Name: Pistachio Cherry Cheesecake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 box (11 oz) Nilla wafers cookies; 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted; 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream; 1 box (3.4 oz) instant pistachio pudding mix; 1 can (20 oz) Cherry Pie filling; 8 oz Cool Whip, thawed; 4 crushed Nilla wafer cookies, for garnish

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Delicious, No Bake Pistachio Cherry Cheesecake. You’ll love the layers of cookie crust, creamy pistachio cheesecake, cherry pie filling and whipped cream! The perfect holiday dessert idea!

This Pistachio Cherry Cheesecake was one of those recipes that sounded perfect in my head, but took a couple tries to perfect.

I thought by substituting a few ingredients every thing would be magically ideal, but that totally did not happen. If you follow me on Instagram (<—-be sure to follow me 😉 ) you may have seen on my instastories a few weeks ago that I made this, and it failed. Upon releasing the springform pan, the upper layers collapsed and fell. The taste was amazing, but it just didn’t HOLD UP.

So, I went back to the drawing board and tweaked my original recipe. With delicious, perfect results.

If you love no bake cheesecake, like this Banana Cream Cheesecake, then today’s Pistachio version is going to make you smile.

I could live on pistachio desserts. I know, it’s one of those acquired tastes. Not everyone loves them.

For instance, this Watergate Cake is one of my favorite cakes. It’s green and packed with nuts, and makes the kids grown and frown because they just don’t “get it.” But one bite, oh lordy, it’s so good.

How to Make Pistachio Cherry Cheesecake Recipe

When making today’s cheesecake, using good quality ingredients makes all the difference. No off brands for me, as I think sometimes you need to use reliable trustworthy brands.

For me, that includes original Nilla Wafers cookies (I think they just have a better taste than off brand), Philadelphia Cream Cheese (beats up fluffy EVERY time, without fail), and Lucky Leaf Cherry Pie Filling (I find it less watery and packed with more cherries than the off brand version).

Just an FYI, this is NOT a sponsored recipe, just sharing what I love 🙂

With that said, go whip up this delicious, creamy cheesecake for your holidays!

STEP 1. Prepare the Pan.

Spray the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray. Set aside.

STEP 2. Prepare the Crust.

In a food processor, grind the vanilla wafer cookies (reserving about 4 of them for the garnish) into a fine crumb. Add in the granulated sugar and melted butter and combine together with a fork. Press crust mixture into the bottom of the springform pan. Set aside.

STEP 3. Pistachio Filling.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar for 3-4 minutes until fluffy. Add in whipping cream and pistachio pudding mix. Blend until creamy. Pour onto crust.

STEP 4. Cherry Topping.

Top with Cherry Pie filling, spreading evenly over the pistachio cheesecake layer. Top with Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream. Crush remaining 4 cookies and sprinkle over the top.

STEP 5. Chill.

Refrigerate for 3 hours (or overnight). Remove springform pan right before serving and enjoy!

More holiday dessert recipes:

Yield: 12 servings