by SamanthaA creamy, tart, no-bake lemon cheesecake that can be made in minutes without ever turning on the oven! Served over a simple graham cracker crust, this sweet & tart summertime treat is a simple party pleaser that’s perfect for your next get-together!
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably in no mood to turn on the oven right now. Even with the air conditioning set a few degrees cooler than my wallet is comfortable with, a 350 degree oven quickly warms up the house and makes the kitchen too hot to bear.
Recently I’ve been avoiding this by keeping my desserts as oven-free as possible and making a lot of refreshing, no-bake desserts. This no-bake lemon cheesecake is my most recent bake-less dessert, and not only does it not require turning on the oven, but it is a perfect refreshing warm-weather treat!
Classic cheesecake recipes often need to bake in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour, and the thought of leaving my oven running that long in the summertime heat just wasn’t realistic. Recently I’ve been experimenting and even developed my own no-bake cheesecake recipe, which inspired me to play with different flavors and methods.
What better flavor for a hot summer day than tart, refreshing, lemon? I really do love all things lemon including Lemon Meringue Pie Cheesecake!
I played with this recipe a few times using just natural lemon flavoring, but when I broke out the Lemon Jello is when everything really started to come together. The lemon flavoring gave this no-bake lemon cheesecake the best flavor out of all of the variations that I tried, and is very simple to use. Just dissolve the gelatin mixture into hot water, but let it get back to room temperature before stirring it into your cheesecake mix.
You can use a store-bought graham cracker crust (though it will end up being pretty full!), or you can use my favorite graham cracker crust recipe, which I’ve included in the recipe below.
Enjoy!
NO-BAKE LEMON CHEESECAKE
Prep Time 25 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Course Dessert
Cuisine AmericanIngredients
GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
- 1 1/2 cups Graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 7 tablespoons butter melted
CHEESECAKE
- 1 package lemon Jell-O 3 oz
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream*
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
Instructions
CRUST
- Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugars in a medium-sized bowl. Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well.
- Pour mixture into a 9″ or 10″ springform pan. Use the (clean!) bottom of a measuring cup to firmly pack crumbs into the bottom of the pan and gently press up the sides. Use your fingers to pack crumbs tightly into the sides of the pan.
- Place in refrigerator or freezer while you prepare cheesecake filling.
NO-BAKE LEMON CHEESECAKE
- Pour Lemon Jello gelatin mix into 1 cup very hot water and stir well. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, stir cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth and well-combined.
- Add sour cream and stir well.
- Mix in vanilla extract.
- Only once jello mixture is no longer hot to the touch, gradually pour into cream cheese mixture. Stir slowly at first (to avoid splashing) and then increase speed until mixture is completely combined (pause to scrape down sides of the bowl periodically). Stir very well.
- In a separate bowl, pour your heavy cream and use an electric mixer with whisk attachment to beat to stiff peaks.
- Fold whipped cream into cheesecake mixture until well-combined.
- Fold in lemon zest, if using.
- Pour over graham cracker crust and transfer to refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight to chill.
- If desired, top with whipped cream before cutting and serving.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
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Just made this recipe and substituted for Cool Whip. Are you sure the 12 oz of Cool Whip is accurate? I had enough filling to make three pies and it was heavily whipped.
Hi Lauryn, the recipe was correct as written for us. Did you use a 9″ or 10″ springform pan for this recipe?
Made this in place of a birthday cake this weekend! It was a huge hit. I used cool whip so it was so light and fluffy in texture!
Can you use coconut cream in place of heavy cream? Kids have milk allergies.
Hi Jan, we have never tried making this recipe with coconut cream but would love to hear how it turns out!
Love this recipe so much. But I’m going to make it into mini cheesecake into the cupcake liners hope it turns out. I have to take it for a celebration and I don’t want to fool with taking a full cake with a knife and forks and paper plates. Hope it turns out
I hope it works out for you Sandra! Please let us know!
I have a question. Why is there an asterisk after the ingredient “heavy cream”? I looked three times but never saw an asterisk in the instructions. I want to try this since my daughter, granddaughter, and great grandkids all love lemon desserts but I want to make it correctly the first time I try it. Thanks for your help.
Apologies for the confusion, the notes were missing on the recipe. I’ve updated it.
*You may substitute 12oz of Cool Whip instead of the heavy cream — skip the part about beating to stiff peaks and fold into cream cheese mixture if you choose to do so.
Could you incorporate raspberries into this recipe? I love lemon and raspberry combination.
Lisa, I think you could certainly add raspberries to this recipe. What a yummy idea!
Excellent!! Recipe is easy to follow and delicious! Was a big hit with my family and so much easier than the in the oven NY style cheesecake I’ve made for years.. My new go-to!! Thanks
We love keeping it easy and delicious! Thanks for making us your new go-to!
Omg I made this for father’s day cause it’s my dad’s favorite and it turned out so well!! He loved it! Only issue I had was the crust not wanting to come out of the springform pan I used, but other than that, was perfect and tasted delicious!
Such a nice treat for your dad on Father’s Day! Happy to hear he loved it!
I thought I would add a splash of lemon juice but then the jello didn’t set! Remember that! ;) Of course I am in Spain so maybe American jello is different. I thought it was only kiwi and pineapple that had that effect but apparently not!
I have a better version. Use lemon pudding and pie filling and add 1 small box of lemon jello. Then
top with cool whip. Add chocolate sprinkles and a cherry on top! Easy
That doesn’t even sound close to cheesecake. Sometimes bad like a year many lemon pie though.
Could the sugar in the crust and pie be substituted by stevia?
I haven’t tried this recipe with Stevia. Please let us know how it works out for you if you do try it!
Will it melt after i take it out of the fridge even though i used knox gelatin? Thank you!
This recipe has only been tested as written.
You had me at no-bake! This sounds like the perfect summer dessert!
Lemon cheesecake is my fav, I love your photos they’re so pretty!
No baking required to this! I am so in! It looks amazing!
This sounds amazing! I love lemon merengue but lemon cheesecake sounds even better!
Stunning! I’d love a slice of this right now! :-) Delicious!
Thank you friend! I sure do wish I could serve you one!
This looks so good! I love no-bake cheesecakes, but I’ve never made one using jello mix. What a clever idea!
Thank you for a delicious sounding and easy recipe. I also like that it doesn’t have to use Cool Whip which can’t compare to real whipped cream
I hope you love this cheesecake after you try it Carol!