If you have tried my no-bake mango cheesecake, you know you wouldn’t want to miss my no-bake lemon cheesecake. Creamy texture with that tangy lemon taste. Not overwhelming at all, don’t you worry.
This no-bake lemon cheesecake was requested by one of my lovely viewers. If you haven’t noticed, I love to get recipe requests from you guys and make videos out of them. I feel it connects us more. What better way than to exchange food recipes and ideas, right?
Like any of my other no-bake cheesecake recipes, I'm using digestive biscuits for the base. I don't add more sugar to the crumbs as I feel it's sweet enough. I love digestive biscuits because they have this touch of saltiness that brings the whole taste together in a wonderful way.
For the cheesecake, since I want the lemon taste to shine through, like in my lemon loaf cake, I'm using quite a lot of lemon juice. To make it easier, instead of sifting icing sugar... I'm using condensed milk. Why not, right?
It helps in contributing to that creamy texture also. Win and win. You can reduce the amount of condensed milk to your liking but I promise you, it's not overly sweet or anything.
And oh... I'm also using my homemade lemon curd as the topping for this lemon cheesecake. A bit goes a long way. The combination is just so wonderful, they complement each other. At least that's how I feel.
If you like lemon desserts, you should check out our lemon blueberry cake with cream cheese frosting, it is to die for!
More No-Bake Cheesecake Recipes
Recipe Video
📖 Recipe
No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake
Ingredients
The Base
- 5.3 oz digestive biscuits (150 g)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (60 g), melted
The cheesecake
- 14 oz full fat cream cheese (400 g), room temperature
- 2 tablespoon lemon zest
- ⅓ cup lemon juice (80 ml)
- 14 oz condensed milk (400 g)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 ½ teaspoon powder gelatin (4 g), or any type and amount of gelatin that will set 200 ml
- ½ cup lemon curd (145 g), do check out my recipe
- some whipped cream
Instructions
The Base
- Put the digestive biscuits in a bag and crush them into fine crumbs using a rolling pin. Pour into a bowl and add in meted butter. Mix everything together until the mixture becomes wet-sand like.
- Pour the mixture into an 8 inch (20 cm) springform pan and spread evenly. Using the bottom of a glass, press and compact the mixture tightly and evenly to the base of the pan. Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
The Cheesecake
- In a bowl, add in cream cheese and whisk for a few minutes until fluffy.
- Add in lemon zest, lemon juice and condensed milk. Mix everything until well combined. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add in water and sprinkle the gelatin powder. Leave for 5 minutes to soak. After 5 minutes, heat in microwave until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Use max power with 15 seconds intervals, mixing after each intervals.
- Add around 2 tablespoon ( 1 tablespoon at a time) of previously prepared cream cheese mixture into the gelatin mixture, stir to mix well. Then add the gelatin mixture into the cream cheese mixture and immediately mix everything together to combine.
- Pour into previously prepared base and spread evenly. Give it a few wiggles to settle everything in. Chill in the fridge until it fully sets, minimum overnight.
- After the cheesecake is fully set, run a knife or an offset spatula all around it. Carefully remove the springform. Run an offset spatula all around the cheesecake to get that smooth finish.
- Pour lemon curd on top of the cheesecake and spread evenly. Finish off with some whipped cream on top. Enjoy!
Emma says
Hello Bea , Hello Marco
Ce cheesecake au citron facile et rapide à faire en plus d'être hyper bon , est devenu ma recette préférée de cheesecake au citron ... je l'ai déjà fait plusieurs fois !!
J'adore votre site , les recettes sont simples à suivre et extrêmement variés (Merci Bea) ... et les photos sont magnifiques , elles mettent les recettes bien en valeur (Merci Marco) !!
Quand j'aime , je le dis !! Bonne continuation à vous Bea & Marco ... continuez de régaler nos papilles et nos yeux !!
Ps : désolé , je ne parle pas anglais ... et encore moins espagnol !!
Bea & Marco says
Bonjour Emma! It warms our hearts to know that you're enjoying this cheesecake and our website. Thank you so much for your kind words, we really appreciate them. We just know a few words of French (to order/buy food, haha!) but we want to learn more since we love going to France in our motorhome! Huge hugs from us both!
Leah says
Hi! Wondering how far in advance I can make this cheesecake? Would 5 days before be okay if I kept it in the fridge? And put the lemon curd on the day before?
