No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake

Hi, my name is Rachel. I help by giving easy recipes to make for last minute desserts. I can help show you a step-by-step recipe that you can easily make at home. Today I am going to show you a simple recipe for light and fluffy cherry cheesecake that you can make for those last minute get togethers, and impress your guests. 

I always struggle to find an easy, fast recipe for when I need to make a dessert for gatherings. This recipe is very simple, with no baking needed, and it’s always a crowd pleaser! This guide will show you everything you need and what to do to make the perfect cheesecake! 

• 12 large graham crackers, crushed 
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 9 tbsp salted butter, melted 
• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened  
• 1 (8oz) tub whipped topping 
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar 
• ½ tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 can cherry pie filling 
• Non-stick spray 
• 2 medium sized bowls 
• Hand mixer 
• Spatula  
• Measuring Cups
• Spoon 
• 9x13 baking dish 
• Plastic wrap 9
• Gallon Size Plastic Bag
• Sturdy Cup (preferably glass)

First, begin by crushing 12 graham crackers. To do this, I put them into a gallon size plastic bag and smash them by using the bottom of a sturdy, preferably glass, cup. You can do this part however you want, but I find this is the easiest way, and it saves you from having to clean up an extra mess. You want your graham crackers to be very finely crushed, almost looking like sand. 

Once the graham crackers are crushed, next add the crumbs to a medium sized bowl and combine the sugar and butter with it. Add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, and 9 tbsp of melted butter. The original recipe calls for salted butter, but I always use unsalted; that is completely up to you. It doesn’t affect the cheesecake in anyway, which kind of butter you use, people just have certain preferences when it comes to this. It’s important to make sure your butter is completely melted; that is what makes the graham cracker crumbs stick together to form the crust.  

After you get that all mixed up nicely, now you will spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray and transfer the graham cracker crumb mixture into the pan. Using the back of a small spoon, press the crust mixture evenly, covering the whole bottom of the pan. You can now set the crust aside while you make the filling.  

Now we will move on to creating the filling for the crust. To start this, you will need another medium sized bowl , your hand mixer, and 1 (8oz) block of softened cream cheese. To soften your cream cheese, you can either set it out on the counter, no longer than 30 minutes before you plan to make the cheesecake, or what I do is place it in the microwave for roughly 15 seconds. If you go the microwave way, make sure you take it out of the wrapper and put it into a microwave safe dish. Now, you will start by slightly beating the cream cheese with the hand mixer; just to break it up and soften it a little more.

Now, moving on after the cream cheese is broken up, add in ½ cup of powdered sugar and ½ tsp of vanilla extract into the bowl with the cream cheese. You will again use your hand mixer to beat this for 1 minute, or until it is nice and smooth with no lumps. This mixture will be very thick, but don’t worry about that.  

Next, you will start mixing in the 1 (8oz) tub of whipped cream to the rest of your cream cheese mixture. Whipped cream is usually sold in the freezer section, so make sure it is completely thawed out before you mix it in. You want to slowly add it in to make sure you get all the lumps mixed up. You should put half of the container in, use the hand mixer to mix it all together, then put in the other half and mix again. Again, you want to make sure it is very smooth and there are no lumps in it. The mixture should still be fairly thick.

Once you have everything mixed together, now you can start adding this mixture on top of the crust. I recommend scooping little bits of it all over onto the crust, then use the back of your spoon to evenly spread it out over the entire crust. Doing it this way will prevent the crust from lifting up.

Now that you have completed adding the cream cheese mixture onto the crust, you can do one of the final steps and add the topping. You can really add any kind of topping you want, but my favorite is cherry, so that is what I will be using today. You need 1 can of whatever pie topping of your choice, and scoop that onto the top of your cheesecake. Carefully spread it out, covering the whole top, but be careful that you don’t mix it into the cream cheese mixture you previously put on. 

Now to the final step. Once your topping is evenly spread out, cover your cheesecake with a lid, or if your pan doesn’t come with a lid, you can use plastic wrap. Refrigerate your cheesecake for 2 hours, or until you’re ready to serve it.