The BEST No Bake Cheesecake Recipe
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This is THE BEST NO BAKE CHEESECAKE RECIPE EVER! It’s got a thick graham cracker crust and an easy no-bake cheesecake filling. Everyone loves this easy no bake cheesecake recipe!
Can you believe it’s mid-may already? Summer is almost here! Memorial Day, 4th of July…I love it all. What I don’t love about summer is the heat that comes to Sacramento, which is why I’ll be making a ton of no-bake recipes over the coming months. But…you guys are okay with that because you love no-bake recipes!
And this recipe is the BEST No Bake Cheesecake Recipe I’ve ever had. I mean sure, I love no bake Oreo Cheesecake and even lemon, but this super simple, plain, easy cheesecake recipe? My favorite. It goes down sooooo easy. Plus, it’s pretty.
Mother’s Day
We’ve got a lot going on this month: Mother’s Day today, then next weekend I’m hosting 15 bloggers at my house to talk about blogging and making videos. 3 of them are staying with me, which means I actually have to, you know, clean. And make room for them. And grocery shop.
Dealing with all that makes me want CHEESECAKE bad. I had to re-home this cheesecake recipe as soon as it was done because it’s a trigger for me. If not, I would have just taken it to the couch with a fork and gone to town.
There’s something so good about a classic cheesecake recipe, right? No frills, no extra flavors, just graham cracker crust and creamy filling.
The BEST No Bake Cheesecake Recipe
Growing up, I was raised on box mix cheesecake. You know the one? It came with two pouches; one for the crust and one for the filling. It came together like pudding mix but it was cheesecake. I loved that cheesecake! Of course, it was “fake” cheesecake, so anything real tastes better. But I still have fond memories of that no bake dessert my mom would make for any holiday or occasion.
The best no bake cheesecake tastes way better than a box mix, but it still reminds me of it. Probably because of the thick and sweet graham cracker crust and the sweet and creamy filling. I’ve always ever made no bake cheesecakes using cream cheese and cool whip, but for this one I went with an old standard recipe: cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. That stuff is like God’s nectar and makes EVERYTHING better.
If you don’t have a springform pan you can use a 10″ or deep dish pie plate, but a springform pan is much easier.
A TIP for making the best no bake cheesecake recipe:
- Make sure that your cream cheese is room temperature to avoid lumps.
Beat it until it’s silky smooth and once you add the vanilla and lemon juice, it becomes so creamy! The lemon juice is just to brighten the flavor, so don’t think it tastes like lemon – it doesn’t.
I like my classic cheesecakes plain or with fresh fruit. You can also top this with so many things!
Easy cheesecake topping ideas for the best no bake cheesecake:
- cherry pie filling – try Erin’s homemade cherry pie filling!
- whipped cream
- chocolate ganache – Oh, Becca has a recipe for making chocolate ganache without heavy cream!
- chocolate sauce
- peanut butter sauce
- blueberry lemon dessert sauce.
Really, use whatever you like, but I think the best no bake cheesecake is SO pretty just with fresh berries.
Also, if you use strawberries and blueberries it’s perfect dessert recipe for Memorial Day BBQs, 4th of July parties, or even Thanksgiving!
Tools to make this recipe:
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The BEST No Bake Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 3 cups graham cracker crumbs about 18 sheets
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 11 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter melted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt only if using unsalted butter
Filling:
- 16 ounces cream cheese 2 8-ounce blocks, room temperature (do not use low-fat)
- 14 ounces 1 can sweetened condensed milk (regular, not low fat)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- Berries or pie filling for topping
Instructions
- Place graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl and stir using a fork. The mixture will resemble wet sand. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-10” springform pan. Chill at least 10 minutes before filling.
- Beat cream cheese until smooth using a hand or a stand mixer. Add sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix until smooth and no lumps remain. Pour into prepared crust. Chill at least 4 hours before serving so the mixture can set.
- Top with berries or your favorite pie filling. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cheesecake can be made 1 day in advance, but don’t top it until ready to serve. It can also be frozen.
Check out all my cheesecake recipes and my no-bake recipes for more inspiration or try one of these:
No Bake Lemon Cheesecake – an easy lemon pie that’s also a cheesecake!
Oatmeal Scotchie Cheesecake Bars – the perfect combination of oatmeal cookie, butterscotch, and cheesecake!
Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake – like peanut butter ice cream but better!
More no bake desserts from friends:
No Bake Brownie Cheesecake by A Dash of Sanity
Neapolitan No Bake Cheesecake by Grandbaby Cakes
No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits by 15 Spatulas
**Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!**
SOLD! Anything no-bake is a winner in my book, but particularly cheesecake. Love the nice, thick crust.
