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, 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!
Let’s bake together! I’ll 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
- ⅓ cup (75 g) sour cream
- 1 ½ 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.⅓ 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 ½ 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
Shannon Foraker
I made this for my family. They loved it. 2nd time i cut up some strawberry added to strawberry syrup heated on stove let it cool and added to the top of each slice. My husband loves strawberry cheesecake. I also didnt make my own crust just bought keebler gram crust. Thank you so much.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Shannon! 🙂
Zoie Penick
Hi Sam! My sister and I made this recipe for our family. We all loved it! We served it with homemade whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Thanks for the recipe Sam!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Zoie! 🙂
NATALIE RODRIGUEZ
This was delicious!
Debbie
Can you add a strawberry purée to make it a strawberry cheesecake?
Sam
Hi Debbie! Honestly I can’t say without having tried it. You may be able to swirl a little bit on top, but I would be worried about introducing more water.
Katrina Sosnowski
What can I use instead of whipping cream to make this dairy free? I have a good brand of vegan cream cheese that should work.
Sam
Hi Katrina! I am not familiar with vegan alternatives but I know some people have had success with whipping full-fat coconut milk. I am hoping that someone else can chime in with a suggestion, though!
Katrina Sosnowski
I originally asked what to use instead of whipping cream and the answer is coconut cream. I made this with plant based cream cheese and plant based sour cream and I whipped up a can of coconut cream to use instead of heavy cream and it came out great! It didn’t firm up as much as a regular cheesecake it’s more like a wonderfully thick cream pie and it is delicious! The coconut cream did not add any coconut flavor as far as I can tell. I will make this again. I added a can can of cherry pie filling to the top after it set up and it was a hit for my husbands birthday!
Sam
Wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing what worked for you, Katrina! <3
Hilary Setright
You can whip the liquid from cans of chickpeas to make “whipped cream”. check it out on Google. Not sure how to stabilize it though. hope this helps
Serena
Hi Katrina!
When making whipped coconut cream here’s a few tips…
Place the can in the fridge overnight, use only the hardened cream, not the liquid the liquid.
It’s best kept in a glass jar, and if you let it sit overnight (again!) In the fridge you should be able to scoop it onto the cheesecake, or whip again quickly and pipe it on!
Julie Dunn
Katrina, I JUST made this for Thanksgiving and did not have heavy whipping cream and the store was closed so I used Cool Whip, which is dairy free, and I just added a little extra powdered sugar, maybe a 2-3 TB to make sure it wouldn’t make it too thin, and it worked perfectly. It might work fine without the extra powdered sugar too. I don’t know, but I will try it without it next time I make it.
Side note: This recipe really is a phenomenal no-bake cheesecake recipe! It really does taste just like real cheesecake. I like no-bake recipes because I don’t usually have hours and hours to dedicate to one dessert, but have always hated that they don’t taste like actual cheesecake, so I have to think of them as a totally different dessert, but this one is perfetto
Julie Dunn
Hi, Katrina, I originally commented that Cool Whip is dairy-free, but just read that is was changed in 2018 because it contains skim milk and sodium caseinate which is from milk, so depending on your reasoning for wanting it dairy free, this may not be an option after all. If you are specifically wanting it for vegan reasons, then it obviously would not work, but if it is lactose related, then maybe the Great Value brand would still be an option. It does not have the skim milk in it, but it does still contain the sodium caseinate. I hope this was helpful, to you, or maybe someone else.
Cecile
I made your no-bake cheesecake today and it was delicious. Can’t decide which one I like best, the baked one or the no-bake one. I also made you blueberry sauce to go with it. Perfect combo!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Cecile! They are both great options. 🙂
Andrew
Hi, I’m going to try making this myself. Quick question — is the cheesecake mixture firm enough to be piped into the crust versus spread? I’m thinking about piping my cheesecake into the crust in concentric circles, just as an added design element.
Sam
Hi Andrew! The batter would probably work itself back together and not hold its shape. I like the idea, but I’m not sure it will turn out quite as you hope. 🙁
Catherine
Am I able to cut this recipe in half?
Sam
Sure thing! 🙂
Julie Dunn
You CAN, but it might make it harder to read. 😉 jk.
sonia baumann
Can orange juice be used instead of lemon juice??
Sam
Hi Sonia! It will give it a little bit different flavor but it will work. Alternatively you can just leave the lemon juice out. 🙂
Carol
Can I use sugar free strawberry gelatin?
Sam
Hi Carol! You could probably add it in with all of the other ingredients, but I haven’t tried it.
Yaretzi
Hi Sam! I’m trying to do the filling, I have everything, but do u have any suggestions for a replicate of Graham Crackers?
Thanks!
Sam
Some people have had success with digestive biscuits instead, or you can always use an oreo crust instead. 🙂
Dorothy
Could you make this into a chocolate cheesecake? My husband loves this recipe and keeps asking to make a chocolate one. I’d use a graham cracker crust, but make the filling chocolate.
Sam
Hi Dorothy! I’d recommend trying my chocolate icebox pie, it’s essentially a chocolate version of this recipe. Enjoy! 🙂
Pam
Would this work for a filling in a layer cake?
Sam
Hi Pam! This cheesecake is probably going to be a little soft to use as a filling. I would recommend my cream cheese frosting instead. 🙂
Pattie
Hi Pam,
I use this as a layer in my 6in cakes. I just make it without the crust. 3 layers from this recipe. It’s perfect!
Tina
I used a glass pie dish for this dish and made the graham cracker crust, but it came out very hard. Any suggestions?
Sam
Hi Tina! The crust should be firm. 🙂
Tom
Hello
I made two of these cheesecakes and served them to 25 people for desert at a retirement home and everyone loved it.
Easily the best cheesecake I have every made.
Thanks Tom
Sam
That is so awesome! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Tom! 🙂