BEST No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake (Easy Recipe)

The best no bake strawberry cheesecake recipe beats all others with a creamy, tangy filling using fluffy Cool Whip as an easy and delicious shortcut! Choose your favorite crust – a no bake graham cracker crust, gluten-free option, or even an Oreo crust – and top the filling with fresh strawberries coated with a glossy gelatin jello glaze.

Easy strawberry cheesecake with Cool Whip

No bake strawberry cheesecake with a gelatin glaze was the dessert I anticipated the most every summer. We would only get to enjoy it when strawberries were in season, and tasted like actual strawberries.

The no bake filling easily comes together in minutes by whipping together cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla and powdered sugar. Finish it off by folding in Cool Whip for an extra fluffy texture.

Spread the cheesecake in your preferred cheesecake crust. The recipe includes an easy no bake graham cracker crust, but for a gluten-free dessert an optional press-in Chex pie crust recipe is also included. For a chocolate twist, you may even use an Oreo crust.

Then, pile on juicy, fresh strawberries and cover it all with a jello gelatin topping. This not only holds the strawberries in place, but adds a sweet glossy glaze to enhance the fresh fruit.

Enjoy an easy, refreshing summer dessert anyone can pull off! Below learn how to make strawberry cheesecake to impress guests or family, suggested modifications, and more expert tips.

No bake filling ingredient notes

The filling is made of 5 simple ingredients, firms up and slices beautifully, just like baked cheesecake! In fact, I have become such a fan of this cheesecake filling it’s the base for this easy gluten-free cheesecake as well!

• Cream Cheese – Regular cream cheese makes a thicker, studier filling than light cream cheese. For the cream cheese to blend well with the other ingredients, it should be at room temperature first.
• Sour Cream – Sour cream gives the distinctive tangy taste. Regular or light sour cream can be used because it’s adding more to the taste than the structure.
• Powdered Sugar – Important for a few reasons – it thickens the filling, won’t leave a grainy texture, and adds the vital sweetness.
• Vanilla Extract – A splash of flavor enhancer
• Cool Whip – Brings a light, airy texture, while still maintaining cheesecake’s firmness. Homemade whipped cream may also be substituted by beating 1 cup heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.

How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake

(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)

1. Stir together no bake crust ingredients and press into a 9″ pie dish, or see below for other pan options. Chill for 20 minutes. (Alternative gluten free crust or Oreo crust recipes are included in recipe card.)
2. Meanwhile, make no bake cheesecake. With an electric mixer or stand mixer beat together cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Fold in 2 cups of Cool Whip.
3. Spoon the filling into chilled crust. Use a spatula to smooth evenly and refrigerate for 1 more hour.
4. Wash and hull strawberries. This core tool is my absolute favorite way to hull strawberries.
5. Boil together sugar, cornstarch, and water. Remove from heat and add strawberry jello. Let cool and spoon over fresh strawberries. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until gelatin is set.

Gelatin Glaze

Arrange fresh, whole strawberries on top of the cheesecake. Mix together the simple glaze ingredients – strawberry flavor jello, cold water, cornstarch, sugar, and corn syrup – on the stovetop. You may also do this in the microwave until it just starts to boil.

Cool the strawberry glaze to room temperature, then pour over arranged strawberries. It will form a sweet strawberry jam to fill in all the nooks between the strawberries, and in my opinion, makes this recipe for strawberry cheesecake simply the best!

Baking Pan Options

Use a 9-inch pie plate to make strawberry cheesecake pie. Traditionally cheesecake is molded in a springform pan, which also works for this recipe. I recommend a 9-inch springform pan to maintain the thickness of the crust and filling.

If you only have a 10-inch springform pan, that will work too, but the layers will be slightly thinner. With either size springform pan, you may want to line the bottom with parchment paper for easy clean up.

Alternative toppings

Instead of making a classic strawberry cheesecake recipe, you have options to turn this easy dessert into different creations! For instance, use the no bake filling and top with any of these creative cheesecake toppings, strawberry puree, blueberries, or any other fresh berries.

Chessecake crust options

The crust for this cheesecake come together in minutes, especially with time-saving kitchen equipment. A food processor or blender grinds into fine crumbs, making it easier to press down, and firmly binding the crust.

If you don’t have a food processor or blender, place the crust ingredients in a durable, plastic freezer bag and use a rolling pin flatten crumbs. Keep rolling until crumbs are very small and granular, almost like cornmeal.

Graham cracker Crust

Typically a no bake cheesecake uses graham cracker crumbs for its crust. When mixed with melted butter and chilled briefly, the crust binds together very well and holds up with slicing.

Gluten-free cheesecake crust

Gluten-free graham crackers are expensive, so I prefer to use crushed Chex cereal for GF cheesecakes. The crust does need to be baked briefly for the ingredients to bind together.

Also, the finer the crumbs the less crumbly it will become during slicing. Use a food processor or blender for best results. Alternatively use a durable, plastic freezer bag and rolling pin to almost flour-like crumbs.

Another option is to bake an almond flour crust or oatmeal pie crust, which would be pair perfectly with the cheesecake filling and fresh strawberry topping.

Oreo Crust

An Oreo cheesecake crust infuses a touch of chocolate into strawberry cheesecake. Oreo pie crust can be baked or refrigerated for a no bake crust.

To make an Oreo cheesecake crust follow the directions below or, for a gluten-free option, use the recipe from this gluten-free Oreo cheesecake.

1. Mix together 24 finely crushed oreo cookies with 4 tablespoons melted butter.
2. Scoop the mixture into a 9″ pie plate and press down bottom and up around sides.
3. No Bake Crust: refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, then fill. Baked Crust: Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, cool, and fill.

Storing tips

Refrigerate leftovers with a piece of plastic wrap pressed into the cut side. Avoid pressing on top, so it doesn’t stick to the glaze.

Since this recipe uses fresh strawberries, I don’t recommend freezing it. The strawberries will become mushy after it has defrosted. However, you may freeze the cheesecake before adding the strawberries and gelatin topping.

To achieve a good wrap on the dessert without making marks in the filling, first freeze the cheesecake without wrapping. Once it is solidly frozen, wrap in a couple layers of plastic wrap and then cover with foil.

Freeze up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Once it has thawed, continue with the recipe, adding the fresh strawberries and jello topping.

Pro Tips and modifications

• Don’t forget to remove 1 tablespoon of strawberry jello from the package before adding it to the sugar water. Leaving it in makes the strawberry glaze a little too gelatinous. 
• What’s dessert without chocolate? Melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips with a small splash of vegetable oil and drizzle over the set pie.
• The recipe only requires 2 cups of Cool Whip whipped topping. Use the leftover whipped topping for decorating or serving with slices. 
• No-bake cheesecakes may be may be made in a 9-inch pie plate or springform pan.
• Love raspberries? Substitute raspberry jello with fresh raspberries on top.

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step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!

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This post first appeared on The Slow Roasted Italian website.