Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake No-Bake Cheesecake Have your cake and eat it too! This cheesecake is built on a buttery vanilla cream cookie crust, finished with a light and airy filling infused with strawberries, and topped with a strawberry crunch that adds both color and texture.
Each step is simple, but the results are stunning. The cookie crust provides a crispy, buttery base, while the strawberry Jello in the filling adds a delightful color and fruit flavor to contrast against the rich cream cheese. Folded into whipped cream, it lightens the filling, making it akin to classical cheesecake creaminess without having to bake.
The crushed strawberry wafer cookies mixed into the filling give the frozen dessert another layer of crunch, and the cookie crumbles sprinkled on top provide an end-of-meal flourish that’s as pretty as it is tasty. Once set, decorate with whipped topping for a finishing touch that’s sure to impress your guests. Perfect for special occasions, potlucks, or anytime you want a light, crowd-pleasing dessert without turning the oven on!
Why You’ll Love It:
No Oven Required: This dessert will help keep your kitchen cool — and you won’t need to do any baking.
Crowd-Pleaser: Its creamy texture, pretty strawberry flavor and crunchy topping make it an instant pleaser at any gathering.
Easy to Make: No complicated stuff here, just layer and chill!
Beautiful: With layers of strawberry, creamy filling and cookie crunch, it’s a beautiful dessert, impressive with zero effort.
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Key Ingredients:
Vanilla Cream Cookies: These cookies are the cheesecake base, lending a buttery, vanilla flavor to every mouthful. Golden Oreos or other vanilla-flavored cookies will do nicely if you can’t find traditional vanilla cream cookies.
Butter: All purpose, unsalted butter allows the sweetness of the cookie and filling to shine through without adding any saltiness.
Strawberry Jello — This adds flavor to the cheesecake and a burst of color. If opting for a more natural selection, use gelatin and strawberry puree rather than Jello.
Cream Cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese, and be sure to let it soften before mixing so you have a smooth, lump-free filling.
Heavy Whipping Cream: Whipping the cream separately gives a lightness to the no-bake cheesecake, and helps to get the perfect cheesecake texture.
Strawberry Wafer Cookies: These give the dessert a little crunch and pair well with the strawberry Jello flavor. If you’d like extra crunch, you can sprinkle more on top before serving.
For the full list of ingredients with quantities and instructions scroll down to the recipe card below
Step-by-Step Instructions
The Crust:
For the Cookie Crumbs: In a food processor, process 26 vanilla cream cookies until finely crumbed. Set aside some extra cookies for the topping.
Combine with Butter: In a mixing bowl, add the cookie crumbs and 6 tablespoons of melted butter, stirring until crumbs resemble wet sand.
Make the Crust: Using the back of a spoon or base of a glass, press the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of a greased 10-inch springform pan, ensuring an even layer.
Set the Crust: Chill the crust for 15 minutes in the freezer to set, while you make the filling.
The Filling:
Dump Baking Soda: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the warm water and baking soda until dissolved. Let cool but do not refrigerate; it must be liquid to mix well.
Prepare the Cream Cheese Mixture: In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together 16 oz of softened cream cheese and 3/4 cup of granulated sugar until smooth and free of lumps.
Whip the Cream: In another bowl, whip 2 cups of heavy whipping cream with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to stiff peaks.
To Assemble The Cake: Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and fold until combined, creating a light and airy cream cheese filling. Step 4: Fold in the cooled strawberry jello until combined.
Add Crunch: Add texture and flavor by crushing 10 strawberry wafer cookies and folding them into the filling.
Layer the Filling:
First Layer: Take the crust out of the freezer, and spread half of the cheesecake filling over the crust, in an even layer.
Setting the Layer: Chill the cheesecake in the freezer for 15 minutes or so, until the first layer has set a bit.
Second Layer: Spread remaining cheesecake filling evenly over first 15 minutes later.
The Topping:
Make the Crunch Topping: Grind the reserved vanilla cream cookies and strawberry wafers. If you want the color to be more vibrant, you could add a few drops of pink food coloring if you like.
Add the Topping: With the back of spoon, sprinkle the crushed cookie mixture evenly over the top of the cheesecake and gently press down so that they stick.
Set the Cheesecake:
Cool completely: Allow the cheesecake to cool completely at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least four hours (or overnight) before serving.
Garnish with Whipped Topping:
Pipe the Decoration: Use whipped topping in a pastry bag to pipe decorative swirls around the edge of the cheesecake just before serving for a more festive finishing touch.
Serving Suggestions:
Fresh Strawberries: Top with a few sliced strawberries for a fresh fruit flavor.
Mint Leaves — Use mint leaves as a garnish for a bright burst of green color.
Additional Strawberry Sauce: Top each slice with drizzle of strawberry sauce for extra flavor and color.
Storage Tips:
Refrigerate: Wrap the cheesecake well in plastic wrap or keep in an airtight container and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days. And it will taste amazing the day after with the flavors allowing to develop even more!
Freezing: You may freeze this cheesecake for a month. Cover it with plastic wrap and store it in an airtight container. Thaw in refrigerator overnight before serving.
Variations:
Mixed Berry Cheesecake: Use blueberries or raspberries, and the strawberry for a mixed berry flavor.
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cheesecake: Drizzle melted chocolate on top and sprinkle chocolate chips in the filling.
Lemon Strawberry Cheesecake: Add 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest to the filling and a teaspoon lemon juice to brighten berry flavors.
Low-Sugar Version: Use sugar-free strawberry Jello and reduced-sugar cookies to minimize sweetness while delivering taste.
Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake: Use dairy-free cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese, coconut cream instead of heavy cream, and vegan-friendly cookies instead.
Conclusion:
Jump to buttery goodness with strawberries in the crisp version? This No-Bake StrawberrCrunch Cheesecake is delicious. Creamy and perfect for the warm months and this cheesecake screams strawberry. It’s the delightful trifecta of creamy filling, crunchy topping and pep of strawberry flavor — all while being so delightfully easy to make. So pick up your fork and enjoy every cool, creamy and crunchy bite!
No-Bake Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 lb vanilla cream cookies about 34 cookies, some reserved for topping
- 6 tbsp butter melted, for crust
- 3.3 oz Strawberry Jello 1 small box
- 1 cup boiling water for dissolving Jello
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar for filling
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream for filling
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar for filling
- 10 strawberry wafer cookies about 4 oz, for filling
- 1/2 small tub whipped topping thawed, for garnish
Instructions
- Place 26 vanilla cream cookies in a food processor and pulse until they are fine crumbs. In a mixing bowl, combine the cookie crumbs with melted butter, mixing until crumbs resemble wet sand. Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased 10-inch springform pan. Freeze for 15 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, dissolve the strawberry jello in 1 cup of boiling water, stirring until fully dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with granulated sugar until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream with powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Gradually fold in the cooled strawberry jello until combined.
- Crush the strawberry wafer cookies and fold them into the filling for extra texture and flavor.
- Remove the crust from the freezer and spread half of the cheesecake filling over it. Freeze for 15 minutes to firm up, then spread the remaining filling evenly over the first layer.
- Crush the reserved vanilla cream cookies and strawberry wafers, and sprinkle over the top of the cheesecake. Press gently to adhere.
- Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours, allowing it to fully set.
- Just before serving, pipe decorative swirls of whipped topping around the edge of the cheesecake.