This Philadelphia no bake cheesecake with Cool Whip is a creamy and delicious cheesecake that delicious and also incredibly easy to make.
This creamy and indulgent cheesecake requires no baking, making it a perfect option for those who want a quick and hassle-free dessert.
The combination of Philadelphia cream cheese and Cool Whip creates a velvety smooth texture that melts in your mouth with every bite.
Whether you're hosting a dinner party or simply craving something sweet, this no bake cheesecake is sure to satisfy your taste buds.
For more delicious cheesecake recipes, check out my creamy vanilla cheesecake, pistachio cheesecake, cinnamon roll cheesecake, cheesecake with strawberry sauce, and no bake cheesecake.
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Why this recipe works
- Ease- this cheesecake takes a few minutes to prepare, and all you have to do is to wait for it to set in the fridge! It is perfect for making ahead of time.
- Texture- this cheesecake with cool whip is extra creamy, light, and fluffy, and will melt in your mouth in every bite.
- Crust- this cheesecake is made with a delicious buttery graham cracker crust that goes perfectly with the filling.
- Simple- this recipe is made with a few simple ingredients you can find in any supermarket or grocery store!
- Versatile- this cheesecake can be topped with various toppings from fruit sauces, pie fillings, ganache topping, and fresh fruit, to chocolate whipped cream!
- No bake- one of my favorite parts about this recipe is that this is a no bake recipe! So there is no need to turn on the oven for this.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this Philadelphia cheesecake recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
For the crust:
Graham crackers/ tea biscuits- we like to use tea biscuits or digestive biscuits, but graham crackers will work as well.
Melted butter– melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds pulses, to make sure that the butter doesn’t boil up and explode in the microwave (been there done that), or melt it on the stovetop.
Sugar- I added granulated sugar for the crust, you can swap it with caster sugar or brown sugar, or skip it for a less sweet crust.
For the filling
Cool whip- make sure that your cool whip is thawed but still cold. Use your favorite brand for this.
Philadelphia cream cheese- make sure that you place your cream cheese at room temperature an hour or two before making this cheesecake to allow it to reach room temperature.
Powder sugar- you will need powder sugar for the outer layer of these cookies in this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor. super easy!
Sour cream- I suggest using full-fat sour cream for this recipe. The sour cream makes the cheesecake batter creamier and lighter.
Vanilla extract- vanilla extract adds extra flavor. For extra vanilla flavor, use vanilla bean extract or an actual vanilla bean!
Lemon zest- the lemon zest adds an aroma and a light flavor to this dessert. This is optional.
Instructions
Pulse graham crackers or digestive biscuits in a food processor until fine crumbs form. If you don’t have a food processor on hand, place the crackers in a Ziplock bag and smash them with a cup until fine crumbs form.
Into a small to medium mixing bowl, add the crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Mix with a spoon until the crumbs are coated with butter.
Transfer the crumbs into a prepared 9-inch cake pan, pressing evenly and firmly into the pan. Transfer the pan to the freezer and let the crust firm up while you make the filling.
In a large mixing bowl, add the softened room-temperature cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, sour cream, and lemon zest, and mix with an electric hand mixer for about 1-2 minutes or until it's smooth and creamy.
Add the cool whip and fold it with a rubber spatula scraping the sides and the bottom of the bowl to ensure your mixture is well combined.
Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it set in the fridge for at least 5 hours.
Top with your favorite toppings or decorate it with whipped cream around the edges of the cheesecake as I did! Serve and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Make sure that you are using room-temperature cream cheese in this recipe, this step makes it easier to mix the cream cheese with no unnecessary lumps, we don’t want that.
- Thaw your cool whip but make sure that its cold and not at room temperature like the cream cheese.
- Use a nonstick springform pan. We use nonstick pans for all of our cheesecake recipes. This makes sure that your cheesecake will be easy to release from the pan.
- Use high-fat cream cheese or the well-known Philadelphia cream cheese. Using full-fat cream cheese ensures that your cheesecake will be stable and set properly.
- Let your cheesecake set in the fridge for at least 5 hours. We know it’s very hard to resist eating this delicious cheesecake right away, but you have to let the cheesecake chill and set it in the pan. We like to let the cheesecake sit in the fridge overnight.
- Don’t overbeat the mixture! It’s really easy to overbeat the mixture, and that is one of the most common mistakes.
- Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl frequently to ensure that you have a homogeneous mixture that has unmixed parts of the mixture.
Faq's
If you don't have Philadelphia cream cheese on hand, several alternatives can be used for making cheesecake.
Some popular options include mascarpone cheese, ricotta cheese, or a combination of Greek yogurt and cream cheese.
No-bake cheesecake filling is made from a combination of cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and whipped cream or cool whip.
There are a few ways to firm up a no-bake cheesecake. My favorite way to firm up no bake cheesecake is adding vanilla instant pudding mix as i did in my no bake cheesecake recipe.
Another way to firm up cheesecake is by using gelatin or agar-agar as a binding agent. Also, it is very important to use high fat cream cheese to stabilise the cheesecake.
While whipped cream is made from heavy cream, Cool Whip is primarily composed of hydrogenated vegetable oil, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial flavors.
