No Bake Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake is the perfect light and refreshing dessert. With a creamy, fluffy strawberry cheesecake filling, a crunchy strawberry crust and topping for texture, and a vibrant garnish of fresh strawberries, it's a delicious and irresistible dessert. It's prefect for berry season and warm summer days when you don't want to turn on the oven.
Strawberries are the ultimate flavor of summer. Aside from watermelon, they’re my favorite summer fruit. And while watermelon cheesecake might be pushing it, no bake strawberry cheesecake is the perfect summer dessert. It has that signature light and fluffy texture you expect from a no bake cheesecake and then it's paired with the sweet flavor of fresh strawberries. A strawberry crunch creates both the crust and the crumble topping, and sliced strawberries finishes it off beautifully.
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Ingredients
- Strawberries
- Freeze dried strawberry powder (unsweetened)
- Cream cheese
- Heavy whipping cream
- Powdered sugar
- Golden Oreos
- Salted butter
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructional tips
Strawberry crunch crust tip: since we're not baking the crust, make sure to press the crust very firmly into the springform pan.
Mashed strawberries tip - don't process or mash the strawberries into juice. Leave some texture in the strawberries.
Cheesecake filling tip - add the cheesecake filling on top of the crust and use a spatula to even out the filling. We'll be adding strawberry crunch topping, so it doesn't have to be perfect.
Finishing the cheesecake tip - wait until after the cheesecake is done chilling to top with the strawberry crunch. Finally, finish it off with some beautifully cut fresh strawberries.
Substitutions
- Freeze dried strawberry powder - if you don't have freeze dried strawberry powder, you can make your own by grinding up freeze dried strawberries (like from Trader Joe's). You can also substitute strawberry gelatin in a pinch, though I would not recommend this. Strawberry gelatin can have a processed, chemically flavor. The ingredient list for gelatin can be pretty gross too.
- Golden Oreos - you can substitute other plain or vanilla sandwich cookies for the Golden Oreos if they have a similar fat content.
Variations
- Other berries - strawberries are the most common berries used to make cheesecakes. However, you can easily substitute raspberries or blackberries or use a combination of berries to create a mixed berry version.
Equipment
Making this strawberry crunch cheesecake is easier if you have a stand mixer and a food processor, but a hand mixer and a hand masher will work just fine.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. After that, the fresh cut strawberries can become mushy and the strawberry crunch on top will start to absorb some of the moisture from the cheesecake and become less crunchy over time.
Next Level Tips
- Definitely use freeze dried strawberry powder or grind your own powder from freeze dried strawberries. It's more natural and better tasting than the strawberry gelatin that's in a lot of strawberry cheesecake recipes.
- No bake cheesecakes don't have any eggs, so you can taste the filling and add more strawberry powder to the cheesecake cake filling if you want. You might be tempted to add more mashed strawberries, but remember that real strawberries are mostly water so we don't want to add too much water to the cheesecake filling.
- I also par-bake a lot of my no bake cheesecake crusts. You can bake the crust at 325 for 6 minutes to get a crisp crust. Otherwise, just make sure to firmly press down the crust when adding the strawberry crunch to the springform pan. That way, it will stay together when slicing and serving.
- You can also experiment with other decorations for the topping. Here is an article from Shari's Berries on how to make strawberry roses . I have yet to master strawberry roses, but they do look super fun!
FAQ
Yes, but gelatin can have an unnatural, chemical strawberry flavor on top of a questionable ingredient list. It's best if you can use a freeze dried strawberry powder or grind your own powder from freeze dried strawberries.
Yes, of course. I find that by method more time consuming and more stressful. By starting with room temperature cream cheese, we can add the powdered sugar and heavy cream at the end and mix it on medium high to high to get the same light fluffy texture. Less steps and less stress = baking win!
Yes, but it's not necessary for this dessert. The filling has a pink tint, the strawberry crunch has a pink tint, and if you put strawberries on top, it's very clear what the flavor of the dessert will be. If you still want to use added food coloring in the cheesecake filling, I recommend adding it with the cream cheese when you are mixing it to eliminate any lumps. That's the best time to make sure any food coloring gets evenly distributed.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
No Bake Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake
Equipment
- 1 Stand or hand mixer
- 1 Food processor or hand masher
Ingredients
Strawberry crunch crust and topping
- 24 Golden Oreos
- 2 tablespoons freeze dried strawberry powder unsweetened
- 3 tablespoons salted butter melted
Strawberry cheesecake filling
- 24 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 tablespoons freeze dried strawberry powder unsweetened
- ½ cup strawberries mashed
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
Decorating the cheesecake
- 1 cup reserved strawberry crunch from the crust step
- 1 tablespoon salted butter melted
- fresh cut strawberries for decoration no added sugar
Instructions
- Spray a 8 or 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray.
Making the strawberry crunch crust and topping
- Add 24 Golden Oreos (insides included) into a food processor and grind into smaller pieces. When almost finished, add in 2 tablespoons of freeze dried strawberry powder and blend until the powder is evenly distributed and the large chunks of Oreos are gone.
- Remove one cup of the Oreo and strawberry crunch mixture and reserve for the topping. Place in an airtight container.
- Microwave 3 tablespoons of salted butter just until melted, 15-30 seconds. Mix the butter into the remaining Oreo mixture.
- Add the crust mixture to the springform pan. Even it out and then press very firmly into the pan with a flat bottom of a measuring cup.
Making the strawberry filling
- Add enough berries to a food processor to create ½ cup of mashed berries. Start with 5-6 berries. The number needed will vary with the size of the strawberries. Blend them until the berries are mashed but not a liquid. Set aside.
- Add the room temperature cream cheese to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until the cream cheese is light and fluffy with no lumps remaining. Approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Add 2 tablespoons of freeze dried powder and the mashed strawberries to the mixing bowl, and mix on low until blended. Approximately one minute.
- Add the powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream to the mixing bowl and mix on medium high to high until light and fluffy. Approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the cheesecake filling on top of the crust and even out the top with a spatula.
- Refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours but preferably overnight.
Topping the cheesecake
- Run a knife around the outside of the springform pan and then remove the ring.
- Melt one tablespoon of butter in the microwave, approximately 10-15 seconds. Mix the melted butter in with the one cup of the reserved strawberry crunch until the butter has been evenly distributed and the mixture resembles a crumble.
- Sprinkle the strawberry crunch over the entire cheesecake.
- Slice strawberries and place the strawberries slices around the outer edge of the cheesecake rim.
- If using a cardboard cake board or a serving plate, remove the cheesecake from the bottom of the springform pan with a cake lifter by gently sliding the cheesecake from the springform pan bottom on to the cake board or serving plate while supporting the underside of the cheesecake. [This can also be done before decorating, but I find it less messy overall to move the cheesecake after decorating.] Serve or refrigerate!
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