No Bake Cheesecake Cups
Beat the heat with No Bake Cheesecake Cups! It’s a creamy red white and blue cheesecake in a cup with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Made without Cool Whip as an easy cheesecake parfait dessert.
What kind of summer person are you?
Do you like to soak up the sun as much as possible and find yourself outdoors every chance you get?
Or do you hibernate inside with the a/c on full blast, cooling down with strawberry popsicles?
I’m in the latter category. Sure, I need my sunlight and go for a walk almost every evening, but if you asked would I rather go to the pool or stay indoors, my vote is definitely indoors (that and I hate swimming).
The only exception would be the beach, but even then I wouldn’t want to lay outside in 90 degrees for too long.
I’d listen to the waves crash, dip my feet into the water, then go inside and buy an ice cream cone.
No matter which group you’re in, we can both agree nobody wants to turn on the oven in the summer.
Sure, I’ll still do it but then I’m cranking up the a/c on high. If I can make a recipe without turning my apartment into a giant hot box, then I’m all in.
With 4th of July coming up quickly, I thought I would treat you to these No Bake Cheesecake Cups that are red, white, and blue.
It’s a creamy, easy no bake cheesecake in a cup layered with fresh strawberries and blueberries to make a cheesecake parfait dessert.
I can get my cheesecake fix AND not die from the heat? Win win.
Difference Between No Bake and Baked Cheesecake
Besides the obvious difference of not using an oven, how does the batter for no bake cheesecake vs. baked cheesecake vary?
Both methods use cream cheese. However, baked cheesecake such as my 9 inch cheesecake uses eggs because it’s technically a custard.
And sometimes you need a water bath, like with my 6 inch cheesecake.
No bake cheesecake is very easy to whip up as you fold homemade whipped cream into the beaten cream cheese.
Normally it’s Cool Whip, but that’s not an ingredient I normally use.
I developed this cheesecake cups recipe so you don’t even need to clean the mixing bowl in between steps. Just make sure you scrape really well.
And since you’ll want to garnish your strawberry blueberry cheesecake with more whipped cream on top, I made sure you make enough all at once so you wouldn’t have to double up on steps.
Ingredients For Cheesecake Cups
Here’s what you need for your no bake cheesecake for two:
- Graham cracker crumbs: Traditionally cheesecake has a graham cracker crust, but you can certainly make it with any crumb you like, including Oreo cookies. Use a food processor to turn them into fine crumbs.
- Butter: Needed to bind the crust
- Salt: Helps the crust taste better if using unsalted butter
- Heavy cream: Whipped cream is used to thicken the filling instead of Cool Whip
- Cream cheese: It’s not cheesecake without cream cheese! Use a block of full-fat cream cheese because the low fat and fat free versions have more water in them.
- Powdered sugar: Balances out the tanginess of the cream cheese plus helps stabilize filling.
- Vanilla: Adds flavor
Can I substitute other fruit for the berries?
These cheesecake cups can easily be made with other fruit! Check out my No Bake Caramel Apple Cheesecake and No Bake Peach Cheesecake for more ideas.
If you’re looking for more servings, check out my No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake.
How To Make Cheesecake Cups
Here’s how to make your no bake cheesecake in a cup:
- Mix together graham cracker crumbs, butter, and salt then pat into the bottom of two parfait glasses. Chill while you make the filling.
- Beat heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a bowl and keep cold.
- Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
- Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until full incorporated.
- Layer cheesecake with strawberry sauce and blueberries.
- Chill for 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop.
Refrigerate leftover no bake cheesecake for up to 5 days.
Red White and Blue Cheesecake
If you’re celebrating 4th of July, you can incorporate fresh berries to make them red, white, and blue like I did with my No Bake Mini Cheesecakes.
White is the cheesecake and whipped cream.
Blue is the blueberries, which I left untouched because I wanted them to remain blue and not turn purple if I cooked them down into a sauce.
Red is homemade strawberry sauce because I wanted some type of sauce component.
You can certainly use freshly sliced strawberries, but I highly recommend taking the extra time for the sauce. Sauce + cheesecake = extra delicious.
