No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
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This No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake is supremely creamy and made with fresh strawberry jam that is swirled over the top. No gelatin is needed for this decadent summer treat.
No bake strawberry cheesecake has always been one of my favorite desserts. It’s made with a creamy no bake cheesecake base and has fresh strawberry jam swirled throughout the top.
The flavor is light, the cheesecake is creamy, and it’s a dessert you can eat a lot of without feeling heavy.
So many recipes call for gelatin, like my no bake berry cheesecake, but I wanted to give you a fruity no bake treat without gelatin. That’s what inspired the stunning strawberry swirl on top.
The cheesecake comes together quickly but needs time to chill so it can set firm enough to slice. Plan ahead for this.
Once you’ve made this one, head over to try my baked strawberry cheesecake. It has gotten a ton of rave reviews!
Why this recipe works
- The cheesecake base is the creamiest and it isn’t overly sweet. Heavy cream is whipped in to give it a light texture but it also thickens the filling.
- Homemade strawberry jam is swirled through the top of the cheesecake to give it a fresh strawberry flavor without the use of gelatin.
- It’s a no-bake recipe so it’s perfect to make on hot summer days. It can be made a day in advance for added convenience.
No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Ingredients
This is a recipe for strawberry cheesecake without gelatin. Instead of mixing pureed strawberries directly into the batter, I made a homemade jam and swirled it over the top. This eliminates the need for gelatin. Let’s go over the ingredients:
- Butter: Melted unsalted butter is used as “glue” to hold the crust together. It’s also used in the jam to prevent it from foaming as it cooks.
- Graham cracker crumbs: I used the regular honey graham crackers.
- Cream cheese: Use a full-fat brick-style cream cheese for the best results.
- Confectioners’ sugar: It’s finer in texture and will ensure your cheesecake isn’t gritty.
- Vanilla extract: For flavor.
- Lemon juice: Also for flavor. It adds a little extra tang that complements the sweet strawberry jam.
- Salt: Just a pinch to balance the sweetness.
- Heavy whipping cream: Make sure to heavy whipping cream or heavy cream. These have more milk fat than regular whipping cream and will whip up stiffer, making the cheesecake not as creamy.
- Strawberries: Use the ripest strawberries you can find. This will give you the best flavor.
- Cornstarch: I used a little to help thicken the jam but you can omit this if you wish.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar is added to the jam for sweetness.
How to make no bake strawberry cheesecake
You are going to be surprised at how simple this cheesecake is to make. And the end result is out of this world.
The Crust – The crust is also no bake and requires only two ingredients. It takes less than 5 minutes to make the crust.
The Filling – The filling comes together in about 10 minutes and is the creamiest no-bake filling I’ve ever had. It’s sweet and tangy and goes perfectly with the strawberry swirl.
The Strawberry Swirl – Fresh strawberries are pureed and cooked down to a loose jam consistency. Once the jam has cooled, it gets swirl in the cheesecake adding a light strawberry flavor in each bite.
Step 1: Make the strawberry jam
You’ll need to make the jam first because it needs to cool to room temperature before adding it to the filling. Otherwise, it will melt the cheesecake and you’ll have a mess on your hands.
Start by pureeing the strawberries. Make sure to remove the green parts and dice them first.
Add the diced strawberries and cornstarch to the bowl of a food processor and puree until completely smooth. Run the puree through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan and discard the seeds and pulp.
Add the sugar and butter then cook over medium heat until the mixture has thickened. It should be like a loose jam consistency and will thicken more as it cools.
The butter helps prevent the strawberries from developing foam on top during cooking.
Remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer the jam to a small bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
Step 2: Make the crust
Because this is a no-bake recipe, the crust doesn’t require sugar as most cheesecake recipes do. All you need is graham cracker crumbs and melted butter.
I use my ninja food processor to grind the graham crackers down into a very fine crumb. I feel the crust holds together best when the crumbs are super fine.
Stir the crumbs with melted butter until they’re all well coated and resemble wet sand.
Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Make sure to press firmly and that the crumbs are packed down tight so they hold together.
Place the pan in the freezer while you make the filling.
Step 3: Make the filling
It’s important to make sure the cream cheese is softened to room temperature. Set it out about an hour before you begin making the cheesecake.
You need a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer to make the filling.
Beat the softened cream cheese on medium speed until it’s smooth and creamy. This can take about 3 minutes.
Sift in the confectioners’ sugar. Sifting will remove any clumps of sugar and allow it to mix in easily.
Turn the mixer to low and mix until the sugar is moistened then turn the speed up to medium and continue to mix until the sugar is completely mixed in. This can take close to 2 minutes.
Mix in the vanilla, lemon juice, and salt until well combined.
Switch the paddle attachment to the whisk attachment if you are using a stand mixer.
Add the cream and beat on low speed until well combined. Turn the speed up to high and mix until the filling becomes thick and almost stiff. This may take a while, 3-5 minutes, so be patient.
You want the filling to feel quite thick so it’s sturdy enough to support the strawberry swirl.
Step 4: Assemble the cheesecake
Spread the filling evenly into the crust. Use a small offset spatula to smooth it over all the way to the edges of the pan.
Drop spoonfuls of jam evenly on top of the filling. Use a butter knife and swirl the jam into the filling. You can swirl as little or as much as you like.
