People talk about no-bake desserts a lot in the summer – I get it, it’s hot and no one wants to heat their house up even more by having the oven running at 350 degrees for an hour. I guess I’m kind of crazy in that I’ve never really felt that way. Well, when it comes to baking anyway; I’ve used the “it’s too hot” excuse plenty of times to get out of cooking dinner ๐
But if I want a freshly baked cookie or cupcake, I’ll gladly deal with the heat to get it. I think there have been maybe two times this summer where even I wasn’t insane enough to bake, and they were record hot (for RI anyway), 100+ degree days. The kind of days that definitely make me wish we had a pool – I keep telling Shane a pool is a must for our next house, even if we can only use it about 2 months of the year here!
For those really hot days, it can be nice to have a few no-bake desserts in your back pocket that you can pull out if you really need to whip something up. For years, my go-to super simple recipe has been these no-bake peanut butter squares – they are always popular no matter where I bring them. Proving once again that you can never go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter ๐
When I want to make something slightly more impressive though, this no-bake Oreo cheesecake is where I turn. It’s more complicated than the peanut butter squares, but the result is always worth the effort! In truth, the cheesecake isn’t even that much work, but there are multiple chill periods so you just have to plan ahead so you ensure you leave enough time to make the individual components before assembling.
And speaking of the components, here’s what we have: at the base is an Oreo cookie crust. The filling consists of a few steps. First, you make a white chocolate pudding – the flavor of the white chocolate isn’t that strong, but it adds sweetness and structure to the filling. Unlike a lot of no-bake cheesecakes, there’s no gelatin in this one so you need that white chocolate to help firm this one up! It wouldn’t be a cheesecake without cream cheese, so the next step in making the filling is to whip up a bunch of cream cheese until fluffy, and then you add the chilled white chocolate pudding. Finally, to assemble, you simply alternate layers of your cream filling with chopped Oreos. Let it all set up for a few hours and you’re ready to dig in!
I let my cheesecake sit out a little too long before cutting it, so the slices weren’t the most beautiful, but they were no less delicious. Super creamy filling with lots of Oreos for texture and flavor – I intended to take only a bite while photographing, but it accidentally turned into my lunch… If you need a no-bake dessert this summer, you definitely won’t be disappointed in this Oreo cheesecake!
No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake
just barely adapted from Cook’s Country, June/July 2008
Crust
30 Oreo cookies
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Filling
1 cup whole milk, divided
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 oz white chocolate, finely chopped
4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
12 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped
To make the crust: Add the Oreos to the bowl of your food processor and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped. Cut the butter into several pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse until the cookies are finely ground and the butter has been incorporated (the mixture should resemble wet sand). Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch springform pan and press into an even layer on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Chill in your refrigerator until set for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.
To make the filling: Add 3/4 cup of the milk to a medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. In the meantime, in a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, flour, and remaining 1/4 cup milk. When the milk is hot, slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour back into the saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is very thick and glossy, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the white chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl then press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface (this will prevent a skin from forming) and refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
To assemble the cheesecake: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the pudding, and mix on low speed just until combined. Add 1/4 of the filling to the crust, then sprinkle with about 1/3 of the chopped Oreos. Repeat two more times with filling and Oreos, then top with the remaining filling. Chill the cheesecake in your refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or until set. Remove the sides of the pan and slice to serve.
The cheesecake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
No bake oreo cheesecake is an absolute favourite at home! I’ve never tried making it with a white chocolate pudding filling, but yours looks so amazing that I’m definitely going to give it a try! x
il est magnifique ce cheesecake!! un rรฉgal pour les yeux et les papilles!! et trรจs joli look pour ton blog je te fรฉlicite.
bisous Line
Josh would LOVE this. Dang you! you just added to my ‘summer’ cooking! Weren’t we just talking about Fall this morning ><
No bake treats are a great thing, but like you I always use the oven in the summer! But I can totally skip it for this gorgeous and delicious looking cake! My oreos loving older brother would go crazy for this!
Your cheesecake is just gorgeous! All that dark Oreo crust around that creamy cheesecake is more than I can stand. Plus it’s no-bake!
