No-Bake Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients

• 1 pre-baked 9-inch graham cracker crust
• 16 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Method

1. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.
2. Fold in the whipped cream.
3. Pour the filling into the crust and smooth the top.
4. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or until fully set, before slicing.

The Tale of No-Bake Cheesecake Pie

Story updated September 19, 2026

No-bake cheesecake pie owes its existence to cream cheese, which American dairyman William Lawrence developed in 1872 in Chester, New York, while trying to recreate the French cheese Neufchatel. Sold under the Philadelphia brand from about 1880, cream cheese gave home cooks a dense, spreadable base unlike the older farmer's cheeses used in European-style cheesecakes. The uncooked, crumb-crusted version developed alongside baked New York-style cheesecake, popularized by restaurateurs like Arnold Reuben in the 1920s, and set a whipped cream cheese filling in a graham cracker crust with gelatin or simple chilling. Its precise origin is undocumented, likely because it spread through home kitchens and community cookbooks.