There are certain days during the summer when the last place anyone wants to be is in a hot kitchen. But that's when kids can come to the rescue, making a delicious dessert for the whole family without ever having to ask their parents to turn on the oven.

No-Bake Cheesecake

graham crackers

(1 3/8 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

sugar

cream

can (1 1/4 cups) sweetened condensed milk

lemon juice

vanilla extract

Put graham crackers in a large resealable plastic bag, and crush them with a rolling pin until very fine crumbs form.

Pour crumbs into a medium bowl; stir in sugar. Add butter, and stir until well combined.

Press the crumb mixture into a 9-inch springform pan, spreading it 1 1/2 to 2 inches up the side; press flat. Chill crust in freezer at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling: Using an electric mixer set at medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the condensed milk a little at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl, as necessary. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.

Pour the filling into the crust; smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Unclasp sides of pan, and remove cheesecake.

I followed the recipe closely but the cheese did not set even overnight in the fridge. The whole cake was spoilt as I can't cut it. I have done no-bake cheesecake many times in the past with other recipes and it tuned out well. I should have kept to my old recipe and not try this one.

Absolutely outstanding! My first shot at making this and it came out perfect!  Didn't even take that long to set so I figured it was due to the fact that I  used premium full fat cream cheese, I wouldn't expect anything less from Martha, delightful :)

I live in Argentina so I adapted the recipe to the ingedients available.
I used a 5.1 z packet of marie biscuits and 2/3 cup of melted butter (the crumbs ended up a bit coarse by hand, I think that's why they absorbed that much butter), I didn't add any sugar.
For the filling I used 3 7oz tubs of "Finlandia" cream cheese (I could not find Philadelphia), one can of condensed milk (14oz), 1/4 cup of lemon juice (for that was one lemon) and 1 tsp of vanilla.
I softened the cream cheese, added the condensed milk and mixed everything by hand with a whisk, then added the vanilla and the lemon juice and it started setting up right away, the mixture was not runny at all. After 3 hours it was firm, creamy and delicious (not too sweet not too tangy), it did stick to the pan but I think its because I used so much butter.
Note: I don't really know how much is 20 sheets of graham crackers, so I used a packet of biscuits (34 biscuits), I thought that maybe 2 biscuits was 1 sheet and that I was only short 3 sheets, but the crust was very thin in parts and broke when trying to serve a slice.
Note 2: I used more cream cheese (21oz) because I read that it was too sweet with just 16oz.

Absolutely delicious. Easy to make. I don't added the condensed milk after beating the cream cheese and then added the vanilla and lemon juice and it set perfectly in just 2 hours. I am very pleased with this recipe!

real simple, Dad proof. My a daughters raved about it.
Added canned syrup strawberries for classic Sara Lee look.

This recipe is excellent!!!  Nice and light, fluffy and refreshing with a little lemony flavor!!!  Delicious!!! Like the others, I failed to read the reviews before I made the cake and I didn’t mix the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Nor did I SLOWLY add the sweetened condensed milk. My consistency seemed a little runny. So I added about 1 ½ cups of cool whip to the batter before pouring it in the pie crust. I also refrigerated the cake for 24 hours before cutting like other reviews had suggested. It came out perfect!!!  No problem with slicing and the slices were nice and neat. No special preparations other than a butter knife (going all the way down through my store bought graham cracker crust) and a pie spatula. I will definitely use this recipe again. It’s a good one. 👍. Wish I could have included a picture in my review. Enjoy!!!

I love it. The reason some had issues with it being runny is not mixing the cream cheese enough.  You need to whip it and slowly add the condensed milk. If you rush these two steps it will not get the consistency you need.  You also need to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times too. Patience is key.

I should have read the warnings from the other reviews.  I followed the recipe directions exactly, and the result was inedible.  The problems:  (1) it never set up, (2) it is cloyingly sweet, (3) it has no depth or dimension to the flavor, and (4) it tastes like a cheap attempt at a cheesecake.  However, it is hardly cheap to make this dessert (and I just had to toss this $50 experiment into the trash bag).  I'm stunned that Martha Stewart would put her name on this recipe.

I read the recipe and decided to modify it after reading the reviews. I agree it was way to much butter for the graham cracker crust. I used a half stick of unsalted butter with 1 package of graham crackers. 
I also added a half cup of whipping cream to thicken the mixture. I agree it was a little sweet but the Whipping Cream balanced it out. 
It set up firmly but I whipped the mixture on high speed. I am very pleased with the texture and flavor. This is not my favorite recipe but I wanted to give it a try.

