My easy, No-Bake Cheesecake is made no gelatin or condensed milk and tastes JUST like the classic version you’re used to! This recipe needs only a few hours to chill before slicing and serving. Includes a how-to video!
No-Bake Cheesecake (Without Gelatin)
As a self-proclaimed cheesecake snob, I know how disappointing it can be to make a no-bake cheesecake recipe and have it not even closely resemble real-deal, classic cheesecake. With most recipes, you encounter one of two problems: either the texture is lacking (soft, pudding-like) or the flavor is just completely off. So, when I set out to make my no-bake cheesecake, I knew exactly what I needed to avoid just as much as I knew what I was looking for!
My no-bake cheesecake recipe creates a classic, fresh-tasting, firm cheesecake without ever turning on the oven. While many no-bake cheesecakes use gelatin or condensed milk for stabilization, I use homemade whipped cream for the best flavor and texture (and don’t even think about substituting Cool Whip!).
This cheesecake sets up very nicely in the fridge after a few hours (preferably overnight) and has that same, firm cheesecake texture and taste that you’re familiar with–NO oven needed! You’re going to love it!
Why my recipe works:
- Whipped cream creates a sturdy base without the need for gelatin.
- Uses the same ingredients as classic cheesecake (minus the eggs) for that classic flavor.
- Much easier and less fussy than a baked cheesecake–great for beginners!
- Can handle toppings like fresh fruit, pie filling, or a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
What You Need
For an authentic-tasting cheesecake, we want to stay as true as possible to classic ingredients. That means using:
- Cream cheese. Make sure you use brick-style, full-fat cream cheese. This should be softened to room temperature.
- Sour cream. Sour cream is CRITICAL for a rich, classic,ย real cheesecake flavor. Maybe this is just my cheesecake snobbery showing here, but a cheesecake made without sour cream is not a cheesecake! Sour cream packs a ton of flavor and adds depth and authenticity to this no-bake cheesecake recipe. If you don’t have or can’t find sour cream, full-fat, plain greek yogurt will also work in a pinch.
- Lemon juice. Just a splash enhances the cheesecake flavor and adds a slight tang. Bottled or fresh lemon juice will work here. This can be left out if needed.
- Sugar. I love using brown sugar in my graham cracker crust for an extra note of flavor. Powdered sugar in the filling blends beautifully while also encouraging a firm, fully-set texture.
- Heavy cream. While not typical for traditional cheesecake (though critical for my basque cheesecake), heavy cream is essential for this no-bake cheesecake. We’ll be whipping this to stiff peaks and folding it into our cheesecake mixture. This creates stability without the need for gelatin or condensed milk!
SAM’S TIP: This recipe will make too much filling for a store-bought graham cracker crust. If you want to use one, you can just pour the extra filling that doesn’t fit in a bowl, chill, and enjoy crustless!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make No-Bake Cheesecake
For the Crust
- Start with your homemade graham cracker crust: Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until well-combined and mixture resembles damp sand.
- Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a springform pan, then place in the refrigerator to chill (no baking needed for the crust, either!).
For the Filling
- Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks (thickened, fluffy, voluminous, resembling Cool Whip only tastier).
- In a separate bowl, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and sour cream until smooth.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until completely combined and batter is smooth.
- Evenly spread the cheesecake filling into your prepared graham cracker crust and chill for several hours before slicing and serving.
SAM’S TIP: Since we’re not baking this cheesecake, it won’t be smoothing itself out in the oven. You can smooth the top of your cheesecake with an offset spatula before chilling for a pretty appearance if you’d like!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can absolutely freeze no-bake cheesecake! I recommend chilling as instructed (in the recipe below) first and then covering the cheesecake well with plastic wrap before freezing. I don’t recommend adding any decorative whipped cream topping (or any topping) until you are ready to serve, as it will make storing more difficult (and messier!).
You can eat the frozen cheesecake straight from frozen or return it to the refrigerator to allow it to thaw before enjoying.
Personally, we can never get this cheesecake to last longer than 48 hours in our house! If you have more self-control, your cheesecake will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Be sure to either store it in an airtight container or tightly wrap the springform pan in plastic wrap when storing.
If you used the wrong kind of cream cheese or didn’t whip your cream long enough, your cheesecake may not set. Make sure to use full-fat brick-style cream cheese and not the spreadable kind that comes in a tub. If you need a visual of what cream whipped to stiff peaks looks like, check out the video below.
No-bake cheesecake would also be delicious on my Oreo crust!
Enjoy!
Letโs bake together! Iโll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
The Best No-Bake Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 9″ or 10″ graham cracker crust prepared in springform pan (please click link for graham cracker crust recipe)
- 16 oz (450 g) cream cheese softened to room temperature (use brick-style cream cheese, not the spreadable kind sold in tubs)
- 1 cup (150 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- โ cup (75 g) sour cream
- 1 ยฝ cup (355 ml) heavy cream
- Additional whipped cream for topping, optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Place cream cheese in a large bowl and, using an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy.16 oz (450 g) cream cheese
- Add powdered sugar and stir until combined.1 cup (150 g) powdered sugar
- Stir in vanilla extract and lemon juice, pausing to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Add sour cream and stir well.โ cup (75 g) sour cream
- Pour heavy cream into a separate, medium-sized bowl (preferably a chilled metal bowl). Whisk on high speed (preferably using an electric mixer) until stiff peaks are achieved.1 ยฝ cup (355 ml) heavy cream
- Fold your whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until smooth and well-combined.
