This No-Bake Cheesecake is an elegant, crowd-pleasing summer dessert. From the crust to the velvety whipped cheesecake center, this is 100% a NO-BAKE dessert. The Strawberry Sauce takes this dessert to the next level so don’t skip it.
If you love no-bake desserts like Chocolate Lasagna or our Berry Trifle, you’ll love this No-Bake Cheesecake.
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No-Bake Cheesecake Video
Watch Natasha make this Easy No-Cook Cheesecake Recipe. We love the decadence and texture of a Classic Cheesecake, but this no-bake cheesecake is equally dreamy and truly easy.
Mascarpone cheese elevates the flavor and texture of this easy no-bake cheesecake and it doesn’t get any easier. The double strawberry topping is lip-smacking good and you will want the strawberry sauce on all of your desserts.
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The Best No-Bake Cheesecake
On a trip to Maui, we visited a fancy restaurant named Monkey Pod. The food was awesome but the best thing was the slice of strawberry cream pie we shared at the end of our meal. It was tall, gorgeous, silky as can be, and $10 a slice! I asked the waitress about it (of course I did) and she said they mixed mascarpone with whipped cream so I set out to experiment.
Their original cheesecake pie had a baked pie crust which I tested, but I couldn’t resist using this no-bake crust. It was crazy easy, just as good, and it makes this a true no-bake dessert. Most graham cracker crusts are pre-baked but the amount of butter here holds the crust together so baking is not necessary at all.
Ingredients
We tested these proportions over and over until we got the perfect no-bake cheesecake consistency. It is easy to slice, whipped, airy, rich, and decadent.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs – You can buy these pre-crushed or crush your own crackers
- Butter – moistens the crumbs and keeps them set in the pan
- Cream Cheese – provides a classic cheesecake flavor
- Sugar – we use granulated sugar to add just the right amount of sweetness
- Heavy whipping cream – be sure to use HEAVY cream for the correct fat content or the cheesecake won’t set properly.
- Mascarpone – This is a key ingredient. It stabilizes the whipped cream and makes this cheesecake taste like a $10 slice at a fancy restaurant.
- Lemon Juice – Make sure to use FRESH lemon juice. It cuts the sweetness and balances the cake.
Pro Tip: Be sure to have your ingredients at the proper temperatures. Keep heavy cream and mascarpone chilled in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them. You’ll want to soften the cream cheese for 1 1/2 hours at room temperature so you don’t get lumps in your creamy cheesecake.
Tools you will need
- A 9″ springform pan with 3-inch walls works best for this recipe
- Parchment paper – we found that adding a round of parchment paper to the bottom of the springform makes it easier to slide and transfer the cake out of the springform mold once it’s set.
The Best Cookies for a Crumb Crust
A variety of sweet crunchy cookies can be used for a crumb crust and each will give a different flavor profile. We used graham crackers because we usually have them on hand, but these will all work:
- Graham Crackers
- Biscoff Cookies
- Vanilla Wafers
- Chocolate Oreo Cookies (cream removed)
Pro Tip: To crush the crackers, put them into a zip bag, remove excess air, and crush with a rolling pin. You can also pulse them in a food processor until fine crumbs form then follow the instructions in the print-friendly recipe below.
How to Make No-Bake Cheesecake
We love no-bake cheesecakes especially in summer when we don’t have to heat up the oven, but they are great year-round. The best part is, it can make them ahead and even frozen (see instructions below).
- Combine Crushed Crackers with sugar and melted butter then press into a 9″ springform pan then chill.
- Beat together cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
- Beat heavy whipping cream in a separate bowl then fold in the mascarpone.
- Fold cream cheese mixture into mascarpone mixture then fold in lemon juice 1 Tbsp at a time.
- Spread the cheesecake filling over the crust. Cover and refrigerate until set.
Make-Ahead Tip: This no-bake cheesecake (the crust, filling, and syrup) can be made for up to 3 days, covered, and stored in the refrigerator. It’s perfect for easy entertaining.
Can I substitute mascarpone?
Just like with a tiramisu, the mascarpone helps the cream set up properly into a thick and sliceable cheesecake. It not only adds flavor but acts as a stabilizer so I don’t recommend substituting it.
Can you Freeze a No-Bake Cheesecake?
This is a make-ahead dessert and freezes well. Just be sure to let it set in the refrigerator before freezing. I prefer to keep it in the springform pan for freezing.
- To Freeze: Wrap with several layers of plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 3 months.
- To Thaw: set in the refrigerator overnight and it will taste just as good as fresh no-bake cheesecake. We also love it partially frozen because it tastes like an ice cream cake.
Cheesecake Toppings
A great topping is a great way to finish off a cheesecake and keep things exciting with new flavors. These are our go-to cheesecake toppings:
- Fresh Cherry Sauce – tastes like cherry pie filling
- Strawberry Sauce – great over pancakes too
- Caramel Sauce – so easy to make with pantry staples
- Fresh Berries – we love adding seasonal berries
- Stone Fruit – slice up nectarines, plums, or apricots
- Blueberry Sauce – try our No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake
Have you ever tried making a no-bake cheesecake? It’s so easy and good, it might just spoil you forever. Also, I’d love to hear about your favorite summer dessert in the comments below.
