This No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake is the perfect balance of light, airy, rich, and creamy. This fruity dessert is made with a buttery lemon Oreo crust, lemon cream cheese filling, and homemade whipped topping.
Easy No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd
I am always surprised by lemon desserts. Lemon isn’t usually my go-to, although I’ll never pass up a lemon bar. But the more I make lemon desserts, the more I appreciate just how amazing they are.
Now, I’ve made dozens of no-bake desserts, but up until now, I was missing a classic No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake. This is bursting with a tart lemon flavor balanced with a sweet cheesecake filling. For the crust, I found lemon Oreos which just helps amplify the flavor. This would pair well with some fresh berries too.
Ingredients Needed for Lemon Cheesecake
This lemon cheesecake recipe is made up of three simple components: the lemon Oreo crust, the lemon cream cheese filling, and a homemade whipped topping! Here’s what you’ll need:
For the Crust
- Lemon Oreos – I love to give the cheesecake even more lemon flavor by grinding up Lemon Oreos for the crust. You can also easily swap the lemon Oreos out for golden Oreos or use homemade graham cracker crust instead.
- Unsalted Butter
For the Filling
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Powdered Sugar
- Cream Cheese – use a bar of full-fat cream cheese for the best results. Be sure to bring it room temperature.
- Granulated Sugar
- Lemon Curd
- Lemon Zest – you can easily zest a lemon using either a lemon zester or a cheese grater.
For the Topping
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Powdered Sugar
- Lemon Slices – thinly sliced for garnish! Or top with fresh berries.
How to Make Lemon Cheesecake
Make the Crust
- Grind the cookies. Use a food processor or blender to grind the Oreos into a fine crumb.
- Assemble the crust. Melt butter in the microwave, then pour over the cookie crumbs. Stir until well-coated, then press the mixture into a greased springform pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the Filling
- Make a batch of whipped cream. Chill the bowl to your electric mixer in the freezer for 10 minutes. Once chilled, beat the cream until it’s thickened to soft peaks. Next, add the powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Mix the filling. Beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Add in granulated sugar and beat until well combined then mix in lemon curd and lemon zest.
- Assemble and chill. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese filling until well combined, then pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Chill in the fridge for 4-6 hours.
Make the Topping
- Make more whip. Prepare the second batch of whipped cream to decorate with. Use a large open round tip to pipe the whipped cream around the border of the cheesecake.
- Garnish and serve. Add thinly sliced lemons or fresh fruit prior to serving.
My Best Advice For No-Bake Cheesecake
- Use full-fat cream cheese blocks. It’s the key to a rich and creamy texture and prevents the cheesecake from being too watery.
- Bring the cream cheese to room temp. Room temperature cream cheese blends into the filling more smoothly for a creamier texture.
- If you don’t have a springform pan, you can make it in a 9-inch square pan or double the recipe and make it in a 9×13″ baking dish for a large crowd. Slice and serve as bars.
- When you’re ready to remove the cake from the pan, unhinge the spring then run a flat-edged knife around the outside of the pan to release the crust from the side.
- To get the perfect slice, run a knife under hot water, dry it well, then slice. Repeat between slices for a super clean cut.
How to Store It
Once it’s fully chilled in the pan, you can slice it and transfer it to an airtight container, or you can leave it in the pan and tightly wrap the pan with plastic wrap.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cheesecakes
Fully assembled no-bake cheesecake will last covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes. Prepare as instructed, and allow it to set in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours until set. Then double wrap the pan in plastic wrap. Freeze for one month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, add toppings and serve.
I recommend allowing a minimum of four hours to set. If you can touch the top without your finger sinking, it should be good to go.
