No Bake Cheesecake with Cool Whip
No Bake Cheesecake is prepped in just 20 minutes using ingredients like extra creamy cool whip, powdered sugar, and cream cheese! Provides a dozen thick, fluffy, and creamy slices!
No bake cheesecake recipes like this one, No Bake Nutella Cheesecake Bars, and No Bake Oreo Cheesecake always have a place in my kitchen in the warmer months!
This No Bake Cheesecake Recipe Just Might Change Your Life!
Relax this Summer by making this quick and easy No Bake Cheesecake! Don’t worry; this easy cheesecake recipe doesn’t mean it sacrifices flavor for ease!
This will very well be one of the best cheesecakes you’ve ever tasted! It’s perfectly thick and creamy and has the same mouthwatering cheesecake tang and a classic graham cracker crust!
And you get ALL of that with just 20 minutes of hands-on time! After that, pop it in the fridge, and your work is done – making it a great dessert to make the night before a picnic, cookout, or family get-together!
Why You’ll Enjoy This Cool Whip No Bake Cheesecake
Taste: This simple cheesecake recipe delivers the same great signature tang of a baked cheesecake! I would rather make and eat this one over a traditional New York Style Cheesecake because it’s THAT good!
Texture: Using full-fat ingredients such as sour cream, cool chip, and cream cheese ensures that this cheesecake turns out deliciously thick and creamy! Once chilled, the cheesecake takes on that classic “crumb” sort of texture without the need for an oven or a water bath!
Just like a classic cheesecake, it is made with a graham cracker crust made with honey graham crackers, melted butter, and sugar that adds both flavor and texture to the dish!
No Bake Cheesecake Recipe Ingredients
- Salted butter
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Powdered sugar
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Sour cream
- Lemon juice
- Vanilla extract
- Extra Creamy Cool-Whip
What Is A Substitute For Lemon Juice In No Bake Cheesecake?
You could use any citrus juice, but it’s important to note that it may alter the taste slightly. Since this is a no-bake recipe, I don’t recommend substituting it with vinegar, which is a common substitution for lemon juice.
However, if you don’t have any lemon juice, you can omit it completely without any other changes to the recipe.
How To Make This Cool Whip Cheesecake
Step 1: Prepare the crust by melting the butter and then stirring it with the graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar until evenly moistened.
Step 2: Add the crust mixture to a springform pan and then press it into the bottom and sides of the pan.
Step 3: Cream the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl, then add in the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until fully combined and no lumps remain.
Step 4: Fold in the Cool Whip until fully incorporated, then transfer to the prepared crust and spread it out evenly. Chill for at least 8 hours before slicing and serving.
Best Ways To Serve Cool Whip No Bake Cheesecake
The key to any good, blank cheesecake is delicious toppings! Though this cheesecake is definitely yummy enough to eat plain!
My go-to toppings include whipped cream and homemade strawberry sauce! It’d be fun to serve this cheesecake to a crowd with a fun toppings bar!
This way, everyone can dress their slice up according to their taste buds! Top cheesecake with your favorite toppings. Here are some ideas:
- Chocolate Sauce
- Fresh fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.
- Crushed Oreos and other cookies.
- Slow Cooker Dulce de leche Caramel Sauce
- Canned fruit fillings like cherry pie filling or blueberry!
No Bake Cheesecake Cool Whip Tips And Tricks
- It’s best to use full-fat sour cream, cream cheese, and cool whip in this recipe. Doing so will give you the best thick, creamy texture that a cheesecake has.
- After you pour the cheesecake filling into the crust, be sure to press it down. Sometimes, the filling can become a bit aerated, and you don’t want large bubbles hiding in the cheesecake!
- Since this is a no-bake recipe, it’s important to chill the cheesecake for the full time! This way, the filling sets up to creamy, perfectly chilled perfection!
- For a clean, neat serving, run a chef’s knife under hot water to heat the blade. Then slice, cleaning and heating the blade after each slice for clean and even cuts.
- If you need a quicker recipe, feel free to grab a pre-made graham cracker crust from the store!
- Mix up the overall flavor of this cheesecake by making it with an Oreo crust!
- Add your desired toppings right before serving! That way, if you have leftovers, you can store them in the fridge to freshly top and enjoy another slice later!
- Add graham crackers to a food processor to get them nice and fine, as opposed to crushing them in a bag with a rolling pin. Alternatively, you can use boxed crumbs that are ready to go.
No Bake Cheesecake With Cool Whip Storage
How Long Will Leftovers Of This No Bake Cheesecake Last?
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy them for 4 to 5 days.
Can you Freeze No Bake Cheesecake?
Yes, freezing this no-bake cheesecake is a great option! Once the cheesecake has fully set in the refrigerator, wrap the whole cake in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
How Long Can This Cheesecake Be Left Out At Picnics And BBQs?
It shouldn’t be left out in the heat for too long as it does soften. Once it has softened, slicing and serving become more difficult. Therefore, I’d suggest slicing and serving and then getting it back to the fridge or cooler in a timely manner.
Can I Use Homemade Whipped Cream In This Recipe?
