My no bake key lime cheesecake has the distinctive brightness of fresh key limes, blended into a silken cheesecake filling and smothered over buttery sweet ginger cookie crust. The fact that you don’t even have to turn on your oven makes it the perfect summer dessert!
Our neighborhood grocery store has the most beautiful bakery section. Professionally decorated cakes, Instagram worthy cupcakes in an array of flavors, fancy miniature desserts, and smack dab in the middle of the department: a case of cheesecakes. Each in their own container, ready to grab and go.
During our last shop, a festive little apple crumb cheesecake caught my eye. I picked it up. I inspected it. I cradled it. I spoke to it (okay, not really but we were vibing). It was meant to come home with us. I was certain.
And then my BF shattered the moment with, “It doesn’t have a crust though. I don’t like it when there’s not a crust”.
Screeeeech. Dreams crushed. Heart broken. I tried to point out that the crumb topping would surely satisfy his crust requirement, but he wasn’t having it.
So back into the case my little Apple Crumb went, leaving me to reconsider my choices, both in dessert and life itself. I mean, I love the guy and all, but should the answer to cheesecake not always be a hell yes? Red. Flag. 🚩
As luck would have it, key limes had just arrived in the produce department that day, so with a bag of those in hand and a renowned sense of “I’ll show him” attitude, this no bake key lime cheesecake was born.
The velvety cream cheese is loaded with lime flavor and floats on top of a– somewhat spitefully–thicc (yes, 2 C’s you heard me) ginger cookie crust. Cheesecake crust police tested & approved 👍
noteworthy ingredients for no bake key lime cheesecake
– see the recipe card below for full ingredients list with quantities-
- crushed ginger snaps – Most cheesecakes are made with a graham cracker crust, but my love for Moscow mules (seriously, we have copper mugs hanging in a prominent location in the kitchen!) whispered to me while recipe testing this no bake lime cheesecake, nudging me to work a hit of ginger flavor in with all the limey goodness! Thankfully we had some crispy gingersnaps on hand and they crushed up into a perfectly gingery crust.
- full fat cream cheese – Full-fat cream cheese is vital to the structure of your no bake key lime cheese cake, so stay away from reduced fat, alternative, or “spreadable” cream cheeses here. Also, make sure to have your cream cheese at room temperature before starting on your cheesecake. Just leave it on the counter for about an hour. If you try to whip cold cream cheese, it won’t. Ask me how I know
- fat free sweetened condensed milk – Since we’ve got the full-fat cream cheese in play for structure, I felt safe to try this cake with a can of fat-free sweetened condensed milk that I already had in the pantry and it turned out great! As a result of my Crohn’s disease I try to cut excess fat from recipes where it won’t be missed, but if you prefer or already have full-fat condensed milk on hand, go ahead and use it!
- key limes – You’ll need both the zest and the juice for the cake filling, as well as additional slices or zest for garnish if you like. Sorry to say but the bottled key lime juice is just no replacement for the fresh lime juice. Stick with the real deal, it’s worth the squeeze, I promise!
- cool whip – Moi, a professional chef using *gasp* cool whip? Yes, people! Making this no bake key lime cheesecake with cool whip gives it a more stable structure as compared to using heavy whipping cream.
- crystallized ginger – Since I used crushed ginger cookies for my crust, I decided to echo the flavor in the topping as well. Mince the ginger or cut it into little strips! They add great flavor and a lovely crispy-chewy texture.
ingredient substitutions and variations
go with graham crackers.
If you don’t have ginger snaps or they’re not your fave, use good ol’ graham crackers! You can toss them in the food processor the same way as the cookies and they will blitz up into perfect cracker crumbs.
skip the cool whip.
Instead of cool whip, you can swap in an equal amount of sweetened whipped cream. The cheesecake will turn out a bit more soft and custardy, but still delicious! Just whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and sprinkle in a bit of powdered sugar before adding to your cheesecake filling.
how to make no bake key lime cheesecake: step by step
- First things first, we need to process those limes. It takes a little time, so pop on your favorite cooking playlist or audio book and enjoy the process. This is the “hardest” part of this recipe, I promise! Zest the limes first, until you get about 1 ½ tablespoons, then juice the key limes until you have ¼ cup of juice.
- Break the ginger cookies into the bowl of your food processor and blitz until they turn into fine crumbs.
- Dump the cookie crumbs into a mixing bowl and add the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt. Stir until well-combined. The mixture should have a wet sandy texture.
- Press mixture into the bottom and about 1” up the sides of an 8.5” springform pan. I alternate between using a rubber spatula and my fingers to do this part. Do your best to press it into an even layer. If you make a hole don’t worry! This crust is forgiving, just smoosh it back together and keep pressing. Transfer the pan to the freezer to let your crust harden for about 30 minutes.
- Use a hand mixer to beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together in a mixing bowl. You want the mixture to become thick and silky so that it creates ribbons as you whip it, like you can see here.
