Pistachio cheesecake

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!

Jump to:

• 🌟 Why this is the best Pistachio cheesecake recipe
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• 🥣 Equipment notes
• 🎓 Expert tips
• ❓ Recipe FAQs
• 🧀 More Cheesecake recipes
• No-bake Pistachio cheesecake

🌟 Why this is the best Pistachio cheesecake recipe

1. 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!
2. 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.
3. 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)

1. 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
2. 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
3. Sugar: No need for extra sugar for the crust given the biscuit already contains enough sugar and it will be crunchy anyway
4. 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

1. 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.
2. 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
3. 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.
4. 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!
5. 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
6. 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:

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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.
4. 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.

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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.

1. Freeze the crust for 30 minutes while preparing the cream cheese mousse filling
2. Make the pistachio cream cheese filling and pipe or pour it into the cold crust
3. Move pistachio cheesecake into the fridge and let it set for a minimum of 6 hours
4. Don´t forget to leave some cream for later to decorate the cheesecake, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate
5. After 6 hours carefully remove the cake ring, move the remaining cream into a piping bag and decorate your pistachio cheesecake
6. 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

1. While preparing the crust, make sure that you press the crumbs firmly and evenly into the side and the bottom of your cake ring
2. Respect the chilling time. Chilling time is needed for the crust (butter) to set, also for the gelatin to set in the filling
3. 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
4. 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

🧀 More Cheesecake recipes