These fresh and tasty no-bake blueberry cheesecake bars are the perfect recipe for your next get together or holiday. Made with fresh blueberries, cream cheese, and a yummy graham cracker crust, this just might be your next "go-to" dessert.
We love cheesecake in our family, but it can be a fairly long process to make an entire cheesecake, so I opted to make bars, which can be cut into 12 nice size portions or 24 smaller ones.
This is also a "no-bake" recipe, making it great during the summer when you don't want to turn on the oven. Of course, that didn't stop me from making it during the winter.
Ingredients
- graham cracker crumbs
- butter
- granulated sugar
- cream cheese
- powdered sugar
- whipped topping
- lemon juice
- blueberries
- cornstarch
Making Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
1. Make the Blueberry Topping
Make this first, as it will need to cool while you make the rest of the cheesecake.
Simmer the blueberries with lemon juice, sugar, and a bit of water for about 20 minutes. Then, add a slurry of water and cornstarch to help thicken the mixture.
Once it has thickened set the blueberry topping aside to cool.
2. Make the Crust
Crush the graham crackers or buy them crushed and mix them in a bowl with melted butter and sugar. It should look like wet sand. (see image above)
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Press the graham cracker mixture into a parchment lined 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Note: If you don't have parchment, press the mixture directly into the pan.
3. Make the Cream Cheese Filling
In a medium bowl, beat together until smooth softened cream cheese, lemon juice, and powdered (confectioners) sugar with a hand mixer. Then, add the whipped topping and mix until well combined.
Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the graham cracker crust with a spatula.
4. Add the Blueberry Topping
Pour the cooled blueberry sauce evenly over the cream cheese cheesecake filling. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. Or until you are ready to serve it.
See how easily the parchment paper lifts out of the pan. This will also make it easier to cut into bars.
Options and Substitutions
- You can obviously use different kinds of fruit. I think berries work best, but you could also try swirling some melted chocolate on top or leave it without a topping and let people add to it from a toppings bar.
- You can use canned or jarred blueberry pie filling for the top. Not nearly as good, but it's a nice time saver, and I realize that sometimes that's what you need.
- You can use chocolate wafers for the crust or other cookies like Nilla wafers or make a traditional shortbread crust.
Leftovers (if there are any) can be placed in the fridge, covered with plastic for several days, and it will still taste great. A delicious, fresh, and rich dessert that you will want to make time and time again.
Blueberry Cheesecake Bars (No-Bake)
Equipment
- 9 x 13 glass baking pan
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 3/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Filling
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 8 ounces whipped topping thawed
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Blueberry Topping
- 4 cups blueberries
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- In a heavy saucepan on medium heat combine blueberries, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and a couple of tablespoons of water.
- Stir until the sugar has dissolved and reduce the heat to low.
- Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Make a slurry of 1 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.
- Add the slurry to the blueberry mixture and stir. Continue heating the blueberry mixture until it thickens then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
- Combine graham cracker crumbs with sugar and melted butter. Stir until it looks like wet sand.
- Press the graham cracker mixture into a parchment lined 9 x13 inch baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon juice until smooth.
- Add in the whipped topping and stir until well combined.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the graham cracker crust.
- Spoon the cooled blueberry topping all over the top.
- Cover with plastic and refrigerate for one hour or until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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