How to Make the Viral Japanese Cheesecake with Just 2 Ingredients from Aldi

Each year, there’s a meal that becomes a TikTok trend, from the baked feta pasta to the salmon rice bowl. We may be only two months into 2026, but it looks like we already have a snack kicking off the year: the Japanese cheesecake.

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What makes this dessert special is that it requires only two ingredients and zero baking. Here’s everything to know about the treat that’s taken the internet by storm.

What’s this viral Japanese cheesecake?

With the protein craze taking over, this “cheesecake” (if you can even call it that) originated in Japan as a healthier alternative to regular cheesecake. It’s made with cookies and plain or vanilla Greek yogurt. While the trend originated with sablé cookies, other popular versions of the easy-make dessert have used Biscoff or graham crackers.

Or you can make a cheap version of this viral dessert with just two ingredients from Aldi: Friendly Farms Greek Yogurt (you can get a 32oz tub for less than $4 right now) and the brand’s Biscoff dupe: Benton’s Speculoos Crunch Cookies ($2.19). That’s a whole lot of two-ingredient “cheesecake” for just over $6.

This just sounds like yogurt with cookies. What makes it a Japanese cheesecake?

The viral cheesecake isn’t anything like a traditional Japanese soufflé-style cheesecake. It’s called “Japanese cheesecake” because the TikTok trend originated there. It’s a bit confusing, but it’s similar to how the “Dubai chocolate” moniker stuck for a specific flavor.

How do you make the Japanese cheesecake?

Head to Aldi. Get a pint of Friendly Farms Greek yogurt in a flavor of your choosing and fill it with Benton’s Speculoos Cookies (or real brandname Biscoff cookies if you want to be fancy), placed vertically. Leave it in the fridge overnight. Once you get it out, the biscuits should be soft, similar to a cheesecake crust. Top it with some crushed cookies as a garnish and it’s ready to eat.

What does the two-ingredient Japanese cheesecake taste like?

I’ve made this as a “struggle dessert” before it became a trend and while the Greek yogurt makes it taste vaguely like cheesecake, it’s not cheesecake-like enough. It does taste like a nice yogurt, though, which might be your thing.