It doesn’t have to look super neat either. The beauty lies in the rustic, imperfect appearance of the swirls.
Just look at how the color of the jam pops against the light filling. It’s so messy yet so stunning.
Step 5: Refrigerate
The cheesecake needs to be refrigerated for at least 8 hours before serving. This is to ensure the filling is set and you’ll get neat slices out of it.
Tips for making this no bake strawberry cheesecake recipe
- Be sure to use full-fat brick-style cream cheese. The soft whipped cream cheese will not work with this recipe and anything low-fat will cause the texture to be too thin.
- Frozen strawberries will work but you need to thaw them first. Once thawed, you can puree them and make the jam.
- You can make this cheesecake with any berry or a combination of berries.
If you like this no bake cheesecake recipe, try these others:
No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the strawberry jam
- 16 ounces (454 g) fresh strawberries, hulled and diced
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the crust
- 1 ½ cups (126 g) graham cracker crumbs, about 1 ½ sleeves
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the filling
- 24 ounces (680 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
Make the strawberry jam
- Process the strawberries and cornstarch in a food processor until smooth. Press the puree through a fine mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Discard the seeds and pulp.
- Add the sugar and butter. Cook the puree until thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Transfer the jam to a bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature, about 40 minutes.
Make the crust
- Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with foil or parchment paper: set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham crumbs and melted butter. Mix until crumbs are well coated with butter.
- Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Set in the freezer while you make the filling.
Make the filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low speed until the sugar is moistened. Then turn the speed up to medium and continue mixing until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and salt. Mix on medium speed until well incorporated, about 1 minute.
- If using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, switch to the whisk attachment and add the cream. Beat on low speed until the cream is well mixed in. Turn the speed up to high and beat until the batter becomes thick and almost stiff, about 3-5 minutes.
Assemble the cheesecake
- Pour the filling over the prepared crust and spread evenly to the edges of the pan.
- Drop spoonfuls of jam evenly over the top. Use a butter knife to swirl the jam into the filling.
- Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 8 hours.
Video
Notes
- Frozen strawberries can be used. Thaw them first, then continue with step 1.
- I like using cornstarch to help thicken the jam but this is completely optional. If you don’t have it or don’t want to use it, just leave it out. It may take a little longer for the jam the thicken.
- Use full-fat brick-style cream cheese. Low fat or whipped cream cheese will not work well with this recipe.
- The assembled cheesecake will keep for up to 5 days stored covered in the refrigerator.
- After the cheesecake has been refrigerated for 8 hours, you can transfer it to the freezer. Wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil. It will keep for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Hi Jen,
First, I love this recipe -it’s a huge hit at parties- I tweaked it a little bit using vanilla and lemon Oreos as my crust bc I make a lot of other cheesecakes that way! Anywho, my question is can I make blueberry jam using the same recipe as the strawberry or is there a different technique to it? Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks
~tifany
I haven’t tried making the jam with blueberries but I imagine it would work out the same.
Lovely recipes but it didn’t set as I was hoping and im guessing it had to do with the cream cheese. In the uk you can’t get block cream cheese is there anything I can add to firm it up better?
It was definitely the cream cheese. I wish I had advice on using cream cheese in a tub. I’ve never used it.
Hi Jen, nice cheesecake, thanks. I’ll use the recipe again but I’d tweak it a bit. I found it a little too cream-flavoured – I missed the sweet sourness of a cheesecake. This could be because here in the Netherlands we don’t really get heavy cream. Just cream (which can be whipped) or this weird thickish cream called “koksroom” (cook’s cream) which won’t whip. In Australia (where I’m from) yes, in fact we get “thickened cream” which would be perfect for this. But since I love the sourness, I’ll use crème fraîche instead. Also the cake didn’t set. If I were to use the cream option, in my case I’d have to whip the cream first before folding it through. It might set better then. But for now, I’ve frozen in and slice off what I want each time with hot knife. Works fine.
Also I found the crust a bit sparing. I’d add another 1/2 of the crumbs and butter at least if not double then also bake it off before popping it in the freezer to cool down. A few extra steps and time, but I think would bring out a toasted cookie-ness I’m not getting.
Really great recipe. Thanks!
hi jen, if i had extra cheesecake filling left over can i freeze it?
ok thank you Jen, and if i use 16oz of cream cheese can i use the same amount of sugar?
Hi Latarra! For some reason I thought your original comment was for the “baked strawberry cheesecake”. You can in fact freeze the filling for the no-bake cheesecake. I’m terribly sorry for the confusion. But if you want to reduce the amount of cream cheese, You may want to reduce the sugar and cream so the texture is similar to the original.
Can you use the premade store bought graham cracker pie crust?
Just trying to save a little time. And I don’t have a springform pan.
That should be fine but there may be too much filling for one crust.
Hi, I’ve attempted this cake a second time now, following ALL ingredients as listed, and it is still melting… any suggestions?
This is a no-bake cheesecake and is meant to be softer than a baked cheesecake. If you are leaving it at room temperature it will soften and melt. Keeping it chilled will help it hold up. Also, make sure you are using heavy cream or heavy whipping cream and mixing until the batter has thickened. It takes a few minutes for it to thicken. This will ensure the cheesecake sets properly.