Red, White and Blue No Bake Cheesecake

In today’s post: This easy red, white and blue dessert is perfect for Memorial Day or Fourth of July! The light, creamy no bake cheesecake is a snap to put together and tastes delicious with an easy graham cracker crust.

Easy Fourth of July Dessert

It’s always fun to have a new red, white and blue dessert for the Fourth of July! My kids love my American Flag Fruit Pizza, but this festive no-bake cheesecake is quickly becoming a new favorite. It’s easy to put together and the bright colors are so fun!

Why You’ll Love This No Bake Cheesecake

• The Filling: Traditional cheesecake is good, but this no bake version is (IMO) even better. It has the classic flavor of cheesecake, but with a lightened up texture that’s smooth and creamy. And because you don’t bake it, there’s no need to worry about a water bath or leaving it to cool inside the oven after the bake or any of the other finicky parts of making traditional cheesecake.
• THE CRUST: I don’t know how it’s possible that crushed graham crackers mixed with butter and a lil’ brown sugar ends up tasting so good, but it does. I made the crust on this no bake cheesecake nice and thick so there’s plenty of delicious graham flavor in every bite.
• Toppings: This no bake cheesecake is great on it’s own, but it’s even better topped with fruit pie filling – raspberry is my favorite!

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make this fun dessert:

• Graham Crackers are the star of the amazing crust, but if you are a die hard chocolate fan you could use Oreos instead.
• Butter holds the crust together; I always used salted butter here!
• Brown Sugar adds some richness to the crust.
• Cream Cheese is the base of the cheesecake layer; be sure to use bricks of full fat cream cheese, not spreadable or low fat cream cheese.
• Sugar sweetens up the cream cheese layer; be sure to use regular granulated sugar as opposed to powdered sugar.
• Lemon Juice brightens up the flavor of the cheesecake, but don’t worry, it does NOT make the cheesecake taste like lemon.
• Vanilla Extract adds more flavor.
• Heavy Cream aka Heavy Whipping Cream is the secret ingredient to a great no-bake cheesecake. You’ll whip it separately then fold it into the cream cheese for a light, silky texture.

How to Make Red, White + Blue Cheesecake

Make the Crust

Start by brushing or blending 16 sheets of graham crackers into crumbs. I use my Ninja blender to make this really easy. You will need 2 cups of crumbs. Mix the crumbs with brown sugar and melted butter. The mixture will resemble wet sand.

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-10 inch springform pan and dump the crust mixture inside it. Press the mixture across the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides of the pan. Press the crust down firmly, otherwise it will fall apart when slicing. Place pan in the freezer while you make the filling.

Make the Filling

For the filling, beat together the softened cream cheese and the granulated sugar. It’s important to use granulated sugar, not powdered sugar, because it cuts through the cream cheese and gives you a smoother mixture with no lumps. Add in the vanilla and lemon juice and beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl or a stand mixer, whip the cream into firm peaks. That means you’ll be able to see the tracks the beaters are making in the cream, and when you lift up a beater or spoon with cream on it. the point of the cream will stand straight up without bending back on itself. Depending on what you are using to whip your cream, this can take 5-8 minutes. (It will go faster if you pop the cream and bowl you plan to use in the freezer for a few minutes while you are making the crust – just don’t forget the cream in the freezer!)

Spoon about a third of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and mix it in using low speed with a hand mixer. Then spoon in the rest of the whipped cream and fold it in gently by hand. If you stir too vigorously you will knock the air out of the whipped cream.

Color Filling + Spoon Into Crust

Now you’ll separate the filling and color some of it blue and some of it red. I colored about a quarter of the filling each color. Be aware that this will take a good amount of food coloring. I used gel coloring. Stir the coloring in gently; again if you stir too vigorously you’ll lose some of the “lift” in your filling.

Now you can dollop spoonfuls of the filling into the prepared crust, alternating the colors as you see below.

Once all the filling is in the crust, use an offset spatula or a knife to gently smooth out the top of the filling. Try not to mix the colors much as you do this; you can clean off the spatula a couple of times as you spread the filling. Once the filling is spread all the way to the edges, use a toothpick to swirl the colors on top.

Chill and Serve

• Cover the springform pan with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 8 hours – overnight is even better. This will ensure the filling has set up completely and you’ll be able to slice the cheesecake cleanly.
• To serve, place the pan on the counter and carefully remove the collar (sides) of the springform pan. Use a sharp knife to cut the cheesecake into slices, cleaning the knife after each slice. A slightly wet knife will help you get the cleanest slices.
• Top cheesecake with sweetened whipped cream or your favorite berry pie filling.
• To store the cheesecake, replace the collar (sides) of the springform pan and cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap. Keep in the refrigerator for up to five days.