could bake a cake in a toaster oven, judging by my own cakes back then, I would have to say that it probably isn’t the best idea. The fact that some did turn out delicious still remains a mystery to me.
Before the toaster oven, I had no oven at all, but that still didn’t stop me from making cakes because, if I want a cake, I will get a cake ASAP. So I made no-bake cheesecake (and chocolate salami) over and over and over again, though it wasn’t nearly as good as the one I’m sharing with you today.
This cheesecake is tall with a creamy mousse-like consistency, and it holds its shape well after refrigeration. It’s rich but not heavy, and it tastes absolutely amazing.
If you want the cake to be more stable, you can add gelatin. It’s optional, but once you learn how to use it, it becomes simple and quick. First, sprinkle 12g gelatin over ⅓ cup cold water and let it sit for a few minutes to soften. Then gently heat it in the microwave for just a few seconds until melted. Allow it to cool slightly before adding it to the cream cheese mixture – just before folding in the whipped cream – to prevent it from melting the cheese. That’s all there is to it! You can read more about gelatin in my panna cotta post.
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No-bake cheesecake goes perfectly with many different toppings. Some of my favorites include berry sauce, fresh fruit, fruit puree, cherry pie filling, caramel or salted caramel sauce, dark or white chocolate ganache, lemon curd, or grated chocolate.
This cake is a great make-ahead dessert because it freezes well. I can make it even a week in advance if I have tight schedule, then thaw it in the fridge the night before I want to serve it. If you choose to add a topping, add it the same day you serve the cake.
The recipe was updated in 2019 (instant vanilla pudding mix was removed from the recipe).
More delicious No-Bake Cheesecake Recipes
No-Bake Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups (200g) graham cracker or digestive biscuit crumbs (to make crumbs, pulse in a food processor or blender until finely ground)
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 7 tablespoons (100g) unsalted butter , melted
Cake:
- 24 ounces (680g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (180g) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- zest from one small lemon, optional
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream
- berry sauce or topping of choice (see post for more suggestions)
Instructions
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Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix together crumbs and sugar, then add melted butter and mix until fully combined and crumbs are moistened. Press the mixture very tightly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan using either your fingers or the bottom of a cup to form a crust layer.
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Make the filling: In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a handheld electric mixer), beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add vanilla and lemon zest and juice and beat until combined and smooth. Set aside.
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In another bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or with a handheld electric mixer), whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Using a spatula, gently fold half of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, then fold in the other half.
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Pour filling into the pan and smooth the top. Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or until completely set, before serving. Serve cold. Top with berry sauce, fresh fruit or any other topping you like (read above post for suggestions).
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Cheesecake can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen, wrapped tight, for 2 month. To thaw, place overnight in the fridge.
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
What a great cake, Shiran! I love that it’s no bake and so simple to put together. Also, look at the lovely height you got on that cake…gorgeous! Such a beautiful cheesecake 🙂
Shiran says
You’re so sweet Beeta! Thank you so much!
LAN says
Wow!! Thank you so much. I am looking for the ‘no bake’ cakes. This cheesecake is absolutely delicious. I like your food styling too.
Shiran says
Thank you so much! I’ll make sure to post more no-bake recipes then!
Winnie says
עוגה פשוט מדהימה!!
קלאסית לעוגת גבינה ללא אפייה, ואני שמחה שהיא ללא ג’לטין (בו אני לא משתמשת)
והיא ניראית נהדרתתתתתתתתתתתתת
Shiran says
Thanks Winnie! 🙂
Kaylene @ The Links Site says
Yum this looks wonderful. I love having some emergency cheesecake in the house so it’s great that you can make it ahead and freeze it. I also make a cheesecake then slice it before freezing so that I can lift out just a slice when I get a craving!
Definitely pinning this recipe to try soon!
Shiran says
I do this too! I have cravings all the time though so it doesn’t stay in the freezer for so long 🙂
Anne says
This cheesecake looks amazing!!! Your pictures make me want to make this right now, especially since it’s no bake!!!