- Spread cheesecake mixture evenly over prepared graham cracker crust.1 9″ or 10″ graham cracker crust
- Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Top with additional whipped cream before cutting and serving, if desired.Additional whipped cream
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This recipe was originally posted 06/05/2017, recipe remains the same but post has been updated to be more helpful September 2022
Monica
In a 10 inch springpan should I increase the recipe?
Sam
Hi Monica! There is no need for adjustments to make it in a 10 inch pan. ๐
Monica
Thank you very much! I made this before and my brother loved it for his birthday, my whole family did! My older brother asked for the same one except bigger! Lol. So thats why I got the 10 inch pan! Thank you so much for getting back to me!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! ๐
Hina
Keen to try this out but i just have an 8 inch springform. Will the ingredients work for 8 inch or do they need to be reduced?
Sam
Hi Hina! Reducing it could be tricky because the proportions would be a little off. I would just make the recipe as is and just don’t overfill the pan. ๐
Minnie
Hi! How can I transfer my no-bake cheesecake from springform pan into a cake board easily without breaking? What should I use? Thanks! ๐
Sam
Hi Minnie! It’s definitely going to be a delicate task. Typically if I need to move it off of the spring form pan I will take a large spatula and loosen the entire bottom of the cheesecake then use that large spatula, or two, to help slide it off the pan. It helps if you have an extra set of hands, but even then it can still break so just be really really careful. ๐
Lori
Can I use food coloring to the cheesecake?
Sam
Hi Lori! That should work just fine. ๐
Stacey
I made your recipe and the cheesecake was amazing the only thing I did different was I add cherries to the top. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Stacey! Thank you for commenting! ๐
Ria Maep
Hi, I’m just wondering if it’s okay to use non dairy whipping cream?
Sam
Unfortunately I have never used non-dairy whipping cream. If it works like regular whipping cream does then it should work here but I can’t say for sure. Let me know how it goes if you try it. ๐
Elizabeth
I did use brick style cream cheese, it was in the fridge overnight, and I think I whipped it pretty well. I don’t really know what went wrong but ill try it again cuz my whole family loved it! Thanks for the advise, ill pay close attention to that next time. Thank you!!! ๐
Lemonz
The cheesecake will be awesome! UwU THANKS!!
Sam
I hope you love it! ๐
Wolf_Supporter
Thank you for everything you do! i am going to make SO many recipes! This is my first and (going to be my) best recipe I will ever make!
Sam
Thank you for using my recipes, it means a lot to me! So glad you enjoyed the recipe so much! ๐
Elizabeth
Hi! I made this recipe and it was DELICIOUS, but it wasnโt stiff at all. it literally looked like it was a melted cheesecake, haha! i followed the recipe exactly. Do u know what might have caused this?Thanks.
Sam
I’m so glad it tasted good! So there are a few things that could cause this:
1) Was the heavy cream whipped completely to stiff peaks? This is super important for the texture, see my video if you haven’t already ๐
2) Did you use brick-style cream cheese? Spreadable type of cream cheese sold in a tub can result in a runny filling.
3) Was it chilled long enough and kept cold? Heat is the biggest enemy to this recipe!
I hope that helps but am happy to help troubleshoot further if needed! <3
Deborah Wood
This recipe is awesome! It’s so easy to make and everyone loves it!
My daughter has celiac disease and this recipe can easily be made gluten free. The cheesecake already is. By using gluten free graham crackers for the crust, you have a wonderful gluten free dessert! Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Deborah! ๐
Erin
Hi Sam!
I made this cheesecake and the taste was amazing!!! But my cheesecake doesn’t stand up on a plate like yours does. In the pan, it holds it’s shape. but when i cut a piece and put it on a plate, it kind of slouches over a bit, as if it didn’t quite set 100%.
I whipped the heavy cream to stiff peaks (but I whipped it in a plastic bowl). I also gently folded it in until well combined with a spatula (I didn’t mix it again with the beaters because the directions just said fold in). My kitchen was fairly hot..
How can I get my cheesecake to hold it’s shape better? Should I freeze it? Any tips would be awesome.
Sam
Hi Erin! I’m so sorry this happened! Make sure it has set in the refrigerator long enough. If you are using the brick style cream cheese, then my only other thought is the heat here. You could freeze it to get it to hold up longer. ๐
Wanda
Can you uses a gramcracker already made
Sam
Hi Wanda! You can but this recipe will make more batter than you will need so just don’t overflow your crust. ๐
Anna
Do I have to use storebought lemon juice or can I juice lemons and use that? I don’t want to buy a whole thing of lemond juice just for two teaspoons
Sam
Hi Anna! You can use fresh squeezed lemon juice here. ๐
Ken
Iโve made this recipe before and absolutely loved it!! I want to make it again now, but donโt have the whipping cream. Do you think it will still set right without it? What might that do to the consistency?
Sam
Hi Ken! Unfortunately the heavy cream really provides the stability for this cheesecake and helps it set up, without it you could have a pretty messy cheesecake on your hands. ๐