No-Bake Cheesecake

Name: No-Bake Cheesecake
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups pretzels (salted); ½ cup unsalted butter (melted); 1/3 cup light brow sugar; 1 pound mascarpone cheese (about 2 cups); 1/4 cup Honey, Maple Syrup or Date Syrup; 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice; 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste; 1 pound fresh berries, nuts, edible flowerrs or drizzles for topping (optional )

Jun 1, 2022 · 44 Comments

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It’s the easy-to-make, salty-sweet and no-bake cheesecake you want in your life this summer!

Whip up this no-cheesecake in just 15 minutes. No cooking or baking required.

Top a bright, creamy, lemony, and lightly sweetened vanilla mascarpone filling with the very best of the season’s fresh fruit.

It’s your answer to wanting a cheesecake without turning the oven on.

Easy to make No-Bake delicious Cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries, date syrup, and flaky salt; side angle shot on a grey background. — No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake on a graham cracker crust topped fresh strawberries, date syrup, and flaky salt chocolate.

Why this Recipe Works

No-bake! No cooking or baking required! Perfect for the summer days that are too damn hot to cook.
Quick & easy. Whip up this cheesecake with minimal ingredients and just 15 minutes of prep!
Press-in crust. No finicky dough to roll out. Simply press the crust into the pan, spreading it out with your hands.
Toppings are versatile! Top with fresh and dried fruit, edible flowers, nuts, drizzles and more.

Creamy, rich mascarpone pairs with vanilla, lemon and a hint of sweetness for flavor balance.

No-Bake Mascarpone Cheesecake with mascarpone, a pretzel crust, and topped with fresh strawberries. Overhead shot on a white background. — top with fresh strawberries

What’s a no-bake cheesecake?

A no-bake cheesecake is just as the name suggest – there’s no baking at all.

The main difference between a classic and no-bake cheesecake is that there are no eggs in a no-bake cheesecake and it “sets” by chilling in the fridge rather than baking in an oven. The textures of these two cheesecakes are totally different.

No-bake cheesecake topped candied pecans, a date syrup drizzle, and chocolate salt. — and if nothing's in season... use nuts! topped with candied pecans, a date syrup drizzle, and chocolate salt

How to Make this Recipe

Pulse crust ingredients in a food processor, press into tart pan and freeze crust while you prepare the filling. (Or use a store-bought crust, I won’t tell). It’s the easiest press-in crust you’ll def be making on repeat
Mix mascarpone cheesecake filling ingredients together in a bowl and spread out evenly into the crust.
Chill cheesecake for at least 2-3 hours, until filling is “set.” The longer refrigerated, the cleaner the cake will slice.
Top with any fresh fruit, nuts, edible flowers, drizzles, and more.

pretzel crust pressed into the tart pan; overhead shot on white background. — pressed in pretzel crust

Pretzel crust topped with cheesecake filling before any toppings are added. — pressed in pretzel crust

Topping Ideas

Fresh fruit
Dried fruit
Edible flowers
Nuts
Date syrup/caramel/chocolate drizzle
Anything else your heart desires.

No bake cheesecake topped with fresh apricots and cherries, overhead shot on a grey background. — topped with fresh apricots & cherries

No-bake mascarpone cheesecake topped with with 5 colors of fresh summer fruit - blackberries, cherries, and raspberries; overhead shot. — ombre style

Top with the seasons most colorful fresh fruit and make a rainbow! (caption?)

Notes & Variations

Crust: Completely customizable. Swap the pretzels for graham crackers, Biscoff cookies, vanilla wafers, or other cracker/cookies of your choice.
Butter: if dairy free use coconut oil or another a dairy free butter alternative.
Filling: mascarpone can be swapped for cream cheese paired with either heavy cream or condescend milk.
Sweeteners: Honey, Maple Syrup or Just Date Syrup
Lemon Juice & Zest: Use any citrus your heart desires! Blood oranges? Yum? Tangerines? Sure! Lime? Why not! It’s an equal citrus opportunity cheesecake. Just keep in mind that citrus ranges from bitter-sour-tart-sweet; adjust sweetness accordingly.
Topping: Fresh or dried fruit, edible flowers, nuts, drizzles and more.

Cooks Tips

Cheesecake can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days and the freezer for up to a week. Defrost from the freezer or serve it straight from the fridge. Best to add toppings right before serving.
If you don’t own a food processor to crush the pretzels, placing them in a Ziploc bag and using a rolling pin works as well.
For the best pretzel crust tasting results, use salted pretzels and unsalted butter.
Chill cheesecake for at least 2-3 hours, until filling is “set.” The longer refrigerated, the cleaner the cake will slice.
Get creative and playful with your toppings!

More Cheesecake Recipes?

Check out this Amaretto Mascarpone Cheesecake and Purple Sweet Potato Cheesecake!

No-bake cheesecake topped with an ombre of fresh berries. — No-Bake Cheesecake topped with an ombre of berries

Have ya tried this recipe? I’d love to hear about it and see it too! Please leave a comment below and share it on Instagram with the tag @DanielaGerson! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and all sorts of awesome adventures!

Let’s make waves in the kitchen!

Daniela Gerson holding a no-bake cheesecake topped with pink, purple and red raspberries, blackberries and cherries.

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4.94 from 15 votes