Thanks!
Bea & Marco says
Hi Leah! I'd say you can make this 2 days in advance to preserve the freshness and the looks. You can put the lemon curd before serving, it's totally fine. Hope it helps!
Maureen says
Hi,
Can you freeze this cheesecake?
Bea & Marco says
Hi Maureen! Although the texture wouldn't be the same, you could freeze it (I do it all the time since my family doesn't mind). Hope it helps!
Kathleen F Schickel says
Can I use graham cracker instead of the Digestive bisquit?
Bea says
Yes, you can 🙂
Phylllis says
Hi Bea
Is it a must to add gelatin?
Thanks
Bea says
Hi! Yes, it's a need in this recipe else the cheesecake won't hold properly. Hope it helps 🙂
Lucy says
This was the best cheesecake ever!! Love the subtle sweetness. 12/10
Sagufee says
What happens if we dont add gelatin. Any sunstitute of that?
Bea says
You can use agar agar instead 🙂
Wendy says
OMG I love the way you have multiplied the recipe. I do this all the time. The first one I haven’t had to do myself ❤️❤️ I have a birthday party this weekend so will be doing this recipe.
Bea says
Glad that you find it useful Wendy! ❤️
Aarti says
Hi!
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I have 2 queries:
a) By adding lemon juice directly to the Cream cheese, can it cause to split the Cream cheese? If yes, how do I prevent it?
b) I'm a vegetarian and would not be using Gelatin. I may use the Jelly strips or Jelly Powder. Would the measurements be the same as to your Gelation quantity?
Looking forward to your response 🙂
Thanks
Aarti
Bea says
Hi Aarti! a) No it's not going to make the cream cheese split. b) Yes, you can use whatever type/brand. Just read your packet's instructions and use the amount to set 200 ml. Hope it helps! 😉
Rowena says
I made this yesterday, followed all ingredients, measurements and steps and it was absolutely yummilicious.
Bea says
Yeay 🙌! I'm happy to know that Rowena, thank you!
Mashail Shakeel says
Hey i made this n this is my family new favourite cheesecake 😋
Just wanted to know if i double and triple the quantity how large pans should i need?
Emma says
Hello Rowena
Je confirme , ce cheesecake au citron est absolument délicieux ... en plus d'être facile et rapide à faire !!
Nimisha Kale says
Hi,
Can we use vege gel instead of using gelatin.....????
Thanks
Nimisha
Bea says
Yes, you can use agar-agar.
Yasmine says
Can I use creamy cream cheese and not the box type please?
Bea says
I'm not sure what you mean by creamy. But I recommend you to use the regular full fat cream cheese, I use Philadelphia.
Juliana Pereira says
Hi
I’m going to try to make the cheesecake but I got confused about the gelatin, you said to use 200 ml but in your video it looks like less!!
Thanks
Bea says
Hi! The amount of gelatine is to set 200 ml liquid (as written in the recipe instructions), not to use 200 ml to soak the gelatine. To soak it, use 1 tbsp water (also in written in the recipe). I hope that clears things up. Our readers that have made this recipe simply loved it, hope you'll give it a try! 😁.
Pavlina says
its amazing and super easy!
Bea says
Happy that you liked it, thank you Pavlina! Do check out more of my no-bakes cheesecakes in our website ☺️.
Efua says
Easy to make and very yummy. A friend came over and he had a slice even before his meal. Thanks for being generous with your ideas. Bless.
Bea says
Great 🤣! Happy that everybody liked it Efua, thank you! By the way, you can rate my recipes by choosing the stars above. It'll help us a lot ☺️.
Efua says
Yeah sure!
Mashail Shakeel says
I made this cake yesterday .
Too good my whkle family loved it
Bea says
Awesome! Thank you Mashail!
eleni roumelioti says
Extremely delicious....!!!!
Bea says
Thank you Eleni!
Swati says
Hi,
Can I skip the gelatin in this recipe? Will it set well?
Thank you!
Cristina says
Hi from Romania!
For a pan of 22 cm,how do I calculate the ingrediente,plecase?
I live your recipes!
Thanks!
Susmita Biswas Bose says
Hi from Kolkata, India!!
