No Bake Turtle Cheesecake

Prep Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 16 servings

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This NO BAKE Turtle Cheesecake is made with a chocolate cookie crust, salted caramel pecan layer, luscious cheesecake layer and a thin layer of chocolate ganache. Top it with whipped cream, caramel and pecans for a decadent treat!

no bake turtle cheesecake whole with chocolate ganache and whipped cream

If you’ve been around here for a little while now, you know I have a bit of a sweet tooth, and that sweet tooth is especially crazy about cheesecake.

Some of my favorites so far are this No Bake Strawberry CheesecakeNo Bake Oreo Cheesecake recipe and this No Bake Lemon Cheesecake.

This Turtle Cheesecake has pretty much all of my other favorite things:

  • cream cheese
  • salted caramel
  • chocolate

I’ll be honest and say I can give or take the nuts, but I love the crunch they add to that gooey caramel layer in this Turtle Cheesecake!

I originally shared this cheesecake recipe in December of 2015 so it was in desperate need of an update, but I actually didn’t change that much.

I tried putting the caramel layer on top of the cheesecake, but that was a disaster.

I switched up the caramel to make this recipe even more foolproof and added a thicker cheesecake layer, but in reality, what I discovered was that this Turtle Cheesecake recipe was pretty amazing to begin with.

turtle cheesecake slice being pulled out of whole

Here are some tips to make sure you see success!

Tips for making No Bake Turtle Cheesecake:

  • I played with this recipe a lot, and though I like to give wiggle room for creativity, when I wiggled this recipe too much, it ended in disaster. A really, really delicious disaster, but it really was a mess. I retested this recipe 3 times just to end up not changing much at all.
  • The crust: the crust can be baked or not baked. I find that the chocolate baking crumbs become more bitter during baking, so I prefer it unbaked. If you want, you can bake it for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F and it will be firmer and hold up slightly better.
  • Cream cheese: use full fat cream cheese, as it has less water content and will hold up better than low fat cream cheese.
  • Cream: heavy whipping cream is 30-36% fat. Any other cream will not work, it will not whip and you will have cheesecake soup ๐Ÿ˜‰
  • Caramels: you want the individually wrapped chewy caramel candies for this recipe. Please check out the recipe video to see which ones!
  • Whip it good: please do not try to make this without an electric mixer. You need the power and speed to whip it to stiff peaks!
turtle cheesecake on plate with caramel drizzle, pecans and whipped cream
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Variations on this Turtle Cheesecake:

  • Nut free: you can easily leave out the pecans for a nut free version, just check all of your package ingredients before using.
  • You can use gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies for the crust to make this cheesecake gluten free.
  • Not big on chocolate? You can skip the ganache and opt instead for a caramel and chocolate drizzle to finish.
turtle cheesecake slice with whipped cream, caramel and pecans with bite missing

More Cheesecake recipes you’ll love!

*This post has been updated since its original posting in December 2015

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No Bake Turtle Cheesecake

4.72 from 14 votes
This NO BAKE Turtle Cheesecake is made with a chocolate cookie crust, salted caramel pecan layer, luscious cheesecake layer and a thin layer of chocolate ganache. Top it with whipped cream, caramel and pecans for a decadent treat!
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Cuisine American
Course Dessert
Servings 16 servings
Calories 462cal

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs like Oreo or similar
  • 1/2 cup butter melted

Caramel:

  • 30 wrapped chewy caramel candies (I use Kraft) – 250g
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/8-1/4 teaspoon salt (depending on how salty you like your caramel)
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Cheesecake:

  • 24 oz cream cheese, room temperature 3 packages, 750g
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Ganache:

  • 1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate or chips 50g
  • 1/3 cup milk or cream
  • Optional: caramel sauce, whipped cream and pecans for garnish

Instructions

  • Line a 9" Springform pan with parchment paper, pinching it in between the bottom and the outer ring. This isn't necessary but will allow for easy removal.

Crust

  • Combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan evenly.

Caramel

  • In a medium pan, combine caramels and cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until completely smooth and melted.
  • Stir in pecans and pour into crust. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes until firm/dry to the touch.

Cheesecake

  • With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth and combined.
  • Add cream, and beat on low until incorporated, then high until thickened and fluffy (should nearly hold stiff peaks when you pull the beaters out of the bowl)
  • Spread over cooled caramel in pan. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until nearly set.

Ganache

  • Combine chocolate and cream in a small pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.
  • Spread over cheesecake layer evenly.
  • Refrigerate a minimum of 6 hours, or overnight for best results. Serve with garnishes as desired.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 462cal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 373mg | Potassium: 223mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 760IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 118mg | Iron: 1mg
Keywords no bake cheesecake, turtle cheesecake

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Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

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Comments

    • The Recipe Rebel says

      Hi Jeanne! You probably could, I just haven’t tried it myself. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!

  1. Jill Goodkey says

    I tried the recipe and it was sooo good but the filling did not fully set. Are you suppose to whip the cream before adding it to the cream cheese filling.

    • Ashley Fehr says

      The cream shouldn’t need to be whipped first. It is a softer, creamy cheesecake but it should be set solid enough to slice. I would just make sure you whip the filling until thickened and fluffy

4.72 from 14 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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