This incredibly decadent No-Bake Caramel Turtle Brownie Bottom Cheesecake is nestled on top of a baked brownie and smothered in melted chocolate, homemade caramel sauce and chopped pecans.
Disclaimer: ONLY the cheesecake portion of this recipe is no-bake. The brownie crust will need to be baked. If you want a FULLY no-bake cheesecake, you will need to use a different crust recipe. See crust variations WITH RECIPES below!
Let's talk cheesecake. Have you ever made a no-bake cheesecake before? If not, you are in for a real treat! Baking a cheesecake can sound like such a daunting and intimidating task because of all the steps involved and things that can go wrong like over-mixing, cracked tops, etc. This is the most incredible cheesecake recipe that requires no baking! The flavor is exactly the same as a baked cheesecake. The texture is a bit lighter than a traditional, more firm cheesecake, but I promise you won't even miss it once you taste it!
Jump to:
- Why you'll love this recipe
- No-Bake Cheesecake Ingredients
- Homemade Caramel Sauce Ingredient Notes
- Need a no-bake crust? Recipes here!
- Substitutions & Variations
- Cheesecake Topping Ideas
- How do you make an easy no-bake cheesecake?
- Tips for making a perfect no-bake cheesecake
- How to make homemade caramel sauce
- Storage
- Recipe FAQs
- More no-bake recipes you'll love
- 📋 Recipe
- ⭐ Reviews
Why you'll love this recipe
- No-bake cheesecake, you guessed it, does not need to be baked! Perfect for those warm days you don't want to keep your oven on for too long.
- The brownie crust DOES need to be baked though. Short-cut with a brownie mix.
- The brownie bottom combined with he caramel cheesecake filling is absolutely delicious.
- The texture of this no-bake cheesecake is so smooth and creamy, it's addicting!
- This no-bake cheesecake recipe is the perfect make-ahead dessert since it needs time to chill in the fridge!
No-Bake Cheesecake Ingredients
- Cream Cheese: Room temperature, regular full-fat cream cheese for best results.
- Sugar: I use a combination of granulated sugar and light brown sugar for a deeper flavor.
- Prepared Caramel sauce: Recipe provided below! (You can also use store-bought.)
- Frozen whipped topping: I like to use frozen whipped topping aka cool whip rather than homemade whipped cream because it makes the cheesecake much more sturdy.
- Spices: Cinnamon & Nutmeg
- Brownie Crust: Use your favorite box of brownies. You can also use this base recipe to make homemade brownies for the crust!
Homemade Caramel Sauce Ingredient Notes
- Sugar: Granulated sugar is used in this recipe.
- Heavy cream: Gives the caramel sauce it's smooth richness.
- Butter: Unsalted butter to control salt content in this recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: For yummy flavor.
- Salt: Offsets the sweetness.
Need a no-bake crust? Recipes here!
Oreo crust:
- 24 Oreo cookies
- 5 tbs unsalted butter, melted
Graham Cracker:
- 18 graham crackers
- 2 tbs light brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
For both recipes, pulse cookies/graham crackers into a fine crumb in a food processor. Add rest of ingredients until crumbs are moistened. Press into prepared springform pan. No need to bake! Continue on with the recipe as directed.
Substitutions & Variations
- Sub store-bought caramel sauce if you do not want to make it from scratch.
- Leave out spices and caramel in the filling for a classic cheesecake flavored no-bake cheesecake!
Cheesecake Topping Ideas
- To make your cheesecake "Caramel Turtle" style you will need:
- chopped pecans
- prepared caramel sauce
- hot fudge sauce
- Flakey sea salt
- Chopped nuts of choice
- Toasted coconut
How do you make an easy no-bake cheesecake?
Tips for making a perfect no-bake cheesecake
- Use high-quality ingredients: If you splurge on anything in this recipe, let it be the cream cheese!
- Speaking of cream cheese, letting it come to room temperature for about an hour or two before you plan to make the cheesecake will ensure that it will incorporate well with no cold lumps.
- Give the cheesecake time to set up properly. If you don't wait long enough, it will be too soft to cut into slice. While still delicious, you won't have nice clean slices.
- Use a springform pan for easy removal of the cheesecake.
- No-bake cheesecake is the perfect canvas for all sorts of toppings!
How to make homemade caramel sauce
Storage
Store cheesecake in the refrigerator wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freezing
After cheesecake is set in the refrigerator, wrap the entire pan in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.
Recipe FAQs
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It stores extremely well.
Yes, you can make no-bake cheesecake ahead of time. In fact, it will need to be made at least 6 hours ahead of time, or overnight, so that it has time to set and firm up.
I don't recommend this as it will not set evenly.
Yes! Without toppings, wrap the whole pan of cheesecake in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and it will be just as good as the day you made it!
Sure! I would only recommend homemade whipped cream, DEFINITELY not the store-bought can. Be sure to beat your whipped cream until stiff peaks form to ensure it will give the cheesecake enough structure to firm up and cut into slices
More no-bake recipes you'll love
Did you make this recipe?
Please leave a ⭐️ review below and tag @sprinkle_some_sugar on Instagram!
