Super easy, No-bake Pistachio Cheesecake with a crunchy 2 ingredients crust filled with creamy, airy pistachio cream cheese mousse that has a lovely pistachio flavor, fully natural! If you are a cheesecake and pistachio lover and like to make delicious desserts without a lot of fuss, this will be a recipe you will love! No baking involved, no water bath, no hassle, the easiest pistachio cheesecake recipe ever!

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🌟 Why this is the best Pistachio cheesecake recipe
- It is rather easy – As fancy as it looks, this is a super simple recipe that provides wonderful results. No bake, no water bath, no hassle, you will love it! The cheesecake crust is literally 2 ingredients and I will teach you how to make neat-looking cheesecake crust like a pro! The pistachio cream cheese filling is also very easy using cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and pistachio paste. Hands down better than any Baked Pistachio cheesecake!
- It is super delicious – I never compromise on taste! This cheesecake cake is super luxurious, creamy, and silky, with deep natural pistachio notes without artificial flavorings or coloring.
- No special equipment is needed – No bake cheesecake, no hassle! All you need is a round cake tin and a French star nozzle tip to make the decoration
📝 Ingredient notes
For the Graham cracker crust (or Digestive crust)
- Butter: Use always unsalted as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using European-style 82% fat content butter in all my recipes. The butter needs to be melted. See my notes about the “technique” below
- Biscuit: All you need is biscuit crumbs eg. Graham cracker or Digestive, you can even bake your own biscuit if fancy making it totally from scratch this easy No bake Pistachio cheesecake recipe
- Sugar: No need for extra sugar for the crust given the biscuit already contains enough sugar and it will be crunchy anyway
- Salt: An essential ingredient in most dessert recipes. Balances flavor and enhances other ingredients. This is a lovely sweet crust and I just love that extra very mild salty kick at the end
Please make sure you read my tutorial about the perfect cheesecake crust!
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post
For the cream cheese filling
- Gelatin: It´s an odorless, tasteless, and colorless thickening agent, very often used in pastries, particularly in mousse types of cakes. Powder or sheet versions are available, in my recipes I always use sheet (1,7 g / sheet), which I found easier to handle. Simple soak the gelatin sheet into cold water for a few minutes before you need them and use it according to the recipe. Powder gelatin can be used 1:1 so when I state 1 gelatin sheet that means 1,7 g gelatin powder. Please note that gelatin is not suitable for vegetarians. Agar-agar can be a good substitution for vegetarians however replacing gelatin with agar-agar is not 1:1. If you prefer to use agar agar, check my agar agar article for further details.
- Heavy whipping cream: Also known as heavy cream, has a fat content of between 36% and 40%, I usually use double cream that contains 36% fat. Use it very cold and do not substitute with vegetable-based “whipping cream”. Heavy cream will make the No-bake Strawberry cheesecake filling extra smooth and creamy, effectively a mousse-like consistency
- Granulated sugar: I use simple, white granulated sugar, nothing fancy. I do not use a lot of sugar in this cheesecake so feel free to adjust the quantity if desired. While heating it up with cream make sure the sugar granulates fully dissolve. If you want to learn about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, please read my sugar guide.
- Cream cheese: I always use a full-fat Philadelphia tub when I state cream cheese in my recipes. Check out some of my other cream cheese desserts as well!
- Pistachio paste: Check this homemade pistachio butter recipe or purchase 100% pistachio butter. Please make sure it is 100% pistachio, with no other funny ingredients. Please note that the quality of the pistachio will define the color and taste of your paste as well as the color and taste of your Pistachio cheesecake. Higher quality pistachio paste tends to bring more flavor and depth to this No bake Pistachio dessert
- No vanilla extract and No pudding mix is needed, the lovely flavor will come from the pistachio paste
If you love pistachios as much as I do, don´t forget to check out my pistachio desserts collection.
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post
👩🍳 How to make this recipe
1. Step-by-step process of making the cheesecake crust
Please make sure you read my tutorial about the perfect cheesecake crust that includes more information.
