This creamy no-bake orange cheesecake sets up right in the fridge! It’s very easy to make and full of delicious, fresh orange flavor.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No baking required! Both the crust AND the cheesecake set in the fridge. Super convenient if you don’t want to turn the oven on.
- It’s a nice, refreshing twist on plain cheesecake. The orange juice and zest truly make this cheesecake much more vibrant and flavorful.
- It’s versatile. I opted for a rosemary graham cracker crust, but you can always swap in other herbs or cookies! For example, instead of using crushed graham crackers, you can use Nilla wafers, Biscoff cookies, or even Golden Oreos.
Looking for more citrusy recipes? Try out my orange sugar cookies and lemon curd poppy seed cookies!
Ingredients
To make no-bake orange cheesecake from scratch, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- For the crust, you’ll mix graham crackers (which will be food processed into fine crumbs), granulated sugar, melted unsalted butter, and rosemary.
- For the filling, make sure to use full-fat block cream cheese and full-fat sour cream. Lower or zero fat dairy will not set as well and may lead to a liquidy mess!
- Powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest will add the perfect amount of sweetness and citrusy flavor.
- You will whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks, which will make the cheesecake filling nice, light, and a bit sturdy.
- You can use either vanilla extract or vanilla paste (1:1) in this recipe.
- To decorate, you can whip more heavy cream and dye it with gel food coloring. I chose to draw on oranges and decorate with edible flowers.
- The edible flowers I used are chamomile. Check out this list of edible flowers for some more options and make sure that the ones you buy are food-safe!
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
💡 Baking Tip
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the sugar in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
How to Make No-Bake Orange Cheesecake
Step 1: Food process graham cracker sheets into a fine crumb. Mix with melted butter, sugar, and rosemary until fully combined. Press into 6-inch springform pan (mine is 3-inches tall), making sure you pack it into the bottom and up the sides. Refrigerate while you make the cheesecake filling.
Step 2: Whip cream cheese, sour cream, and zest until there are no clumps.
Step 3: Mix in vanilla, powdered sugar, and orange juice until just combined and smooth (do not over mix). In another bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks. Fold this into the cheesecake batter, then transfer into graham cracker crust. Use a spatula to smooth it out.
Step 4: Lightly cover and chill in fridge for at least 3 hours. Carefully remove from springform pan and decorate using dyed whipped cream, edible flowers, etc.! Enjoy. 😊
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
No-bake Orange Cheesecake FAQs
Make sure to use full-fat sour cream and block cream cheese. Lower or zero fat options will not set as well.
In addition, do not over mix the cheesecake filling and make sure to let it set in the fridge long enough!
I recommend storing it in the fridge and eating it within 5 days. See my storage instructions for more information.
Storage
You can either store cheesecake slices in an airtight container or individually plastic wrap them. If the cake isn’t fully cut, you can also lightly plastic wrap the remaining cake.
- Refrigeration instructions: Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: If plastic wrapping, do 3 layers to avoid freezer burn. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw in fridge overnight.
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Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
📖 Recipe & Video
No-bake Orange Cheesecake
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Equipment
- Kitchen scale or measuring cups
- Food processor to make graham cracker crumbs! can also use a ziploc bag & rolling pin to crush the crackers
- large mixing bowl for cheesecake filling
- medium mixing bowl to whip heavy cream
- 6-inch springform pan at least 3 inches all
- offset spatula
Ingredients
For the rosemary graham cracker crust:
- 18 (252 g) graham cracker sheets
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon (0.03 g) rosemary finely chopped
For the orange cheesecake filling:
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) full-fat cream cheese block cream cheese, not from the tub; softened
- 3 tablespoons (36 g) full-fat sour cream
- 2 teaspoons (4 g) orange zest from 2 small oranges
- 1 tablespoon (13 g) vanilla paste or extract
- ¼ cup (30 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (62 g) orange juice boxed or from 1 orange
- ½ cup (119 g) heavy cream chilled
For decorating:
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) heavy cream
- gel food coloring
- edible flowers I used chamomile
- rosemary
Instructions
Make the rosemary graham cracker crust:
- Food process 18 graham cracker sheets until you get fine crumbs.
- Mix graham cracker crumbs with ½ cup unsalted butter, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, and ¼ teaspoon rosemary until fully combined. It should feel like wet sand and clump together easily.
- Transfer to 6-inch springform pan. I recommend using a cup to pack it into the bottom and up the sides. The more tightly packed, the better!Place in fridge or freezer while you make the filling.
Make the orange cheesecake filling:
- In a large bowl, whip 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, 3 tablespoons full-fat sour cream, and 2 teaspoons orange zest until there are no clumps. Use silicone spatula to scrape bottom and sides of bowl.
- Mix in 1 tablespoon vanilla, ¼ cup powdered sugar, and ¼ cup orange juice until fully combined and smooth. Do not over mix.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whip ½ cup heavy cream until you get very stiff peaks. Use silicone spatula to gently fold this into your cheesecake mixture.
- Transfer filling into your chilled graham cracker crust and use offset spatula to evenly spread the top. Lightly cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Decorate (optional):
- In a medium mixing bowl, whip 3 tablespoons heavy cream until you get stiff peaks. Split and dye with desired gel food coloring (I did orange & green to draw oranges!) and transfer to piping bags. Use this to decorate the cheesecake.
- Add on edible flowers and rosemary. Enjoy!
Notes
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the sugar in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
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- Refrigeration instructions: Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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- Freezing instructions: If plastic wrapping, do 3 layers to avoid freezer burn. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw in fridge overnight.
Disclaimer: This recipe was developed for a paid partnership on Instagram & TikTok with Florida’s Natural.