Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

If you love cheesecake but want an easier way to indulge in it, try these Strawberry Cheesecake Bars! No water baths, super easy to make and oh so creamy. Topped with a fresh strawberry sauce all sitting on top of a buttery cracker crust.

By the way, if you’re looking for some more amazing cheesecake recipes check out my Scrumptious Chocolate Cheesecake and my Yummy No-Bake Rainbow Cheesecake Bars.

These happy and bright cheesecake bars are all about the combination of creamy cheesecake and the glossy strawberry layer on top. They can be made ahead of time and they’re easy to slice up and serve.

Sweeten your day!

These bars are so easy to make, creamy and indulgent, and in my opinion, easier to serve and eat! Here’s some other things to love!

• Creamy and indulgent – the cheesecake layer is easy to make, and you don’t even need a water bath. It’s perfectly smooth and creamy.
• Perfectly balanced flavours – this recipe isn’t too sweet. The cracker crust is perfectly buttery, the cheesecake layer, creamy more than sweet and the strawberry layer, sweet and tangy.
• Fancy or casual! This dessert is easy to make and serve at any occasion. Serve it up at your next dinner party or a casual morning tea.

Ingredients To Make Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

Note: the whole recipe, including the ingredient quantities, can be found at the bottom of this page – just scroll down to the bottom, or click the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of this post.

• Digestive biscuits – alternatively you can use graham crackers. You can use different cookies, but you may need to adjust how much butter you use. You can test if it’s the right amount of butter by squeezing it in your hand and if it comes together, it’s good to go.
• Brown sugar – dark or light will work.
• Unsalted butter – make sure your butter is cooled before using. Warm is ok, hot is not.
• Cream cheese – Make sure your cream cheese is softened.
• All-purpose flour – also known as plain flour.
• Salt – I used fine salt.
• Caster sugar – also known as superfine sugar. You can use granulated sugar if you wish.
• Sour cream – Greek yogurt will also work.
• Heavy cream – this is the type of cream you use for whipping.
• Vanilla Extract – Always use good quality vanilla extract when baking, it makes a huge difference. I have a great recipe here for it if you’d like to try your own!
• Eggs – I used large eggs.
• Strawberries – For this recipe you’ll be using some of the strawberries to cook for the sauce and some to add to the sauce for some texture once it’s cooked. Wash and dry your strawberries well. You can use frozen strawberries to make the sauce and leave out the fresh strawberries.
• Lemon juice – fresh is best!
• Cornstarch – also known as corn flour.

How to make Strawberry Cheesecake Bars!

1. Use graham crackers or digestive biscuits
2. Crush until you reach fine crumbs
3. Add butter
4. Pulse until you can squeeze it in your hands and it stays together

5. Line your 9 x 9-inch baking tin
6. Add crumbs.
7. Press down firmly and bake for 8 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool.
8. Add softened cream cheese, flour, salt and vanilla to a large mixing bowl.

9. Mix using a spatula (cream cheese should be soft enough for this to happen)
10. Add remaining cheesecake ingredients.
11. Mix using a spatula until well combined.
12. Add whisked eggs.

13. Mix to combine.
14. Cooled down cracker crust.
15. Pour cheesecake layer.
16. Bake for 30 minutes (full instructions in recipe card below)

17. Once baked allow to cool down.
18. Wash and dry strawberries
19. Chop up.
20. Add to saucepan with remaining ingredients.

21. Cook for a couple minutes until it reaches a gentle simmer.
22. Add cornstarch slurry.
23. Stir until translucent.
24. Add fresh strawberries and mix to coat.

25. Pour over the cooled cheesecake.
26. Spread around.
27. Allow to set.
28. Slice up and serve.

My Pro Tips!

• Use room temperature and softened ingredients. Especially with the cheesecake layer ingredients to get the smoothest cheesecake.
• Chill before slicing – to get the absolutely best slices
• Clean your knife with each slice for a nice clean looking slice
• Give your strawberry layer plenty of time to set otherwise it will look more like a sauce. But hey, if that’s your thing I’m not going to yuk your yum.

Frequently Asked Questions about Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

How do I store this?

Place in an airtight container and chill in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Can I use frozen strawberries for this recipe?

Absolutely. Just skip the fresh strawberries added when the cooked ones are done.

Can I freeze these bars?

Yes! But I would recommend doing it without the fruit on top. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Then cook and add the final layer once thawed. Allow to set and serve!

How do I know if the cheesecake is done baking?

This is a funny one, you have to use your best judgement. When the timer is up, open the door and give the tin a gentle nudge. If the middle of the cheesecake looks a little wobbly and the edges look set, it’s done. It will continue cooking when it comes out of the oven so that it’s evenly baked and set once cooled.

Can I use different fruits?

Yes! Any berry will work! Blueberries, blackberries, even fruits like peaches, apples etc. Just cook until they’re tender.

