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This No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake recipe is full of delicious key lime flavor and so light and creamy! Plus, being a no bake recipe it’s a great way to finish out the summer and all this hot weather.
For more great tasting no bake cheesecakes, check out this Perfect No Bake Cheesecake, this easy No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake, and this No Bake Lemon Cheesecake recipe. All are perfect recipes for summer!
Easy Key Lime Cheesecake
About this time of year, I start to wonder if I’d rather hang on to summer a bit longer or see fall make it’s arrival. I feel like we’ve had a relatively mild summer, but it’s definitely pretty warm this time of year and I’m never sad to see fall temperatures. However, it’s been one crazy busy summer and I don’t feel like we’ve gotten to fully enjoy it. I’m still hoping that in the next few weeks, we’ll get a chance to get out on the lake and enjoy a day with the sun on our skin.
Not to mention that I’m not entirely sure I’m ready to say goodbye to some of my favorite summer flavors. I love all the fresh fruit of summer and I’m already sad to see less of it available and not so much on sale. And then there’s the tropical flavors of summer like pina colada and key lime. Is it even possible to get tired of those? I think not.
So today I’m holding onto summer just a bit longer with this No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake. And if you live in an area where heat + turning on your oven = no good. This cheesecake is even better for you. It’s easy to make, cool and refreshing. Bring it on!
How To Make This Easy No Bake Cheesecake
This cheesecake gets started with a classic graham cracker crust. I like to add a touch of sugar to my crusts, which I did in this one. It just takes it up a notch and I’ve never been one to shy away from a touch more sugar. 🙂 I did happen to bake this crust, but you absolutely can pass on that step if you prefer and want it truly, hard-core no bake. I just like to bake it quickly because the crust holds together better when you cut into it. Your call though.
And then there’s the filling. It includes the best parts of a key lime pie in cheesecake form – heavenly sweetened condensed milk and of course all the key lime flavor of key lime juice and zest. Key limes themselves can be hard to find, so feel no shame in buying the bottled juice. It’s what I do and it’s always delicious. If that’s what you decide to do as well, you can use regular limes for the zest and decor. It’ll be fine and still taste like key lime, I promise. 🙂
Top the cheesecake off with some swirls of whipped cream and slices of key lime (or limes) and you’ve got an easy, super tasty and fun treat! We all loved how smooth, creamy and delicious it was!
No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake recipe is full of key lime flavor and so light and creamy! Plus, being a no bake recipe it’s a great summer dessert!
Ingredients
CRUST
- 2 ¼ cups (302g) graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup (112g) salted butter, melted
- 3 tbsp (39g) sugar
FILLING
- 16 oz (452g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 cup (80ml) key lime juice
- 1 tbsp key lime zest
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1/2 cup (58g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING
- 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1/2 cup (58g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp key lime zest
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 325°F (163°C). You could also skip baking the crust, if you prefer.
2. In a small bowl, combine crust ingredients and mix well.
3. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
4. Bake crust for 10 minutes (optional) then remove and set in the fridge to cool completely.
5. In a large mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth and creamy.
6. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix until well combined.
7. Add the key lime juice and zest and mix until well combined. Set the mixture aside.
8. In another large mixer bowl, add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
9. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture in two parts until well combined.
10. Add the filling to the cooled crust and spread into an even layer.
11. Refrigerate cheesecake until firm, 6-7 hours or overnight.
12. To finish off the cheesecake, remove it from the springform pan.
13. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and key lime zest for the whipped cream topping to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
14. Pipe swirls of whipped cream around the edge of the cheesecake and top the cheesecake with key lime slices.
15. Refrigerate cheesecake until ready to serve. Cheesecake is best for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 471
- Sugar: 38.3 g
- Sodium: 361 mg
- Fat: 26.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 51.4 g
- Protein: 7.7 g
- Cholesterol: 81.5 mg
Filed Under:
Enjoy!
Can I use cool whip instead of heavy cream in this cake?
Sure. I’d use an 8 oz tub but use a little less than all of it. So like 6ish oz.
I am planning to serve the No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake for Easter. Would making it on Friday be too early? We have enjoyed your No Bake Lemon Cheesecake, so I know this one will be a winner. Thanks for all you do.
No, not too early at all. That would be fine. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the lemon one!
I’ve never been a fan of key lime cheesecake in the past. However, I made this for my sister’s birthday because she loves key lime. Everyone that tried this cheesecake absolutely loved it, including me. Adding the key lime juice to the filling gives it a refreshingly good taste, but not overpowering. Would highly recommend this!!
So glad to hear that!
How many key limes are needed for the zest?
I just made this, and now waiting for 8-10 hours 🙂 thank you for this recipe!
I hope you enjoy it!
Can you make this ahead of time and can you freeze it ? Then defrost it and make the whipped cream topping.
Yes, that should be fine.
So good! So creamy, I added a little more lime juice since I like that flavour a lot! Made this for fun and wow was a treat for the week! Fair warning, this is a big cake so definitely lots to share!
Can this recipe be halved and made in a pie plate?
You can cut the recipe in half, yes. Depending on the size of your pie plate, you might want a little more filling than that though
Made this for my first cheesecake ever and hoping my gf enjoys it. Super easy to follow directions and seems to have turned out perfectly. It’s sitting in the fridge now finishing up. Thank you
Easy and it was delicious!
So glad to hear it!
How would I go about making a key lime flavored baked cheesecake (my brother is requesting one for his birthday next week)? Could I alter your vanilla baked cheesecake recipe (that is his favorite cheesecake) to accomplish this? I was thinking of adding a table of key lime zest as listed above for this recipe, but am unsure if adding the juice to the recipe would ruin the texture of the cheesecake. I was also going to make a key lime flavored curd to top the cake with, do you think that would be enough to impart a good flavor? I’d love any advice you could give.
So a couple options. Here’s a lemon cheesecake that has lemon curd on top. You could swap all the lemon stuff out for key lime and use that. The other option is that I have a new cheesecake I’m posting on Monday that is lemon blueberry. I personally think it’s an improvement on the lemon cheesecake and if it were me, I’d use that one and swap out the lemon for key lime (just leave out the blueberries). You could still do a key lime curd if you want, but I actually think it’d probably have enough flavor without it.
I never looked but next shopping trip I will!! thank you for your speedy reply.
We don’t have key limes here. would regular limes work?
Yes, it’d work. The flavor will be a little bit different. Do you have access to the bottled key lime juice?
All my family loved this!
temperature wise, I am SO ready for all, it is way too hot here, but flavor wise i am all about key lime
hey girl- this looks so yummy!
I LOOOVE key-lime pie! I can’t wait to try this no bake cheesecake! It’s just beautiful! 🙂
Thanks Alison! I hope you enjoy it!
Hi there, I live in South Africa and have NO idea what graham cracker crumbs are. We may have an equivalent of it here. Does it perhaps resemble an Army dog biscuit? A hard biscuit? Or a more crumbly biscuit used for savoury toppings? Kind regards, Ronel
I asked my mother-in-law, who is from South Africa, and she suggested digestive biscuits – or even better might be Tennis Biscuits. I hope that helps!
While I’m not very familiar with buscuits in South Africa or similar countries, the crumblier the biscuit you can find the better. Wikipedia compares them to a digestive. Often graham crackers have a semi-sweet, honey flavor. Most people will crumble the graham crackers in a plastic baggie themselves. They break apart easily. I hope this helps!