So nice to see a no-bake dessert that doesn’t include cool whip or instant pudding! This looks amazing and wonderful for summer – or anytime!
I’m obsessed with no-bake things right now and this is going on my list! Love it!
This looks almost to good to eat… I did say almost
I don’t have a spring form pan. Do you think you could make it in pie tins?
This is definitely my kind of cake. LOVE this Tracey! Such a fabulous combination of flavours.
I never feel like it’s too hot to bake either…but maybe that’s because my sweet treat cravings trump any heat discomfort any day. I can definitely make room in my life for this cheesecake though! Oreos = happiness.
this looks fantastic! and I’m with you…definitely willing to endure a hot kitchen for a fresh cookie ๐
@Katie – It’d almost certainly be too much filling for a single pie, but maybe you could split it up in a few pie plates? You may have to make slightly more of the crust recipe if you’re going to go that route. Wish I could offer more direction, but I’m just not sure having only tried in a springform pan. Let me know how it turns out if you give it a go!
I love no bake desserts and this one looks so wonderful!!
I haven’t had cheesecake in such a long time. And the thing is I can really appreciate a good cheesecake. I think cheesecake is a very underappreciated dessert.
This looks amazing ๐
Haha, you’ve obviously always had air conditioning if you’ve always been willing to turn your oven on in the summer. This cheesecake looks pretty killer.
This sounds delicious! Any excuse to buy some Oreos ๐
What a very pretty cheesecake. I am picturing Thanksgiving dessert table already
I’m one of those non-bakers when it is hot, so recipes like this are my favorites. This looks delicious!
Oh yum. I thought that this was going to be another basic no bake cheesecake but this is so much more! I’ve never tried anything this like. Definitely have to get on that!
And if you don’t get the “it’s too hot to bake” thing then I think you must have AC. Because seriously… it’s too hot here to bake. ๐
So pretty! And I love that it is no bake. I have never tried to make a no bake cheesecake before – guess I better get on it!
Beautiful! And even more beautiful it’s no bake!
glorious! This is heaven in dessert form ๐ I absolutely can not wait to try this!
I just had a conversation about oreos yesterday with my mom, about how they’re my absolute FAVORITE store bought cookie..the more cream the better!
This cheesecake is right up my alley! Im loving it!
Can you use gluten free materials and it still come out okay? My mother has a gluten allergy ๐
@Anonymous – I’ve never tried this recipe with gluten-free products and in general I don’t bake gluten-free, so I’m honestly not sure. If you try, please come back and let me know how it works!
Hi is 4packs of cream cheese 8oz each Or total 8oz?
@RyuseiHime: Hi, it’s a total of 32 oz (or 2 lbs) of cream cheese for the recipe. They sell 8 oz packages here so you’d need 4 of them ๐
Thanks Tracy! =)
Can i use instant pudding for this?
@Sue – You mean make a pudding for the filling instead? I’ve never tried, but I’m not sure you’d be able to slice it neatly. It might end up being a spoon dessert instead.
No I meant using likea jello instant pudding instead of making the pudding from scratch.
@Sue – Ah, ok ๐ It’s impossible for me to say – the white chocolate in this homemade pudding really helps to thicken and firm the filling. I’m not sure an instant pudding would be able to do the same. If you try, please let me know how it goes!
Hi Tracey,
Do I still need to grease my springform pan?
Thanks!
@Megy – Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, we were on vacation. No, you don’t have to grease the springform pan. There’s plenty of butter in the crust so you shouldn’t have any issues with it sticking to the pan. Mine came out perfectly ๐
is it freezer friendly? -can you freez it until you need it ?
Do you take out the filling/cream from the cookies or do you leave them in? Asking for the 30 cookies of the crust and 12 for the filling.
@Anonymous: I haven’t tried so I’m honestly not sure. Regular cheesecake freezes well, but this no-bake version might be different with the pudding in there. Let me know if you try!
@Anonymous: I always leave the filling in when I make Oreo crusts so no worries there. And yes, definitely chop up the whole cookie (cream included) for the ones in the filling. Hope you enjoy!