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Fresh raspberries and bright lemon are folded into this No-Bake Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake for an easy dessert everyone will love.
Are you guys loving no-bake desserts as much as I am right now?
Basically, if it’s not no-bake, or a s’more, I’m not making it right because it’s freaking hot and I’m basically doing whatever I can to not turn on my oven.
In fact, I’ve been using our Breville Smart Oven more than ever because it doesn’t heat up my kitchen like our regular oven does. If you’re looking into a countertop oven, I can’t recommend the Breville enough! It’s pricy, but totally worth the investment. And it make a perfect slice of toast, just in case you’re a toast kind of person.
Okay, countertop appliances aside, let’s talk no-bake cheesecake.
LIGHT AND FLUFFY NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE
I have made so many no-bake cheesecakes over the years – No-Bake Nutella Cheesecake, No-Bake Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecakes, and No-Bake Frozen Cheesecake, just to name a few – that it might come as a surprise that there was a time before I had ever made a no-bake cheesecake.
That’s right. A girl doesn’t forget her first no-bake cheesecake recipe, and this No-Bake Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake was mine.
I whipped up the recipe after encountering a sale on Cool Whip while meandering the aisles of the grocery store and deciding to come up with some recipes to use it.
I keep frozen whipped topping on hand all the time now for everything from Eclair Cake to Banana Cream Pie Fluff, but that was one of my first times using it in a recipe. I just had a feeling it would be perfect for making a super light and fluffy cheesecake filling.
What can I say? I was right. Whipped topping gets a lot of haters, but it’s pretty hard to beat when it comes to adding a light, fluffy texture to desserts.
HOW TO MAKE NO-BAKE RASPBERRY LEMON CHEESECAKE
Start by making the graham cracker crust and pressing it into the bottom of individual ramekins. You can use whatever size serving dishes you like for these cheesecakes.
If you want to make this into one big cheesecake, you totally can! Just use a 9-inch graham cracker crust.
To make the filling, start by mixing the sugar and lemon zest together until the sugar becomes super fragrant. This will make sure that lemon flavor and fragrance gets evenly distributed throughout the cheesecake.
Add the softened cream cheese and mix until smooth, then fold in the thawed whipped topping, followed by the slightly mashed raspberries.
Add the filling to your serving dishes – either the individual ramekins or the 9-inch crust – and chill!
Before serving, I like to garnish my cheesecakes with fresh raspberries and a sprig of mint, but you could also top them with more whipped topping or lemon zest.
CAN I USE WHIPPED CREAM INSTEAD OF WHIPPED TOPPING?
Whenever I share a no-bake cheesecake recipe, someone will ask if they can use homemade whipped cream instead of frozen whipped topping.
Whipped topping has stabilizers in it that help it hold up when folded into recipes like this one. Since homemade whipped cream does not have these same stabilizers, I can’t promise that it will hold up as well in the recipe.There are some methods for making stabilized whipped cream (or copycat Cool Whip) at home. I have not used the homemade stuff in any of my no-bake cheesecake recipes, so I don’t know how well it would work here.
No-Bake Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the crust
- ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
For the filling
- ⅔ cup sugar
- zest of 2 lemons
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces frozen whipped topping thawed
- 1 cup fresh raspberries slightly mashed with a fork
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and 1 tablespoon of sugar and melted butter.
- Evenly divide the crumbs between your individual serving dishes and press into the bottoms of the dishes to form a crust layer.
- In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and lemon zest until the sugar becomes moist and fragrant.
- Add cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add lemon juice and vanilla mixing to combine.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped topping until well blended, then fold in the raspberries.
- Evenly pipe or spoon the filling into individual serving dishes.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- If desired, garnish with fresh raspberries and a sprig of fresh mint.
Notes
- If you make this into one pie, simply use pour the cream cheese mixture into a 9-inch graham cracker crust and chill for 3 hours before serving.
- This recipe tastes really delicious with blueberries and strawberries as well. Play around with different fruit combinations to create a wide range of flavors.
- I have not tried this recipe using fresh whipped cream, so I cannot attest to the results.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
wow it’s very nice food . i have question:) How many pounds of sugar included? i’don know well 3/4 cup
Three quarters of a cup is about .375 pound. I hope this helps!
Looks delicious!! :) mm
Thanks so much, Nataliya!
Yes! I did it, it was delicious and the consistency was really good. Thanks for sharing so easy and tasty recipes!
Val-
I’m so glad the recipe worked for you. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
I want to do it but here we don’t have frozen whipped cream. Can I do the whipped cream and the result can be similar? Because I really want to try it. Thank you
Val-
You can use whipped cream in this recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Hi!!!
I want to bake your recipe for my Birthday and take it to work. I live in Sweden and we don’t have frozen whipped cream. Can I use a regular whipped cream? And Another queston: whipped cream is it unsweetened or is it sweet?
Thank you!
Alecia-
You can substitute sweetened whipped cream. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
I have the samo problem – no cool whip in Bulgaria.
The question about the whipped cream – what kind would you recemmend – vegetable or whole dairy? Because here only the vegetable one is sweetend, but I really don’t like it’s artificial taste and I plan to make it as a first birthday cake for my daughter.
Irina-
I would say go with the whole dairy and maybe add a bit of sugar or other sweetener. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
I just made this dessert!!! OMG it is SO DELICIOUS !!! I CANT WAIT TO TO SERVE IT TONIGHT !!! It is such a beautiful presentation also!!
So quick and easy to make !!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the cheesecake, Margaret! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
How large are those bowls and how many servings does this make? Can’t wait to try this!
Karen-
They arent’ too big at all – definitely a single serving. You can view them here on Amazon. (That is an affiliate link). I hope this helps.
-Jamie
Hi – don’t use whipped topping much — just use whipped cream, making it with a tablespoon of instant vanilla/white choco pudding and a tbsp of powdered sugar. It will hold itself better and go a longer time. If vanilla crazy, a tsp of vanilla goes well with the whipped cream. One cup of heavy cream makes about the right amount. Tastes better ;-) If you don’t use instant puddings, use instant clearjel mixes with the powdered sugar and then into the cream. One and a half teaspoon should do one cup. Must be mixed with the powdered sugar as it is truly instant!! Have fun! – I don’t sell of promote Clearjel (amazon and other online companies) — I just find it super wonderful to have on hand to use. Must be instant. Regular is used in cooked foods.
Is this no bake cheesecake consistency suppose to be like a yogurt? I made this last night, and it has great flavor but doesn’t seem to firm even though it’s been in the fridge overnight? Please advise!
Hi PT,
It’s not supposed to be firm like a baked cheesecake, but rather have the tangy flavor of cheesecake. It should be slightly thicker than yogurt though.
– Jamie
I would really like to make this recipe but unfortunately in Spain you can’t get the frozen whipped topping, thawed. Is there any type of replacement you recommend?
Thank you very much*
Hi Sandra,
You can try this recipe to replace it: http://www.somethingswanky.com/homemade-cool-whip/
– Jamie
Hi may i know what is zest of lemon??
Wendy,
Zest of lemon is grating the outside of the lemon peel. It’s flavorful, but needs to be grated to be edible.
– Jamie