Making no-bake cheesecake crust is literally mixing butter and biscuit crumb, however, there are a couple of important tips and recommendations I would like to share with you:
- Mix melted butter and biscuit crumb while butter is runny. Butter will act as a binding agent in the recipe. Once it is cooled in the fridge, it will set creating a crunchy, but firm crust to hold the filling. You might have a bad experience from the past with cheesecake crust being too crumbly and not holding its shape, it’s probably due to not enough butter in the recipe
- When butter is melted the mixture might be runny depending on the temperature of the butter but do not add more cracker crumbs. If you feel that the mixture is too runny, pop it into the fridge for 5 minutes, it will set very quickly into a consistency you can use to make the crust with
- The one and only secret to making a firm, neat crust are to press crumbs firmly and evenly into the side and the bottom of your cake ring. Start with the side and work your way up then when it looks neat and even, continue with the bottom.
- Once you are happy with your crust, place it into the freezer and let it set while you are preparing the filling
Since the recipe only uses biscuit crumb and butter, no need to bake it, in fact, this is particularly a No-bake cheesecake crust. The structure is supported by the butter acting like the glue that will set in the fridge holding the biscuit crumbs together.
💡 Top Tip: For pressing the crumbs together, find some equipment in your kitchen eg. a bent spoon. I spent probably a good 10-15 minutes on the crust making sure that it is even on the side and really neat.
2. How to prepare the pistachio cream cheese filling
Do not attempt to cut corners and reduce the number of steps, there is a reason why we whip the ingredients separately, then fold them together in a particular order.
- Prepare the gelatin mixture; heat together cream and sugar just until simmering, then mix gelatin sheets in. Once the gelatin is fully incorporated, pour the mixture over the pistachio paste. The key here is to bring the mixture down to lukewarm temperature before step 2. Too warm? It will melt cream cheese in Step 2. Too cold? Gelatin will set and will be impossible to mix with the rest of the ingredients. Do not place the mixture into the fridge to speed up the chilling process as gelatin can start to form lumps
- Whip cream cheese until fluffy, for about a minute. Cream cheese is an interesting ingredient, it won´t get more fluffy or harder if you beat it longer, in fact, it will break and become runny. I suggest using an Electric hand mixer to avoid overbeating. Gently fold whipped cream cheese mixture into the gelatin mixture
- Whip heavy cream until soft peaks. Make sure heavy cream is very cold or it might be difficult to whip up. While whipping heavy cream, remember that it will go through the following stages: runny, soft peak, stiff peak then it will break and a few minutes later buttermilk separates and you can make butter. For this recipe, make sure you stop at a soft peak so it will be easy to fold the mixture together and keep the mixture fluffy without breaking it. Gently fold whipped cream into the rest of the ingredients
Use cream cheese filling immediately. The pistachio cream filling must be fluffy, and airy although it won´t be stiff at this point. Don´t worry, it will set in a few hours due to the gelatin added at step 1
💡 Top Tip: Preparing the pistachio cheese cream filling could not be simpler, one thing that can go wrong is over-mixing instead of gently folding which would result in runny consistency. Make sure to use a flexible rubber spatula to be able to fold the mixture correctly
3. How to assemble the cheesecake
It is a super simple recipe, but you have to respect time, concretely leaving enough time in between the steps until each phase sets.
- Freeze the crust for 30 minutes while preparing the cream cheese mousse filling
- Make the pistachio cream cheese filling and pipe or pour it into the cold crust
- Move pistachio cheesecake into the fridge and let it set for a minimum of 6 hours
- Don´t forget to leave some cream for later to decorate the cheesecake, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate
- After 6 hours carefully remove the cake ring, move the remaining cream into a piping bag and decorate your pistachio cheesecake
- Finish the decoration with some chopped pistachios
💡 Top Tip: Patience is key when making mousse-type cakes, like this No-bake Pistachio cheesecake. Do not fill the cheesecake crust before it sets, and do not open the cake ring before the cheesecake has set
🥣 Equipment notes
You will be pleased to hear that making this No-bake Pistachio cheesecake does not require too much equipment!