- Add key lime juice, zest, and vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Continue beating until well mixed.
- Plop the cool whip into the cream cheese mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold it in. The idea here is to incorporate the cool whip without deflating its volume, so be gentle with it! Keep folding until the mixture is fluffy, creamy, and cohesive.
- Retrieve your chilled ginger cookie crust and dollop your filling into the center.
- Use your rubber spatula to gently smooth the cheesecake filling into an even layer, pressing it right up to the sides of the pan. Once it’s even, make a few final passes with the spatula or a spreader to smooth out the top. Create a few swirls if you’re feeling fancy!
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Since I’m using a nonstick springform pan (which plastic wrap doesn’t stick to) I use a super giant rubber band to secure it in place. My fridge can get a little, ahem, untamed, and the chances of something bonking into my key lime cheesecake as it’s setting are high! Transfer your cheesecake to the fridge and let it chill for at least 8 hours. Overnight works!
- Once your cheesecake has set, run a knife (plastic please, if you are using a nonstick pan a metal knife will damage it!) around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it from the sides of the pan. Release the spring and remove the sides. You can use a large spatula or pie server to carefully free the cheesecake from the bottom pan if you want to move it to a serving board, or just leave it on there. Decorate your cake with lime slices, chopped crystallized ginger, and additional crushed ginger cookies as you like!
FAQs
What sets a no bake cheesecake?
There are a few different variables that give a no bake cheesecake its set texture.
First, is the inclusion of dairy ingredients like cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and cool whip (or heavy cream). The chemical makeup of these ingredients have a strong molecular structure on their own, and even more so when combined.
The chill time in the fridge is the second piece of the setting-without-baking puzzle. Think about it how firm a block of cream cheese is when its straight from the refrigerator! Chilling the filling in the crust serves the same solidification purpose for your cake in its entirety.
And finally, in the case of this no-bake cheesecake in particular, the key lime juice plays a thickening role too as it reacts with the dairy ingredients. Science!
dig in!
Enjoy & let me know what you think 🌙 💛
Print
no bake key lime cheesecake recipe
My no bake key lime cheesecake has the distinctive brightness of fresh key limes, blended into a silken cheesecake filling and smothered over buttery sweet ginger cookie crust.
- Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients
for the crust:
- 2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
for the filling:
- 2 (8 oz. each) blocks full fat cream cheese
- 1 can (14 oz.) fat free sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup key lime juice (from about 12 limes)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons key lime zest (from about 12 limes)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup reduced fat cool whip
for topping:
- Key lime slices
- Chopped crystallized ginger
- Crushed ginger snaps
Instructions
- First things first, we need to process those limes. It takes a little time, so pop on your favorite cooking playlist or audio book and enjoy the process. This is the “hardest” part of this recipe, I promise! Zest the limes first, until you get about 1 ½ tablespoons, then juice the key limes until you have ¼ cup of juice.
- Break the ginger cookies into the bowl of your food processor and blitz until they turn into fine crumbs.
- Dump the cookie crumbs into a mixing bowl and add the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt. Stir until well-combined. The mixture should have a wet sandy texture.
- Press mixture into the bottom and about 1” up the sides of an 8.5” springform pan. I alternate between using a rubber spatula and my fingers to do this part. Do your best to press it into an even layer. If you make a hole don’t worry! This crust is forgiving, just smoosh it back together and keep pressing. Transfer the pan to the freezer to let your crust harden for about 30 minutes.
- Use a hand mixer to beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together in a mixing bowl. You want the mixture to become thick and silky so that it creates ribbons as you whip it, like you can see here.
- Add key lime juice, zest, and vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Continue beating until well mixed.
- Plop the cool whip into the cream cheese mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold it in. The idea here is to incorporate the cool whip without deflating its volume, so be gentle with it! Keep folding until the mixture is fluffy, creamy, and cohesive.Retrieve your chilled ginger cookie crust and dollop your filling into the center.
- Retrieve your chilled ginger cookie crust and dollop your filling into the center.
- Use your rubber spatula to gently smooth the cheesecake filling into an even layer, pressing it right up to the sides of the pan. Once it’s even, make a few final passes with the spatula or a spreader to smooth out the top. Create a few swirls if you’re feeling fancy!
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Since I’m using a nonstick springform pan (which plastic wrap doesn’t stick to) I use a super giant rubber band to secure it in place. My fridge can get a little, ahem, untamed, and the chances of something bonking into my key lime cheesecake as it’s setting are high! Transfer your cheesecake to the fridge and let it chill for at least 8 hours. Overnight works!
- Once your cheesecake has set, run a knife (plastic please, if you are using a nonstick pan a metal knife will damage it!) around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it from the sides of the pan. Release the spring and remove the sides. You can use a large spatula or pie server to carefully free the cheesecake from the bottom pan if you want to move it to a serving board, or just leave it on there. Decorate your cake with lime slices, chopped crystallized ginger, and additional crushed ginger cookies as you like!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chilling Time: 8 hours
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