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
Bridget
This was super easy to make and tasted so good. Everyone loved it. My only issue was that it essentially melted even if I let it sit out for a few minutes during serving. I could only chill it 5 hours before serving. I wonder if maybe I did something wrong. I topped it with a shell of dark chocolate (melted dark chocolate that I added to the top before chilling) and sprinkled with ghiredeli peppermint bark pieces. Everyone loved it, even if it was messy!
Sam
I’m so glad it was such a hit! This is just a guess, but by chance was the cream only whipped to soft peaks rather than full peaks (or contrarily could they have been over-whipped?)? This would account for the melty-ness as the stiff peaks are what help the cheesecake keep its shape.
Denise Flores
I probably looked at 10 no bake recipes but settled on this one because of the sour cream and whipping cream.
I used half splenda and powdered sugar because my husband is a diabetic and I Plan to top with my blueberry preserves.
The test bite I took was heavenly!
This will definitely be my go to recipe.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear it was such a hit!! Thank you for choosing my recipe and for commenting and letting me know how it turned out for you, Denise! I appreciate it ๐
Lynda
All I have is Cool Whip Iโm thinking about using it but I know there will be repercussions tell me what they are
Sam
Hi, Lynda. You can use cool whip, however, it will be sweeter and will have the cool whip taste to it.
Donna
Easy and delicious. Expensive to make but worth it!!๐๐
Sam
So glad you enjoyed, Donna! ๐
Esther Simmons
Can I use regular sugar instead of powdered sugar? I am out of powdered sugar
Sam
Hi, Esther. I don’t recommend that substitution.
Leann DeRemer
By far the best cheesecake recipe that I’ve tried. I made 3 of them for my coworkers and they loved it!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cheesecake, Leann! ๐
B Dixon
I love cheesecake but I always had someone make them for me but today I ventured off and made my own. Will taste first thing in the morning! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Sam
I think you are going to love it! ๐
Brooklyn
Excellent recipe! It is the one I used to make until learning that gluten is not for me. Therefore, I use crushed rice and chocolate rice chex and add crushed nuts such as almonds, pecans, and walnuts as my crust. It comes out just as well. What a delight it is to have with your morning coffee – a great way to start your day!
Sam
Thank you so much for sharing your substitutions, Brooklyn! So glad to hear you enjoy the recipe ๐
Kate
I made this last summer and it was delicious. I made a graham cracker crust but spread the crumbs out on a cookie sheet to bake loose (gives better flavor than unbaked) and then spooned them into wine glasses, with the cheese cake on top. Then I layered on homemade lemon or lime curd and topped that with fresh berries. They were gorgeous, and you couldn’t have done it with a baked cheesecake! Although plain is just dandy too! Now I’m thinking to make a bunch of minis for either Christmas or the neighborhood solstice party. You could change out the bottoms with chocolate or spice cookies, and then top with caramel sauce or chocolate ganache as well. You couldn’t freeze the curd but the ganache could freeze. So versatile!
You’re right of course, must be homemade whipped cream. Thanks so much for this, it’s a keeper.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Kate! They all sound like great ideas, I may have to try some myself. ๐
Hope Sexton
I’ve never made a cheesecake before this,was the best everyones ever had 20 ppl for turkey day they thought i got it from the NY cheesecake bakery lol thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Sam
In my opinion it’s ALWAYS better when you make it yourself. I am so glad everyone enjoyed it! โบ๏ธ
Kacy
I am a cheesecake fanatic and this recipe definitely hits the spot! I did use the store bought extra 2 servings graham cracker pie crust and it fit perfect. I also drizzled some Ghirardelli caramel on top as I served it. Will definitely be making again. Thanks for the recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Kacy! โบ๏ธ
Debbie
The homemade crust was amazing! So glad I took the time to make. I thought the filling was good, but I’m thinking 1.5 hours to thaw the cream was not enough. I should have microwaved it. My son thought the filling tasted too cream cheesy. I thought it was good, but will add a topping for the rest and try again. I just think I didn’t get it mixed enough.
Also, was the springform pan supposed to be sprayed or buttered. Maybe that is a given, but didn’t because I was afraid it might affect the taste. It was impossible to slice without it breaking apart. Still tasted great! Will make again!
Sam
You should not have to grease your springform pan before using. I am not sure what you mean when you say you can’t slice it without it breaking apart?
Misty
I just made this. it is cooling in the freezer right now. Happy Thanksgiving.
Sam
I hope everyone loves it!๐
Danielle
I hate websites that lie I love you!!!!!!๐๐๐๐
Debra Flores
Licked the spatula and fell in love!! I am excited to eat in tomorrow! Will be thanksgiving. Planning on adding a pumpkin spice glaze and chopped pecans for a cruch with this one!
Sam
YUM, the additions sound amazing! So glad you like the cheesecake! Happy Thanksgiving, Debra!