This No-Bake Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche Cheesecake with Popcorn Crust is a unique and whimsical dessert that’s super easy to make and incredibly delicious! You’ll love the crunchy popcorn crust with the creamy, sweet cheesecake filling.
A few posts back, I told you guys about how I made 15 different desserts for an event. Well, when I was preparing for the event, I rediscovered how absolutely amazing no-bake cheesecakes are. They saved my life for being both so quick to put together and tasting so decadent and delicious.
Flavor options are endless. You can do so many crusts, so many flavors and fillings, so many ways to decorate and garnish. Every one I’ve tried so far has been beyond expectations. (Psssst – Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake Pie & No-Bake Snickers Pie are favorites!)
Needless to say, I’ve been inspired by the whole no-bake cheesecake thing recently. But, I was feeling pretty bored of the whole graham cracker crust and Oreo crust thing. A trip to WinCo and an impulse purchase of a bag of Nutter Butters sounded good, and popcorn sounded like it would be fun and unique and delicious.
To make the crust, I whipped up a super quick butter & brown sugar toffee coating for the popcorn and Nutter Butters. They both get crushed up and added to the brown sugar mixture after it boils for four minutes, and then pressed into the pan. The brown sugar mixture helps everything stick together and adds a nice, sweet crunch.
Inspired by the Nutter Butters (and my peanut butter addiction), I added peanut butter to the filling. Inspired by the brown sugar coating (and the half used can of dulce de leche in my fridge from making this No-Bake Snickers Pie), I also added dulce de leche. Because of the sweetness from the dulce de leche, I left out the powdered sugar I normally add and didn’t miss it one bit.
For the topping, I drizzled some dulce de leche and then garnished with some crushed Nutter Butters and popcorn on half of it. One of my housemates and I decided putting it only on half looked really artsy and stuff…but then my other housemate came home and asked me why I only decorated half of it. So, decorate however your heart desires!
The result of these easy steps is a luscious, rich, creamy cheesecake on a crunchy, puffy, peanut buttery crust. The popcorn crust is unique and totally delicious, and the flavors work perfectly with the peanut butter and dulce de leche in the filling. And that filling…it’s not too overpowering in either flavor, and it’s just sweet enough without making your teeth hurt.
I love how the popcorn crust looks! It’s so whimsical. This is a treat you won’t want to miss, and don’t worry – you don’t even have to turn on your oven. Enjoy!!


No-Bake Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche Cheesecake with Popcorn Crust
Ingredients
For the crust
- 3 cups unsalted popcorn, crushed
- 1 cup Nutter Butters, crushed
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
For the filling
- 1 8 oz. block cream cheese
- 1/4 cup dulce de leche
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 8 oz. package whipped topping, such as Cool Whip or Truwhip, thawed
- Nutter Butter bites, to garnish
- Popcorn, to garnish
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and salt and bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil for 4 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Remove from heat and stir in crushed popcorn and crushed Nutter Butters. Press into the an even layer on the bottom of a greased 10” springform pan. Set aside to cool while you prepare the filling.
- In a large bowl, beat the together the cream cheese, dulce de leche, and peanut butter until smooth. Add in the thawed whipped topping and beat the mixture until creamy and fluffy, scraping the sides as needed to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
- Pour filling into crust, evening out the top with a knife or spatula. Garnish with more dulce de leche, popcorn and Nutter Butters as desired.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Best served the day it is made.
Oh yes, no-bake cakes are AMAZING when catering for lot of people! I would never have considered using popcorn in a cheesecake but it looks SO good Rachel!
No-bake anything is a lifesaver in a pinch, but I would love nothing better than to fall right through the screen right now and eat this one right up. PB AND dulce de leche sounds like a killer combo, girl! Thanks so much for sharing this–I’m actually going to save it for the files and make it ASAP. Cheers!!
Gorgeous times infinity!
Holy moly, this cake is stunning! And I don’t even usually go for cheesecake!
Thank you so much, Nora!
Wow, I’m impressed, this looks so so delicious! I love how you decorated the cake, it’s just beautiful!
This looks SOOOO GOOD! I’ve got to try this no-bake cheesecake method.
This is SO stunning! I’ve yet to dive into making no bake cheesecakes but now I’m wondering why the heck not! And for the record, I’m TOTALLY digging the artsy 1/2 decorated top. It looks super cool!
The amount of delicious items you have mashed up together in this post are ridiculous. All of my favorites combined into one glorious looking cheesecake. Literally looks too good to eat!