Key Lime Cheesecake
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My Key lime cheesecake is creamy, bursting with citrus, and is totally irresistible! This easy, no-bake cheesecake is everything you want in a dessert. It’s silky smooth, perfectly tangy, and full of fresh lime flavor thanks to the lime zest.
Table of Contents
- Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- In Photos: How To Make Key Lime Cheesecake
- More Cheesecake Recipes
If you have ever swooned over a slice of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, you will love how this cheesecake recipe brings that same luscious flavor into your own kitchen, without even having to turn on the oven! It’s simple, refreshing, and guaranteed to be the kind of dessert that people ask you to make again and again.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It is incredibly easy to make! No complicated steps or difficult techniques.
- The creamy texture is rich and indulgent without being heavy.
- No-bake means it’s a perfect dessert for warm days.
- It’s make-ahead friendly, so ideal for special occasions or entertaining.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you’re cooking.
- Graham crackers: You can use boxed graham cracker crumbs or whole graham crackers, crushed, for the graham cracker crust.
- Sugars: Brown sugar gets mixed with the graham crackers for the crust. Powdered sugar brings sweetness and structure to the key lime cheesecake filling.
- Butter: Unsalted butter gets melted to hold the graham cracker crust together.
- Heavy cream: Use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream with at least 36% fat for both the cheesecake filling and the whipped cream topping.
- Cream cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese for the best no-bake cheesecake. The cream cheese should be room temperature.
- Sour cream: Full-fat sour cream gives you the creamiest, best cheesecake. I don’t recommend low-fat. This should also be room temperature.
- Limes: If you cannot get your hands on Key Limes, traditional limes can be used instead. You will use both the lime zest and the fresh juice.
In Photos: How To Make Key Lime Cheesecake
Step 1: Make Crust
Use a food processor to pulse the graham crackers into fine crumbs.
Add the brown sugar and melted butter and pulse until combined. The mixture will have the consistency of wet sand.
Spoon the crust mixture into a 9-inch springform pan, then use the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup to pack it tightly into the pan, pressing up the sides. Freeze or refrigerate while you prepare the key lime cheesecake filling.
Step 2: Whip Cream
Using a handheld or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy whipping cream on medium-high until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Step 3: Add Cream Cheese & Sugar
Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the full-fat cream cheese and powdered sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until smooth.
Step 4: Add Sour Cream, Lime, & Salt
Add the full-fat sour cream and beat until fully combined, about 1 minute. Scrape up and down the sides of the bowl, then add the lime zest, key lime juice, and a pinch of salt and beat until fully combined.
Step 5: Combine, Add To Crust, & Chill
Fold in the whipped cream with a spatula until combined. This takes several turns with the spatula. Work gently so you don’t deflate all the air from the whipped cream.
You can use a spoon or spatula to transfer the filling to the crust and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Tightly cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate the cheesecake until set, about 8 hours or ideally overnight.
Once the key lime cheesecake has chilled, remove the cheesecake from the springform pan. Use a piping bag to pipe the whipped cream onto the cheesecake. Alternatively, you can also use a spoon to dollop the whipped cream on top of each cheesecake slice. Top with a mini slice of lime, if desired.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Use full-fat, block cream cheese for the best texture and flavor.
- Let the cream cheese and sour cream come to room temperature for the smoothest cheesecake.
- Zest the limes before juicing them!
- Don’t skimp on the lime zest! It brings so much more flavor than the juice alone.
- Chill the cheesecake for at least 6 hours (ideally overnight) to set properly.
- For the cleanest slices, wipe the knife clean between cuts
More Cheesecake Recipes
Get all of my Cheesecake Recipes here!
Key Lime Cheesecake
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 12 full sheets graham crackers, crushed to crumbs 180g
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar 67g
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted 113g
Key Lime Cheesecake
- 1 ¼ cups cold heavy whipping cream 300mL
- 24 ounces full-fat brick cream cheese, room temperature 678g
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar 180g
- ¼ cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature 60g
- 2 tablespoons lime zest, from two medium limes
- 2 tablespoons key lime juice 30mL
- Pinch of kosher salt
Whipped Cream
- ¾ cup cold heavy whipping cream 180mL
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar 30g
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Use a food processor to pulse the graham crackers into fine crumbs. (alternately you can place the crackers in a zip lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin).
- Add the brown sugar and melted butter and pulse until combined. The mixture will have the consistency of wet sand.
- Spoon the crust mixture into a 9-inch springform pan and use the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup to pack it tightly on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze or refrigerate while you prepare the key lime cheesecake filling.
Key Lime Cheesecake Filling
- Using a handheld or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy whipping cream on medium-high until stiff peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the full-fat cream cheese and powdered sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the full-fat sour cream and beat until fully combined, about 1 minute. Scrape up and down the sides of the bowl, then add the lime zest, key lime juice and a pinch of salt and beat until fully combined.
- Fold in the whipped cream with a spatula until combined. This takes several turns with the spatula. Work gently as you don’t want to deflate all the air out of the whipped cream.
- You can use a spoon or spatula to transfer the filling to the crust and smooth the top with an off-set spatula. Tightly cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate the cheesecake until set, about 8 hours or ideally overnight.
Whipped Cream
- Using a handheld or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar on medium-high until stiff peaks form, about 3-4 minutes.
To serve
- Remove the cheesecake from the springform pan and slice into desired size pieces. Use a piping bag to pipe the whipped cream on top of the cheesecake. Alternatively, you can also use a spoon to dollop the whipped cream on top of each cheesecake slice. Top with a mini slice of lime, if desired.