You can substitute the cool whip for homemade whipped cream. However, from my experience, I found the cheesecake didn’t remain as stable for as long.
Is No Bake Cheesecake Better Than Baked Cheesecake?
Whether one is better or not is truly a personal preference. For me, I enjoy no-bake cheesecakes WAY more than baked ones. I like the flavor more, I like the texture more (it’s so fluffy), and I love the ease and simplicity of making them.
You’ll have to wait several hours to cut into either of them, so there’s no advantage either way in that department. But if baking is your preference, I personally think my New York Style Cheesecake is pretty amazing, and I spent months perfecting it!
Why Is My No-Bake Cheesecake Not Thickening?
If made according to this recipe, it should have no problems thickening in the fridge, but you must make sure it has a chance to chill for at least 8 hours before slicing.
Another reason it might not be thickening up is if you used whipped cream instead of Cool Whip or instead of Greek Yogurt or Sour cream, you used a standard yogurt, which isn’t as thick.
Why Is My No-Bake Cheesecake Soggy?
To avoid a soggy crust, make sure you don’t bake it. This is a no-bake recipe from start to finish. We use extra butter in the crust compared to traditional baked cheesecakes, which will firm up and create a firm foundation for the cheesecake filling.
More Cheesecake Recipes You’ll Love!
This No-Bake Cheesecake recipe is sure to be one that you turn to over and over again! These are more of my tried-and-true cheesecake recipes that I love just as much!
- Sopapilla Cheesecake – This Spanish-inspired dessert is made with crescent roll dough!
- Deep-Fried Cheesecake Bites – Crispy yet creamy dessert bites worth indulging in!
- Instant Pot Chocolate Cheesecake – Chocolate lovers will appreciate this rich, delicious dessert!
- Oreo Chocolate Mint Cheesecakes – Mini desserts loaded with sweet, minty flavor!
- Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars – Creamy cheesecake tucked between two chocolate chip cookie layers!
Let’s Connect!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!
Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there, where you can join our recipe challenges!
Cool Whip Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup salted butter melted
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Cheesecake Filling
- 24 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 16 ounces Extra Creamy Cool-Whip thawed
Optional Toppings
Instructions
Crust
- Melt the butter in a medium bowl and add the graham cracker crumbs and ¼ cup of powdered sugar and stir until evenly moistened.½ cup salted butter, 2 cups graham cracker crumbs, ¼ cup powdered sugar
- Transfer the crust mixture to a springform pan and spread out, then use the bottom of a cup to press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan. The mixture does not need to come all the way up the sides. Set the pan aside.
Cheesecake Filling
- Add the cream cheese to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream at medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.24 ounces cream cheese
- Add the powdered sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract and mix at low speed until the sugar is incorporated then increase the speed to high and whip for 1 minute. Scraping down the sides as needed so everything is evenly combined and there are no lumps.1 cup powdered sugar, ¼ cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Fold in the cool whip with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated. The mixture will be thick and stiff.16 ounces Extra Creamy Cool-Whip
- Spread the filling mixture out in the prepared crust, the filling may come above the crust in the pan, but that's okay. Make sure to really press the filling in since it's a bit aerated and you don't want large bubbles. Just be careful around the edges so you don't pull the crust back into the filling. Smooth out the top and cover with aluminum foil.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours. When ready to slice, run a chef's knife under hot water to heat the blade, then slice. Clean and heat the blade after each slice for clean and even cuts.
Topping
- Top with whipped cream, strawberry sauce, chocolate sauce or your other favorite toppings before serving.Whipped Cream, Strawberry Sauce, Chocolate Sauce
Video
Notes
- I recommend using full-fat cream cheese, sour cream, and cool whip in this recipe. However, low-fat options would also work, it just may not be as creamy.
- Homemade whipped cream can be used in place of cool whip, however, when I used it during testing I found that the cheesecake didn’t stay as stable at room temperature for as long as when made with cool whip. This to me was the main reason I chose to stick with cool whip because no-bake cheesecakes are traditionally a summer dessert and I wanted it to be a bit more heat-friendly.
- Speaking of heat, this cheesecake really should stay out in the heat for too long as it will still soften, and as it softens it becomes hard to slice and move since the crust will also soften when the butter begins to warm up.
- What I love about this recipe is that it has the signature tang of a baked cheesecake and once chilled it has the “crumb” sort of texture that’s thick and creamy. I’d actually rather eat and make this cheesecake than a traditional New York Style.
- You could make this with an Oreo crust.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Made and served tonight at Christmas party; enjoyed by all!
I’ve tried 3 different no bake cheesecake recipes over the past few weeks due to Christmas, and this one by far was the best! My whole family agreed!
I love how stable this one is, and I loved getting to use cool whip instead of having to whip the cream like I did on the other two. Major win! Was so delicious! I added 1/2 tbsp of almond extract to it and OMG – winner recipe! Thank you 🙂
Excellent pie!
I know this will go into my “Fave Recipes” file. I don’t see the size of the springform pan listed? What size should I use?
I use a 9-inch springform pan.
This was so easy to make and it was delicious. Thanks for the recipe I will be making it again.
I’m so glad you loved it, Lori!
Amazing
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Tina!