This super creamy no bake lemon curd cheesecake has the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The bright lemon sings and you never have to turn on your oven, making it the perfect summer treat!
When life gives you lemons, make lemon curd. Then turn that lemon curd into cheesecake!
I am pretty sure that’s how the old saying goes. Whether or not that’s the old adage is really irrelevant because no bake lemon cheesecake is good regardless!
Get ready to rock your senses with goodness. No bake lemon cheesecake may just become your new summer dessert go to.
The base is a classic graham cracker crust. Though you could easily switch that up with gingersnaps, golden Oreos, vanilla wafers or anything that you like.
The filling is where you want to really start paying attention. It is light and fluffy without any cool whip or whipped topping.
It gets just enough sweetness from a can of sweetened condensed milk and a generous helping of sweet and tart lemon curd. I used my homemade microwave lemon curd recipe because it is so cheap and easy to make.
You could definitely sub in a store-bought lemon curd if you’d rather.
The resulting texture is smooth and creamy. It is solid enough to be cut into nice slices and soft enough to almost melt in your mouth.
Between the tang of the cream cheese and the tangy lemon curd, you’ll find the sweetness is far from overwhelming. Instead the flavors just dance over your tongue.
Now it would be good just like that, but a little extra lemon curd on top really dives home the lemon flavor. It gives it a little extra punch.
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Again, you could easily stop there. However if you’ve come this far you might as well go all the way!
So whip up a batch of cream cheese whipped cream and pipe it on top. Do swirls, rosettes, shells or whatever strikes your fancy!
Then top the whole thing with some fresh fruit. I had some beautiful and delicious cherries, so I went with those.
Raspberries, blueberries or strawberries would be delicious options as well. You could always do some of each and consider it a fruit salad! 😉
Tips and tricks for making a no bake lemon cheesecake
To get a creamy cheesecake texture, make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature. It will beat smooth more quickly.
Make sure you get your cream cheese completely smooth before you add any other ingredients. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl and the beater a couple of times.
If the cream cheese isn’t smooth before you add everything else, it will be nearly impossible to get it there later.
If making homemade lemon curd, ensure that it is completely cooled before you add it. Make it a day or two ahead if you can and chill it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the cheesecake
Give the cheesecake quite a long time to set before serving. 4 hours is a minimum, overnight is better.
If you absolutely can’t wait, you can place it in the freezer for an hour or two.
Save the fresh fruit garnish for closer to serving time of you can. That way it won’t macerate and bleed down your pretty piping.
No Bake Lemon Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 7 Tablespoons melted butter
Lemon Cheesecake Filling
- 24 ounces cream cheese softened
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup lemon curd
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- optional garnishes: additional lemon curd, whipped cream, and/or lemon zest
Instructions
- In a 9 inch springform pan, mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Use your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crumbs firmly into an even layer of crust. Refrigerate until ready to use.1½ cups graham cracker crumbs, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 7 Tablespoons melted butter
- Beat cream cheese until completely smooth, scraping sides of bowl and beaters several times during the process.24 ounces cream cheese
- Once there are no lumps, slowly drizzle in the sweetened condensed milk while still beating the cream cheese.14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- Fold in the lemon curd and lemon extract.1 cup lemon curd, 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- Smooth the mixture over the graham cracker crust.
- Spread a layer of lemon curd over the cheesecake if desired.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Run a plastic knife around the edge of the cheesecake before releasing the outside of the springform pan.
- Pipe cream cheese whipped cream around the border and top with fresh fruit if desired.
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I love lemon, and no bake is a bonus, especially during the hot Summer months. This cheesecake looks fabulous.
It is too hot out to turn on the oven right now!
I love lemon and I love 'no bake' and I love cheesecake. Tick! Looks delicious x #weekendpotluck
And with gluten free cookies it could very easily be gluten free!
This is such a beautiful cheesecake! I love the cherries on top.
Thank you so much!
You know me and cheesecake. I'm drooling over this one!
It's a must make and would be perfect in that Arizona heat!
Carlee, this looks absolutely irresistible!
I promise you it is!
I am a sucker for all things lemon. Even better that it is a no bake recipe!
Me too and no bake is perfect for this summer heat!
what a beautiful cake
Thank you!
Ok I can't believe this one is no bake! It looks amazing!
It is so creamy and yummy!
This is such a pretty dessert! I love no-bake cheesecakes and I can't wait to make one with these flavors!
Thank you so much! This one is easy to make and super tasty.
This is crazy, I just bought lemon curd for the first time yesterday. Totally using making this lemon luciousness! Mmm I can taste how creamy it must be now. And it’s beautiful too! Happy Friday!
It is meant to be then!