No Bake Cherry Cheesecakes
No bake cherry cheesecakes are creamy miniature desserts made with a cream cheese filling, no bake graham cracker crust and topped with sweet cherry pie filling.
We love no-bake desserts. Classics like this simple no bake cherry cheesecake, haystack cookies, no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, and frozen strawberry pie make it easy to whip up dessert without heating up the kitchen.
A good cheesecake can take a long time to bake and you have to worry about cracking, overcooking, or the center sinking.
This no bake version gives you all of the flavor without all of the work. Instead, all you need to do is mix up the filling and crust and then pop them in the fridge for a few hours.
Once they are set, you have yourself the perfect summer dessert!
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Ingredients You’ll Need
When you are ready to make this recipe, you’ll need:
- Graham cracker crumbs – You can use your favorite brand. We use plain crackers and recommend avoiding the cinnamon flavored ones.
- Granulated sugar – This adds some additional sweetness to the crust.
- Unsalted butter – This is used to help the crust come together.
- Cream cheese – The “cheese” in cheesecake, cream cheese gives the cake the flavor you expect when you order this famous dessert.
- Sweetened condensed milk – This no bake cherry cheesecake uses sweetened condensed milk to sweeten it and make it extra creamy.
- Real lemon juice – We freshly squeeze lemons when we make the recipe, but you could use bottled as long as it is 100% juice.
- Vanilla extract – We use real extract, but imitation could work in a pinch.
- Cherry pie filling – You add this at the end before serving.
Instructions
We made this no bake cherry cheesecake recipe as 4 mini cheesecakes but you can make it in one large pie dish as well.
Step 1 – Make the crust. In a large bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Next, pour the melted butter into the mixture and use a fork to stir everything together until well combined.
Divide the crust mixture evenly between the 4 mini pie tins. Press the crumbs firmly into the tin and up the sides to create the crust. As you push them in, try to avoid holes or cracks in the crust.
Finally, place the pie tins in the freezer for 10 minutes to help them set.
Want to save some time? You can also use one large premade graham cracker crust or 4 premade mini graham cracker crusts. Even less effort needed!
Step 2 – Make the filling. As the crusts set in the freezer, make the cheesecake filling by combining the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
You’ll want to beat the mixture with a hand mixer on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until the filling is completely smooth with no lumps.
Step 3 – Fill the pies. Next, remove the crusts from the freezer and pour the cheesecake filling into the crusts.
Once each is filled, place the pie tins on a baking sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Try to avoid any bubbles between the plastic and top of the cheesecake.
Step 4 – Chill and serve. Place the filled tins in the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. This allows them to set or thicken.
When ready to serve, remove the tins from the refrigerator, take off the plastic wrap, and top each cheesecake with 5 ounces or healthy scoop of cherry pie filling.
Serve immediately with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or with coffee.
What does lemon juice do to cheesecake?
Lemon juice serves a few functions in cheesecake.
One is to help balance out the flavors. The citrus helps to reduce the cheesy flavor and gives the cheesecake a bit of a lighter taste.
Lemon juice also helps to thicken the cream cheese. This helps give the cake the thick, creamy texture that you are used to eating in a cheesecake.
How to Make it Ahead of Time
When you make this ahead, you’ll need to store it in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap pressed to the top of the cake to keep air from reaching it. If you don’t cover the top, it can form a skin on top, which no one likes!
When you are ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and add the cherry topping before serving. You can then smother it in whipped cream or serve alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Looking for More No Bake Desserts?
- No Bake Red White and Blue Cake
- No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Tart
- No Bake Lemon Meringue Dip
- No Bake Strawberry Summer Cake
- Easy Pumpkin Pie Dip
- Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Bananas
- Banana Cream Cheesecake Dip
- More dessert recipes…
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No Bake Cherry Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1.25 cups Graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup Granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons Unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake:
- 8 ounces Cream cheese
- 14 ounces Sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup Real lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 20 ounces Cherry pie filling
Instructions
Crust:
- In a large bowl mix together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar.
- Pour the melted butter into the mixture and use a fork to stir everything together until well combined.
- Divide the crust mixture evenly between the 4 mini pie tins. Press the crumbs firmly into the tin and up the sides to create the crust.
- Place the pie tins in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Cheesecake:
- While the crusts are in the freezer make your cheesecake filling by combining the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
- Beat with a hand mixer on high speed for 2 -3 minutes until the filling is completely smooth with no lumps.
- Remove the crusts from the freezer and pour the cheesecake filling into the crusts.
- Place the pie tins on a baking sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
- Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Remove from the refrigerator, take off the plastic wrap and top each cheesecake with 5 ounces of cherry pie filling.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Want to save some time? You can also use one large premade graham cracker crust or 4 premade mini graham cracker crusts. Even less effort needed!
Nutrition
OMG. IT IS THE BEST RECIPE I WILL KEEP MAKING IT I WILL MAKE IT FOR MY CHILDREN MY GRANDCHILDREN I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY THAT HAS TRIED THIS RECIPE IT’S THE BEST I WOULD USE IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN ON MY GRANDKIDS I CAN’T WAIT.
So happy you liked it!
Does the lemon juice help thicken the milk and cream cheese?
Yes the lemon juice and the sweetened condensed milk react together to thicken the mixture.