This Easy Cherry Cheesecake Pie is a super festive make-ahead dessert choice for the busy holiday season.
Well, hey there! How are you all holding up as we dive head-first into the holiday season? I totally get what this time of year means for most of us. Rush, rush RUSH! So much to do, so little time.
I’m thinking about you and decided it was time to share a super easy, nearly no-bake dessert idea you might want to consider serving at your next holiday shindig. Based on the fact that my Easy Blueberry Cheesecake Dessert is one of the most popular recipes on this site, I think some of you might be pretty fond of these simple desserts.
You may think of no-bake desserts as a summer thing. But, au contraire, mon cheri! Excuse my French.
They are a fantastic choice for this time of year.
Once you’ve prepared the crust, this tasty pie requires no oven space and it’s made a day ahead to chill overnight in the refrigerator – a HUGE bonus when you’ve got a big holiday meal planned.
Many of us have fun, nostalgic memories connected to these easy cheesecake recipes which I think makes them a perfect choice for the holidays. Giving people the warm fuzzies is what it’s all about at this time of year and those old familiar recipes will do it every time. If you serve this to a good-sized group, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll hear some of your guests recounting memories of similar recipes they had growing up.
It also happens to be super festive looking and entirely delicious!
Ingredient Notes
If you’ve not tried these Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers I’m happy to be the one to introduce you to this delicious, crisp, dark-cocoa treat. They are completely irresistible to me all on their own and fabulous when used in recipes. Instead of the usual Oreo crust you might expect in a recipe like this, I decided to use these wafers to form my crust. The dark chocolate flavor is a really nice complement to the creamy filling and sweet cherry topping.
You can absolutely sub a homemade or store-bought Oreo or graham cracker crust with a great result.
The other main components are all old familiar friends that are easy to keep on hand – Cool Whip, a couple of packages of cream cheese (I used Neufchatel) and a can of cherry pie filling.
If you are not a fan of frozen non-dairy whipped topping feel free to whip up your own sweetened whipped cream. Either way, it’s going to be delicious. These recipes are intended to be fast and easy, thus the Cool Whip. It works for me!
I used my food processor to make the easy crust which consists of the chocolate wafers, a little sugar, and melted butter. Pour the crumb mixture into a 9″ deep dish pie plate and press it down into the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Bake it in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Allow the crust to cool completely before filling.
Instructions
Once the crust has cooled it’s time to add the simple filling – a combination of cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, a little almond or vanilla extract, and the Cool Whip. I love the flavor of almond with cherry and chocolate but vanilla extract works well too.
Spread the cream cheese layer out evenly and pour the cherry pie filling over the top.
Spread the cherry pie filling out over the top, cover it with some plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least a few hours or even better, overnight.
I highly recommend you add a no-bake dessert to your menu for the holidays!
Easy Cherry Cheesecake Pie
Ingredients
- 34 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers, (see recipe notes below for substitutions)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 16 ounces (two 8 ounce packages) cream cheese, softened (regular or Neufchatel)
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 (8 ounce) carton, frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed
- ¾ teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
- 12 ounce can cherry pie filling
Instructions
For the crust:
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place chocolate wafers in the bowl of a food processor and process until coarsely ground. Add sugar and process until combined. Add the melted butter, and continue to process until mixture is the texture of fine crumbs. Alternatively, place the wafers in a sealable plastic storage bag and use a rolling pin to crush into fine crumbs. Transfer to a medium bowl, add sugar and melted butter, and mix until evenly combined.
- Pour crumb mixture into a deep dish 9-inch pie plate and, using the bottom of a cup or your fingers, spread the mixture out and press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Bake 15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
For the filling:
- Add cream cheese, sugar and almond or vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until smooth. Use a spoon to fold in whipped topping and stir until well combined. Carefully spoon into prepared, completely cooled crust and smooth out evenly with an offset spatula. Top with pie filling.
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Can i make individual mini cheesecakes using a muffin/cupcake pan?
I haven’t tried this but let me know how it works out if you do!
Mary,
Pie fillings in a can are loaded with sugars. Can I skip adding sugars when making your cheesecake or are the sugars necessary in order to attain the desired texture? If the sugars are necessary then I will top with fresh fruit rather than use canned cherry pie filling
The cheesecake layer would taste very bland without the addition of sugar. I would not recommend leaving it out.
Hey! You didn’t specify which sugar to use and when. I had to guess ?
The recipe calls for both granulated and confectioners’ sugar and both are clearly stated in the ingredient list.
I’ve been holding on to this recipe for awhile. My sister’s coming for a visit, got all the ingredients and making it this weekend!! Can’t wait!! Thanks Valerie!
Hi Mary. I hope it works out great for you! Have a great time 🙂