Shiran says
Thank you so much Anne 🙂
Kay says
Hi Shiran, I just discovered your blog and I love it! While reading the above recipe you mentioned something called “chocolate salami”. The name has me intrigued. Would you be willing to share this on your blog? If not, I understand. I can not wait to try some of your recipes. Thank you for sharing them with us.
Sincerely
Kay
Shiran says
Hi Kay! What a super sweet comment, thank you so much! 🙂 Chocolate salami is really simple to make! You can google it to see how it looks like. I’ll share my recipe for sure one day, but for now, I hope you enjoy the other recipes!
trish says
Does this hold up well out of the fridge? Wanting to make it for a wedding. Sounds wonderful…Thanks.
Shiran says
Hi Trish! Once the cake reaches room temperature it becomes soft, so it all depends on how long you want to keep it out of the fridge. You can add gelatin if you know how (I mentioned it in my post), but even without it, as long as the cake is still pretty cold, it would hold up well.
Jo says
Hi! Is it possible to omit the lemon juice, zest and the vanilla? Only because I bake very rarely and my vanilla extract always expires before I get to use even half of the bottle 🙁
Shiran says
Instead of using vanilla extract you can use vanilla sugar (substitute some of the sugar in the recipe with 1-3 packages of vanilla sugar), which is sold in small packages and keeps for a long time. You can omit the vanilla if you must, but it does add a great flavor. If possible, I recommend to at least use lemon zest or orange zest, or a fruit/citrus flavored liqueur.
tina says
This looks so good! Thank you for posting. What do you think about using some sour cream in the batter to give it a hint of tartness just like the flavor of a classic new york cheese cake? Should I sub half the amount of heavy cream for sour cream?
Shiran says
Hi Tina, the cake holds its shape well because of the whipped cream, so I’d start with a smaller amount of sour cream, about 1/2 cup, and if you like the result you can keep adjusting. You can also try to replace some of the cream cheese with sour cream.
sharyn says
Hi what height was the tin you used Shiran? looks amazing!
Shiran says
Hi Sharyn, for cheesecakes I use 3 inch tall pans.
Marie says
Hi
I’m definitely giving this a try!….but what is instant pudding?…is it like a mousse or angel delight type product?
Xx
Shiran says
A common brand for the instant pudding vanilla mix is Jell-O. It’s a powder, and it helps to stabilize the cheesecake. If you know how to work with gelatin, you can use it instead.
Dianna G says
Comments talk about pudding, but it’s not listed in the recipe ingredients?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Dianna, sorry for the delayed reply! This recipe used to have pudding mix in it which is why you see comments about it, however I changed the recipe awhile back to make it easier to make and less hassle. I removed the pudding and it tastes just as good!:)
Farah says
Cheeeeesecake in the fridge!! 🙂
I used the filling from this recipe, and the topping and bottom from the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake!! The filling tastes superb like the white choco. cheesecake!!
Thanks a lot Shiran!! Again and again, a great chef! 🙂
Oh, and the ad-hoc brownies turned out great! They were chocolatey, rich, fudgy,.. a bit heavy, but they can’t be delicious without this texture!
Rose says
Hey.. can i use custard powder instead of instant pudding mix for the no bake cheesecake,???
Shiran says
Hi Rose, I’ve never used custard powder so I’m not sure. The pudding mix helps with texture and gives a nice flavor. You can replace it with powdered sugar, and use gelatin. In the post above I mentioned how you can use gelatin.
Shelly Dugan says
I made this for my sons 17th birthday with a blueberry and strawberry sauce..It was a hit!! And I’ve never made cheesecake before .. even my niece who doesn’t like cheesecake was raving. Thank you so much for the recipe..I will be making it again, My sister has already requested it for her birthday in September. lol
Barbara Muller says
Please be more specific about exactly when and how in the process to add the 12g gelatin if you don’t want to use instant pudding mix. Can you please tell me in tsp amounts how much 12 g of gelatin measures out to?
