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I’ve been holding off jumping on the “holiday-desserts-made-with-peppermint” bandwagon… And I have no idea why I waited so long now that I’ve made these delicious No-Bake White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecakes!
Do you remember our No-Bake Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe from a few months ago? Well, that little recipe of ours became so popular over on Pinterest – as of this moment – it has been pinned over 210,000 times! It’s a fantastic – and easy – recipe and it’s also one of those recipes that you can easily adapt to the flavors of the season or your own favorite flavors with just a little bit of culinary creativity!
For this Christmas season – when many people seem to enjoy peppermint desserts – we modified the recipe as follows: The bottom crust is a combination of crumbled chocolate cookie wafers and chocolate mints, plus a little melted butter to hold the crust together.
Then – we used a combination of white chocolate pudding, cream cheese, cheesecake pudding, frozen whipped topping and a touch of peppermint extract to create a mousse-like cheesecake dessert that is creamy, light and delicious with a mild hint of peppermint flavor!
We used a large pastry bag with a star tip to pipe these no-bake white chocolate peppermint cheesecakes into each serving dish (I think the piping makes this dessert look so pretty!). And, you can get creative with the garnish for this wonderful dessert as well! We crushed up some extra chocolate cookies and candy canes and sprinkled the crumbs over the top of each cup. Finish with a candy cane stick and a chocolate mint – and you’ve got a wonderfully festive dessert!
Special Note
Since originally posting this recipe, Nabisco has sadly discontinued selling their Famous Chocolate Wafers. (We hope they will bring them back!)
In the meantime, a good alternative is Dewey’s Bakery Brownie Crisp Cookie Thins. You can find these at some local supermarkets, or buy them online here.
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
No-Bake White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1/2 package Chocolate Wafers (about 20 cookies)
- 10 After Eight chocolate mints
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
For the filling
- 1 1-ounce package sugar-free white chocolate instant pudding mix (or a 3-ounce package of the regular pudding mix)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 8–ounce package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 1-ounce package sugar-free cheesecake-flavored instant pudding mix (or a 3-ounce package of the regular pudding mix)
- 1/2 teaspoon real peppermint extract (do not use mint extract which is typically a combination of peppermint and spearmint)
- 1 12–ounce container frozen whipped topping, plus extra for garnish, if desired
- 1–2 drops of red food coloring (optional)
- Candy cane sticks, After Eight chocolate mints, and additional crushed chocolate wafers and crushed candy canes for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Place the chocolate wafers and chocolate mints in the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse again until combined.
- Spoon the crumbs into individual 9-ounce plastic cups (or other individual sized cups for serving). Place in the refrigerator to set while you are preparing the filling.
- Prepare the white chocolate pudding with the milk according to package instructions. (Note: Do NOT prepare the cheesecake pudding mix – that will be added as a dry stabilizer later in the recipe.)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until light and creamy.
- Add the prepared white chocolate pudding, the dry cheesecake pudding mix and the peppermint extract and beat until completely mixed, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that all ingredients are well combined.
- Change your stand mixture attachment to the wire whisk. On slow speed, fold in the tub of frozen whipped topping and until well combined. If you’d like to tint your cheesecakes a light pink “peppermint” color, add 1 drop of red food coloring – you can leave the color swirled or mix completely for a light pink color. If desired, add a second drop of red food coloring if you want a darker pink color and mix again.
- Allow the mixture to sit in the refrigerator for about an hour to firm up.
- Using a large pastry bag with a large tip, or a spoon, top the chocolate mint crumb crust in each cup with the cheesecake mixture and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Garnish with additional whipped topping, a candy cane stick, a chocolate mint and crushed chocolate wafers and candy canes, if desired.
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Notes
Please be sure to use real peppermint extract in this recipe for the best results. Be careful NOT to buy mint extract which is usually a combination of peppermint and spearmint. The spearmint flavoring will be too strong for this dessert.
You may also like:
No-Bake Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Chocolate Peppermint Milkshakes
Made these last night for friends, and they were a hit! I didn’t have a pastry bag, so they weren’t as pretty as yours, but they still tasted great.
Thanks Karen – I’m so glad you all enjoyed the recipe! Happy Holidays!
Hi, Martha! Last night I served this dessert to 100 people at our youth group dinner. It was a massive hit and 100 garnished cups of it looked so pretty. I. couldn’t figure out how to upload a photo to show you but trust me, it was totally worth the effort. Thanks!!
Oh wow Claire! I’d love to see your photo! If you are on Instagram and have shared it there, feel free to tag us at @afamilyfeast. Or you can email it to us at [email protected]. So glad you all enjoyed the recipe – it’s perfect for the holidays! Thanks for writing to us!
When using the whipped topping – should it be frozen or thawed? Thanks! Can’t wait to make this for our neighborhood progressive dinner!
Hi Colleen – It should be thawed/softened enough to mix in with the other ingredients. Enjoy!
What can you use instead of the “cheesecake flavoured” pudding? We don’t have that up north 🙂
Hi Jenny – Do you have other pudding flavors? If so – vanilla would be a fairly neutral flavor to swap in instead.
Just wanted to let anyone know who is looking for the wafers and mints that I found them both at Publix – after searching the store all over. The mints were on the candy aisle, top shelf, in a very small green box. (I was expecting something in a bigger package.)
I found the wafer cookies on the bottom shelf with the ice cream toppings (an end cap display on the end of the freezers that hold the ice cream). They are in a yellow rectangle box (almost looks like a Lipton tea bag box).
Thanks Marilyn! Walmart carries both as well!
Have you made these ahead of time? I wonder does the cookie base get soggy if made the day before?
Hi Lisa – We had some leftovers in the fridge overnight and they were still fine the next day! You should be OK making it the night before! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
I really want to make these, but am having trouble finding the after eight mints. Is there something I could substitute?
You could use the Andes brand mints or even the Mint Oreos and skip the chocolate wafer cookies as well – just crush up the Oreos! Any chocolate and mint cookie or candy should work as well. Hope that helps!
Can you make this in a Truffle bowl instead of individual ones?
Yes! You could even make extra of the chocolate crumbs and do alternating layers if you wanted! Hope you enjoy it!
These are seriously so gorgeous!
Thanks Jocelyn!
Wow! Martha, your no-bake cheesecakes always look delicious and this one is no exception! Love peppermint desserts!
Thanks so much Kathy! Have a great weekend!
Adorable. I love anything creamy made with the Wafer cookies, too! I love peppermint desserts, especially around the holidays so this would be a perfect dessert – the kids would love this.
Thanks so much Becki!