Fastest Cheesecake Recipe

Written by
Linda Larsen
Linda Larsen is a journalist, quick-cooking and slow-cooking expert, and accomplished cookbook author with over 30 years of experience in testing and developing recipes.
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Linda Larsen
Updated 07/01/19
Cheesecake with berries

 

Arx0nt / Getty Images
  • Total: 15 mins
  • Prep: 15 mins
  • Cook: 0 mins
  • Chill: 60 mins
  • Yield: 8 servings
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
366 Calories
19g Fat
42g Carbs
7g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 servings
Amount per serving
Calories 366
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 25%
Saturated Fat 11g 54%
Cholesterol 56mg 19%
Sodium 258mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 42g 15%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Protein 7g
Calcium 193mg 15%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This fastest cheesecake recipe is always quick when you follow the directions and use the right ingredients. For best results, it's important that you use full-fat cream cheese and full-fat sweetened condensed milk. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice; the stuff from the fake lemons doesn't have enough acid.

This cheesecake can be topped with any flavor of canned pie filling for a finishing touch; or, try fresh raspberries or strawberries. From start to serving time, it takes a little over an hour. The texture is perfectly light and fluffy; not as dense as regular cheesecake.

This is a soft-set cheesecake; it does not have the texture of a baked cheesecake. If, in spite of everything, it doesn't set, freeze it!

Ingredients

  • 11 ounces cream cheese (softened)
  • 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 9" graham cracker pie crust (or chocolate cookie pie crust)

Steps to Make It

  1. In a medium bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Make sure you take the time to do this properly since the cream cheese has to blend thoroughly with the sweetened condensed milk to set up properly.

  2. Gradually add the sweetened condensed milk, beating constantly.

  3. When half of the milk has been added, add the lemon juice and beat until smooth. Add remaining sweetened condensed milk until mixture is smooth. Pour into a graham cracker or cookie crust and chill at least one hour.

Note: Please make sure you are using sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated milk, in this recipe. I have made this cheesecake many times and it has always set up perfectly. The mixture should already be thick when you pour it into the crust; if it is thin at this point, you used the wrong kind of milk.

Do not use low-fat or nonfat cream cheese or low-fat or nonfat sweetened condensed milk; the recipe will not work with those ingredients. Make sure you use real freshly squeezed lemon juice too; the bottled lemon is not as acidic and won't thicken the mixture as well.