Name: Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush Dessert Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 2 ½ cups vanilla wafer crumbs; 1 cup butter (melted); 1 ½ cups chopped pecans (divided); 8 ounces cream cheese; 1 cup powdered sugar; 16 ounces Cool Whip (divided); 6.8 ounces vanilla instant pudding (2 (3.4 ounce) boxes); 2 cups milk; 42 ounces cherry pie filling

Our Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush Dessert is a fan-favorite! Layers of cookies, cheesecake, cherries, pudding, and whipped cream make up this dreamy dish.

Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush Dessert Recipe

If you love cheesecake, this Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush is for you!

Layers of cookies, pecans, pudding, cream cheese, and cherries make this a favorite dessert of everyone who tries it.

More cherry desserts to try:

Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush ingredients:

Vanilla wafer crumbs
Butter
Pecans
Cream cheese
Powdered sugar
Cool whip
Vanilla or cheesecake flavored instant pudding
Milk
Cherry pie filling

Ingredients for Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush

If you are looking to avoid canned cherry pie filling, take a look at this homemade cherry pie filling recipe from Taste of Home.

Kitchen tools need for cherry pudding dessert:

3 medium mixing bowl (THESE are great)
9 x 13 pan (I love THIS one, even has a lid for easy travel!)
Non-stick cooking spray

How to make Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush:

First, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

Next, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine together the vanilla wafer crumbs, melted butter, and the cup of chopped pecan.

Mix to make sure the butter coats all of the pieces.

crust ingredients of cherry cheesecake in a bowl

Then, using a 9 x 13 pan, spray the bottom of the pan with non-stick cooking spray and spread the wafer and pecan mixture into the bottom of the pan.

And then bake this at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

crust of layered cherry cheesecake baked in a pan

Once it’s done, take it out and let it cool completely.

Then, in another mixing bowl, you will need to combine the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and the 1 ½ cups of cool whip.

Blend this together until everything is well incorporated.

Now, carefully spread this over top of the vanilla wafer crust evenly.

cream cheese layer spread of crust in 9x13 glass pan with a knife

Next, grab another clean mixing bowl, and combine the pudding mixes and milk together until they are well blended.

Fold in 1 ½ cups of cool whip into the pudding mix.

Continue to mix until it is smooth.

Then, spread it over top of the cream cheese layer in the 9 x 13 inch pan.

pudding mixed with cool whip with a hand mixer

Finish off this recipe by spreading the cherry pie filling on top of the pudding layer.

cherries spread on top of pudding layer in pan

Then, top it off with the remaining Cool Whip and then sprinkle the remaining pecans on top for an added crunch.

cool whip topped with pecans on top of layered cheesecake dessert

Then, simply refrigerate and serve when you’re ready to eat!

layered cheesecake served on a white plate

Don’t like cherries? Try one of these flavors:

Blueberry
Blackberry
Peach
Strawberry
Triple berry

If you like this cheesecake, you’ll love our Blueberry Jamboree.

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One of the amazing recipes we have on our YouTube channel is our EASY Instant Pot mini cheesecake – 3 ways!

More cheesecake recipes:

Serves: 20

Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush Dessert Recipe

5 from 3 votes

The best cherry cream cheese lush layered dessert you have ever tasted.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Cool/Chill Time 30

Total Time 45

Print Pin

Ingredients

2 ½ cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1 cup butter melted
1 ½ cups chopped pecans divided
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
16 ounces Cool Whip divided
6.8 ounces vanilla instant pudding 2 (3.4 ounce) boxes
2 cups milk
42 ounces cherry pie filling

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine vanilla wafer crumbs, melted butter and 1 cup chopped pecans. Spread into the bottom of a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely.
In another mixing bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 1/2 cups of cool whip until well blended. Spread carefully over the cooled vanilla wafer crust.
In another bowl combine the pudding mixes and milk until well blended. Then fold in 1 1/2 cups cool whip. Mix until smooth and spread over the cream cheese layer.
Top with the cherry pie filling. Then spread the remaining cool whip over the top. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of pecans on top.
Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Notes

Even if you don’t like cherries, you can still make this dessert using another flavor:

Blueberry
Blackberry
Peach
Strawberry
Triple Berry

Nutrition

Calories: 417 kcal · Carbohydrates: 50 g · Protein: 4 g · Fat: 23 g · Saturated Fat: 10 g · Cholesterol: 43 mg · Sodium: 272 mg · Potassium: 185 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 23 g · Vitamin A: 642 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 78 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Equipment

9×13-inch Baking Pan
Mixing Bowl
Hand or Stand Mixer

Recipe Details

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

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Questions & Reviews

2pots2cook says:

Perfect. Juicy. Inviting. Asking for another slice :-) Thank you and have a nice day !