Or layer your cheesecake with strawberry jam without pectin or strawberry curd.
You can also make the sauce on a separate day and use when ready to assemble.
No Bake Cheesecake Cups FAQ
Chances are your cream cheese was too cold. Make sure it sits out at room temperature until no longer cold to the touch. If it’s still too cold, microwave (without the foil wrapper!) in 5-10 second increments. Be careful you don’t accidentally melt it!
Low fat and fat free cream cheese tend to have a higher water content than full-fat cream cheese. Although you can technically use them, please note the end result might be a bit more watery.
Yes! It actually benefits from a longer chilling time as the flavors meld together. Make them 1-2 days ahead of time.
More Cheesecake For Two Recipes
- Cheesecake For Two baked in ramekins
- Small Batch Cheesecake in a loaf pan
- Air Fryer Cheesecake
No Bake Cheesecake Cups
Beat the heat with No Bake Cheesecake Cups! It’s a creamy red white and blue cheesecake in a cup with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Made without Cool Whip as an easy cheesecake parfait dessert.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
- 1/4 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces (4 tablespoons) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature and not cold to the touch (do not sub low fat or fat free)
- Fresh blueberries and Strawberry Sauce, for layering
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the crumbs, melted butter, and salt. Press into the bottom of two glasses or ramekins. Refrigerate while you make the filling.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl on medium-high speed (with whisk attachment if using 5 quart stand mixer), beat the heavy cream until it starts to thicken, about 1 minute.
- Gradually beat in 1 tablespoon powdered sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla then continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes (when you pull the beaters up, peaks will form and not fall over).
- Transfer to another bowl and reserve 2 tablespoons whipped cream for garnish. Keep both cold in the refrigerator.
- In the same mixing bowl (no need to clean bowl - switch to paddle if using stand mixer), beat together the cream cheese, remaining 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon vanilla until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
- Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until fully incorporated.
- Add some of the cheesecake filling on top of each chilled crust then add some blueberries and strawberry sauce. Finish layering with the cheesecake and berries.
- Garnish with the reserved 2 tablespoons whipped cream. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Keep cold until ready to serve.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Enjoyed this recipe? Check out Mini No Bake Cheesecakes and No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake.
- You can also use Strawberry Jam, Blueberry Jam, Blueberry Pie Filling, and Cherry Pie Filling for the layering.
First published June 23, 2016
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This sounds absolutely yummy! I’m with you on swimming – I’ve always hated it – and my solution for the beach is to walk and pick up shells. In the last few years, since I’ve been spending a lot of time at the beach, I’ve become a die-hard shell collector. I get my exercise, can dip my feet into the water, and have a good time.
I used to be an avid shell collector as well, but I stopped because it was getting to be too much. Now I only collect shells from special places (like a Bahamas trip I took in college for a class).
Ha, I can’t swim, but I could spend hours on the beach, just watching/listening to the waves. I don’t like the heat though, but having one of these parfaits would help with cooling off!
Yes these parfaits will definitely help you cool down ;)
Looks yummy! Always enjoy your posts
Thanks!
I’m with you, Carla–indoors with the a/c on. Humidity and heat and I don’t get along. Walking the beach with a sun hat on…..now that sounds great! Your parfaits look fantastic. We are having a 4th of July party on July 8th and these will be dessert. Thanks for your wonderful recipes and for sharing yourself with us.
I was outside all day yesterday at an amusement park where the heat index was 101. I wanted to cry LOL Let me know how you enjoy the desserts!
These cheesecakes are amazing and I love that this recipe is for just 2! It is just my daughter and I so it is so nice when I can find recipes that are just enough for us and desserts are often hard to find that way. Thank you for this one as we both LOVE cheesecake also!
Thanks, Jessie! Glad you both enjoyed it.
Can you make this a day ahead and refrigerate?
Yes, you can make it ahead of time.
We have friends coming from the UK for a week in August – in Florida! We have no idea how to entertain them in that kind of heat but this dessert sounds like just the refreshing dessert that I should make for us – I’ll just double the recipe to serve four.
Thank you!
Let me know how it goes!