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This No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake is so easy to make! It’s light and fresh and made with fresh lime juice and real cream. It’s got the perfect combination of creamy, tangy and sweet!

This is the simple, Spring dessert that everyone needs! No oven required and just a few simple ingredients. Serve it up as is, with sweetened whipped cream or pile on the fresh berries for a fresh and fruity dessert everyone will love! If you love easy no bake desserts, you might also like this No Bake Lemon Macaroon Cheesecake, this No Bake Banana Caramel Pecan Pie or this No Bake Very Berry Cheesecake.

no bake key lime cheesecake whole

No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake

Spring is here and we can’t get enough easy, no bake desserts! This Key Lime Cheesecake is simple, fruity, and creamy and is perfect for kicking off the next season of warmer weather. Made with a graham cracker crust, fresh lime juice and lime zest, and real cream, it is the perfect mix of sweet and tart. Great for those who don’t love desserts that are overly sweet or heavy!

How Do You Make No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake?

  •  We start with a simple no bake graham crumb crust. The trick to getting the perfect graham cracker crust is lots of butter, and a good long chill to help it set.
  • Beat the cream cheese first — be sure to use room temperature cream cheese so that it beats up smoothly without any lumps!
  • Add the lime juice, zest and sugar and beat until it’s smooth (don’t have key limes? Regular lime juice and zest will work the same, or you can substitute key lime juice for half lime and half lemon).
  • Add the cold heavy cream (make sure it is heavy whipping cream), and beat on high until it’s thick and fluffy — don’t stop until it’s done!
  • Chill for at least 5-6 hours or overnight — this is essential for cutting a clean slice!

no bake key lime cheesecake on white plate

Can I Make This Key Lime Cheesecake in advance?

This is a great dessert for making 1-2 days ahead. Simple cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before serving (any longer than this, and the crust may begin to become soggy).

You can also freeze this recipe, but if you plan to freeze it I recommend eating it at partially frozen. As it thaws completely, the filling can release additional moisture which can make for a soggy crust.

Looking for more no bake cheesecake recipes?

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slice of no bake key lime cheesecake

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No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake

4.84 from 6 votes
This No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake is so easy to make! It's light and fresh and made with fresh lime juice and real cream. It's got the perfect combination of creamy, tangy and sweet! 
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chill: 5 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients 

Crust:

Filling:

  • 3 packages cream cheese room temperature (24oz)
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup key lime or lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon key lime or lime zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream cold

Instructions 

  • Combine graham crumbs and butter and press firmly into the bottom of an 8" or 9" springform pan and about 1" up the sides.
  • In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.
  • Add sugar, lime juice, lime zest and vanilla and beat until smooth.
  • Add cream and beat on low until incorporated, then beat on high until thickened and fluffy (don't stop until you have stiff peaks!).
  • Spread into prepared pan, cover and refrigerate for at least 5-6 hours or until firm. Slice and serve with sweetened whipped cream as desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 347kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 11gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 580mgPotassium: 223mgFiber: 1gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 634IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 232mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Ashley Fehr

Ashley loves all kinds of food: easy, healthy dinners, extravagant desserts, baked goods, and homemade breads! She believes in enjoying everything in moderation and strives to find ways to make her favorite foods a little healthier (including sneaking in those veggies occasionally!)

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Recipe Rating




15 Comments

  1. Delicious flavor, but with ALL the whipping I did of the cream cheese/heavy cream mixture, it would not thicken. (Even put it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.) We had to wind up serving it like pudding in bowls. I really would like to know why it wouldn’t thicken!

  2. The flavor is great, but I couldn’t get it to set up at all!!! I had to add more heavy cream that I put in the blender to make it nice and firm, and then flash freeze it to get it firm enough to put in the tart shells. Once I got it to set up, everyone loved it. but gosh, maybe our high altitude or something? No way it would set up for me with the recipe as is.

  3. 5 stars
    I used about 8oz each of cream cheese, creme’ Fraiche and marscopone. it came out great. I also substituted key lime extract in stead of vanilla.

  4. 4 stars
    The taste is good, but I thought it was strange that there wasn’t anything to stabilize it. I probably should have went with my gut and added some gelatin. It won’t last long in the fridge with whipped cream since it weeps after it sits for a while and it definitely won’t be able to sit on a dessert table too long either, especially if the house is warm from cooking dinner.

    I really love the flavor. It has a nice tang and it’s not too sweet. I would suggest if you are having trouble reaching stiff peaks after adding the cold cream to the room temperature cream cheese mixture, mix the cream in enough to incorporate it and throw it into the fridge for about a half an hour and THEN whip it up to stiff peaks. I will be adding some melted and cooled gelatin to it and soft peak stage next time. Like I said, it has good flavor, but it needs a stabilizer.

    1. If you use little silicone tart molds instead of a regular pie plate and keep them in the freezer this recipe works better. They thaw quite fast and hey portion control.

  5. 5 stars
    This looks so easy! Adding the cream directly to the cream cheese mixture and whipping it all together makes it a winner for me! Have a function coming up this coming Sunday called “Pie Night” and I will be making this to take.

    Thanks Ashley!

  6. Hi there!! In the UK we have double cream (which is heavy cream in the US) and whips up nicely or we have ‘whipping’ cream which is also a little thicker but whips up really quickly, which would you suggest I use?

    Thanks

    Lynsey

    1. It’s nearly a year since you asked, but you would need to use the double cream. If your whipping cream is anything like ours in the US, it’s slightly sweetened and also known as light cream.

  7. 5 stars
    Great recipe! This is the second time I’ve made it, and both times I made it Keto friendly (Eyrthritol in place of sugar). I also added a LOT more key lime rinds but the same amount of lime juice (key lime plus regular lime). If you’ve never tasted key lime cheesecake before, you are in for a real treat with this recipe.

  8. 5 stars
    I have never made a cheesecake before. I found this recipe and it looked simple and straightforward. It is. I made this for the Brothers in my Lodge today. It received a BUNCH of happy smiles and came out better than I could have hoped for!!

    As for the taste, it isn’t a traditional Key West Key Lime Pie but for a cheesecake variant on that classic, it is simply amazing and so easy to make!

    This is now one of my “Go-to” desserts!! Thank you!