No-Bake Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake
Buckle up friends, you're going to want to make this no-bake strawberry crunch cheesecake ASAP! With graham cracker crust, creamy strawberry filling, and strawberry crunch topping, it's ridiculously delicious and decadent. Make it for dinner parties, BBQs, holidays, and everything in-between!
Ingredients
Strawberry Powder
- 2.4 ounces freeze-dried strawberries (2 bags)
Strawberry Crunch Topping
- 14 Golden Oreo Thins (3/4 cup crumbs)
- 1 Tablespoon strawberry powder
- Reserved freeze-dried strawberry crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Graham Cracker Crust
- 10 full graham cracker sheets (1 1/2 cup crumbs)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Pinch of Kosher salt
Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
- 16 ounces full-fat cream cheese, cold
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
- 1/3 cup full-fat sour cream
- Reserved strawberry powder
- Fresh strawberries, for garnish
Equipment
- 8'' springform pan
- Food processor (optional)
- Stand mixer (optional)
Instructions
Strawberry Powder
- To make the strawberry powder, place the freeze-dried strawberries in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the strawberries are a fine powder (a few small chunks are ok). Sift the powder through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any chunks and set aside. Save the strawberry chunks for the crunch topping!
Strawberry Crunch Topping
- Pour the Golden Oreo Thins into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until you have fine crumbs. You should have about 3/4 cup crumbs. Place about 1/3 of the plain cookie crumbs in a small bowl and set aside.
- Combine the remaining 2/3 of the cookie crumbs, 1 Tablespoon of the strawberry powder, the reserved strawberry chunks, and the melted butter. Stir until everything is well-coated.
- Add the remaining plain cookie crumbs and stir until the mixture is crumbly and combined. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for later.
Graham Cracker Crust
- Place the graham crackers in the bowl of the food processor and pulse until you have semi-fine crumbs. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of crumbs.
- Add the sugar, melted butter, and salt. Pulse until the graham crackers are finely ground and the mixture clumps together.
- Tip the graham cracker mixture into the springform pan and use clean hands to press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. You can also use a measuring cup to help compact the crust. Cover, and place the crust in the fridge for later.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling
- Pour the cold heavy whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whip the cream into stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. Spoon the whipped cream into a mixing bowl, and set aside.
- Next, add the cold cream cheese, sugar, and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat the mixture until it's smooth and there are no more lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, as necessary.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla bean paste or extract, sour cream, and the rest of the freeze-dried strawberry powder. Beat for another 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed until the mixture is very smooth and there are no streaks of strawberry powder.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the strawberry cream cheese mixture about 1 cup at a time. Do this slowly so that you don't deflate the whipped cream! Continue folding until there are no more streaks of whipped cream.
- Spoon the strawberry cream cheese filling over the chilled graham cracker crust. Use an offset spatula or rubber spatula to evenly spread the filling over the crust. Make sure to gently push the filling into the edges of the pan so you don't get gaps between the crust and the cream cheese layer.
- Cover the cheesecake and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. The longer it chills, the better the texture of the filling.
- Once the filling is set, use a butter knife to gently loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan. Remove the sides of the springform pan. Then, use a spoon to sprinkle the crumb mixture over the top of the cheesecake. Gently press down on the crumbs to adhere them to the top of the cheesecake. Decorate with fresh strawberries, slice, and enjoy!
Notes
If you don't have a food processor, place the freeze-dried strawberries, cookies, and graham crackers in zipper bags and use a rolling pin to crush them instead.
If you do not have a stand mixer, you can also use a hand mixer.
The texture of the strawberry filling is a bit more fluffy and mousse-like than traditional cheesecake. If you prefer a denser, more traditional cheesecake filling, reduce the whipping cream from 1 1/2 cups to 1 cup.
The strawberry crumb topping may clump together in the fridge. Just use your hands or a spoon to gently break it apart into smaller crumbs.
I recommend using an 8'' springform pan for easy slicing. If you don't have a springform pan, you can also use a pie plate or a 9'' springform pan. The layers will just be a bit thinner.
If you want to decorate both the top and sides of the cheesecake with crumbs, double the topping recipe. I prefer just the top sweetness-wise, but it does look super cute with crumbs on the sides.
This cheesecake will make 8 large or 12-16 small slices. It's pretty rich, so smaller slices are usually plenty!
There is no need to wash the food processor or stand mixer in-between steps as long as you follow the steps above in order!
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 622kcal, Carbohydrates: 49.3g, Protein: 6.5g, Fat: 45.2g, Saturated Fat: 26.7g, Cholesterol: 127mg, Sodium: 358mg, Potassium: 186mg, Fiber: 1.2g, Sugar: 34g, Calcium: 81mg, Iron: 2mg
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