Creamy cheesecake bars with a raspberry sauce swirl makes a perfect little dessert. These raspberry cheesecake bars have all the great taste of a regular cheesecake without all the fuss.
Serve these cheesecake squares on a dessert table, family dinner or a summer barbecue.
Why make this recipe
Making a cheesecake can be intimidating, but these cheesecake bars are made without all the fuss! No water bath is needed when baking these bars. These bars are made in three different steps and they all come together and form these impressive bars.
The raspberry swirl adds just the right touch to this dessert. It gives a little fruitiness and the swirl makes an impressive look. Just slice and serve and wait for the oohs and aahs!
Key ingredients
- Raspberries - fresh or frozen
- Cream cheese
- Graham crackers - for the crust
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Lemon - fresh squeezed juice
Step by step directions
Raspberry sauce
- Place raspberries, sugar and a tablespoon of water in a pot
- Cook over medium heat until berries are soft and broken down
- Place through a sieve to remove seeds. You will need to use a spatula or a spoon to push pulp and juice through the sieve.
- Refrigerate juice until ready to use
Crust
- Break graham crackers into large chunks and place in a food processor along with sugar and melted butter
- Pulse until coarse crumbs
- Line an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with two pieces of parchment paper or with foil. The parchment paper should be cut to the width of the baking dish and layered with both pieces overlapping in a "t" shape with the ends hanging over the sides. This will help for easy removal of the entire cheesecake after baking and cooling.
- Add graham cracker mixture to prepared baking dish and push down with hands or the bottom of a flat measuring cup
- Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 10 minutes
Filling
- Whip cream cheese until smooth
- Add eggs, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and whip again until smooth and creamy
- Pour filling over baked crust and smooth so filling is even
- Add dollops of cooled raspberry sauce on top of filling. You might not need all the sauce.
- Take a knife and create swirls with the sauce and the filling
- Bake in preheated 350° oven for 30 - 35 minutes
- Allow cheesecake bars to cool for 45 minutes then refrigerate for at least 3 hours. You do not need to cover unless you will be refrigerating for longer than 3 hours.
- Remove from fridge and remove from pan by gently pulling up on parchment paper. Place on a cutting board and cut into 16 squares.
Recipe tips
- Make certain cream cheese is at room temperature before beginning otherwise your cream cheese will be lumpy
- Do not overmix once you've added the additional ingredients. Just mix until smooth and creamy.
- Make gentle swirls with the sauce and filling
- Cheesecake is done when there is just a slight amount of jiggle in the center of the pan
- Allow cheesecake to fully cool before removing from pan and slicing
- Garnish with fresh raspberries
Recipe Faqs
If the bars are covered and refrigerated, they should last for up to 4 days.
Yes, these bars can be frozen. Allow bars to fully chill first. Remove from pan and place on a baking sheet. Freeze entire cheesecake on baking sheet. Once frozen, wrap with parchment paper or foil and then place in a freezer bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove all wrapping and defrost on a baking sheet or flat platter.
More raspberry recipes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Be sure to check out all my delicious dessert recipes!
Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Raspberry Sauce
- 1 ½ cups raspberries
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
Crust
- 9 graham crackers (1 sleeve of crackers)
- ¼ cup butter (melted)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Filling
- 16 ounces cream cheese (2 packages)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
Raspberry Sauce
- Place raspberries, sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until berries are soft and broken down.1 ½ cups raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon water
- Place berries through a sieve to remove all seeds
- Refrigerate sauce until needed
Crust
- Place graham crackers broken into chunks in a food processor along with melted butter and sugar.9 graham crackers, ¼ cup butter, 2 tablespoons sugar
- Process until coarse crumbs
- Cover an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with 2 pieces of parchment paper (or a single piece of foil.) The parchment paper should be the same width as the pan and place so the paper crosses each other in the center with the paper overlapping on the sides. This will be used to remove the entire cheesecake from the pan after it is cooked and cooled.
- Place crumbs on top of parchment paper and press down firmly using hands or the bottom of a flat measuring cup
- Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 10 minutes
Filling
- Place room temperature cream cheese in a bowl and mix with a mixer until smooth16 ounces cream cheese
- Add sugar, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Mix together until smooth and creamy½ cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Place mixture over prepared crust and spread evenly over crust
- Add dollops of the raspberry sauce over the filling. Use a butter knife to create swirls of the sauce and the filling. You might not need all the sauce.
- Bake in preheated 350° oven for 30-35 minutes. Filling is done when there is just a slight jiggle in the center of the pan when you give a slight shake.
- Allow cheesecake to cool at room temperature for 30-45 minutes and then place in the refrigerator to fully chill for at least 3 hours. Do not cover the cheesecake unless you are chilling for longer than 3 hours.
- Remove cheesecake from pan by carefully pulling up on all 4 ends of the parchment paper. Place on a cutting board and slice into 2 inch squares. Garnish with fresh raspberries, if desired.
Notes
- Make certain cream cheese is at room temperature before beginning otherwise your cream cheese will be lumpy
- Do not overmix once you've added the additional ingredients. Just mix until smooth and creamy.
- Make gentle swirls with the sauce and filling
- Cheesecake is done when there is just a slight amount of jiggle in the center of the pan
- Allow cheesecake to fully cool before removing from pan and slicing
- Garnish with fresh raspberries
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Valentina says
I really love how you swirled the tops with the raspberry. These would "pop" on any dessert table. I'd take too many, I'm sure. 😉 ~Valentina
Kathy says
They are hard to resist!!!
David @ Spiced says
I love summer berries in all forms, but if that form happens to be cheesecake? I love it even more! These cheesecake bars not only look impressive, but I know they would taste amazing with that raspberry puree swirled throughout. Perfect summer recipe right here!
Kathy says
Thanks, David!!! Enjoy 🙂
Dawn says
Anything in cheesecake form is always delicious. These bars are nice and portable and I know I'm gonna eat more than one. 😉 Love the raspberry flavour. Perfect for the season!!
Kathy says
They really are perfect for serving a crowd - or for keeping for yourself!!! 🙂