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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
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!
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?
You might enjoy these:
- Skinny Mini Cheesecake
- Cheesecake Dessert Cups
- No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake
- No Bake White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
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No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups graham crumbs
- 1/2 cup melted butter
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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!
This needs to chill in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours (but I recommend overnight).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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
Yes, that sounds correct!
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.
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.
What did you use for the base?
Loved how it has few ingredients & comes together so quick! Delish😊
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!
Delish & Easy