Thanks,
Barbara Muller
Shiran says
Hi Barbara, 12g are 4 teaspoons. Mix the gelatin mixture with the cream cheese at step 2.
Teri Middleton says
Barbara, you can find a conversion table in most cookbooks, you can buy one or look on the internet for specific measurements. Just do a Google search asking how many teaspoons in a gram, or whatever measurement you need to have converging!!
Kimm says
This sounds amazing. I’ve been searching for a no bake cheesecake that has gelatin in it. And I found one. On a comment above someone asked about the gelatin and said to use the gelatin in place of the pudding. That’s not what your saying, right? Use the pudding powder and the gelatin? I’ve only used gelatin once. Do you mix it after it’s heated til the gelatin is dissolved? And what about adding some white chocolate? Would that be good? How much would you use? And if any, add it in last? Sorry for all the questions! I want this to be epic! I’m making it this weekend !!
Shiran says
Hi Kimm, yes, I use both the pudding mix and gelatin. It’s better to mix the gelatin after it’s heated (not before) until dissolved. White chocolate will change the texture of the cake and the recipe will need some adjustments, so I can’t suggest it without testing. Enjoy!
Meredith says
Does the sugar need to be melted in hot water before whisking in the heavy cream?
Shiran says
No, the sugar will dissolve into the cream.
Emily says
Do you think there would be a strong enough banana flavor if I used banana pudding mix? If not, what can I do to get more of a banana taste?
Shiran says
Hi Emily, I don’t know what the result would be if using banana pudding mix, sorry! I haven’t tried this recipe with banana.
Chloe says
If you made a cheesecake and your just adding double cream mixeded with electric whisk and put round top of cheesecake will it melt over night or be ok for few days? Thnx
Dom says
This looks like a cake I had in the markets at Modena that I’ve been trying to find a recipe for. It was tall and I’m pretty sure it had gelatine. I also think it was ricotta rather than cream cheese. Do you think this recipe would work with ricotta instead of cream cheese?
Shiran says
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend it because the texture of ricotta cheese is completely different and cream cheese makes this cheesecake creamy and stable.
Reyna says
I didn’t see I stand pudding as an ingredient for this recipe?
Thank you.
Shiran says
The pudding was removed from the recipe. The recipe was updated and improved a while ago.
Neha says
Hi, I want to seriously make this cheesecake but we are a small family ..so wanted to make a smaller portion…can I use everything half . Once when I tried making a cheesecake I observed that there were lot of bubbles after mixing cream and cream cheese ….what could be the reason…
Shiran says
You can halve the recipe and use a 6-inch pan. The longer you mix the mixture, the more bubbles it would have.
Shamli says
I tried your individual no bake cheese cake recipe and it was a super hit with my kids n me too 😁. I wanted to make 3 layer no bake cheesecake for my son’s bday. How can I make a chocolate version and raspberry version of this recipe? And when can I add the chcolate layer on top of vanilla layer? Thanks!
Jenny Wu says
I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that there was not a single comment which said that the cheesecake filling came out runny! But would it hold up fine without gelatin?
Shiran says
Hi Jenny, naturally this recipe doesn’t hold up well as a baked cheesecake. Although the filling is soft, it does hold up nicely without gelatin. But if you want to make sure it is very stable, you can add gelatin as mentioned in the post above the recipe 🙂
LaLa says
Hi! Can this be topped with a mirror glaze? If so, should the cake be frozen before glazing or just refrigerated?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Lala, you can definitely top this with a mirror glaze – sounds delicious! The cheesecake should be fully set in the refrigerator before doing so, no need to freeze it. Just make sure the glaze isn’t too warm when pouring it on the cake, and put it back in the refrigerator immediately to set afterwards.
LaLa says
Me again! Can this be used to make individual cakes, using baking cups?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Yep, that would work great!