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This No Bake Turtle Cheesecake has a chocolate cookie crust, creamy filling swirled with caramel, a chocolate topping and pecans for garnish. It’s a stunning, decadent treat everyone loves!!
Why I Love This Cheesecake
- No baking, no fancy springform pan, and no water bath!
- It’s a great recipe to whip up on a hot day since you don’t have to turn the oven on!
- If you love the flavor profile of “turtle,” this will not disappoint! Find all my “turtle” recipes here!
Ingredients Needed
- Oreo Cookies – You can use graham crackers in place of the Oreos if you’d like. See notes in the recipe card below on how to make it a graham cracker crust.
- Butter – Salted or unsalted butter is fine.
- Caramel Bits – Grocery stores typically have these in the baking aisle.
- Heavy Cream – You’ll need this for the caramel sauce and the chocolate ganache.
- Cream Cheese – I do recommend using full-fat cream cheese for this recipe to keep the texture thick! Make sure it’s at room temperature so it mixes easily.
- Sugar
- Sour Cream – I recommend full-fat sour cream for this recipe.
- Lemon Juice – Fresh or bottled is fine.
- Vanilla Extract
- Whipped Topping – Such as Cool Whip.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate – You can use chocolate chips or a chocolate bar.
- Pecans – These are completely optional! If you like pecans on your cheesecake, go for it!
How to Make No Bake Turtle Cheesecake
Though this cheesecake does take quite a few steps, the end result is worth every single minute!!!
Make the Oreo Cookie Crust
You’ll start by processing the Oreo cookies in a food processor. Once you’ve got small crumbs, you’ll add the melted butter.
Press the chocolate crust into the bottom and sides of a pie plate. You can use the back of a spoon, your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup to press it down.
Make the Caramel Sauce
To make the caramel sauce, you’ll add the caramel bits and heavy cream to a microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave until smooth and let cool a bit while you mix up the cream cheese layer.
Make the Cheesecake Filling
For this part, I find it easiest to use a hand mixer with a large bowl or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
Start by mixing the cream cheese alone until it’s smooth then add the sugar, sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla.
Stir in the whipped topping and stir until fully incorporated.
Spoon about half of the mixture (no need to measure – it doesn’t need to be exact!) into the crust.
Drizzle about 1/3 cup of the caramel sauce on top. Spoon the remaining cheesecake filling into the pie plate and spread to a nice even layer.
Make the Chocolate Ganache
In order to make a really nice, shiny chocolate ganache, you’ll want to use a high quality chocolate bar or chocolate chips.
The secret to great ganache is also in how it’s melted. Heat the cream in a microwave-safe bowl and then add the chocolate.
Cover with plastic wrap for a few minutes (don’t stir yet!) to give the chocolate time to melt. Then stir until smooth and spread the melted chocolate over the cheesecake.
Lastly, it’s SUPER important that you give the cheesecake time to chill so it sets up really nicely. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours (overnight is best!).
How Should I Garnish the Cheesecake?
You can garnish the whole cheesecake or let everyone garnish each slice as they wish! I like to add a dollop of whipped topping to each slice and then drizzle with extra caramel and pecans!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes!! To make it in a springform pan (which is deeper than a standard pie plate), you’ll want to 1 1/2 times all parts of the recipe except for the ganache topping. For example, for the caramel, you’d use 1 1/2 cups caramel bits and 3 tablespoons cream.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
I don’t recommend freezing the cheesecake as it’ll affect its texture.
Other Cheesecake Recipes I Love
No Bake Turtle Cheesecake
Equipment
- pie plate
- Food Processor
Ingredients
Oreo Crust
- 24 Oreo cookies
- 5 tablespoons butter
Caramel
- 1 cup caramel bits
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Cheesecake Mixture
- Two 8 ounce blocks cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- One 8 ounce tub whipped topping
Chocolate Ganache Topping
- 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped or good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Garnishes
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- whipped topping and additional caramel sauce optional
Instructions
Make the Crust
- Add the Oreo cookies to a food processor and pulverize until they're fine crumbs.
- Add the melted butter and mix until well combined.
- Dump the cookie mixture into a pie plate and press into the bottom and sides of the pan. Set aside.
Make the Caramel Sauce
- In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the caramel bits and heavy cream.
- Microwave on high in 30 second increments until melted and stirred smooth; set aside.
Make the Cheesecake Filling
- Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until smooth.
- Add the sugar, sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the whipped topping and fold in with a rubber spatula until incorporated.
- Spoon half of the mixture into the pie crust and spread to an even layer.
- Drizzle about 1/3 cup of the caramel over top.
- Spoon the remaining cheesecake filling over the caramel and spread to an even layer.
Make the Chocolate Ganache
- Add the heavy cream to a microwave safe bowl and heat until very hot but not boiling.
- Add the chocolate (do not stir), cover with plastic wrap and let set for 3 minutes.
- Whisk the chocolate mixture until smooth then pour over the cheesecake.
- Top with pecans then refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Garnish with remaining caramel sauce, whipped topping and pecan halves, if desired.
