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The combination of a buttery graham cracker crust, creamy filling, and cherry topping creates a delicious balance of flavors and textures that make this easy No Bake Cherry Cheesecake a true crowd-pleaser!
I love a traditional cherry cheesecake, but it’s one of those desserts that simply takes time!! This no bake cherry cheesecake recipe is easy enough for weeknight meals but decadent enough for special occasions and any family gathering! Even better, it has just 5 simple ingredients and comes together in a jiffy!
Ingredients Needed
- Graham Cracker Crust – A store-bought graham cracker crust is a great option if you’re short on time OR you can make your own (see below for details).
- Cream Cheese – I recommend using full-fat cream cheese for this recipe. You can use the fat-free cream cheese, but it might not set up quite as well. Also, be sure to have the cream cheese set out at room temperature for awhile so its softened.
- Powdered Sugar
- Whipped Topping – aka a tub of Cool Whip.
- Cherry Pie Filling – A can of cherry pie filling from the store is great! If you have homemade pie filling, you could use that as well.
Is No Bake Cheesecake as good as Traditional Cheesecake?
In my opinion, it’s not necessarily better or worse, it’s just different. If you’re going for the easiest cheesecake recipe, no bake is where it’s at! It doesn’t take much time at all to whip up and is super delicious. A traditional cheesecake is more dense and richer in flavor.
How to Make No Bake Cherry Cheesecake
The Graham Cracker Crust
If you’re using a pre-made graham cracker crust, don’t worry about this first part. To make a homemade crust, add 9 graham cracker sheets in a food processor and pulverize until they’re fine crumbs. It’ll make about 1 1/3 cups of graham cracker crumbs.
Add 1/3 cup of sugar, 6 tablespoons melted butter and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and mix until well-combined. Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate and set aside.
Cream Cheese Filling
It’s really important to start with softened cream cheese so you don’t have lumps in your cheesecake. Once it’s soft, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. I find it easiest to use a stand mixer or a mixing bowl and hand mixer. Then fold in the whipped topping with a rubber spatula and carefully spread over the crust.
Topping
Spoon the cherry filling over the cream cheese mixture and spread into an even layer.
Pro Tip! To quickly bring cream cheese to room temperature, keep it in the foil and submerge it in a container of warm water for 10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! You certainly can, however there are many other options. Try using a pie plate (works great if you buy a store-bought pie crust), a square baking dish or a tart pan. You could even make these into 12 mini cheesecakes.
Cover the no bake cherry cheesecake dish with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container and refrigerate. This dessert will last in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If your cheesecake didn’t seem to set up, you likely didn’t refrigerate it long enough. The creamy cheesecake filling will take a few hours to really set up and slice easily.
If you double the recipe, it’ll fit great in a 9 by 13-inch pan.
Absolutely!!! One thing I love about this no bake cheesecake recipe is that it is so versatile. Top with other fruit pie fillings (blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, peach) or mix it up and do an Oreo crust with cherries on top for a Black Forest no bake cheesecake!
Other Easy Dessert Recipes You’ll Love
- Cheesecake Brownies
- Cherry Dump Cake
- No Bake Oreo Pie
- No Bake Peanut Butter Pie
- Cherry Cheesecake Cookies
No Bake Cherry Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 graham cracker pie crust (can make homemade, see notes below)
- 1 8-ounce block cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 8-ounce tub whipped topping
- 1 21-ounce can cherry pie filling
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.1 8-ounce block cream cheese, 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- Add the whipped topping and mix until well combined.1 8-ounce tub whipped topping
- Spoon into the graham cracker crust and spread to an even layer.1 graham cracker pie crust
- Spoon the cherry pie filling on top and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.1 21-ounce can cherry pie filling
Notes
- To make a homemade crust, add 9 graham cracker sheets in a food processor and pulverize until they’re fine crumbs. It’ll make about 1 1/3 cups of graham cracker crumbs. Add 1/3 cup of sugar, 6 tablespoons melted butter and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and mix until well-combined. Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate and set aside.
- Feel free to use a homemade cherry pie filling in place of the canned version, if desired.
- Try topping with different pie fillings such as blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, peach, etc.