Helineh says:

Hello, can this be just as good if made a day early?

lyn glassman says:

I think there's a mistake here - you say to mix 1 1/2 cups cool whip and later to fold in another 1 1/2 cups of cool whip but the ingredients only calls for 16 ounces?

Cyd says:

The 16 ounce size of cool whip comes out to about 3 cups. So you are covered with the 1 1/2 cups in the cream cheese layer, and then the other 1 1/2 cups for the top.

Cyd says:

This is fine made a day early. Keep it covered and refrigerated.

Donna says:

So is there suppose to be cool whip in the pudding layer like the re recipe states?

Cyd says:

In the pudding layer there is the pudding mixes, milk, and 1 1/2 cups of cool whip. There is also cool whip in the cream cheese layer, and the remainder of the cool whip on the top of the dessert. A 16 ounce container of cool whip contains about 6 1/2 cups. Hope this helps.

Kristin says:

Ok if you can't use pecans because of an allergy would you just use more wafer crumbs?

Cyd says:

It would work fine with adding a few more vanilla wafer crumbs to replace the chopped pecans.

Debbe says:

Has anyone tried this with both cherry filling and a can of pineapple? I ask because my family loves strawberry rule salad but I am allergic to strawberries.

Teresa Petrocelli says:

Ok Cyd first you say 16 oz of Cool Whip is about 3 cups then later you say 16 oz Is about 6 1/2 cups??? All my measurements say that 8 oz is one cup. Ive made this a few times & I use about 1-16 oz & 1- 8 oz of Cool Whip. It comes out perfect.

Cyd says:

Sometimes the container is by weight and not by volume. Just follow the recipe as directed and you will be fine using the 16 ounce container of cool whip. :)

Scarlett Biliter says:

Can you use blueberry pie filling?

Cyd says:

Yes. Blueberry pie filling would be delicious!

Jan Palmer says:

I just made this Layered Cherry Cheesecake for a group of 12, and the dessert was very popular. People wanted seconds and some to take home. My husband loves cherries, and he was thrilled with the delicious taste. By the way, I found I had to use a third 8 oz. package of Cool Whip to have enough Cool Whip to frost the top (24 oz. total of Cool Whip). The pecans give a wonderful crunch to the recipe. We'll definitely make it again.

Amy says:

Wow. Just made this. I actually made the whole recipe but slpit in 2 smaller pans to take to 2 events. Ppl LOVED it!!!!!! I'll be making this a regular!

RHONDA says:

My family loves this

Nancy says:

We are empty nesters and just the two of us finished this off in 3 days! So good! We are dieting right now!!! *****

Cyd says:

Hi Nancy! We absolutely loved your cute comment! So glad you like the layered cherry cheesecake! Glad it brought you joy as you stay quarantined! Stay safe!!

Donna says:

Allergy to cocunut which is in Cool Whip. Can I user eat whip cream instead?

Momma Cyd says:

We haven't tried this recipe using real whipped cream. But if it is whipped quite thick, it should work.

Candace says:

If you use stabilized whipped cream, it should work great. Make your whipped cream using powdered sugar with a bit of gelatin added. The whipped cream will hold up forever!

Carolyn Jones says:

Can I use Graham crackers in place of the vanilla wafers? If so, would you still bake it for 15 minutes?

Momma Cyd says:

I think graham cracker crumbs would work just like vanilla wafer crumbs.

FRIEDA POLK says:

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO MAKE THIS LUSCIOUS LOOKING DESSERT!!LOOKS SO EASY TOO

Johnna says:

I made this for a church dinner and they loved it! Easy to fix, looks pretty and tastes delicious!

Julie B. says:

Two sticks of butter for the crust has to be a mistake, right? Other recipes use 1/3 to 1/2 cup in a 13x9 crust.

Momma Cyd says:

It's 1 cup of butter with the added nuts and 2 1/2 cups of vanilla wafer crumbs.