Can you believe it’s mid-may already? Summer is almost here! Memorial Day, 4th of July <—- No I can't! And I have not made one singular red, white, blue recipe or anything even close. I posted sweet potato muffins this week, how's that for seasonal LOL
Your cheesecake looks amazing, love that it's no bake, and I cannot wait to see you!!!!!!! 🙂
Looks very yummy. I like the red, white, and blue theme. Hope you have a great week with your friends.
This Best no bake cheesecake recipe is the one I’ve been making for over 10yrs it is the best, everyone just loves it!
I can’t wait to try all these recipes…
Cheesecakes are my favorite, the easer the better.
It’s so pretty and I love how thick the crust is! Have s great weekend with your guests!
:0)
My MIL loves no-bake cheesecake! I need to put this on my to-make list for her. 🙂
I love no-bake recipes <3 It's summer and cheesecake is perfect for any occasion. Bookmarked this recipe and I will definitely try it this weekend. Thank you for the recipe!
I halved the liquid in this recipe, and the cake still didn’t set after 6 hours in the fridge. Taste was ok. Very disappointed.
I have made this 3 times and it is perfect every time!!!
Was excited to try to this recipe. Followed instructions exactly and cheesecake never set. Was still liquid after all day and tasted more like yogurt. Disappointing 🙁
I’m sorry that happened. Did you use the amount of lemon juice called for? The SCM needs the lemon juice to help it set.
I made this today to take to work tomorrow.. it never set up 😟
Awesome
Easy and delicious
Woowww. So easy and simple! I want to make for my family gathering. So thank youu.
Pretty darn good dessert. Couldn’t be easier.
People that good thing, that wonderful cheesecake, so I always go on this site, because there are always tasty myth novelties, I always recommend to my friends I have already made several recipes from here and always went very well, they made the biggest success here. Like so much.
Terrible recipe! I made this recipe and followed it to a tee. Incredibly runny. Embarrassed to have had to serve this to my guests. Waste of expensive ingredients!
I’d cut out lemon juice..jmo
In case it did not set, mix a tablespoon of gelatine with hot water. Stir toll completely dissolve, then add to the cheese batter.
Totally delcios. Made it for my daughter’s birthday. It was a huge hit. Will make it again soon.
Ours turned out runny, after sitting in fridge for more than 7 hours. Taste great but more like pudding in a bowl with Gramcrackers.
Daddy appreciated the attempt, Happy Birthday to him 🙂
I love this No Bake
3-1/2 ingredient Cheese Cake..
It’s my new go to recipe when asked to”bring something”too.
quick and delish
Just had my Culinary I class make this recipe. The ease of following instructions and just added chopped pecans to the crust. They are loving every bite!!!!
Made this to a tee per directions. It did not setup, was wiggley. Not pleased with results. A waste of time and money.
This is so easy and delicious. I was in a rush so I bought a pre-made graham cracker crust. I doubled the recipe and used the juice of one large juice lemon and I did 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla instead of 2 because I was worried about it being too liquidy like some other reviewers mentioned. Now that I’ve made it, however I believe it would have been just fine if I’d followed the recipe exactly. Mine set up great and I could already tell it was going to set up fine when I was done putting it in the pie tins. Don’t expect the texture to be like actual cheesecake, this is more like a cheesecake cream pie (you have to cook a real cheesecake…), so maybe that’s what those reviewers meant. Other reasons it might not set would include using a very low quality or low fat cream cheese or sweetened-condensed milk. Or perhaps using lemon concentrate instead of fresh. Anyway, I loved it, it was great.
I’ve made this cheesecake, no lie, like 20 times this year!! It’s the tastiest, easiest and yummiest dessert and everyone loves it. I really love the recipes on this website and I try to make everything once but this one is the best!
just made your cheese cake you say it can be frozen but how long?
I have made this 3 times and it is perfect every time!!!
This is amazing recipe. I want to keep this recipe in my vault.
Loved this recipe. Quick and easy!
Wow! Delish looking. I wana replace the sugar in the crust with brown sugar. And use vanilla bean paste instead of extract. This is gona be yummy for my tummy. * I’m the only one eating it! Thanks Dorothy.
I made it but it didn’t set and I followed it to the letter.
I promised a co-worker a birthday cheesecake and forgot about it until the night before. I just happened to have all of the ingredients already, so I was up by 6:20 this morning. It was in the fridge by 6:45. SO FAST, and SO easy!
I make this often. At first i also had a problem with it setting. I substitute the vanilla exact with one box of vanilla pudding. Problem solved! And the taste is still very good!