A creamy, tangy no bake lemon cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. This lemon cheesecake is smooth and bursting with lemon flavor, a perfect summer dessert for lemon lovers.

I know summer is ending for a lot of you and you’re headed back to school, but we just got back from a family vacation in Idaho and I’m holding onto summer with my might so you might see a few more summer recipes the next few weeks, starting with this lemon no bake cheesecake.

Ingredients for no bake lemon cheesecake

I think this is one of my all time favorite desserts. Any lemon lovers in your life will absolutely love this dessert. The best part is it only takes a handful of ingredients. Besides a few pantry and fridge staples, you’ll need lemons and lemon curd.

If you’re feeling ambitious, you can make your own. I did for this recipe, but sometimes I just by a jar of premade to keep my life easy. I like this recipe for lemon curd from Dessert for Two. It’s made in the microwave so it’s super easy and quick. Here is what you need:

• No bake Graham Cracker Crust (check out my post for all the tips and tricks on making a perfect crust.)
• Cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• powdered sugar
• heavy whipping cream
• fresh lemon zest and juice
• lemon curd

How to make a no bake lemon cheesecake

This recipes makes an 8×8 pan, which will feed 9-12 people, but you can easily double it to feed a crowd.

Start by making the graham cracker crust. When you have that pressed into the pan, refrigerate it while you make the cheesecake layer. You’ll want your cream cheese to be at room temperature before starting, so be sure to set it out a few hours ahead.

Cream the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. I find using a hand mixer or a stand mixer is the easiest. Beat in the lemon juice, zest and lemon curd. Gently fold in the cool whip or whipped cream just until combined.

For the recipe you can use either cool whip or heavy whipping cream. If you choose to use heavy whipping cream, you’ll need to whip it in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form.I’ve used both depending on what I have on hand and how much of a hurry I’m in. I think heavy whipping cream makes for a richer cheesecake.

Spread the filling on top of the crust and chill for 6-8 hours. This makes a great make-ahead dessert because you can make it 2 days in advance, a longer chilling time is better.

When ready to serve, cut into bars and top with lemon curd and additional lemon slices if desired.

No Bake Cheesecake Recipes

Here are some other recipes for no bake cheesecake from my blog that I think you will love too.

• No Bake Cherry Cheesecake
• No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake
• No Bake Raspberry Cheesecake
• No Bake Biscoff Cheesecake
• No Bake Nutella Cheesecake
• And a post with all the tips and tricks on how to make the best no bake cheesecake ever.

We love this dessert in the summer, and I’m sure you will too. If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it. Leave me a comment below or give it a rating in the recipe card. Happy Baking (or No Baking 🙂 )

Save this recipe for later. Pin the image below on Pinterest. 

Here are some other lemon desserts you may enjoy.

Perfect lemon bars

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Lemon Blueberry Bread