Cool Whip is a popular whipped topping that is known for its light and creamy texture. It is often used as a delicious addition to desserts, such as pies and cakes.
It is made from a blend of ingredients including water, hydrogenated vegetable oil, and sweeteners.
Storing
Store this dessert in the fridge (since it contains dairy) covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to 4 days.
Freezing
To freeze this cheesecake after you let it set in the fridge for at least 5 hours. Freeze the cheesecake covered in a few layers of plastic wrap or foil.
This cheesecake will freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the cheesecake in the fridge overnight.
Make it ahead of time
Make this in advance by making it according to the instructions. Allow it to chill in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Top the cheesecake with the topping of your choice and serve when ready to serve!
Substitutions
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the graham crackers with gluten-free graham crackers.
Store-bought graham cracker crust- to make this recipe easier, use store-bought graham cracker crust instead of making a homemade crust.
Whipped cream- if you don’t want to make this cheesecake with Cool Whip, use freshly made whipped cream.
In a large mixing bowl, whip 1 ½ cups of cold heavy cream and whip it to stiff peaks. Fold it into the cream cheese mixture like you would do with the cool whip.
Variations
Toppings- this cheesecake can be topped with various types of toppings like, jam, pie filling like cherry pie filling, caramel sauce, chocolate chips, strawberry compote, apple compote, strawberry topping, fresh fruit, etc.
Zest- we added lemon zest for these but you can swap it with orange zest as well!
Sweet sauces- top this cheesecake with hot fudge, caramel sauce, lemon curd, etc.
Whipped cream- top these with freshly made whipped cream! Or top these with chocolate whipped cream, or Oreo whipped cream.
Crust- you can make this crust into a chocolate crust by swapping the graham crackers with Oreo cookies. You can use the same recipe from my Baileys cheesecake recipe.
Equipment
- You will need a 9-inch springform pan for this cheesecake. I love this set from Amazon.
- You will also need a food processor to make the crust (if you do not want to use a plastic bag).
- I also recommend using an electric hand mixer to make sure your cheesecake mixture is smooth and perfect. You can also use a stand mixer for this.
- Offset spatula for smoothing out the cheesecake in the pan.
- Rubber spatula to fold the mixture and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
More cheesecake recipes
Coffee Cheesecake- This coffee cheesecake is made with an Oreo crust, filled with coffee cheesecake filling, topped with chocolate ganache, and coffee whipped cream.
Apple Crumble Cheesecake- This apple crumble cheesecake is made with a creamy cheesecake filled with apple pie filling, topped with crumble topping and caramel sauce.
Salted Caramel Cheesecake- This salted caramel cheesecake is rich and velvety smooth and is topped with homemade caramel sauce and flakey salt.
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Philadelphia No Bake Cheesecake w/ Cool Whip
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups Graham crackers
- 1 tablespoon Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Butter melted, unsalted
Cheesecake filling
- 15.87 oz Cream cheese Philadelphia
- ⅓ cup Sour cream
- 12 oz Cool whip
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Lemon zest
Instructions
- Pulse graham crackers or digestive biscuits in a food processor until fine crumbs form. If you don’t have a food processor on hand, place the crackers in a Ziplock bag and smash them with a cup until fine crumbs form.
- Into a small to medium mixing bowl, add the crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Mix with a spoon until the crumbs are coated with butter.
- Transfer the crumbs into a prepared 9-inch cake pan, pressing evenly and firmly into the pan. Transfer the pan to the freezer and let the crust firm up while you make the filling.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the softened room-temperature cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, sour cream, and lemon zest, and mix with an electric hand mixer for about 1-2 minutes or until it's smooth and creamy.
- Add the cool whip and fold it with a rubber spatula scraping the sides and the bottom of the bowl to ensure your mixture is well combined.
- Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it set in the fridge for at least 5 hours.
- Top with your favorite toppings or decorate it with whipped cream around the edges of the cheesecake as I did! Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- Make sure that you are using room-temperature cream cheese in this recipe, this step makes it easier to mix the cream cheese with no unnecessary lumps, we don’t want that.
- Thaw your cool whip but make sure that its cold and not at room temperature like the cream cheese.
- Use a nonstick springform pan. We use nonstick pans for all of our cheesecake recipes. This makes sure that your cheesecake will be easy to release from the pan.
- Use high-fat cream cheese or the well-known Philadelphia cream cheese. Using full-fat cream cheese ensures that your cheesecake will be stable and set properly.
- Let your cheesecake set in the fridge for at least 5 hours. We know it’s very hard to resist eating this delicious cheesecake right away, but you have to let the cheesecake chill and set it in the pan. We like to let the cheesecake sit in the fridge overnight.
- Don’t overbeat the mixture! It’s really easy to overbeat the mixture, and that is one of the most common mistakes.
- Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl frequently to ensure that you have a homogeneous mixture that has unmixed parts of the mixture.
Elsie McMillan says
Do I have to use the lemon zest?
RichandDelish says
Hi, you don’t have to, but it’s highly recommended.
Jessica says
Looks delicious! I can’t wait to try this! Thank you for sharing this recipe.