More Summer Desserts
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
- Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Tres Leches Cake
- Classic Tiramisu
- Strawberries Romanoff
No-Bake Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, (from 12 whole crackers)
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, 1 stick
Ingredients for No Bake Cheesecake:
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled
- 12 oz mascarpone cheese, chilled
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Strawberry Topping:
- 8 oz Strawberries, thinly sliced
- 1 Strawberry Sauce Recipe, strained and chilled
Instructions
Prep:
- Make the Strawberry Sauce Recipe and strain through a sieve, pushing on the solids with a spatula to get as much syrup as possible. Set aside to cool to room temperature or cover and refrigerate if making ahead of time. The strained strawberry sauce will keep 3-4 days.
How to Make No Bake Cheesecake:
- In the bowl of a food processor, coarsely break up graham crackers then pulse into fine crumbs. Transfer crumbs to a bowl, add 1 Tbsp sugar and 8 Tbsp melted butter. Stir to evenly moisten crumbs. Line a 9-inch round springform pan with a round of parchment paper and press crumbs into the bottom of the pan going 1/2" up the sides. Freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate 30 minutes for crumbs to set.
- In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, add 8 oz cream cheese and 2/3 cup granulated sugar and beat on medium/high speed for 3 minutes until fluffy and smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, using a clean electric hand mixer, beat 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form (3-5 minutes on high speed). Reduce speed to medium/low and beat in 12 oz mascarpone until well combined and smooth.
- Use a spatula to fold cream cheese into whipped mascarpone mixture until well blended. Fold in 2 Tbsp lemon juice, adding 1 Tbsp at a time and folding until well incorporated.
- Transfer cheesecake filling over the chilled crust and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight until completely chilled. Just before serving, arrange sliced strawberries in rings over the top and brush with the strained strawberry sauce. Serve extra strawberry sauce over each slice.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
This cake is tasty and easy to make. I am 12 years old and I made this cake with my younger cousin.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me :). I’m all smiles!
This recipe is awesome! Don’t change a thing. Love your recipes and videos.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Karen!! Thank you!
Hi! This cheesecake looks so good! I really want to make it taller, if I double it but still use 9in pan, will it be fine? Also is it firm enough to do a mirror glaze on top? Thanks!
Hi Mariya, you would need a really tall pan for that. This one fills our up nearly to the top.
Hi Natasha! how do i adjust the recipe if i use 6 inch round pan? Thank youuuu!
For a six inch it may be better to use two? Otherwise, it will be a very tall cake. But if you experiment I would love to know how it turns out!
Just made strawberry cheesecake and it was delicious BUT my crust was stuck on bottom of my springback pan. How can I avoid this next time.
Love your recipes. Great fan from Australia.
It could possibly be due to changing proportions of crumbs to butter? If there is more butter or not enough that could cause that. Was your springform nonstick? I hope that helps to troubleshoot the issue 🙂
Can I freeze it for 2 hours instead of putting it in the refrigerator for 4? I don’t have much time and was wondering if that will ruin it or not. Thanks!
Hi Karol, I honestly haven’t tested it that way so I could only guess. I wish I could help with that question.
Hi Natasha
I only have an 8oz mascarpone will that change the taste drastically?
Hi Michelle, I would replace the rest with cream cheese. It won’t be very drastic – should still work well.
I haven’t been able to find mascarpone cheese. I would like to try this recipe. Help!!
Hi Tonya, this recipe was developed for mascarpone but if I were experimenting without it, I would probably use 2 pkgs of cream cheese and slightly more heavy cream – maybe 1 1/2 cups?
Do you know where I could find mascarpone? If I can’t find it, I will try what you suggested. Thank you for your help. Love your recipes!!
We found some at our local grocery store. I recommend calling around local stores to see who carries that
I found a recipe on line to make mascarpone it sound quite easy, I can’t wait to try this recipe.
That’s so great! I hope you love it!
I think this recipe looks fantastic and takes away the stress of wondering if the cheesecake will crack/set. However, I was wondering if this recipe would work for mini cheesecakes in a muffin tin as well? Thanks!
I think that could work Kate. I haven’t tried that but would love to know how you like it if you experiment! Here are some mini cheesecakes we recently created.
Awesome recipe! I made it for a work potluck and it got rave reviews. Any tips on how to make a chocolate version of this cheesecake?
Hi Heid! I have not tried making this one chocolate but I imagine it can be done! I would love to know how you like it if you experiment!
Hello! What brand of cream cheese do you use? I’m from the UK and we only have ‘Philadelphia soft white cheese’ which is the closest. I’ve tried this recipe and it tastes amazing however, I don’t get the fluffy mousse like consistency :(. I’m using heavy cream and beating well. I think it’s down to the ‘soft cheese’ but no cream cheese anywhere in the UK. Thank you
For this recipe we used Raskas Cream Cheese from Costco. A bulk food store. Regular Philadelphia cream cheese will work also. Not sure the ‘soft cheese’ is the same thing.
