No-Bake Cranberry Cheesecake is a cool and creamy cheesecake made with whole berry cranberry sauce and a buttery graham cracker crust. Sugared cranberries make this festive cheesecake extra beautiful!
So I just realized I posted back-to-back cheesecake recipes. I figured you wouldn’t mind, so I’m not going to apologize for this delicious mistake. After all, we are swiftly approaching pie season (even though pie season is forever in my heart) so I figured you could use all the pie-inspiration you could get!
And lemme tell you something – there is a seriously LACK of cranberry recipes on the blogosphere. It’s kind of tragic, actually.
Besides cranberry sauces and relishes, there are not a ton of cranberry-centric desserts. I have my Cranberry Crumble Bars and my White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies, of course, but there needed to be something more cranberry focused and this cheesecake is for sure IT!!
What I love about this recipe is how easy it is to make AND how it is entirely no-bake – from the buttery graham cracker crust to the lusciously smooth cranberry cheesecake filling. Around the holidays, we’re all so BUSY – and especially during food holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, we need all the oven space we can get for actual food like turkey and the fixings. It’s annoying to have to share the precious oven space with a pie (albeit a delicious one!). This cheesecake solves those problems twofold: not only can it be made ahead (yay!) but it is entirely no-bake!
The crust starts as any crust would: graham cracker crumbs, butter, and some brown sugar. Mix it up until golden and moistened and press it into a lightly greased 9″ round springform pan. Once it is all pressed in there evenly, simply freeze it for 30 minutes for it to set. Easy peasy!
The filling starts with cream cheese and a surprise ingredient: marshmallow fluff! Marshmallow fluff adds the sweetness but also provides an amazing light and fluffy texture to this cheesecake. Trust me when I say that the marshmallow fluff is essential to the incredible texture! The filling also boasts an entire can of whole berry cranberry sauce, some orange juice, gelatin (for it to set well) and fresh whipped cream. I think freshly whipped cream adds better flavor than whipped topping, so I used that plus some melted gelatin to help stabilize the pie.
Once the filling is made, simply pour it into the crust, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, up to overnight, before serving. You can most definitely make this cheesecake a day or two ahead as well! If you’re serving it with the sugared cranberry garnish, I just recommend making those the same day as the longer they sit (especially in the fridge) the more they’ll “melt” (AKA, the sugar will seep and melt off of the cranberries and you’ll have to re-roll them in more sugar).
Not only is this No-Bake Cranberry Cheesecake stunningly gorgeous with its pretty pink color, it is SO tasty. For people who want to shine a light on bright, seasonal cranberries, this cheesecake is basically a love letter to those sweet & tart little berries!
No-Bake Cranberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
- FOR THE CRUST:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 Tablespoons butter melted
- FOR THE CHEESECAKE:
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese at room temperature
- One (7-ounce jar) marshmallow fluff/creme
- One (14-ounce can) whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- FOR SUGARED CRANBERRIES:
- 3/4 cup simple syrup
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9" springform pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter until moistened. Press the graham cracker crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Freeze for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add the orange juice and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the juice. Let stand for 1 minute, then turn the heat to low and cook and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Cool for 10 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and marshmallow fluff until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the whole berry cranberry sauce and the orange juice mixture and mix well. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Fold the whipped cream into the cranberry cheesecake mixture thoroughly until no streaks of whipped cream remain, taking care to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the crust and smooth out the top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- About an hour before serving, make the sugared cranberries, if using. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the simple syrup and cranberries, tossing to coat. Pour the whole mixture over the cooling rack, allowing the simple syrup to drain and the cranberries to set on the rack to dry off for one hour. After one hour, add the granulated sugar to a bowl and add in the cranberries. Toss to coat in the sugar mixture.
- Garnish the top of the cheesecake with the sugared cranberries. Note that the sugared cranberries may begin to "weep" and the sugar may start to "melt" off of the cranberries after awhile. You can simply re-roll them in granulated sugar.
Simple, beautiful, and seriously tasty cranberry cheesecake! You’re going to love it!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
Recipe Garden says
Delicious & colorful, perfect for holidays!
Shrn says
Is the orange juice necessary? Or can we use lemon or lime juice instead?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Shrn, yes you can absolutely use lemon or lime juice!