Make these amazing No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Bars! Made with Graham cracker crust and silky cream cheese filling, it’s an easy and refreshing frozen Summer dessert recipe that will taste just like ice cream.
If you are looking for a no bake Summer dessert, you should make these scrumptious Strawberry Cheesecake Bars! The base is made with classic Graham crackers, and the filling is packed with cream cheese, fresh strawberries, and freshly whipped cream.
The whole recipe will take no more than 30 minutes to put together, then setting in the freezer for a few hours. Before serving, I like to cut in 12 equal squares, top with whipped cream and fresh berries. You can serve it frozen, like ice cream bars, or let it defrost, so the filling will be softer and resemble cheesecake.
And if you want more desserts with strawberries, check out my Strawberry Crumble, Strawberry Swiss Roll, Vanilla Strawberry Cake, and Strawberry Panna Cotta.
Why you will love this recipe
- No need to bake. No one wants to turn on the oven on a hot Summer day! So, this dessert is perfect for the warm season. You just need to mix all the ingredients in a food processor or a blender and assemble in a baking pan.
- Easy to make. It will take you no more than 30 minutes to make the whole recipe. The hardest part will be to wait until it sets in the freezer.
- Make it ahead. This is a perfect recipe to make 1-3 days ahead and just keep it in the freezer until ready to serve.
- Delicious and Refreshing. I prefer to eat these cheesecake bars frozen; they taste just like strawberry ice cream! Cold and creamy filling with a crunchy layer of Graham cracker crust.
How to make Strawberry Cheesecake
Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
Make the Graham crust
In a food processor, put Graham crackers. Pulse it a few times, until you have fine crumbs.
Transfer 2 cups crumbs into a bowl and add ½ cup melted butter. Mix everything until well combined.
Transfer the mixture into a baking pan with parchment paper. Spread the mixture evenly, then press it with a measuring cup until firm. Refrigerate while working with the filling.
Make the Strawberry Cheesecake Filling.
In a food processor or a blender, add 16 oz cream cheese, 2 cups diced strawberries, ¾ cup granulated sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and well combined.
In a separate bowl, whip 1 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks. Fold it into the cream cheese mixture in two steps. Don’t overmix!
Pout the filling on top of the refrigerated Graham crust and spread evenly.
Cover with the plastic wrap and put in the freezer for at least 5 hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, cut the cheesecake into 12 equal squares.
Tips for Best Results
- Cream Cheese. Make sure that your cream cheese is room temperature. That will help to make the filling smoother and easier to bind with other ingredients.
- Crust. After you spread the Graham mixture on the bottom of the pan, I like to take a measuring cup or an empty glass and press it down. It will help to create a nice crust that will hold together and won’t crumble after it’s frozen.
- Mixing. I like to use a food processor to blend the filling. You also can use a blender, Vitamix, or even an immersion blender.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Frozen berries hold quite a lot of liquids inside. So, if you only have frozen strawberries, I would suggest to thaw them first and then drain the excess liquid before adding it to the filling.
Yes. While this recipe is for “strawberry cheesecake”, you can play around with the flavors and try to use any other fruit and berries you like or have on hand (blueberries, raspberries, mango, peaches, etc.)
It’s better to keep this dessert in the freezer. Because we don’t use any cornstarch or gelatin in this recipe, it won’t hold the shape when cut in squares.
If you want this dessert to be softer, you can take it out of the freezer about 20 minutes before serving and let it sit on the counter.
If you don’t have Graham crackers, you can substitute them with vanilla wafers or plain biscuits.
You can keep it in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Although, I bet it will be gone much faster!
More Summer Dessert Ideas:
- Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Blondies
- Chocolate Cake from Scratch
- Old Fashioned Apple Crisp
- Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler
- Italian Tiramisu Recipe
- One Bowl Banana Bread
- Mixed Berry Puff Pastry Tarts
- French Vanilla Ice Cream
- Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake
No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups Graham crackers crumbs
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 16 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups strawberries diced
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy cream cold
Instructions
- Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a food processor, put Graham crackers. Pulse it a few times, until you have fine crumbs.
- Transfer 2 cups crumbs into a bowl and add ½ cup melted butter. Mix everything until well combined.
- Transfer the mixture into a baking pan with parchment paper. Spread the mixture evenly, then press it with a measuring cup until firm. Refrigerate while working with the filling.
- In a food processor or a blender, add 16 oz cream cheese, 2 cups diced strawberries, ¾ cup granulated sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip 1 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks. Fold it into the cream cheese mixture in two steps. Don’t overmix!
- Pour the filling on top of the refrigerated Graham crust and spread evenly.
- Cover with the plastic wrap and put in the freezer for at least 5 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, cut the cheesecake into 12 equal squares.
Video
Notes
- Cream Cheese. Make sure that your cream cheese is room temperature. That will help to make the filling smoother and easier to bind with other ingredients.
- Crust. After you spread the Graham mixture on the bottom of the pan, I like to take a measuring cup or an empty glass and press it down. It will help to create a nice crust that will hold together and won’t crumble after it’s frozen.
- Mixing. I like to use a food processor to blend the filling. You also can use a blender, Vitamix, or even an immersion blender.
Love this recipe….drizzled a little chocolate on top.
Couldn’t get much easier than this recipe.❣️
Thank you, Marry Ellen! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe 😉
I prefer a baked graham cracker crust. May I bake the crust and then cool it before using?
Hi Kathleen! Yes, you can bake the crust if you want 😉
In a pinch, could you use cool whip instead of heavy cream?
Hi Lauren! Yes you can use cool whip instead of heavy cream. The only thing I want to mention is if the cool whip is sweet, you might want to reduce the amount of sugar in the filling, so it won’t be too sweet.
Is this served straight from the freezer or does it need to be put in the fridge before serving? And should leftovers be stored in the fridge or freezer?
Hi Irma! This is a frozen dessert, so you should keep it in the freezer. When serving, I prefer to eat it frozen, as it tastes like ice cream. You also can leave it on the counter for 10-15 minutes, so it will soften up a bit.
Can it be kept in the fridge? I’m thinking of making it as a cheesecake dip instead of a frozen treat.
This dish looks SO deliciously good. I wish I could eat that right now!
Oh yum! These look fantastic and it’s perfect timing since it’s strawberry season here. My niece is going to love making this with me this weekend!
I do love cheesecake and during summer I avoid baking. Since I live in Miami, and it’s already hot here, I made this cheesecake and it turned to be perfect!
We made these for a fun weekend treat, and they were perfect! These bars were bursting with strawberry flavor in every bite, and they were so lusciously creamy. Thank you!
I love everything cheesecake, and this recipe is absolutely stunning. I love how the result looks and I can only imagine the taste of it – yum!
I got the first strawberries of the season at the farmers market yesterday, can’t wait to give this cheesecake a try!
What a delightfully cool and refreshing summer treat. This looks creamy and luscious! I wish I could have a slice now. I love that it’s so easy to make too!
This no bake strawberry cheesecake looks delicious and my whole family would love it! It’s great that you can serve it frozen or thawed as well. This will be a perfect dessert for summer which is right around the corner!
This dessert will surely make your taste buds to crave for more. Your No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Bars looks absolutely scrumptious.
In the summer, the only desserts I make are no bake desserts! I love the combination of strawberries, cream, and graham crumbs. Absolutely delicious!
These sound delicious!! I’ve printed the recipe!!! Cheesecake and strawberries is such a perfect combination, one of my favorites in fact. I will definitely be trying it!