No Bake Ricotta Cheesecake

Cheesecake should never be a source of anything but pure enjoyment. No stress, no mess, and no frustration, only dreamy and decadent sweet and slightly cheesey goodness. 

Making the perfect cheesecake is both easy and hard. It’s easy because you can always make a no-bake beauty, but it can be hard since there are several things that can go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing.

But we can fix that and have you whipping up delightful desserts in no time.  

So let’s break the whole process into easy pieces – before you get ready to treat yourself to some cheesecake pieces.

What’s the Best Cheese to Use?

For this recipe I used a mixture of ricotta and plain cream cheese.

If you read my kiwi cheesecake recipe, you already know that you need a full-fat cream cheese for any successful no-bake cheesecake.

As for the ricotta, you need to be sure you pick up a high-quality cheese. What is considered to be a quality ricotta? A quality ricotta should be both creamy and dense with a fresh dairy flavor.

Unfortunately, many ricotta cheeses have grainy or water texture. Choose better brands and always look for a full-fat ricotta as well because that one has a better taste than lower-fat options. 

If you love the way this recipe turns out, I’m sure you’ll also love my recipe for Italian lemon ricotta cake!

A Cheesecake Needs More Than Cheese…

Even a delicious creamy ricotta and full-fat cream cheese need some help to become a delicious cheesecake.

Most recipes add either sour cream or heavy cream just to soften the cheese texture. You can use either.

Another great thing to add is lemon juice. That is what I have used for this recipe, along with some honey. Together, it all made my cheesecake mix perfectly smooth. Yum.

Tips For Making the Crust

This is a quite plain, but satisfying, crust made with ground digestive cookies and butter. There are two key steps when making the crust:

• When combining butter and digestive cookies, make sure you have a wet sand-like mixture. Anything dryer or with more liquid will not give the desired results. 

• Once the crust is in the spring form pan, press it down firmly. You can press the crust with the back of your spoon or press it with the bottom of a glass. This will ensure the crust is nice and firm, and that will not break when cut into slices.

What Else Can Be Used to Make the Crust?

Any classic cheesecake crust is made simply by combining some type of ground cookies and butter.

If you can’t get digestive cookies locally and don’t want to wait for McVitie’s to ship, you can also use graham crackers, the classic American choice for cheesecake. You can use the shortbread cookies.

Just make sure your cookies are neither too finely ground nor too chunky. If you want to make a chocolatey crust, you can use chocolate cookies or my favorite: crumbled Oreo cookies. 

No Bake Cheesecake Tips

1. Make sure your cheese is room temperature.

Having room temperature cheese will ensure you get a smooth mixture at the end. Cheese that is too firm will not mix well; you will have chunks of cheese in your cake. 

2. Don’t over mix the cheese.

As with just about anything in baking, it is important not to over mix the ingredients. The more you mix them, the more air will be incorporated and once the cake is settled down, it will have air holes inside. 

3. Chill the cake.

Once your cake is in the spring form, it is important to chill it properly. This will ensure the cake firms up as well as flavors to develop. Chill the cake overnight.

You can also chill the cake in the fridge for 4 hours plus just 20 minutes in the freezer if you want to speed up the wait time. I do not recommend more, because the cheese may become gritty.

Serving Tips

A cheesecake is already a beautiful thing, so I like to keep this one simple: I just topped my cake with fresh strawberries and a bit of ground digestive cookies.

Cheesecake can be served with almost any kind of fruit. You can always top the cake with a fruity jam, chocolate, or chopped nuts. Sometimes, I like to cook fresh berries with some honey and lemon juice and just drizzle it all over the cake. 

How To Make a No Bake Ricotta Cheesecake

Step 1

Make the crust: Melt butter over the stove or in the microwave. 

In a bowl, combine the butter and ground digestive cookies. Stir until you have a wet sand-like texture. Press the crust into spring form pan, lined with baking paper.

Step 2

Make the filling: In a bowl, cream together ricotta and cream cheese.

Add honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Blend until it starts to become smooth. 

Step 3

Place the cheese mixture over the prepared crust.

Chill the cake overnight. 

Before serving, remove the cake from the spring form pan and top with fresh strawberries and ground digestive cookies. 

Up Next: Oreo Biscuit Cake Recipe