I made it yesterday and was very upset when I noticed the mascarpone didn’t blend very well with the already beaten heavy whipping cream. I was wondering why and kept mixing hoping it would start to look like yours when combining both ingredients. But after a while the mixture started to curdle producing water. I knew something was not right. I was left with the last several ounces of the second mascarpone cheese package and when I tried all over again without beating the whipped cream so much it came together like your video. Sadly it didn’t set well after 4 hours after cutting but still a bit firm to enjoy. We all enjoyed it and my family was still impressed regardless of the not setting all the way.
I’m glad that worked out for you Teresa! For the first batch, do you recall if anything was altered in the recipe?
Hi Natasha! I want to try this recipe but I wanted to know if I can substitute the lemon juice for sour cream. If so, how much?
Hi Aleksandra. This recipe doesn’t call for sour-cream but I honestly haven’t tried that. The acidity in the lemon cuts the sweetness and balances the cake.If you try that I would love to know how you like that.
So glad I read the comments before making this. The heavy whipping cream really is the most important part. I hand-beat the heavy whipping cream and went until it was a nice, thick whipped-cream consistency. By the time I folded in the mascarpone, then the cream cheese and sugar mixture I could tell it was thick enough already to be a cheesecake. It’s chilling now, but based on how good the mixture tasted as well as how yummy the strawberry sauce is, I’m confident that my boyfriend is going to love this as his birthday cake! Thanks, Natasha!!!
You’re so welcome Deborah! Thank you for sharing this with us!
I made this cheesecake this weekend for a birthday and we loved it! We liked that is wasn’t too sweet. I followed your recipe and didn’t have any problems. It looked beautiful! I’m going to make it again with cherries. Thank you
I’m so happy you loved the cheesecake recipe! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂 If you share a picture online somewhere, I hope you tag me #natashaskitchen so I can see it! 🙂
Sadly mine didnt turn out like yours 😢 i followed the recipe, left it over night thinking it would br nice and firm the next day but it didnt, still looks gooooy and the cheese falls apart upon cutting. I even put it in the freezer hoping it would firm up the cheese but no. Did i do something wrong? Help!
Hi Juli! did you use HEAVY whipping cream and beat until it was stiff and fluffy? Try beating a little longer and it should still set up in the refrigerator.
Will give it a try, thank you for your speedy reply 👍😊
You’re welcome!
Thank you so much for a light yet yummy cheesecake. Usually I find them too rich to enjoy a proper slice. Yours is just right with perfect sweetness. Mine was not quite firm while cutting and someone said I should have put little bit of gelatine to make it firm. Would like your opinion o need gelatine. My measurements were not perfect as the scale battery’s died and i had to estimate.
I’m assuming its due to the measurements ours came out pretty sturdy. Also, did you use HEAVY whipping cream and beat until it was stiff and fluffy? Try beating a little longer and it should still set up in the refrigerator.
Hi Natasha,
I want to make this cake for my boyfriends birthday but I will be gone for a week before. Do you think the cake could stay good for 5 days???
Hi Abby! I don’t know that it will last 5 days in the fridge, ours never lasted that long to try. I haven’t tried freezing the no-bake cheesecakes before either. Typically cheesecakes do really well in the freezer for a couple of months. Since this is a fluffy no-bake version the texture might not be the same post freezer but if you try freezing this we’d love to hear your feedback!
I made this cheesecake for a potluck and received rave reviews……did have one small problem….the graham cracker base was difficult to cut through making it difficult to serve as a slice…..any suggestions to make serving easier?
Hi Virginia! It may be due to compacting the crust too much or it could possibly be due to changing proportions of crumbs to butter? If there is more butter, it can become overly firm. I hope that helps to troubleshoot the issue 🙂
Hi I have the 16 oz mascarpone cheese… how much is 12 oz in cups… will I be able to measure it like that?
Hello Natasha, I was making this cheesecake today as instructed and my filling and cream combined didn’t came out thick, it came out thin.so I was wondering am I doing something wrong? I hope to heat frkm U soon.Thank u so much Natasha!😊
Hi Luda. Did you make sure to use HEAVY whipping cream which has a higher fat content than regular “whipping cream”? Using a regular whipping cream might cause that if everything else was done per the recipe without substitutions. I hope that helps!
I’m usually a huge fan of your desserts so maybe the bar is set unfairly high but the amount of marscapone in this left an aftertaste I didn’t enjoy.
I do think I’ll try making this again but would reduce the marscapone by about half.
Hi Veronika, mascarpone is usually super mild in flavor compared to cream cheese and normally it lightens the flavor and I haven’t noticed an after taste. What brand of mascarpone did you use?
I just made this and it turned out very nice.Taking it to an outing at my church tomorrow for lunch.The filling is D Licious,I added a bit more sugar.:)MM-Good!Thanks!!
Thank you for sharing this with me Judith! I love that you are sharing this at your church! Enjoy!