For assembling the cheesecake I am using a Mousse cake ring (adjustable in size) set to 16cm / 6 inches. I really like the neat tall design of it, however, it does not have a bottom so I make one using kitchen foil. Alternatively, use a springform pan but please note that it does not have such a neat side.
For pressing the crumb together I suggest using a spoon that you can bend, it´s that simple!
Use an Electric hand mixer to whip the cream cheese and heavy cream, and a Rubber spatula is absolutely crucial to fold the cream without breaking it.
Last but least, for the decoration use a Piping bag with a simple French star nozzle tip.
🎓 Expert tips
- While preparing the crust, make sure that you press the crumbs firmly and evenly into the side and the bottom of your cake ring
- Respect the chilling time. Chilling time is needed for the crust (butter) to set, also for the gelatin to set in the filling
- Once you are a pro making this cheesecake crust, feel free to experiment with different flavors eg. replacing the pistachio paste with hazelnut butter or peanut butter, or enhancing the crust with crushed nuts
- Do not over-mix the cream cheese filling. Make sure to use a flexible rubber spatula to be able to fold the mixture correctly
❓ Recipe FAQs
Gelatin is very often used by pastry chefs whenever they make a mousse-like airy dessert. If you do not prefer using gelatin, you will have to slightly reformulate the recipe using another thickening ingredient eg. agar-agar, otherwise, the cream won´t set
Yes, but you need to use another cream cheese then that has a similar consistency and fat content. Philadelphia is brilliant when it comes to texture and flavor but feel free to use any other full-fat cream cheese you have available.
Pistachio paste will bring the flavor so you cannot really make pistachio cheesecake without pistachio paste.
If you cannot find 100% paste, only one with sugar in it, then please reduce the sugar content of the recipe.
If you cannot find pistachio paste at all, feel free to substitute it with peanut butter or hazelnut butter and turn this Pistachio cheesecake into a Peanut cheesecake or Hazelnut cheesecake
It is creamy, airy, and has the perfect consistency for a no-bake cheesecake. Taste-wise, it is not too sweet with a super and deep delicious natural pistachio flavor due to the 100% pistachio paste used in the recipe.
You can freeze the cheesecake crust before filling, and also the full cheesecake, after the filling is in, however, it might lose somewhat its crunchy & creamy consistency.
The cheesecake is best served within 24 hours, however, can be stored in the fridge for a few days in an air-tight container
🧀 More Cheesecake recipes
No-bake Pistachio cheesecake
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 140 g (⅔ cups) Unsalted butter
- 300 g (1⅓ cups) Biscuit crumb eg. Digestive
- Pinch of salt
Pistachio Filling & Decor
- 3 Gelatin sheet 1 gelatin sheet: 1,7g
- 110 g (½ cups) Heavy Cream 36% fat
- 120 g (⅔ cups) Granulated sugar
- 260 g (1⅕ cups) Cream cheese full fat Philadelphia
- 230 g (1 cups) Heavy Cream 36% fat, use it cold
- 180 g (1½ cups) Pistachio paste 100% pistachio
- crushed pistachio
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
Crust
- Start with melting butter in the microwave then let it cool slightly while preparing the biscuit crumbs
- Biscuit crumbs can be made in a food processor or by using a zip bag and rolling pin. Mix crumbs with the warm but not hot butter and a pinch of salt until it comes together
- Line a spring form or Mousse cake ring (adjustable in size) (set it to 16cm / 6 inches) with the mixture and press it flat evenly and tightly starting with the side then moving onto the bottom. If the mixture is too runny, place it into the fridge for a few minutes. Once the crust is evenly distributed, place it into the freezer while preparing the filling
Filling
- Soak gelatin sheets into cold water
- Heat the smaller amount of heavy cream with sugar until sugar dissolves and the mixture is simmering
- Squeeze excess water from gelatin and stir into the mixture then pour it over the pistachio paste, and stir. Let gelatin mixture come to room temp
- In another bowl beat cream cheese with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy then fold in the lukewarm (not hot) gelatin mixture with the help of a Rubber spatula
- In a separate bowl whip heavy cream until soft peaks and very gently, using a Rubber spatula fold into the cream cheese mixture. It must stay light and fluffy before pouring into the crust.
