Skip to Content

Old Fashioned Cherry Cheesecake

Sharing is caring!

This recipe for Old Fashioned Cherry Cheesecake has been in my family for generations! If you are a first time baker, then this is a great dessert to start with.

Since I was old enough to eat table food, this delicious YUMMY Classic Cherry cheesecake has been my favorite.

It was not something that my mom fixed every month, but it was a special no-bake dessert that she would fix for me and my niece on Christmas. She would always fix us one each because she knew how much we loved this dessert. I love that my mom fixed this for us on special occasions.

This post was originally published in January 2010 but has recently been updated.

It's funny because she used to fix just one, and my niece and I would ALWAYS fight over it, so she started making two. You gotta love the woman who always made your favorite dessert.

Since Mom passed away a few years ago, I was not sure how in the world I was going to get my favorite no-bake cheesecake recipe. So I started looking until I FINALLY found the recipe. Now I make it about four times a year. It uses simple ingredients and is so easy to make.

How to Make an Old Fashioned No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake Recipe

Start by getting your graham cracker crust out and then set it aside. You can make your own crust using graham crackers ground up in the food processor, but they have premade which is what I have always used. If you use homemade graham cracker crumbs, just mix with some butter before baking the pie crust.

In a mixing bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/3 cup lemon juice, and sweetened condensed milk making sure to get it creamy. Make sure to use full fat and now low-fat cream cheese.

It will seem lumpy at first but just keep mixing. Some people like to use Cool Whip and sour cream in their cheesecake, but I like to keep this old school.

Once you get it all mixed up, pour the cream cheese mixture into the graham cracker crust. No need to let it chill before finishing it. Now, take it and pour your cherry filling on the top of the cheesecake.

Be sure to use the cherry pie filling on the baking aisle. Of course, if you are adventurous, you can make your own homemade cherry pie filling using sweet cherries. There is just something about fresh cherries on this cheesecake that makes it so delicious.

The best part about this is the topping! You can totally turn this into any kind of fruit cheesecake you want. All you have to do is grab a can of cherry pie filling from the baking aisle.

Once you place the topping on, cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for a couple of hours until it firms up.

Serve it by making some homemade whipped cream using cold heavy cream and some powdered sugar. In a separate bowl from what you used above, whip the heavy cream and begin to hold its shape. Add in some powdered sugar and whip for about another minute. Serve a dollop on top of your piece of pie.

This pie would be great to serve in the summer months.

Ideas you might find interesting are  —

Old Fashioned Cherry Cheesecake

Making this holiday dessert not only brings back fond memories of my mom and me in the kitchen during Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I can pass this perfect dessert down to my own daughter (who loves this just as much as her mom!)

If you are looking for the perfect baked cheesecake recipe, be sure to check out The Best Oreo Cheesecake recipe. It is SO delicious. Since this one is a baked recipe, it's cooked in a springform pan in a water bath in the oven. It takes several hours to perfect this classic dessert, but man is it delicious!

There is something to be said about desserts that are generational in a family. I have a delicious 3-day coconut cake that is my mom's recipe that I am going to be tackling this year as well.

Family recipes, those old clippings, and cookbooks from the fifties are always my favorite ways to find new recipes for our family, but also for those recipes that my family has lived on for years. 

Now — if I could only locate her fried chicken recipe we would be doing great.

Old Fashioned Cherry Cheesecake

Another favorite recipe of mine is my delicious Sausage Balls. These little appetizers are so full of flavor and will definitely be a generational recipe in our house for years to come.

I love serving this pie in really pretty pie pans. My collection has been growing for a few years. But, I buy extra pans because if I give a pie as a gift, I let them keep the pan. I love doing it like this and buying an extra one. You can serve it cold or at room temperature. It tastes just as good either way.

Looking for other dessert recipes? Check these out

Now that you know my favorite recipe of all time, what is your favorite recipe?

Retro Recipes


We share Recipes From Our Dinner Table! Join our group and share your recipes, too! While you're at it, join our Pinterest board, too!

Yield: 8 slices

Old Fashioned Cherry Cheesecake

Old Fashioned Cherry Cheesecake

This old fashioned cherry cheesecake is a great holiday dessert. It's a no bake dessert making it simple to make and bring to a holiday get together.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Chill Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 block of Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 can of cherry pie filling
  • 1 graham cracker crust

Instructions

  1. Combine cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Mix until all lumps have disappeared.
  2. Pour into graham cracker crust.
  3. Top with the can of cherry pie filling.
  4. Cover and then put in the refrigerator for 3 hours until firm.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 156Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 94mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 1g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Rhonda

Tuesday 1st of August 2023

This is the recipe that was on the back of the Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk decades ago. It can be found in Favorite Brands cookbooks and several others. It is also the basis for the no cook Key Pie Recipe. Been my dessert of choice for all my birthdays since I as 10 years old, 50 years ago. Dont to layer this ain a pretty parfait glass. This always tastes wonderful.

Jennifer Sikora

Wednesday 2nd of August 2023

I love the idea of layering in a glass. I will have to give that a try! Thanks so much :)

Rauno palola

Thursday 22nd of September 2022

I just love baking cherry cheese cakes.. everyone around here loves my cherry cheesecakes

Jennifer Sikora

Monday 26th of September 2022

Mine too. They go SO fast!

Kelly

Thursday 26th of December 2019

I made this and let it sit overnight before digging in and it was mush. It never became firm. Idk what I did wrong 🤷🏻‍♀️

Jennifer Sikora

Thursday 26th of December 2019

I’m not sure because I’ve made this at exact same recipe about 30 times in the last few years and I’ve never had that problem ever. I’m sorry you had issues.

Emily

Thursday 12th of December 2019

This looks so delicious. It is a classic recipe that I can't wait to try.

Lisa Joy Thompson

Thursday 12th of December 2019

This looks amazing! We love cheesecake at our house. I think I may make a strawberry cheesecake for Christmas this year!

Jennifer Sikora

Thursday 12th of December 2019

Strawberry is my other favorite choice for this cheesecake!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe