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This No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake has a crunchy Oreo crust and a creamy chocolate filling that tastes somewhere between cheesecake and chocolate mousse. It’s rich, chocolatey, and made without the oven, water bath, or cracked-top worries. The refrigerator does the hard part, so you’re going to love how easy it is to make ahead.
Why You’ll Love It
- No oven needed — skip the baking, water bath, and cracked-top worries.
- Crunchy Oreo crust — made with whole Oreos, filling and all.
- Rich but light filling — cream cheese, cocoa powder, melted semisweet chocolate, and whipped cream create a mousse-like texture.
- Great make-ahead dessert — refrigerate for 5 to 6 hours or overnight for neat slices.
Ingredient Notes
Use regular Oreo cookies, filling and all. Do not scrape them apart. That creamy center helps the crumbs hold together, and frankly, who has time for that kind of fussy behavior? Generic chocolate sandwich cookies can work in a pinch, but Oreos have the flavor most people expect here.
Your cream cheese really does need to be softened. Leave it on the counter long enough that it gives when you press it lightly. Cold cream cheese will leave little stubborn lumps in the filling, and then you’ll be standing there trying to beat them out while wondering why you didn’t listen to the recipe.
For the chocolate, use semisweet baking chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips if that’s what you have. Just melt it gently and let it cool before adding it to the cream cheese mixture. Warm chocolate plus dairy is a fast route to a filling that looks a little odd. Not ruined, necessarily—but odd. We don’t need extra drama from dessert.
Heavy whipping cream should be cold, straight from the refrigerator. Chill the mixing bowl sometimes if the kitchen is warm, though it isn’t always necessary. Depends on the day, the weather, and whether there is already a mess in the sink.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs, made from whole Oreos with the filling included
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- 24 ounces cream cheese, softened (three 8-ounce blocks)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
- 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whipped cream, for topping—homemade if you’re feeling organized
- Chocolate shavings, extra crushed Oreos, or whatever chocolatey little garnish you like
Instructions
Spray a 9-inch springform pan generously with nonstick spray, then place a parchment round in the bottom. Don’t skip the parchment if you can help it. Trying to “just be careful” getting a no-bake cheesecake out of the pan is the sort of sentence that usually ends with scraping dessert off metal with a spatula.
Put the Oreo cookies in a food processor and pulse until you have about 2 cups of fine crumbs. Pour in the melted butter and pulse again until the crumbs look evenly moistened. They should resemble damp sand, only much more delicious and considerably less useful at the beach.
Press the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to pack it down because a spoon alone never seems to get the edges right. Put the crust in the freezer while you make the filling.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth. Take a minute here. Scrape down the sides and beat again. You want it creamy before the chocolate goes in, not mostly creamy with a few cream cheese pebbles hiding around the bowl.
Melt the semisweet chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments, stirring between each round. This usually takes about a minute and a half, sometimes two minutes depending on the chocolate. Let it cool until it is no longer hot to the touch. Not cold and hardened—just cooled. There’s a narrow window, because apparently chocolate enjoys being difficult.
Add the cooled melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and beat until everything is smooth and chocolatey. Set that bowl aside for a moment.
In another large bowl, whip the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract on high speed until stiff peaks form. When you lift the beaters, the cream should stand up firmly. This whipped cream is what gives the cheesecake its structure, so don’t stop at soft, floppy peaks. The filling will still be tasty, but it may slump when sliced. Looked like it had had a long week.
Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate cream cheese mixture in two additions. Be gentle, but don’t be so delicate that you leave streaks everywhere. Use a big spatula and sweep from the bottom of the bowl up and over. It will look lighter and fluffier as it comes together.
Spoon the filling over the frozen Oreo crust and spread the top into an even layer. An offset spatula is nice here, but the back of a spoon works too. Cover the pan and refrigerate until firm, at least 5 to 6 hours or overnight. Overnight is best for clean slices. Easy still requires patience.
When you’re ready to serve, release the cheesecake from the springform pan. A little trick: run hot water over the outside of the springform pan for a couple of seconds. That softens the very outer edge just enough to help it release. Do not run water inside the pan unless you are hoping for Oreo soup.
Top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, or extra crushed Oreos. Keep the cheesecake refrigerated until it’s time to slice.
Variations
A big handful of mini chocolate chips scattered over the top is very pretty and very sweet. Raspberries also pair well with chocolate cheesecake.
For a birthday, colorful sprinkles make it look festive without much effort. Around the holidays, chocolate curls and a few crushed candy canes make a festive topping, though the peppermint version has a distinct flavor.
You can swap the Oreo crust for chocolate graham crackers, chocolate wafer cookies, or even regular graham crackers if that is what’s in the pantry. A premade chocolate cookie crust will work too, though the cheesecake may sit a little higher than the crust—or lower, depending on the crust size. Desserts have a way of humbling a person.
Storage & Reheating
There’s no reheating here, thankfully. Keep this cheesecake covered in the refrigerator, either in the springform pan or in an airtight container once sliced. It is best within 4 to 5 days.
If you want to freeze it, freeze the cheesecake without the whipped cream topping. You can freeze the whole thing or individual slices in a freezer-safe container, with parchment between slices so they don’t freeze into one giant chocolate block. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. The whipped cream decorations can get a little weepy after freezing, and nobody wants weepy whipped cream. We have enough of that in life already.
Final Notes
This cheesecake works for traditions, requests, and a little win on a Wednesday.
Bring it out after dinner when the kitchen is finally quiet. And for a few minutes, nobody is in a hurry. Which is nice. Rare, but nice.
No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs made from whole Oreos with the filling included
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
- 24 ounces cream cheese softened, three 8-ounce blocks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate melted and cooled
- 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream cold
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- whipped cream for topping, homemade if desired
- chocolate shavings, extra crushed Oreos, or chocolate garnish for topping
Instructions
- Spray a 9-inch springform pan generously with nonstick spray, then place a parchment round in the bottom.
- Put the Oreo cookies in a food processor and pulse until you have about 2 cups of fine crumbs, then pour in the melted butter and pulse again until the crumbs look evenly moistened like damp sand.
- Press the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan, using the bottom of a measuring cup to pack it down, then place the crust in the freezer while you make the filling.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth, scraping down the sides and beating again until creamy.
- Melt the semisweet chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments, stirring between each round, until melted, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, then let it cool until no longer hot to the touch.
- Add the cooled melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and beat until everything is smooth and chocolatey, then set the bowl aside.
- In another large bowl, whip the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract on high speed until stiff peaks form and the cream stands up firmly when the beaters are lifted.
- Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate cream cheese mixture in two additions, using a large spatula to sweep from the bottom of the bowl up and over until the filling looks lighter, fluffier, and evenly combined.
- Spoon the filling over the frozen Oreo crust and spread the top into an even layer, then cover the pan and refrigerate until firm, at least 5 to 6 hours or overnight for the cleanest slices.
- When ready to serve, release the cheesecake from the springform pan; if needed, run hot water over the outside of the springform pan for a couple of seconds to help the outer edge release.
- Top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, or extra crushed Oreos, and keep the cheesecake refrigerated until it is time to slice.