Gave this a go? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok for more great recipes!

Spring into more dessert ideas!

• Strawberry And Pretzel Tart

• Easy Lemon Blueberry Bars

• Luscious Lemon Bars

• Lemon Crinkle Cookies

• Fluffy Lemon Mallow Slice

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @thescranline on Facebook and Instagram!

Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

These Strawberry Cheesecake Bars have a buttery graham cracker crust, silky smooth and creamy cheesecake, topped with fresh strawberries.

Serves 9

4.9 from 7 votes

Author: Nick Makrides

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Cool: 5 hours hrs

Total: 6 hours hrs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 318kcal

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Ingredients

Cookie Crust Base

• ▢ 6 oz / 170 g digestive biscuits, (12 biscuits) or graham crackers (24 squares)
• ▢ 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ▢ 1/3 cup / 85 g unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Layer

• ▢ 2 blocks / 500 g block cream cheese, room temperature and very soft (see notes)
• ▢ 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ▢ Pinch of salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 105 g caster sugar, (see notes)
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 100 g sour cream or Greek yogurt, (room temperature)
• ▢ 3 tbsp heavy cream, room temperature
• ▢ 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 large eggs lightly, room temperature, whisked

Strawberry Layer

• ▢ 25 ounces / 700 g strawberries, washed and dried
• ▢ 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 105 g brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with a little cold water

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Instructions

Cookie Crust Base

• Preheat a fan forced oven to 140C / 285F. Spray the bottom of a 20 x 20cm (8 x 8-inch) cake tin with oil spray and line the bottom and sides with baking paper. I used little clips to hold the paper in place.
• Add the biscuits and brown sugar to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you reach fine crumbs. Alternatively, you can place the biscuits in a large zip lock bag and crush using a rolling pin.
• Add the melted butter and mix to coat the crumbs.
• Pour the crumbs into the lined cake tin and press down firmly using a spoon or the bottom of a flat cup or glass. Once even, place in the oven and bake for 8 minutes or until slightly golden. Take out of the oven and allow to cool.

Cheesecake Layer

• Add the softened cream cheese into a large mixing bowl. Use a spatula to mix until creamy and smooth. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and mix in until combined. Take care not to overmix.
• Add the caster sugar, sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Take care not to overmix. The key here is to mix only until the ingredients are combined. We don’t want to add air into the mixture.
• Lastly, add the whisked eggs and mix until well combined and mixture is smooth. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 30 minutes. The edges will be set but the center will be slightly jiggly in the center. Allow to cool completely at room temperature.

Strawberry Layer

• Clean and dry your strawberries. Cut into quarters.
• Add 18 ounces (500g) of the strawberries, lemon juice and brown sugar into a large pot. Stir continuously on medium heat for 5 – 7 minutes. The strawberries will be very soft.
• Mix the cornstarch with a couple tablespoons of cold water and mix to create a slurry. Add to the strawberry sauce while stirring. The mixture will thicken immediately. Once it becomes shiny and translucent add the remaining strawberries and gently mix to coat in the sauce. Pour over the cooled cheesecake and spread evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to set for 5 hours (overnight is best) in the fridge.
• Once set, slice into 9 bars using a large knife and serve.

Notes

Cookie Crust Base – I used digestive biscuits which are common in Australia. But graham crackers will work just as well. If using other types of biscuits, you may need to increase the butter amount slightly so that the biscuits bunch together when pressed. RecipeTIn Eats suggests for example that if you’re using Marie Biscuits which is an Aussie biscuit from Arnott’s that you need to increase the butter by 90g so that it stays together when pressed in the cake tin. If using golden Oreos you need to use a little less butter.

Cream Cheese – I used Philadelphia cream cheese blocks. This is different to spreadable cream cheese which will not work for this recipe.

Caster sugar – also known as superfine sugar is best for this recipe but you can use regular white granulated sugar as well.

Setting time – is really important for this dessert. If you don’t let it set long enough the strawberry layer will not be firm enough to hold it’s shape. If you’re ok with it looking more like a sauce, then it only needs to set for 2 hours.

Storage – Strawberry Cheesecake Bars can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.

Nutrition – is based on per bar. This recipe makes 9 bars.

A note on measurements – all ingredients in this recipe are offered in Australian cup measurements and weight measurements. Weight measurements are created by me, in my kitchen here in Melbourne Australia. The best way to get recipe success is to measure ingredients by weight, using kitchen scales.

Nutrition

Calories : 318kcal

Carbonhydrates: 38g

Protein: 4g

Fat: 14g

Saturated Fat: 7g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g

Monounsaturated Fat : 4g

Trans Fat : 0.3g

Cholesterol: 68mg

Sodium: 125mg

Potassium : 230mg

Fiber: 2g

Sugar : 24g

Vitamin A: 426IU

Vitamin C: 48mg

Calcium: 65mg

Iron: 1mg

Nutrition Disclosure

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