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Strawberry Lush is a luscious, light, and fluffy layered no bake dessert with layers of vanilla wafer cookies, creamy cheesecake, strawberry jello, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream. It’s a one pan dessert that everyone is sure to love.

For more lush dessert recipes be sure and try this Strawberry Cheesecake Lush, Raspberry Cheesecake Lush, or Coconut Cream Lush.

Strawberry Lush Recipe

My family LOVES tasty strawberry desserts – wether it’s an Easy Strawberry Cake, this crazy light & fluffy no bake Strawberry Icebox Cake, or something that’s a more impressive dessert like this No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake – we will eat any dessert or treat with strawberries! Use up all those fresh & juicy strawberries during strawberry season and make this layered strawberry delight dessert.

This layered strawberry lasagna dessert is actually perfect for any time of the year because it’s completely no bake, so delicious, and it’s a make ahead dessert which means you can make it the night before and it will be ready to go the next day! Plus, fruity desserts always seem to be a hit no matter what – picnics, potlucks, family gatherings, parties, you really can’t go wrong with this one.

A pan of layered dessert with a slice taken out to show the layers in the center.

Ingredients Needed For This No Bake Strawberry Dessert Lasagna

This impressive dessert has 4 different layers and it’s completely no bake! It starts with a vanilla wafer crust, a cream cheese layer, a strawberry Jello layer with fresh strawberries, and finished off with a whipped cream and more fresh strawberries for garnish.

Vanilla Wafers Crust

Vanilla Wafers
Melted Butter

No Bake Cheesecake Layer

Cream Cheese – For the best thick and creamy texture use the full-fat cream cheese instead of the reduced-fat or fat-free cream cheese. You also want to make sure the cream cheese is softened to room temperature to avoid any lumps in the cheesecake mixture.
Powdered Sugar
Sour Cream – Again, I recommend using regular full-fat sour cream for the best thick texture and best taste.
Cool Whip

Fluffy Strawberry Jello Layer

Strawberry Jello
Boiling Water
Ice Cubes
Heavy Cream
Chopped Fresh Strawberries
Cool Whip

Whipped Cream Layer

Cool Whip
Sliced Fresh Strawberries – This is an optional garnish to add onto the dessert lasagna or lush before serving.

How To Make Layered Strawberry Lush

Make The Crust : Place the vanilla wafers into a food processor and crush until they are in fine crumbs. Add in the melted butter and pulse to combine until the mixture looks like crumbly wet sand. Spread the mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish making sure to firmly press down to form an even crust. Set aside.

Make The Cheesecake Layer : In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, or use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat on medium speed (increase speed as needed) until it’s smooth and fluffy, and no lumps remain. About 2 minutes. Add in the sour cream and beat until combined and smooth. Fold in the Cool Whip until thoroughly combined. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the vanilla wafer crust inside the baking pan.

Make The Strawberry Layer : Whisk the strawberry jello powder and boiling water in a medium-sized mixing bowl until the gelatin dissolves. Add in the ice cubes and stir until the ice is completely melted. Let the strawberry jello mixture cool to room temperature before proceeding. It should be pretty close to room temperature once the ice is melted but check to make sure and let it sit for several minutes if needed.

Once cooled to room temperature, add the heavy cream and stir to combine. Stir in the strawberries and the Cool Whip and mix until combined. Spread the strawberry layer over top the cheesecake layer in the baking dish. It will be slightly runny and that’s ok, it will firm up once in the fridge.

Chill : Cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap or a lid and let it refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours, or overnight is even better.

Serve : When ready to serve, remove the lush from the fridge and top with the final top layer of Cool Whip and fresh sliced strawberries. Serve the easy dessert chilled from the fridge.

What Are Some Changes I Can Make?

Crust : Use graham crackers, teddy grahams, or golden Oreo cookies for a sweeter crust. You will need about a 14 ounce box of whatever cracker/cookie you decide to use.
Fruity Jello Layer : Use any fruity flavor of Jello for this layer! Get creative and use the same fresh fruit or mix & match fruits. Try using orange Jello + chopped mandarin oranges, raspberry Jello + fresh raspberries, etc.
Don’t Want To Use Cool Whip? : If you’d rather not use Cool Whip then this can easily be substituted. Each 8 ounce tub if Cool Whip has 3 cups whipped cream in it – to make your own (for all 3 tubs of Cool Whip) you will need 4.5 cups of heavy whipping cream + 1 cup powdered sugar. Beat that until stiff peaks form. Use 1/3 of it for each layer that calls for Cool Whip.
Sour Cream : Use plain greek yogurt instead.

How To Store Leftover Strawberry Lush

This dessert needs to always be in the fridge. As it sits at room temperature it will soften and the layers won’t be as thick. Serve the strawberry lasagna dessert chilled from the fridge, and keep any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap, aluminum foil or a lid, or you can remove individual servings into an airtight container and store it in the fridge that way.

A slice of dessert with strawberries on top

Recipe Tips

Crushing Vanilla Wafers : Make sure the wafers are in very finely crushed crumbs for the best results. I use a food processor but you could also use a blender to crush them OR put them inside a Ziploc bag and use a meat pounder, or another heavy object, to crush them. Combine them with the melted butter inside a mixing bowl.
Chill Time : Don’t rush this! Especially because that Jello layer needs the fridge time in order to thicken and set; otherwise, the Jello layer will be soft and runny. This dessert needs at least 6-8 hours of chill time, but overnight is the best!
Softened Cream Cheese : To avoid lumps in the cheesecake mixture make sure you are using room temperature cream cheese. It blends in much smoother when it’s softer, otherwise the lumps are really hard to beat out of the cream cheese when it’s cold.

No Bake Strawberry Lush

Strawberry Lush Recipe