Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars
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Thick buttery graham cracker crust topped with lemon strawberry-swirled filling to make these delicious Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars! Chill them for a tasty summer dessert!
If you love easy and delicious dessert recipes, then you’ll also love my Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake Bars, Chocolate Sheet Cake with Strawberry Frosting, and Cream Cheese Brownies (Cheesecake Brownies).
I have some really happy news…
I FINALLY got my hands on a batch of mouthwatering, perfectly sweet and juicy strawberries!!
Pretty please pretend to be half as excited as I am.
I’ve been seeing crates and crates of strawberries in the stores lately, so naturally I’ve been buying them in droves, but every single week I’ve been disappointed. Too sour. Too soft. Not soft enough.
Is a perfect batch of strawberries too much to ask for??
But like I said, I got some incredible strawberries this week and I am shoving them into my mouth by the handful. Don’t worry though, I saved enough of them to whip up these ultra-mega-yummy cheesecake bars. With a hint of lemon and the most incredibly buttery graham cracker crust you could ever ask for, these beauties are nothing short of summerlicious!
Try this No-Bake Cheesecake recipe next!
Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 12 graham cracker sheets
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter, melted
Cheesecake Layer
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened (2 8-ounce bricks)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Strawberry Swirl
- ⅓ cup chopped strawberries
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons water, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray.
- First prepare the crust. In a food processor (or good quality blender) pulse graham crackers and sugar until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter and pulse again until mixture comes together. Press into the bottom of prepared pan and bake 10 minutes.
- Next prepare the cheesecake layer. In a medium-large bowl cream together cream cheese, sugar, egg, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth. Pour mixture over crust.
- To make the strawberry swirl, add strawberries and sugar to a blender or food processor and pulse until finely pureed. (add 1-2 tablespoons as water until mixture is easily spreadable)
- Drop spoonfuls of the strawberry mixture over the top of the cheesecake layer. Use the tip of a knife to swirl the strawberry mixture into the cheesecake mixture – a figure 8 pattern works great! (Careful not to insert the knife too far so that you don’t disturb the crust at the bottom)
- Bake for 25-35 minutes until cheesecake is set. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes, then transfer to fridge to chill at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve. Store chilled in airtight container or covered with plastic wrap.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can i use frozen strawberries?
This recipe hasn’t been tested with frozen strawberries but I’m sure you can! The texture may change a bit. I recommend thawing the strawberries completely then drain off any excess liquid. Due to any extra juice and possibly water I would probably start with not adding water and add it only to reach a spreadable consistency. You also may not need as much sugar. I would taste test and adjust sugar accordingly. Also make sure you puree carefully. Make sure the texture is smooth and you don’t have big chunks that will break through the cheesecake layer.
This was a great recipe and I will be using it again!
Is it safe to double it? I’m looking to take it to a bbq and 12 servings doesn’t feel enough. Can I just simply double the recipe or do I need other modifications?
You can double it and either bake them in a bigger pan or two 8×8 pans.
Changed your
Good starter recipe-used it with my expertise as a chef to make it sugar free – looks and tastes magnificent and has less than 2 grams of sugar per bar – i could even make it less and a little healthier.
I made it but had no idea what 12-14 sheets of crackers is so used 1 1/2 cups may not have been enough time will tell.Now we waite lol