Cheesecake is one of those desserts that fits the bill pretty much on any occasion. Whether it’s a weeknight at home, a family dinner, or even a special holiday or celebration there’s no time when a cheesecake isn’t a welcome end to a yummy meal. But, they can take a long time to make.

Many of the shortcut no-bake cheesecakes simply don’t have a satisfying flavor (in my opinion- maybe you agree with me). But, this 5-ingredient no-bake cheesecake recipe is different. No really!

With only 5 ingredients it might not sound like some fabulous combination, but trust me it is. You might call this “real cheesecake: the lazy edition” because it tastes like a genuine cheesecake, only there’s no baking, no pudding mix, and no Jell-o involved.

The first thing that makes this short ingredient list possible is the pre-made graham cracker crust. It’s a real time-saver, but you can of course make your own if you don’t have a ready-made crust on hand.

The secret to making this cheesecake set is simple: cream cheese and marshmallow fluff. The fluff ensures that everything is smooth since you’re not adding any sugar or powders to the filling. The flavor of the cream cheese really comes through because it’s not too sweet, which I like much better than über-sweet desserts.

The other thing that makes this cheesecake taste “real” is that you add in the juice and zest of 1 lemon. If there’s anything that brings freshness to a recipe it’s lemon. To enhance that flavor a bit more I like to add a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract. If you do the same it brings the ingredient count up to 6, but that’s still not a lot.

And here’s the other beautiful thing about this recipe- it only needs about 90 minutes to set in the fridge. If you’re strapped for time or oven space or don’t want to heat the house up this 5-ingredient no-bake cheesecake is just the ticket- and it never tastes like a shortcut recipe.