Tickle their taste buds with this Frozen Hot Chocolate Cheesecake! It’s an ice cream, cheesecake-flavored pie with an Oreo crust, mini marshmallows, and swirls of marshmallows mixed throughout–and it only LOOKS complicated to make!
Do you remember my Frozen Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake? It has (so far) been the most popular recipe on the blog, and definitely one of my favorite desserts. Even my husband (not a pumpkin fan) ate his fair share of that pie. That’s when you know you have a recipe win, BTW!
Well, I have great news! I went at it again and created another version of that pie. This one is more appropriate for December and Christmas though – it’s hot chocolate-flavored! With tiny marshmallows throughout, this Frozen Hot Chocolate Cheesecake is sure to be a hit!
True to form with the last pie, this one is just as easy. Mix a few ingredients, stir in the Cool Whip®, and freeze. Freezing is the hardest part. (That waiting game.)
Oreo Crust tips
- Crush the Oreos® thoroughly. If there are big pieces of the cookies in the crust, it will still taste great, but the pie won’t cut and serve as nicely. I recommend a blender or food processor for crushing the cookies. Alternatively, you can add all the cookies to a large plastic bag, remove any air from the bag, and break the cookies into crumbs with a rolling pin or meat mallet.
- Don’t add hot butter to the crushed Oreos. Let the butter cool slightly before mixing the two, to avoid a greasy pie crust.
- Leave the creme filling. There’s no need to separate the creme from the cookie; the creme adds structure and sweetness to the crust.
- Don’t add sugar. A lot of crust recipes (typically graham cracker crusts — like in this Creamy Lemon Pie) call for sugar, but the Oreo creme sweetens the crust plenty.
Frozen Hot Chocolate Cheesecake Tips
- Allow the cream cheese time to come to room temperature: If you use cold cream cheese or try and microwave it, you will end up with unpleasant chunks in your cheesecake. Give it at least an hour sitting at room temperature (or in a warmish environment).
- Allow plenty of time for the filling to set up. The filling takes a good eight hours to be completely firm and frozen; don’t try to rush this. Also, when serving, make sure you return any leftovers promptly to the freezer. This cheesecake begins softening very quickly at room temperature.
- Cover the cheesecake tightly in the freezer with plastic wrap and then foil to avoid freezer burn.
- Use a sharp knife to cut slices. I like to run the knife under hot water, quickly dry it off, and then make a cut. Repeat for each cut; this cheesecake is sticky and firm! Everyone should have some good knives for times like this.
- Go with full-fat products. Reduced-fat cream cheese and light versions of Cool Whip will cause a wet and melty cheesecake that might not set up properly; I don’t recommend any of these ingredients.
Homemade “Cool Whip”
This cheesecake calls for one 8-ounce container of Cool Whip®. If you’d like a healthier alternative, you can try TruWhip®. Or make your own whipped topping (recipe below) to use in place of the container of frozen whipped topping. Just FYI, Cool Whip is a non-dairy product, and of course, that isn’t the case with the homemade version.
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a mixing bowl attached to a stand mixer (with a whisk attachment) add the 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat to combine and then increase the speed and whip until firm peaks form, about 2-4 minutes. Now you’ve got homemade whipped topping to add to this Frozen Hot Chocolate Cheesecake!
Quick Tip
Cool Whip is a frozen non-dairy dessert topping. Our version isn’t dairy-free, so keep that in mind if you have dietary restrictions!
More delicious desserts:
- Twix Cheesecake Bars
- Cheesecake Filled Raspberries
- Chocolate Pudding Pie
- Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes
- Mini Cheesecakes
Frozen Hot Chocolate Cheesecake
Ingredients
Oreo Crust
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1¾ cups Oreo cookie crumbs (~24 cookies)
- Tiny pinch fine sea salt
Filling
- 1 pkg. (8 oz.) full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 can (14 oz) full-fat sweetened condensed milk (Note 1)
- 3 milk chocolate flavored hot cocoa mixes with marshmallows (Note 2)
- ¼ cup Dutch-process (special dark) cocoa powder (Note 3)
- 1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, (like Cool Whip) completely thawed
- ½ cup dehydrated marshmallows, optional (Note 4)
- Optional garnish: whipped topping
Instructions
- OREO CRUST: Lightly grease a 9-inch springform or pie pan with cooking spray. Melt 4 tbsp. butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, set aside to cool for 5 minutes. (Hot butter will cause a greasy crust.) In a blender or food processor, process the whole cookies (don't separate cookie from cream) until they are all fine crumbs (re-blend any large chunks). Measure to get a level 1 ¾ cups of crumbs and add to a large bowl. Add salt to the bowl. Use a spatula to scrape in every bit of butter and mix until well combined.