Could overbeating cause the "runny" issue?   I've made this recipe for years, but the last two times it didn't gel properly.    It was only in the refrigerator for 4 hours.  Not sure how long I left it in in the past.

[filtered] you Martha Stewart, this a pudding NOT a cheesecake

I froze the crust overnight.  Mixed the lemon juice( I only had 1 lemon, got 3 tbsp out of it)
with the sweetened condensed milk first before adding it to my room temp slightly beaten cream cheese.  I used a skull shaped cake pan that is non stick and I greased it first. Had to run a butter knife around all the edges! I cannot believe it turned out as good as it did. Wish I could post a picture.

Hi there. Not only am I a huge Martha fan but I am a pretty succesful chef and a home cook. I had no problems with this recipe except for the fact that this cheesecake needs 24 hours to set and be ready for serving. I have made this cake as a lemon cheese cake with lemon zset and just a little morew lemon juice and I have also made it as a lime and coconut cheesecake. For the lime coconut cheesecake I just add lime juice instead of lemon juice, lime zest and I add my dried coconut to my condensed milk and let it sit for a but to soften the coconut shreds. The crust was easy to make and this cheesecake has been made in my home with my 11 year old niece as my assistant. So other than having to be patient to eat the cake the enxt day, I had no issues with the reciupe. And since summers here in MA can be quite hot and humid, this no bake recipe is quite welcome in our kitchen.

We used a store bought large graham crust- just right size. We followed the recipe w lemon juice at the end w vanilla. taste is ok but too sweet for us and nothing to compare w "real"cheesecake. Edible but no repeat.

Very easy and simple cheesecake I've made. Super delicious! I personally had no issues with the crust sticking to the pan. The only two issues I see is time and loose crust. You definitely need more than 2-3 hours to have it harden all the way, so maybe leave the cheesecake over night in the fridge. Second, the crust is very crumbly (but delicious) so I think I would experiment with adding honey to it so hopefully it stays together much better. Overall I totally recommend making this!

Great flavor and easy to make.
The consistency was too loose and thin even after 6 hours of refrigeration. Graham cracker crust stuck to springform pan and broke when trying to serve.
I would suggest using the filing more as a pudding or in a trifle type dessert.

I really enjoyed this cake.  To try to cut the number of calories, I opted to make the Filling only and used it as a pudding topped with fresh strawberries.  Yum!

I have made this cheesecake several times and my family loves it

More than one recipe I tried but the strength of the cheesecake is not coherent 100%

We love this recipe! Skip the sugar in the crust, mix on low just enough &amp; no more, add chukar sour cherry pie filling on top. Enjoy!!

I have been reading the reviews, and it surprised me that they differ so much. First of all, as someone said below, there is a reaction between the condensed milk and the lemon juice. You can actually make a lemon meringue pie, using a mixture of just lemon juice and condensed milk as a filling. Second, I suspect that the problem with the runny cheesecakes is that if you overbeat the cream cheese, it becomes runny beyond repair. I used to teach cooking classes, and this was one of the issues we had when making a cream cheese icing. It´s best to have it room temp, then mix it with the flat beater, and only until it softens. If you mix too hard too long that it gets runny, there is no way back, better add a couple of eggs and bake it. I hope this helps.

First of all, the folks in this comment section are dishing out some of the most impressive smack talk I’ve ever witnessed in my life. Sick burn, Carol. Second of all, my mom made this and it didn’t set up. She reduced the lemon juice but only by one tablespoon. She was adding to taste. I was super interested to see that some people are saying the lemon and the sweetened condensed milk react to create a firm texture. I would literally love an example of this reaction in another recipe. It’s super interesting concept, I just want to understand it better without taking another chance on this cake, which was unfortunately, a flop.

I loved the creamy centre but I think the crusty base was too thick .. but may have been my miscalculation? Overall a clear and easy recipe to follow !

I too used this recipe to make cheesecake and my filling did not set. Because I made a blackberry compote to accompany the cheesecake that didn't set, I ended up making a parfait cup. I also agree with other cooks that the cake was too tart. I was surprised how bad the cake didn't set for it to be a recipe backed by Martha Stewart. I'll find another and try again this weekend.

This is an amazing recipe! So easy and everyone loved it. The only thing I did differently was that I used three 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese instead of two. That eliminated the runny filling issue completely and it set perfectly in the freezer. Also, the cake remained on the table for well over an hour during dessert with no melting or running. This will definitely be my go-to cheesecake for special occasions.

