Easy Cream Cheese Pie

slice of cream cheese pie topped with cherries

This Easy Cream Cheese Pie topped with cherry pie filling is a family-favorite dessert recipe! It's rich, creamy and absolutely incredible! It’s also probably one of the easiest desserts to make. There’s no baking required and you only need 4 simple ingredients for the cream cheese filling. Perfect to serve for the holidays, Valentine’s Day, or any special occasion.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Refrigeration time 7

Total Time 7 10

Servings slices

Calories 274

Author Kim

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 full graham cracker sheets)
1/3 cup butter melted
1/4 cup sugar (I use slightly less than 1/4 cup)

For the pie:

1 (8 ounce) package Philadelphia cream cheese very cold and straight from the fridge, should be a bit soft
1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice I highly recommend fresh lemon juice. It seems to react best with the sweetened condensed milk to firm-up the filling.
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

1 20 ounce can prepared cherry pie filling** optional

Instructions

To make the crust:

Combine all crust ingredients and firmly press with fingers into a 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate for 1 hour before adding the filling.

To make the filling:

Using a stand or hand-held mixer, whip very cold cream cheese until fluffy. Then, pour in the sweetened condensed milk while continuing to beat until blended. Do not continue to beat too long or the mixture will become too thin. Add lemon juice and vanilla; beat until just combined. You may need to stop the mixer a few times and scrape down sides and give the mixture a good stir with a spatula. Pour mixture into prepared pie crust and refrigerate for 6-8 hours or overnight. I chill mine overnight for best results. The longer this pie is refrigerated, the better it will set up.
Serve pie with cherry pie filling or other desired topping. Cover and store leftover pie in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Video

Notes

Crust. To save time, you can use an already made store-bought (9-inch) graham cracker crust. You could even try an Oreo crust, which would be delicious.
Topping. For a healthier option, top with fresh fruit. Also, many members of my family prefer this pie with no topping at all.
Make Ahead Instructions. This recipe can be made up to 2 days in advance. Refrigerate before adding topping. You can also make just the crust up to 2 days ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days before adding the filling.
Nutritional info calculated without topping.

Nutrition