- FINISH CRUST: Empty the crumb mixture into the prepared pan. Using your fingers, press the crumbs into just the bottom of the pan (if using a springform pan) and up the sides (if using a pie pan). Use the bottom of a flat 1-cup measuring cup to thoroughly compress the crumbs into a firm crust. Place in the freezer while preparing the filling.
- FILLING: Add the softened (to room temperature) cream cheese to a large bowl and beat for about 45 seconds or until creamy. Add in the sweetened condensed milk and beat until the mixture is completely combined and smooth. Scrape the sides of your bowl with a spatula. Add in the hot cocoa mixes and again beat to combine. Beat in the cocoa powder until integrated.
- FILLING CONTINUED: Add in the completely thawed whipped topping and use a spatula to gently fold into the mixture until completely integrated (no dark streaks of the chocolate mixture remain -- the filling should be an even light brown color). Be careful to not over -ix the whipped topping, but ensure it's well combined with the other filling ingredients. Finally, add in the dehydrated marshmallows (if using) and gently fold through.
- FREEZE: Pour the mixture over the Oreo crust. Smooth the top with a spatula. Cover pan and freeze overnight or for at least 8 hours. When ready to serve, remove cheesecake from the freezer and cut into slices with a sharp knife (Note 5). If desired, garnish individual slices with whipped cream.
- LEFTOVERS: Cover any leftovers tightly and return promptly to the freezer.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I really love this cake, I really really wanna make it but here in Greece we dont have
milk chocolate flavored hot cocoa mixes with marshmallows and marshmallow fluff – – what can I put instead ? Is there anything similar or make another recipe ? Thank youuuuuuuuu
Hmmm do you have chocolate Nesquik powder? It will be okay without the marshmallow fluff 🙂
Can you use homemade whipped cream instead of the coolwhip?
Absolutely! 🙂
Wait! 22 cups of oreos????????????????
I’m so sorry Pixie! I just switched to a new kind of recipe box and it changed the formatting on some of the recipes; it was supposed to read 22 oreos or about 2 cups. I’ve updated it now. Thank you!
22 cups Oreos?
I’m so sorry Susan! I just switched to a new kind of recipe box and it changed the formatting on some of the recipes; it was supposed to read 22 oreos or about 2 cups. I’ve updated it now. Thank you!
Can you use a premade Oreo crust? My crusts never come out good
Yes of course! 🙂 The filling might be too much for a standard size oreo crust, so you may want to do 2.
I made this recipe last Thanksgiving and it was a big hit! Made one last night for this year. Thanks for your wonderful recipes!!
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks so much for the comment Lisa 🙂
Did you freeze it? And are you sure you used the right ingredients? Sweetened condensed milk not evaporated milk and cool whip? It shouldn’t be anything like a gooey pudding.
Could I use a 9×13 pan?? Or does it have to be spring form?? Would it be enough mixture for a ,9×13?? Thanks!!!?
It doesn’t have to be a springform, but I don’t think the mixture would be enough for a 9 x 13 pan unfortunately. Unless you don’t mind pretty thin bars 🙂
What do you mean by 6 milk chocolate flavored hot cocoa mixes with marshmallows?
Like 6 of the packets from the box you can buy at the store. Or they are available online; for example: https://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Miss-Marshmallow-Cocoa-Ounce/dp/B00BJ9URYA 🙂
I this looks so yummy I can’t wait to try!
What brand of hot chocolate do you use? I can’t seem to find anything here in Australia thag has marshmallows in it?
Thank you so much Tracey! If you can’t find the marshmallow packets you can use regular packets and add dehydrated marshmallows if you are able to find those. I generally use Swiss Miss in this because they have the marshmallow hot chocolate packets!