No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits

A no-bake high protein recipe for single serving strawberry cheesecakes made with a simple 2-ingredient graham cracker crust.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Refrigerating time 6

Total Time 6 10

Servings

Calories 344kcal

Author Amee

6 Parfait glasses or glass jars with lids I use the wide-mouth 8-oz jars so there's room for topping with berries. Parfait dishes work great here, too.

9 graham cracker sheets (full sheets)- one full sleeve for most brands
¼ cup butter *I use salted butter
.25 oz unflavored gelatin 1 packet
¼ cup water
8 oz low-fat cream cheese *not fat-free
1 cup plain skyr or plain Greek yogurt (0% fat or low-fat)
1 cup 2% Good Culture cottage cheese , whipped
1 cup freeze dried strawberries *you can leave these out for a plain cheesecake filling
¼ cup Splenda sugar blend *see notes for sweetener swaps
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups fresh strawberries chopped

Place the graham crackers into a food processor and blitz until finely ground. Drizzle in the butter and pulse until combined. The texture should be similar to wet sand. Divide the crust mixture between the jars or dessert dishes and press down to compact (I use a tart tamper). Refrigerate the jars to chill the crust while you make the filling.
Place the dried strawberries in a high-powered blender (I use a bullet blender). Blend until finely ground into a strawberry powder.
Bloom the gelatin in ¼ cup of water and let it sit for 5 minutes, then warm for 15-20 seconds in the microwave until dissolved. Stir and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, Skyr (or Greek yogurt), whipped cottage cheese, dried strawberry powder, sweetener, lemon zest, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. *I use the whisk attachment on my stand mixer. Slowly beat in the gelatin mixture, pouring in a thin stream, until combined.
Divide the cheesecake filling layer between the jars. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, until firm and set.
Before serving, top each parfait with chopped fresh strawberries (I use the 8-oz jars so I have room for this) and drizzle with a little honey or maple syrup, if desired. Whipped cream is also great here!

Sweetener options. The Splenda sugar blend sweetener conversion is 1/4 cup of the Splenda blend for 1/2 cup of regular sugar. If you use regular Splenda (not the sugar blend or another zero-calorie sweetener, it will lower the calories per parfait to 314 with 28 grams of carbs. I’ve also made this recipe with 1/3 cup good-quality maple syrup with great results. It will be a softer set before chilling, but it firms up nicely as it chills overnight. Honey can be used instead of maple syrup, if preferred. If you go with regular granulated sugar, use 1/2 cup.
If you don't have a tart tamper to press the crust into the bottom of your serving vessels, just use a small spoon or the bottom of a shot glass.
Give the filling a little taste test before adding the gelatin. Depending on how tart your yogurt is, you might need to add a bit more sweetener.
I know it’s tempting to dig in ASAP, but the parfaits must set for at least 6 hours in the fridge, though overnight is even better! This allows the gelatin to fully do its thing, ensuring you get a firm, custard-like cheesecake consistency.
For a lower-calorie/ carb option, feel free to make them without the crust and use a zero-calorie sweetener.