More Lemon Desserts You’ll Love
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No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chill Time: 4 Hours
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices
- Category: Cheesecake
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This classic No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake is a light and airy lemon cheesecake filling made with lemon curd and an Oreo crust.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 package (15.25 oz) Lemon or Golden Oreos
- 7 tablespoons (98g) unsalted butter
For the Filling:
- 1 1/4 cups (295ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup (65g) powdered sugar
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (95g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (96g) lemon curd
- 1 medium lemon, zested
For the Topping:
- 3/4 cup (177ml) heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons (24g) powdered Sugar
- Lemon Slices for garnish
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lightly greasing the edges of the pan with cooking spray, and then wiping gently with a paper towel. Alternatively you can use a cake collar instead. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- Grind the cookies into a fine crumb using a food processor or blender. In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds. Pour the melted butter over the cookie crumbs and stir until the crumbs are well coated. Pour the crumbs in the prepared springform pan and press firmly into the bottom and up on the sides to create a thick crust. Refrigerate the crust while you are preparing the filling.
For the Filling:
- Prepare the whipped cream. Chill the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes before starting. Beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed until it reaches soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar and continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Beat the softened cream cheese until it’s completely smooth, scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Next add the granulated sugar continue beating until well combined. Then add the lemon curd and lemon zest and beat until well combined and smooth.
- Finally, fold the prepared whipped cream into the cream cheese filling and stir until well combined. Pour the filling in the prepared crust.
- Refrigerate 4-6 hours or until the filling has set.
For the Topping:
- Prepare a second batch of whipped cream following the same instruction of above.
- Pipe the border using a large open round tip and garnish with thin slices of lemons.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 538
- Sugar: 27g
- Sodium: 182mg
- Fat: 44g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 161mg
Filed Under:
This recipe originally appeared on Food Fanatic.
This is my all time favorite recipe for a no bake cheesecake. I love lemon anything so putting it into a cheesecake just made it even better! It’s so easy to make and it has turned out amazing every time I have made it. I have recommended it to so many of my friends. It’s always a huge hit when I make it! Thank you for the awesome recipe!!!
That’s amazing Colleen! Thank you!
The filling was nice. The Lemon Oreo crust, soggy. I will use my Graham Cracker crust next time
Hmm, there should be no reason for a soggy crust. Were the Oreos double stuffed by chance?
Looks delicious 😋 Thanks for sharing plus very easy to make! I can’t wait to try! I love Cheesecake ❤️
Karen Camp
Can I make this into mini cheesecakes in a muffin pan?
I don’t see why not, but I would suggest to use cupcake liners
Easy recipes! Came out great everyone loved it!
Thanks so much Ash!!
Can you refrigerate the cheesecake overnight to set?
Yes, this needs to be refrigerated as soon as it’s made and it will be just fine to make a day or two in advance, although I always recommend adding the toppings the day of serving.
Thank you for this recipe – I have made this several times and it is amazing 🙂 Lovely texture – so smooth – always get comments on it.
One quick question, can I freeze it? I have made it fresh previously.
Hi Hayley! Yes! This should freeze just fine, just make sure it’s well covered and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Thank you for your kind words!
Just curious (As I’m not the best at making these things) did you leave the cream in the Lemon Oreos or remove it before you blended them? Thanks for this recipe I’m gonna attempt to make it with my kids!
Hi Casey! No problem! Yes, you can leave the filling of the cookies inside, there’s no need to remove it!
Awesome, thank you so much for the quick reply! I made the Fruity pebbles cheesecake the other day and it was delicious! Although it wasn’t nearly as pretty as yours it tasted amazing. I’m gonna make the Lemon Cheesecake today, can’t wait to see how good it turns out! My wife loves lemon and It’ll be a nice surprise for her when she gets home. Thanks again for all your helpful info!
You’re so welcome! I am so glad you tried the Fruity Pebbles one! It’s a little out there but so good!
Where do you get lemon curd, and what can I use if I can’t get it?
Hi Trish- any grocery store should carry it. It’s usually with the jam and peanut butter. You can also try a homemade option, there’s plenty of recipes on Google.
This was absolutely delicious. I think the texture somewhat mousse like, very light indeed. So thank you very much.
The only thing I changed was to add a lemon confit instead of the cream and lemon, jury’s still out on whether the confit is too sharp personally I don’t think so.
Awesome! I am so glad you enjoyed it!