I recently tried this recipe and its just so amazing!! Not only it tastes heavenly but the entire preparation is so easy!! Looking forward to trying more such delicious recipes!!
Miyuki says
Made it for a BBQ at a friend's place.
It disappeared before I could take pictures of it. 😛
Definitely a keeper.
I'm going to try out using Agar Agar one day since I bake a lot for the Buddhist temple and we can't eat gelatin. ^^
Bea says
Haha! Well that's awesome! I'm happy to know that, thank you Miyuki!
Susmita Biswas Bose says
Hi from Kolkata, India!!
I recently tried this recipe and its just so amazing!! Not only it tastes heavenly but the entire preparation is so easy!! Looking forward to trying more such delicious recipes!!
Wendy says
Made this cheesecake on the weekend and WOW!!!!! So yummy! Was quite simple to make and just the right amount of lemon.
Bea says
That's great Wendy, I'm happy to know that you liked it. Thank you so much! XO
Kyle Hughes says
hi
great recipe
but I must point out that step 3 in your recipe should be 15 seconds in microwave for the gelatine
not 15 minute intervals
many thanks
Kyle
Bea says
Hi Kyle, thanks for letting me know, I already corrected it 🙂
Carly Bryan says
Looks lush I was wondering if I could use fat free nat yoghurt instead of condensed milk to make it slimming world friendly?
Bea says
Hi Carly! I wish you could but unfortunately nope. Sorry though!
Lori says
Hello Bea! I just made your awesome lemon cheesecake topped with your scrumptious lemon curd recipe for my grandmother's birthday dinner. She's a lemon dessert lover and she and the rest of the family loved this cheesecake. The taste and presentation are hard to beat and make a fabulous welcome to Spring dessert with the beautiful yellow colour. Thanks for sharing the delicious recipes!
Bea says
Hi Lori! I'm so happy to know that everybody loved it, especially your grandmother. Happy belated to her by the way 😀 Thank you so much!
Leah says
Hi was about to make your lemon cheese cake recipe but can’t seem to find gelatine anywhere would the recipe still work without using it and would I still follow the same steps, thank you
Bea says
Hi Leah, without gelatin the cheesecake wouldn't set as good like in the video and pictures. You could try looking for agar-agar instead? Hope it helps. Thank you!
daisy windermill says
i was looking for a simple lemon cheesecake and omg yours is amazing! simple and delicious. i used store-bought lemon curd, got no intention of making my own lol! thank you for this recipe dear!
Bea says
Hahaha! It's alright, we do what's convenient to us 😉 , right? I'm happy that you liked it. Thank you so much Daisy!
Angel says
What can i say just wooooow wooooow wooooow omg yummy sooo yummy your the best thankyou for this 5 star lemmoncheese cake
Bea says
I'm happy that you liked it. Thank you Angel!
Astrid says
Thank you, thank you for this wonderful recipe and for granting my request! It looks delicious! I’ve decided to make this no-bake lemon cheesecake for my mum on Mother’s Day. She’ll be absolutely thrilled! And I’m definitely going to use your recipe for making a lemon curd from scratch; there’s a first time for everything :)) Will keep you posted!
El Mundo Eats says
Hi Astrid! No problem at all, I'm glad that you saw it! I really hope both you and your mother will like the cheesecake. And the lemon curd, of course. Can't wait to hear your thoughts. Have a lovely weekend Astrid!
Astrid says
The cheesecake was a real delight, my mum was in lemon heaven :)) She had three pieces on Mothers’ Day (morning coffe, afternoon tea and dessert!) and shared the rest with her family. Thought it was incredibly smooth, yum! The recipe was, as always, easy to follow. I’m grateful for your lovely, accessible, slow and precise videos which are SO important to me as I have a brain injury and need a lot of time and repitition to bake successfully. You are truly helping me a lot. Thank you so much for that. Next on my list, your beautiful almond and pear cake. Will keep you posted 😉
El Mundo Eats says
Hi Astrid! Wow I’m so happy to hear the news! Just the other day I was wondering how did your lemon cheesecake go. Thank you for sharing that with me. And both my husband and I feel so rewarded to know that our videos are useful to you. I’m the type that I like to be detailed in cooking (the rest not so much, as my husband says :D) and hopefully it shows in the videos. Your comment really made our hearts burst with joy and make us want to improve more. Thank you so much Astrid! - Bea XX.