Join The Discussion

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2pots2cook says:

Perfect. Juicy. Inviting. Asking for another slice :-) Thank you and have a nice day !
Helineh says:

Hello, can this be just as good if made a day early?
lyn glassman says:

I think there's a mistake here - you say to mix 1 1/2 cups cool whip and later to fold in another 1 1/2 cups of cool whip but the ingredients only calls for 16 ounces?
Cyd says:

The 16 ounce size of cool whip comes out to about 3 cups. So you are covered with the 1 1/2 cups in the cream cheese layer, and then the other 1 1/2 cups for the top.
Cyd says:

This is fine made a day early. Keep it covered and refrigerated.
Donna says:

So is there suppose to be cool whip in the pudding layer like the re recipe states?
Cyd says:

In the pudding layer there is the pudding mixes, milk, and 1 1/2 cups of cool whip. There is also cool whip in the cream cheese layer, and the remainder of the cool whip on the top of the dessert. A 16 ounce container of cool whip contains about 6 1/2 cups. Hope this helps.
Kristin says:

Ok if you can't use pecans because of an allergy would you just use more wafer crumbs?
Cyd says:

It would work fine with adding a few more vanilla wafer crumbs to replace the chopped pecans.
Debbe says:

Has anyone tried this with both cherry filling and a can of pineapple? I ask because my family loves strawberry rule salad but I am allergic to strawberries.
Teresa Petrocelli says:

Ok Cyd first you say 16 oz of Cool Whip is about 3 cups then later you say 16 oz Is about 6 1/2 cups??? All my measurements say that 8 oz is one cup. Ive made this a few times & I use about 1-16 oz & 1- 8 oz of Cool Whip. It comes out perfect.
Cyd says:

Sometimes the container is by weight and not by volume. Just follow the recipe as directed and you will be fine using the 16 ounce container of cool whip. :)
Scarlett Biliter says:

Can you use blueberry pie filling?
Cyd says:

Yes. Blueberry pie filling would be delicious!
Jan Palmer says:

I just made this Layered Cherry Cheesecake for a group of 12, and the dessert was very popular. People wanted seconds and some to take home. My husband loves cherries, and he was thrilled with the delicious taste. By the way, I found I had to use a third 8 oz. package of Cool Whip to have enough Cool Whip to frost the top (24 oz. total of Cool Whip). The pecans give a wonderful crunch to the recipe. We'll definitely make it again.
Amy says:

Wow. Just made this. I actually made the whole recipe but slpit in 2 smaller pans to take to 2 events. Ppl LOVED it!!!!!! I'll be making this a regular!
RHONDA says:

My family loves this
Nancy says:

We are empty nesters and just the two of us finished this off in 3 days! So good! We are dieting right now!!! *****
Cyd says:

Hi Nancy! We absolutely loved your cute comment! So glad you like the layered cherry cheesecake! Glad it brought you joy as you stay quarantined! Stay safe!!
Donna says:

Allergy to cocunut which is in Cool Whip. Can I user eat whip cream instead?
Momma Cyd says:

We haven't tried this recipe using real whipped cream. But if it is whipped quite thick, it should work.
Candace says:

If you use stabilized whipped cream, it should work great. Make your whipped cream using powdered sugar with a bit of gelatin added. The whipped cream will hold up forever!
Carolyn Jones says:

Can I use Graham crackers in place of the vanilla wafers? If so, would you still bake it for 15 minutes?
Momma Cyd says:

I think graham cracker crumbs would work just like vanilla wafer crumbs.
FRIEDA POLK says:

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO MAKE THIS LUSCIOUS LOOKING DESSERT!!LOOKS SO EASY TOO
Johnna says:

I made this for a church dinner and they loved it! Easy to fix, looks pretty and tastes delicious!
Julie B. says:

Two sticks of butter for the crust has to be a mistake, right? Other recipes use 1/3 to 1/2 cup in a 13x9 crust.
Momma Cyd says:

It's 1 cup of butter with the added nuts and 2 1/2 cups of vanilla wafer crumbs.

Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush Dessert Recipe

More cherry desserts to try:

Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush ingredients:

Kitchen tools need for cherry pudding dessert:

How to make Layered Cherry Cheesecake Lush:

Don’t like cherries? Try one of these flavors:

“I have so much time!” -No mom ever

Did you know we have a YouTube channel?

More cheesecake recipes: