Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Surprisingly vibrant strawberry flavor.
Texture: Depends on how cold you serve it! The colder it is the more like ice cream the texture becomes. The warmer it is, it’s more like a cross between cheesecake and strawberry mousse.
Ease: Definitely easy but you need both a blender or food processor and electric mixer.
Pros: Fun, bright, and crowd pleasing summer treat. Can be made far in advance.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Absolutely.
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There’s nothing better than a fresh, fruity, and chilled dessert on a hot summer day.
What I love about this recipe is how bold the strawberry flavor is. I find with a lot of baked goods, the strawberries kind of dull in flavor from the heating process (unless you’re roasting strawberries!).
In this recipe we use strawberries in two forms for a double pack of both flavor and color. Freeze dried strawberries that are blended into a fine powder as well as fresh strawberries that are blended into the filling mixture.
with 1/4 cup heavy cream and spread on top after freezing the bars.
So while you do need both a blender or food processor and an electric mixer (or very strong arm) to make this recipe, there’s no oven involved. There’s also no Cool Whip. Totally homemade from scratch!
No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Bar Tips & Tricks
I can’t find graham crackers. What else can I use?
Whatever your heart desires! You can use vanilla wafers, chocolate wafers, pretzels, digestive biscuits. You can even put the filling on top of a pan of brownies!
Where do I find freeze dried strawberries? What if I can’t find them?
The freeze dried strawberries offer a ton of strawberry flavor and vibrant color without adding too much extra liquid to the filling. Fresh strawberries contain a lot of water which makes it difficult to make a sturdy enough no bake cheesecake that holds its shape. Or one that doesn’t get icy and hard if you freeze it.
You can find freeze-dried strawberries near the other dried fruits like raisins at the grocery store. I’ve seen them consistently stocked at Target, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, and Walmart. Reader Francesca also mentioned you can often find freeze dried fruit next to the baby food at the store!
If you can’t find, simply omit. The strawberry color and flavor will be less intense.
By the way, I also love to use freeze dried strawberries in icing recipes like with my Baked Strawberry Lemon Doughnuts! When you grind them up they also make a great garnish on chocolate cake or brownies.
Can I use frozen strawberries?
The second strawberry ingredient is simply fresh strawberries that have been hulled and chopped.
Yes, you can use frozen strawberries. Just make sure to thaw them then drain any excess liquid completely. Too much water will prevent this cheesecake from setting.
Chilling & Serving No Bake Cheesecake
This cheesecake needs to hang out in the freezer for at least 4 hours to ensure it fully sets and holds its shape. I usually just make it the day before I plan to serve it.
Before serving, allow it to soften slightly in the fridge for 30 minutes.
For clean slices, use a big sharp knife and run it under hot water and wipe if off in between slices.
Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days or freezer for up to 2 weeks. The texture will be looser when stored in the fridge.
More No Bake Recipes
- No Bake Frozen Blueberry Pie
- No Bake Strawberry Lemonade Mini Cheesecakes
- No Bake S’mores Mini Cheesecakes
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake
No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 sleeve (9 crackers, 140 grams) graham crackers
- 5 tablespoons (71 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (47 grams) freeze-dried sliced strawberries*
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 16 ounces (454 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1/2 cup (180 grams) heavy cream, chilled
Instructions
For the crust:
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.
- Place the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until very finely ground. The more finely ground, the better the crust will stay together and not crumble. Add in the melted butter and pulse until moistened.
- Very firmly press the mixture into the bottom of the pan using your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup. Refrigerate.
For the cheesecake:
- In the bowl of blender, combine the sugar, freeze dried strawberries, and salt. Blend until the strawberries are powdery with no visible chunks remaining. Add the cream cheese, lemon juice, and fresh strawberries. Blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom as needed. A blender tamper can help bring the mixture together quicker.
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment to whip the cream until medium peaks form. Add the strawberry mixture to the whipped cream and gently fold until combined. Spread over prepared crust, smoothing the top.
- Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight. Let sit in the fridge 30 minutes before serving. Run a large sharp knife under hot water, wipe if off, then slice into 9 bars.
- Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days or freezer for up to 2 weeks. If freezing, remove from freezer and refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
June Baking Challenge
This recipe was the pick for our June 2020 baking challenge! Check out the entries submitted below. Click here to discover the current month’s challenge.
I don’t have a blender, but I was able to get things done with my Ninja. I guess it is about the same thing, but I had to improvise a little when I added the cream cheese. A little divide and conquer as the jar in use wasn’t quite large enough. The recipe turned out as advertised. It is a very light cheesecake flavor. It tasted good and had a strong strawberry flavor. I preferred it with the chocolate drizzle. 🙂
Sidebar: I live near Van Drunen farms where they make the freeze dried strawberries for Target. I first shopped on Monday and couldn’t find the freeze dried strawberries anywhere. However, I found out Target deliveries for this product were shipped on Wednesday, so when I went back to Target on Thursday afternoon they had a big supply! Moral of the story, find out when local stores get delivery on products you want.
Loved this recipe. It was super easy
Delicious thank you
OMG!!! Totally sinfully delicious!!!
Love it!!! It is easy to make and tastes divine!!! The strawberry flavor is stong and good!!! Will def make again!!!
Such a delicious summer recipe! The strawberry flavor really comes through!
It’s so delicious and refreshing. It’s a perfect recipe for the Summer, not only because there’s no oven time but also because it’s almost like an ice cream cake/pie. It’s also not too sweet. I absolutely loved it!
Really quite simple, and really delicious and refreshing on hot summer days. My 2yo son even helped and talks about breaking the strawberries.
This dessert was 5 stars and more! I dropped samples off to my family and my two oldest granddaughters actually FaceTimed me right away to say how good it was and ask to either bring the recipe or just bring more of the bars…lol. It was so easy to make and turned out beautiful. I love desserts that taste as good as they look. Definitely a keeper!
Quick, easy, and delicious! I made this for Father’s Day and it was a huge hit with everyone!
So I made this and I had some issue but it came out tasting awesome. The only problem I ran into was my fresh strawberries didn’t get chopped enough, also my mother in law said it was rich. Would it still work if you halved the recipe? I’m going to make it again so it’s a challenge contender.
Such a bold strawberry flavor! Refreshing and delicious all at the same time. Yummmm