Hi Kelsey, I mixed my very soft cream cheese with the (defrosted) cool whip using a spoon. The cream cheese ended up as small individual bits (like soft mini chips) in the cool whip – not incorporated. Obviously not what I wanted. My family ate it, bless their hearts. On a positive note, I can tell that your blueberry topping recipe would be great on top of my baked cheesecake.
Wow Lindy, from the sound of your review, I certainly hope your family’s hearts are blessed because they’re going to need it living with someone as passive aggressive as you!! What a blankety blank blank you are!
Sincerely,
Jenny
Love your reply! Perfection 😉
Wow 😮😮😮
Wow- why would you attack her review and personally attack her? Good grief…it’s her opinion and doesn’t seem to be your website…move on.
For the record, this is Kelsey (owner of Dance Around the Kitchen) and that response didn’t come from me. I try to keep things positive and upbeat around here, but everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. Though it saddens me when people don’t enjoy my recipes, I think reviews can be helpful for others so I leave them! 🙂 Personally, I really really enjoy this recipe or it wouldn’t be one my site! 🙂
If your cream cheese “ended up as small individual bits (like soft mini chips) in the cool whip – not incorporated”, it has nothing to do with the recipe. Your cream cheese must have been previously frozen, as this is exactly what happens to it whether in a recipe or as a sandwich spread. Freezing changes the structure of the cream cheese leaving it grainy with an unappealing appearance and taste.
If you didn’t freeze it yourself, perhaps the store where you bought it had frozen it at some point.
So easy to make and it really is good.
This recipe is definitely delicious
So glad you like it, Martha!!! ~Kelsey
It is the best cheesecake recipe I have found
1- it’s so damn simple
2-And it’s not as rich as one with eggs and condensed milk
3-I have made one like this for years,I used reg. sugar I’m anxious to try the powered sugar!
4-Loved your response to the nasty comment!You go girl I like you already! 😊😲😵💫👍
Yesssss!!! I love a GOOD simple dessert! I think we’ll get along alright! haha…thanks for being here and trusting me with my recipes! 🙂
Made this for the 1st time this xmas (2024). I lost my recipes in a fire awhile ago, and this recipe was the closest match to mine. Needless to say, this was a hit with my family. This recipe will be going into my go-to file 🤩
Aww I’m so happy to hear this was a close match to yours and that your family loved it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a rating & review! 🙂 ~Kelsey
Hi Lindy,
While I’m sure your baked cheesecake is lovely, (Mine is too!) some folks with busy lives may not have the time to invest in baking one. Also, some folks just prefer the taste and texture of a light, fluffy no-bake, compared to the rich, dense baked cheesecake. To each their own. I love both! My partner’s birthday is next week and he loves cherry cheesecake. Thank goodness he actually prefers the no-bake, as I’m at a conference next week. I can whip this one up in under a half hour, so YAYYY!!
As for your lumps, in case you ever want to try this recipe again, I find it beneficial to mix my softened cream cheese and sugar with the beaters first. Careful not to over-mix it, but get it to a whipped consistency. Then you should be able to mix that with the whipped cream, using a spatula. Then you should have a nice smooth mixture.
It would be great to have the amounts of each ingredient!!
Hi Linda – they’re all listed in the recipe card at the bottom. I hope that helps! ~Kelsey
Very easy, light, not too sweet summer dessert. Mine set up in 2 hours. Everyone loved it. Thanks for sharing.
So happy to hear, Kelli!
I’ve been making this exact same recipe for several years. It is SO easy, quick and so good! I just want to add that there’s a real advantage to using a store-brand pre-made frozen graham cracker crust. For under $3.00 it costs no more than the separate ingredients to make one. Also, the store-bought crust comes with a plastic cover for the pie which is great for keeping it in the fridge (It comes inverted on the frozen crust to hold the crumbs in place).
As you also suggested, I’ve used this same recipe for other pie flavors, just varying the canned filling. I’ve made blueberry, lemon, key lime. I even turned it into a cherry chocolate pie by adding cocoa powder with a little extra powdered sugar to the cream cheese/cool whip mixture. YUM!
And I can make whatever I want because I’m a single senior citizen with nobody around to nag me about calories, LOL.