These no-bake strawberry white chocolate cheesecake cups are individual portions in glasses or jars: a graham crust on the bottom, a pink strawberry filling on top, set with white chocolate instead of gelatin.

You’d make these when you want a make-ahead dessert that looks nice and doesn’t ask much of you. Mix the crust, reduce the puree, fold everything together, portion into glasses, chill. That’s it. A no bake cheesecake that fits into a normal afternoon and waits in the fridge until you need it.

This is a simple dessert recipe, but the white chocolate set means you need 4+ hours of chill time before serving. So if you like easy cheesecake recipes and no bake cheesecake desserts in particular, you’ll love this one.

Strawberry cheesecake cups straight shot

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Real strawberry flavor. You cook the puree down before it goes in, so the filling actually tastes like fruit instead of pink-tinted cream cheese.
Single-serving portions. Each cup is its own dessert, meaning no slicing or fussing over clean edges.
Make it the day before. You actually want to make these ahead — overnight chill gives the white chocolate time to fully set and the flavors time to settle.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Crust

Graham crackers. Provide structure and a buttery, slightly toasty base. Digestive biscuits or any other crackers work, too.
Unsalted butter. Binds the crumbs and adds richness.

Filling

Strawberries. The flavor base. Fresh in-season or frozen both work — frozen strawberries are often picked riper and break down faster, which is genuinely useful here. You need them sieved and reduced before they go in, so don’t skip those steps.
White chocolate. Sets the filling and adds sweetness. Use a real white chocolate with cocoa butter (Valrhona Ivoire, Callebaut W2, Lindt). Cheap white chocolate uses palm fat and won’t set as cleanly — it can leave the filling soft and greasy.
Cream cheese. The body of the filling. You need block-style, full-fat cream cheese at room temperature.
Vanilla extract. Rounds out the flavor. Vanilla paste works just as well, plus it adds flecks.
Lemon juice. A small amount cuts the richness and lifts the strawberry. Don’t skip it, even if you can’t taste it directly.
Salt. A pinch sharpens the strawberry and balances the white chocolate sweetness.
Heavy cream. Whipped and folded in for lightness. Keep it cold straight from the fridge.
Powdered sugar. Optional, only if the finished filling needs it. The white chocolate brings most of the sweetness, so taste before adding anything.

Step-by-Step: How to Make No-Bake Strawberry White Chocolate Cheesecake Cups

👉For more tips and tricks, check out the base version of the recipe: no-bake vanilla cheesecake cups.

Crust

Mix the crumbs. Stir the crushed graham crackers and melted butter together until the mixture is evenly damp and sandy. Squeeze a handful in your palm — if it holds, you’re good. If not, add a bit more melted butter.
Press into cups. Divide between 5 small glasses or jars (about 30g per cup) and press down firmly with the back of a spoon. Chill while you make the filling.

Filling

Make the strawberry puree. For frozen strawberries, cook them with a splash of water in a small saucepan over low heat until soft and broken down, then blend smooth and pass through a fine mesh sieve. For fresh, just wash, hull, blend, and strain. You want about ½ cup of smooth puree — no seeds, no pulp.
Reduce the puree. Add the puree to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, stirring every now and then so the bottom doesn’t burn. You’re aiming for around 30% reduction — it should look glossy and noticeably thicker, ending up at roughly ⅓ cup.
Melt the chocolate in the puree. Take the pan off the heat. Add the chopped white chocolate to the hot puree and leave it for 1–2 minutes without stirring. Then stir gently until the chocolate melts in. If a few stubborn pieces remain, return the pan to low heat for a minute or so, stirring constantly, just until smooth. Spend as little time warming the chocolate as possible — the residual heat from the puree should do most of the work.
Cool the mixture. Cool to warm but not hot — check by tasting. If you didn’t have to return the pan to the stove, it should be good to go right away.
Beat the cream cheese. Beat the cream cheese with the vanilla, lemon juice, and salt until completely smooth. Scrape down.
Combine. Add the cooled strawberry-white chocolate mixture to the cream cheese and beat on low until smooth and a uniform pink. Scrape down as needed.
Whip the cream. Whip the cold heavy cream to soft-medium peaks. Don’t overwhip — you want it to fold in cleanly, not stiffen the filling.
Fold together. Stir about a third of the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture to lighten it. Then gently fold in the rest with a silicone spatula until no streaks remain.
Taste and adjust. Taste the finished mixture. If it needs more sweetness, sift powdered sugar over the top in small amounts and gently fold in with the spatula. If it needs more brightness, add a touch more lemon juice. Taste after each addition — most batches need little to none.
Fill the cups. Spoon or pipe the filling over the chilled crusts, dividing evenly between the 5 cups. Smooth or swirl the tops.
Chill. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours so the white chocolate has time to fully set. Overnight is ideal.
Top and serve. Finish with fresh sliced strawberries, a spoonful of reduced puree, freeze-dried strawberry powder, white chocolate shavings, or a drizzle of strawberry coulis.

Tips for Success

Don’t skip the reduction. Raw strawberry puree is mostly water, which weakens the set and dilutes the flavor. The 10-minute simmer is doing real work — both for taste and structure.
Mind the chocolate temperature. If the puree’s cooled too much, it won’t melt. Off the heat, 1- to 2-minute rest after adding the chocolate, then stir. Only return to low heat briefly if there are stubborn lumps.
If it tastes too candy-sweet next time, swap chocolate for cream cheese. Replace 20–30g of the white chocolate with the same weight of extra cream cheese. The filling still sets — just less aggressively, with more tang.

Storage

Cover the cups with cling film or transfer to a sealed container and keep in the fridge for 3–4 days. The white chocolate set holds up well over that window.

Add toppings just before serving rather than storing them on top — fresh strawberries weep, coulis bleeds into the filling, and freeze-dried powder turns soft.