I make this No-Bake Cheesecake at least 5 times a year. I find it to be delicious and easy to make. This is one of my family's favorite desserts.

I made this twice. First time let it set for 5 hours and I was runny with an awful flavor and worst after taste. I figured I did something wrong.  So I tried again and let it set overnight.  It wasn't as runny, but still runny, taste improved and no after taste.  But still not an enjoyable dessert.

My cake tasted really good but it turned up being runny,i reduced the lemon juice to only 1 tbsp but it still ended up runny.

Honestly, I don't understand the bad reviews. I've done this No-Bake Cheesecake a couple times over the past two years and every time it turns out perfectly just like shown in the picture. The taste is super rich and sweet with a tad of tanginess depending on how much lemon you put in there.  This might sound rude but  I think some people are better off buying one of those artificial tasting grocery store cheesecakes because they are clearly not able to follow a simple recipe. And others, to be frank, are probably so used to the taste of those artificial chemical tasting commercial cheese cakes that they dislike the taste of this one.

The filling sat up fine, but the taste was was too tart for me. We ended up throwing it out.

Turn out perfect. Very good for a no bake.
Those of you who said yours did not set up
Did you use evaporated milk? Sweetened Condensed milk is totally different. Look for it next to the evaporated milk in the store.

The ingredient proportions for the crust are a disaster.  For a 9-inch pan, 1 1/2 cups of crumbs 9about 150 grams) is sufficient, with 4 tablespoons of butter.  The crust recipe here makes a soupy mess!
For those in different countries, a reference to sheets of graham crackers is meaningless.  It would be courteous to add standard measures such as grams.

Didn't set after overnight in the refrigerator. Ended up a sticky, runny mess.

This is delicious! I adjusted the base, using half the graham crackers and substituted Almond Flour for the other half. I found that two pkgs of cream cheese were not enough to give the cream cheese enough body to set properly, so I instead of putting it in the fridge, I put it in the freezer and kept it there. Tasted great! The next time I cut the condensed milk by a couple ounces. It was better but the slices do melt on the plate within 15 minutes. Next time I'm going to add mascarpone.

this recipe worked PERFECTLY! the cut was smooth, the crust was firm, and everyone asked for seconds. the only downfall was that there wasn't enough for seconds!  :D

Total fail. Followed everything to a t. Left in the frig over night never set, it had the same texture as when I put it in the frig. Good taste but never got firm. :(

Great overall recipe. I did change the amount of lemon juice to 2 tbsp and my cheesecake sets up nice and firm.

Mixed 1 packet of plain gelatin with hot water until dissolved. Let cool till just slightly warm. Use hand mixer or wire whisk to blend thoroughly. Sets up nice with gelatin. Otherwise was runny.

The flavor is ok I guess. I left it in the refrigerator all night and it is still very runny. Hopefully the freezer will help firm it up enough to cut. Won’t make again.

Flavour really nice but mixture a little bit runny.  Might use a bit of gelatin next time.

The flavor is good however the texture was too loose for me i think i will make it again but skip the lemon juice i think thats what made it not firm enough

Made this yesterday for my husband.  Did not have Graham crackers so I used vanilla wafers. This was so good and easy to make.  My husband stated he would rather have the vanilla wafer crust. Topped with strawberry pie filling.

Made this with a few twists. I used a bundt pan and doubled the filling. I agree need to decrease lemon juice to get firmer filling. I made curst on outer side and bottom of bundt pan. I lined inner with lining to assist in separating and made curse on top, actually what would be bottom of cake. 
When removed I filled center with fruit filling. It is awesome, next time will layer with fruit layers. Will try a rocky road version and a few others as a twist. I don't recall the name of liner but it is made to form to mold. Once cheesecake is flipped to remove from cake pan, you can lift it off cheesecake.

I followed the recipe almost exactly. I used the cream cheese cold straight out of the fridge instead of waiting for it to be room temperature. I had to beat it a little longer to get the lumps out, but it set very quickly. I put it in the freezer for an hour and then served it with fruit for my family. It turned out great. Now I'll wait if it tastes better tomorrow.

I made this cheesecake but I used Strawberry flavouring Instead of lemon juice and also 400g of cream cheese. What do I do or should I start again???

I made the recipe but used a 9 inch deep dish pie pan. Not surprisingly the recipe was too much filling and crust so made some mini cheesecakes in ramekins. It turned out great but you really need to refrigerate overnight to get a more solid texture. Definitely would make again.