- Pour or pipe filling into the crust and smooth the top with an Offset spatula. Place it into the fridge for 6 hours until filling top properly set
- Set some filling aside for the decor and refrigerate
- Decorate with the remaining pistachio cream cheese filling using a french star tip. Hint cheesecake with crushed pistachio
- Store in fridge
Notes
Notes
- While preparing the crust, make sure that you press the crumbs firmly and evenly into the side and the bottom of your cake ring
- Respect the chilling time. Chilling time is needed for the crust (butter) to set, also for the gelatin to set in the filling
- Once you are a pro making this cheesecake crust, feel free to experiment with different flavors eg. replacing the pistachio paste with hazelnut butter or peanut butter, or enhancing the crust with crushed nuts
- Do not over-mix the cream cheese filling. Make sure to use a flexible rubber spatula to be able to fold the mixture correctly
Amy
Made this and follow the instructions to the T except the use of gelatine powder instead of sheet. It was full of sinful deliciousness. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Kata
So happy that you loved this cheesecake, pls try some of my other recipes as well and let me know how they go 🙂
Louise
I made this recipe for my daughter's 45th birthday, she loves pistachio and raspberry, So I added natural raspberry powder in cookie crumbs crust, so good and in the middle of the cheesecake I had a layer of fresh raspberry.
Decorate the top with cheesecake fillling rosettes, fresh raspberry and pistachios. It was very good, thank you so much for your recipe ! Merci beaucoup!
Sharmaine
Hi, may I know which brand gelatin you are using? i'm quite confused as to how much gelatin i should be using. You said 3 1,7 gram so is it 5.1g of gelatin or 21g of gelatin?? Thank you!
Kata
3x 1.7g is 5.1g
Valérie
This cheesecake is just amazing
José-Miguel Calatrava
He loved it and he invited me and my wife over to his mansion for a game of lacrosse.
Kata
So happy for you:) I have a pistachio strawberry tart as well for the occasion if you feel like it haha
Best wishes
José-Miguel Calatrava
My boss is coming to visit tomorrow and everyone at work knows about his weakness for pistachios. You would know too if you could see the shells piling up in the office. I have prepared this pistachio cheesecake to impress him. My fate is in your hands.
Denise
Don't understand the ingredient as described: "3 Gelatin sheet 1 gelatin sheet: 1,7g"
Do you mean 3 sheets of gelatin each weighing 1.7 grams or a total of 1.7g regardless of the weight of each gelatin sheet?
You also said, "...soak the gelatin SHEET into cold water for a few minutes before you need THEM..."
Thank you,
Kata
Hey re gelatin sheet, you will need 3 as explained in the recipe however some people want to use powder. In case of powder you would need 3x1,7g powder.
Not sure what is your 2nd question. You will need to soak the gelatin sheets into cold water before using them, that is how they work. English is not my first language, but hope this explanation helps 🙂
Angel
Can we make combine the baklava cheese cake of its filo base and no baked cheesecake of this recipe instead of a baked cheesecake
admin
Hey, haven’t tried combining these two. You would then need to “blind bake” the filo - not sure that it would be a good idea to be fair. I suggest you make the baklava cheesecake as it is; is super delicious 🙂
Alena
Can you recommend what Pistachio paste you use and where do you buy it?
Larisa Albulescu
❤️
Esther
So good! Thank you for sharing this recipe 🙂
Katharina
This is a really delicious and airy cheesecake. Would definitely recommend!