No Bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

A no bake chocolate chip cheesecake with creamy, no bake cheesecake filling that’s flecked with finely chopped dark chocolate, and a buttery, salted graham cracker crust. This is an easy cheesecake recipe that comes together in just a few hours, and looks adorable decorated with Easter candy for the holiday weekend.

You might also love this no bake lemon blueberry cheesecake, carrot cake cheesecake, and perfect vanilla cheesecake.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Simple to Make. A no bake cheesecake is the easiest type of cheesecake, since it doesn’t require the water bath, long bake time, and long cooling/chill time usually required of traditional cheesecakes.

No Gelatin. While I have made recipes for no bake cheesecake with gelatin to set the filling, I’ve come to prefer the texture of no bake cheesecake without gelatin. When the heavy whipping cream is whipped with the cream cheese, you get a very thick, stable filling that sets up perfectly without the need for a thickening agent.

Not Too Sweet. With the piles of candy on top of the filling, I didn’t want the filling itself to be too sweet. You can always increase the powdered sugar by 2-4 more tablespoons if you prefer a sweeter dessert, though.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Crust

• Graham Crackers. You can use any flavor of graham crackers. Honey, cinnamon or chocolate graham crackers are all great with the chocolate chip cheesecake filling.
• Granulated Sugar. Adds a touch of sweetness.
• Salt. A good pinch of salt in the crust really helps to balance the sweetness of the dessert, especially if you’re decorating it with sweet candy.
• Butter. Use unsalted butter, or reduce the added salt in the crust. The melted butter is what moistens the graham cracker crumbs and holds the crust together.

Filling

• Cream Cheese. Use block cream cheese, preferably full fat, for the best texture and flavor.
• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens the filling. Don’t use granulated sugar, which will leave a grainy texture.
• Sour Cream. Adds a bit of a tangy flavor, although you can leave the sour cream out.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Heavy Whipping Cream. You’ll need the high fat content of heavy whipping cream to whip the filling until it’s thick and fluffy.
• Chocolate. For the chocolate “chips” I chopped up a bar of 70% dark chocolate, to get fine shards and flecks of chocolate throughout the filling. You can use milk chocolate or semi sweet, too, if you prefer.
• Candy.

Instructions

Crust

• Preheat the oven to 325F. Lightly spray the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with non-stick baking spray, or line it with parchment paper.
• Combine the crushed graham crackers with the sugar and salt. Drizzle with the melted butter, and toss with a fork until moistened and crumbly. Dump the crumbs into the pan, and press the crumbs firmly against the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
• Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until fragrant and golden brown. Cool completely. You can speed up the cooling by letting it cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes.

Filling

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes, until smooth. Tip: The filling isn’t overly sweet, so if you prefer sweeter desserts, increase the powdered sugar by 2-4 tablespoons.
• Scrape the bowl down and beat in the sour cream and the vanilla extract, until smooth, then beat in 1/4 cup of the cream.
• Pour in the rest of the cream, switch to the whisk attachment, and beat for several more minutes on medium speed until thick, fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
• Add the chopped chocolate and fold it in with a spatula.
• Spread the filling into the cooled crust. Refrigerate the cheesecake for 2 hours before serving.

Serving

• To serve, run a sharp knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the crust from the pan, then carefully remove the sides of the pan. Set the cheesecake on a serving plate or cake pedestal.
• If you like, decorate the top of the cake with assorted Easter candy for a fun and festive holiday dessert. I used a variety of Cadbury eggs, mini chocolate bunnies, and candy coated robin’s eggs for mine. Note that the food coloring used on the shells of the candy eggs will bleed a little and stain the top of cheesecake batter.
• Instead of the candy, you can also serve your cheesecake with chocolate ganache or salted caramel sauce.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

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