📋 Recipe
No-Bake Caramel Turtle Brownie Bottom Cheesecake
Ingredients
Brownie Layer
- 1 box brownie mix + ingredients on the box
Caramel Sauce
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbs water
- 6 tbs heavy cream
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Cheesecake
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup prepared caramel sauce*
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg
- 4 oz cool whip
Toppings
- ¼ cup pecans chopped
- ¼ cup caramel sauce
- ¼ cup hot fudge sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven and grease a 9" springform pan. Optional: Cut out a circle of parchment paper and line the bottom of the pan for easier removal.
For the brownie crust
- Combine all brownie ingredients until smooth, pour into prepared pan and bake according to manufacturer's instructions on the box.
For the Caramel Sauce
- In a medium-sized heavy bottomed pot, heat water and sugar on HIGH heat and whisk just until the sugar is dissolved. It's important that you have high heat or you run the risk of seizing up the sugar, turning it into a solid mess.
- Once sugar is dissolved, whisk gently and constantly until the melted sugar turns a dark amber color, this will take about 5 minutes or so. The darker the amber color, the more intense caramel flavor you will have.
- After it turns dark amber, slowly and carefully pour in heavy cream. It will bubble up violently so you will need your whisk to whisk it very fast until it comes back down and it will start looking like caramel at this point. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Allow to cool completely.
For the cheesecake filling
- In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and both sugars until smooth. Stir in the ¼ cup of caramel sauce and spices until combined. Fold in cool whip and mix until everything is incorporated and distributed completely. Top the baked and cooled brownie with the cheesecake mixture and spread into an even layer. Chill in refrigerator for minimum of 6 hours or overnight.
- Before serving, garnish cheesecake with remaining caramel sauce, hot fudge sauce and chopped pecans.
Notes
- *You can use store-bought caramel sauce, if desired.
- Storage: Wrap tight with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze: Without toppings, wrap entire pan in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Top with caramel sauce, chocolate and pecans before serving.
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rebecca says
Indeed it is delicious! I made this for hubby's birthday because he loves turtle anything. Actually made it twice now. I used one egg with the brownie mix was still plenty thick. First time I melted caramel candies with sweetened condensed milk for the caramel sauce. I had plenty leftover I could use to dip apples in. Then I actually froze it for 4-5 hours which didn't set it as much as I would have like. I put on the topping before serving. We really enjoyed it. I refrozen the leftovers and it was better the next day. The caramel got kinda chewy, the crust too but I liked the filling extra firm better. Now I am trying the caramel sauce in the recipe. Will definitely refrigerate the sauce overnight it is runny, maybe my bad. Either way thank you for the recipe, I'm sure I will keep making it as everyone loves it!
Jessica says
Either one! Mixer is definitely way easier though and produces smoother results. I usually use my hand mixer.
Renae says
Has anyone tried to freeze this?? Wanting to make for Christmas baking but don't want it to go bad before I can get all my goodies out.
Jessica says
You can definitely freeze it! Make sure it is wrapped very well with plastic wrap and foil. Just remove it from the freezer the morning of and it should be perfect in time for dessert. 🙂
Emily says
This tasted and looked great. However I ended up having to buy the caramel sauce after failing to make it myself twice. I think that if the instructions were a little more clear I probably could have figured it out. Also, the cheesecake part never stiffened up, even after I put it in the freezer for a couple of hours. It was very hard to cut and serve. I followed the instructions, so not sure why the cheesecake wasn't as stiff as it should have been (when I took it out of the freezer, it was the same texture as when I first mixed the ingredients together). Tasted good, but was still disappointed
Donna says
Usually when we make a cheesecake and is to runny we gradually add powdered sugar to help thicken. Do sugar little bit at a time for thickness
Dani says
So this techniquly is not a no bake... You still have to bake the brownie bottom. Kinda disappointed.
Jessica says
The "no-bake" is aimed towards the cheesecake portion of the recipe. If you have an issue with baking the brownie, simply pour the cheesecake mixture into a chocolate graham cracker crust.
Joy says
This looks amazing! I'm not overly fond of coolwhip, however; could you suggest a substitute?
Deborah says
LOVE this cheesecake.. it's everything you promised and more in the flavor department. It is absolutely decadent and looks so impressive too. The only thing I'd change is the name ~ you do have to bake the brownie crust, so the no bake name is misleading.
Nawal says
Hi Jessica! This looks divine!!
I am planning to make this on coming weekend. As you said above in response to one comment, that instead of cool whip we can use fresh whipped cream as well, will we be required to whip the cream with extra sugar (apart from what is required in the cheesecake filling i.e. 1/2 cup granulated sugar & 1/2 cup brown sugar) or simply whipping the fresh cream will be fine?
Thanks! 🙂
Izabella says
I think the ratio for the caramel sauce is incorrect. It won't thicken as written. Looking into other caramel sauce recipes... they call for 1 cup of sugar (brown) to 1/2 cup to cream.
Jessica says
Nope, it is not incorrect. I use this recipe all the time. It thickens up perfectly when it comes to room temperature.
Amerie says
This looks so yummy! I was a little disappointed that this "no bake" dessert has a BAKED brownie crust. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's worth it (and I plan to try it one day), but I was looking for a truly no bake recipe. I may try using a pre-made chocolate cookie pie crust instead (no oven will be available so have to sub something for the brownie crust). Thanks for sharing!
Jessica says
The No-Bake was intended for the cheesecake because you don't have to bake it. Sorry for the confusion! Yes, a pre-made cookie crust will be delicious too. I hope you enjoy it!