This Easy No Bake Lemon Cheesecake is the perfect easy-to-make cheesecake dessert that’s ultra creamy, silky smooth and delicious and packed with fresh lemon!
Summer is the season for citrus and this Easy No Bake Lemon Cheesecake is one of our favourite summer desserts of all time! It’s so creamy and delicious, it’s silky smooth, and it’s great for all those summer dinners and barbecues! And it’s a no-bake dessert, which makes it a great choice for entertaining since it can be made ahead of time and served cold!
This cheesecake recipe contains a secret ingredient that helps no bake cheesecakes set – lemon juice! The acid in the lemon reacts with the proteins in the milk, causing it to curdle and become thick. In no bake cheesecakes containing dairy cream cheese this little science fact works to our advantage, helping the cheesecake to become thick and sturdy and slice more cleanly than a cheesecake made without the addition of lemon juice.
Looking for more delicious cheesecake recipes? You’ll LOVE this Easy No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake, this Easy No Bake Oreo Cheesecake, or this Easy No Bake Snickers Cheesecake!
- Use full fat cream cheese. Low fat cream cheese has a high water content and liquifies much more easily at room temperature than regular full fat cream cheese does. Using full fat cream cheese will help your no bake cheesecake stay firm and help it slice cleanly for serving.
- Use whipped cream or whipped topping whipped to stiff peaks. Under-whipped cream can be too liquid-y and therefore prevent the cheesecake from setting.
- Use Citrus. Adding citrus juice to your cheesecake filling mixture causes a protein in the cream cheese to become firm. This helps the cheesecake set nicely and creates really clean slices.
- Set the cheesecake in the fridge first, and then the freezer for best results. My no bake cheesecakes always turn out best when the chill for 6-8 hours in the fridge and then spend 3-4 hours in the freezer to firm up for those gorgeous, clean slices.
We hope you love this no bake cheesecake as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite easy no bake dessert? We’d love to know!
More Lemon Recipes
- Watermelon Lemonade
- No Bake Lemon Tart
- Avgolemono Soup
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Lemon Cupcakes
- Easy Lemon Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
- Easy No Churn Lemon Ice Cream
- Summer Berry Salad with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette
Watch the video below to see exactly how we make this recipe. You can find many more deliciously simple recipe videos on our YouTube channel!
If you made this, share a photo!
Are you trying this recipe? Use the comment form below to share your take; now with support for image uploads and comment voting!
Easy No Bake Lemon Cheesecake
Recipe: Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
- 800 grams cream cheese (approximately 28 and and a half oz)
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- juice of 2 lemons
- zest of 4 lemons
- 1 1/4 cup whipped cream or whipped topping
For decorating:
- whipped topping or whipped cream, and lemon slices for garnish
Recipe: Instructions
- Combine the graham cracker baking crumbs and melted butter until moistened and crumbly.
- Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan and refrigerate to set.
- Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl, mixing with a hand mixer on medium speed (or in your stand mixer) until smooth.
- Add the lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is incorporated and distributed evenly.
- Fold in the whipped cream or whipped topping by hand until the mixture is fluffy and creamy and there are no streaks in the batter.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture into the prepared crust and smooth out the top with a rubber spatula or offset spatula.
- Refrigerate to set for 6 hours or overnight, or set in the fridge for 2-3 hours and then in the freezer for 2-3 hours before serving. OR, set in the freezer only for 3-4 hours.
For serving:
- Top with whipped cream or whipped topping and some lemon slices for garnish (optional).
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Wow – this cheesecake is to die for! It is sweet but OMG the lemon is just the right amount to be delicious! Have I mentioned how flippin GREAT this is? Lol thank you for sharing this recipe- my friends are going to love it!
I’m so happy to hear how much you love it! After reading your comment I think I want to make it again ☺️ just for myself 😂 Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!