I've finished this recipe and placed the cake into the fridge about three hours ago....it only just dawned on me as I am reading these comments in a panic that I didn't add the lemon juice :(
I've transferred the cake into the freezer now. 
Someone please tell me this thing is going to set ok :(

Hi, I made the no-bake cheesecake yesterday and left it overnight in the fridge, today when I thought it's ready it turned out so soft... I had followed the instructions and ingredients, can anyone tell me what's wrong? Thank you.

This was delicious but it never did quite set up right. I used fresh squeezed orange juice instead of lemon juice and homemade crust- wow! The flavor is great and I will make it again just need to figure out how to get it to set up like cheesecake.

I've made this three times now, and have figured out you really need to let it set over night for it to firm up and taste just right. Also I reduced the lemon to about 1.5 Tablespoon and added 1 Tablespoon of sugar to the filling and had great results.

Can you use vanilla essence instead of extract?

I've been making a slightly different version of this for 30 years. It's always a hit!!! SAME INGREDIENTS MAKES 2 PIES! Try this:
-1 TABLEspoon of vanilla  (instead of 1 TEAspoon)
-2 Pre-made Graham Cracker Pie Crusts (instead of making your own...)
-1 can Cherry Pie filling (chill in fridge overnite)
Follow same instructions EXCEPT to get correct firmness, refrigerate 2 days OR freeze overnight &amp; thaw at room temp 1 hr max. Cover with cherry filling &amp; serve. ENJOY!! ALWAYS keep refrigerated.

That looks really good. I so want to try that.

Thank You! I just did it and made a twist by adding a strawberry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7jQHefQqIY

I decided to make this c/cake and note changes made. I hope they are helpful, I let c/cake chill for 12 hours
400gm digestive biscuits 
150g butter
2 Tbsp sugar  (didnt put sugar in base - too sweet)
450g cream cheese 
350g condensed milk (i would use maybe 280-300 next time)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (maybe even less again)
Consistency 8/10 perfect, 

but i experienced cracking possibly from c/cheese being too cold, and possibly the citrus from the lemon, maybe even less condensed milk

- M

This was actually pretty good! I was a little disappointed that the mixture couldn't make the cheesecake a little firmer - maybe next time you could write the resulting consistency. I followed this recipe to a T and it tasted great. Got better the longer it was in the refrigerator.

Terrible !!!!! Worst ever. Didn't set up. Never make this again.  What a waste of time and ingredients.  Very disappointed to say the least. I make cheesecake often and this one is a real dud.!!!!!!

I've made this cheesecake 3 times in the past and it is soooo good. It is best to chill it overnight instead of the recommended 3 hours. Tastes much better and sets perfectly

Made this tonight, but with gram crackers being so high in calories I decided to use chocolate animal crackers.....one more hour to go until I get to try it!!!!

I made this cheesecake for my boyfriend's birthday and it went down amazingly with everybody. The only change I made was replacing the graham crackers with digestive biscuits, and I decorated it with blueberries. The cheesecake set well, but after an hour of being at room temp it began to melt a little bit. So delicious and so easy - I will definitely make again maybe with some crystallised ginger and gingernut biscuits!

I wondered how this would turn out because there was nothing to "firm up" the mixture. I made this with 1/3 fat cream cheese and it was too slack to slice into pieces. I know full fat cream cheese is stiffer, so maybe it works that way. I could have partially frozen this and it might have been slice-able, we just served in bowl as a pudding. I probably won't bother with this again, the canned milk flavor was too obvious for my liking.  In this instance, easy was not better.

Martha Stewart has the simplest and clearest recipes of  all!  I've linked to this page from our Web list on our favorite subject: no-bake cheesecake at http://readish.com/course/531  Thanks for a classic recipe, Jason

How does it set? There is no setting agent like gelatine or agar agar. I have been looking for a vegetarian cheese cake recipe for a long time.  Just wondering, if it sets like any other cheese cake with gelatine.

The first time I made this it was for a party and it was a hit! It was so easy too. I've made this several times and everyone loves it.

I have been making this cheesecake since it first appeared in MS Kids. I am a huge cheesecake fan and so was my daughter. Every year she wanted cheesecake with strawberries for her birthday in February. She passed away 11 years ago, but every year on her birthday we remember her by making this cheesecake. It is very creamy and not dry like some recipes. And so easy! It's even better if you let it set in the fridge overnight.

I made 2 cheese cakes 1 from Martha Stewart site and the other from a famous chief site and everyone loved and devoured this cheese cake. I will make this recipe only for future occasions

Made 3 of these for Thanksgiving and 5 of them for gifts for my daughters teachers, and I'm in Thailand. Easy as pie, and oh so creamy. I added lemon zest to one and topped another with fresh strawberries. Everybody loved them.

Dear Bianca T,
as you can READ, the recipe calls for Condensed milk and no sugar.
That's because Condensed Milk has a lott (and believe me when i say this) a lott of sugar in it. 
Its really sweet, thus the no sugar. 
Please try this recipe at home once. I bet you'll love it.

Bianca must not have actually read the recipe. See? I refrained from calling her an idiot! Darn it...still work to do there. This is a simple and delicious cheesecake. Made it once in my house already and we're making it again for pre-thanksgiving. One word to the wise. make it a day out from your intended service. It really does improve the consistency.

EW. just... EW. I read over 20 of the reviews before starting, I was somewhat surprised that the filling has no sugar in it. I tried it out and it just tastes like weird cream cheese. I was expecting the consistency, but this recipe needs work. I don't know how anyone else could have liked it at all!

I absolutely loooovvveee this recipe. Easy and extremely yummy. It was the best cheesecake I had ever made.

Great recipe! Easy to make and delicious!

This was a very easy recipe with wonderful results in the end.

love this recipe,its easy to make and it taste so good.i must admit i skipped making my own crust.Ive made this recipe twice,first time i couldnt get the filling to harden.so i figured its probaley becaue the filling was too much for just one pie crust.so the second time i bought two pic crust and after leaving the pie in the refrigerater for a few hours it actually stayed in place.

Perhaps adding a bit of unflavored gelatin will make the cheesecake firmer. Followed the recipe and added a bit of lemon rind to the mix...i tasted the batter and it's great can't wait for it to set.

Recipe so easy to do love it! Just finished making it and Im sure it will be a hit!

i cant wait to try this recipe,its so simple to make but its looks yummy....

Has no one ever made or eaten a no bake cheesecake before? They don't set like a normal cheesecake, more like an extremely thick pudding in consistency than cheesecake.

the cake set perfectly - impatient, i decided to fast-freeze it in the freezer first for about 15 mins and then left it to chill in the fridge. add more lemon juice if you prefer your cheesecake to be more tangy in flavor. easy and delicious dessert to prepare.

I made this exactly per the recipe (actually I doubled it) and it turned quite well.  A few notes:  1. As a no-bake cheesecake it is less cake like and more creamy...still tastes great though.  2.  You  MUST use freshly squeezed lemon juice.  The kind in a bottle has added water and is not strong enough to thicken the filling.

I agree with the 'did not set up' comments. It took days of refrigeration before it became easy to slice and maintain a shape. I like the idea of making it in ramekins, that would be a nice individual desert and not be embarrassed about it's shape.

Turned out great! Very easy and it tasted really yummy. My husband said it was the best no-bake cheese cake he had ever eaten.  The only deviation from the recipe was that I did not use all of the condensed milk, I added it to taste since I tend to like my deserts less sweet.  I probably used about 12 ounces of the milk.  It set up really nicely so I am not sure what problems the other reviewers had.

Not worth the time or money.  Although tasty, it never set up despite having been chilled for 8 hours.  It was like melted ice cream. Does anybody test these recipes?  This is not the first time I've made one of Ms. Stuart's recipes that turned out like crap.

The cheesecake did not set completely as a cheesecake would be expected to. It's pretty good tasting, but it would've been better in ramekins - I could then serve the cheesecake without having to cut it/spoon it out. We'll eat this one, but I won't make it again.

I tried this reciepe but it wouldn't solidify in the middle.  I had added a chocolate marble swirl but i don't think that should matter.  Any ideas why it stayed so soft?  I even had it in the freezer for 1 hour before I served it but that didn't help.  It still tasted great and everyone loved it, but it was served in a cup with a spoon!

There is just no comparison between freshly made , buttery, tender, sweet graham cracker crust and the premade crust.  It's worth the extra few minutes.

to save time,why not use premade graham cracker crust ? Maybe I am just lazy,expecially in warm weather.

Philadelphia Cream Cheese has a low fat version that's really good. It's called Neufchatel and has a 1/3 less fat. They also have a non-fat version but I haven't tried it and I'm not sure it would work in this recipe. Sometimes it's better to follow the original recipe and just eat less of it.

Hello there! Is there any cheese brand that anyone can recommend? Low fat cheese would be best :)

no-bake cheesecake

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Total: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Servings: 5

Cost: $7.23 /serving

Author : Martha Stewart

Ingredients

Instructions

Top Similar Recipes from Across the Web