These are ultra creamy lemon blueberry cheesecake bars baked on a graham cracker crust. Enjoy fresh lemon flavor and smooth cheesecake, plus there’s no shortage of juicy blueberries and crispy crust!
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and a few more success tips.
Like many bakers and dessert lovers, I enjoy baking a classic cheesecake. It’s a tall and mighty dessert with massive crowd appeal and endless topping options like strawberry sauce and salted caramel.
But there’s no arguing that baking a cheesecake can be daunting: Don’t over-sweeten! Avoid over-baking! Don’t forget the water bath! Will your springform leak? We’ll find out!
It’s often worth the effort—I mean, I RAVE about this cheesecake recipe—but if I’m looking for a quicker, less fussy cheesecake option, I usually make cheesecake pie or today’s cheesecake bars.
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- All the texture of traditional lemon cheesecake, but easier and quicker
- Extra creamy, extra thick
- Tangy-sweet flavor with loads of blueberries
- The cheesecake version of popular lemon blueberry cake
- Grab & go—no fork needed!
One reader, Rob, commented: “A+ recipe. Got rave reviews from serious and finicky dessert people. And it freezes extremely well. Make it this summer, and use at least some frozen blueberries which makes it a beautiful color…★★★★★”
One reader, Pam, commented: “So delicious! Perfect amount of lemon tartness with the sweetness of the blueberries is to die for! Since blueberries are in season here right now I used fresh. Love the thick crust also. It holds up well to the weight of the filling…★★★★★“
Graham Cracker Crust Success Tips
Below you’ll find my basic graham cracker crust recipe. It fits into a 9-inch square baking pan perfectly, as well as many 8-inch and 10-inch pans. I love this particular crust because it’s altogether crunchy, buttery, thick, and not overly sweet like many crumb crusts of its kind. We use it for blueberry cream cheese pie, banoffee pie, and both these mini key lime pies and key lime pie bars.
Some helpful tips:
- You need a careful ratio of 3 ingredients: graham cracker crumbs, sugar, & melted butter.
- Use a food processor or blender to grind 12 full-sheet graham crackers into crumbs.
- Stir the graham cracker crumbs and sugar together before mixing in the butter.
- Press into your lined pan just until it’s no longer crumbly. Do not pack down too hard.
Pre-bake the crust for 8 minutes so it has a little head start:
Grab These Ingredients for the Filling
- Bricks of Cream Cheese: Make sure you’re using bricks of full-fat cream cheese and not the cream cheese in a tub you would use for spreading on bagels. Same rule applies when making cream cheese frosting and strawberry cream cheese pie.
- Sugar: When over-sweetening these bars, you can’t detect the natural lemon and blueberry flavors. 6 Tablespoons is the magical unicorn amount; it’s more than 1/3 cup and not quite 1/2 cup!
- Lemon: 1 large lemon or 2 medium lemons are typically enough for these lemon blueberry cheesecake bars. You need 3 Tablespoons of juice and 1 teaspoon zest, which together is the perfect amount for lovely lemon flavor (that isn’t pucker-your-lips-sour!).
- Vanilla Extract: For delicious, rich flavor.
- Egg: The cheesecake bars would fall apart without an egg.
- Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen, your batter will be swirled blue/purple.
The filling we use for lemon blueberry cheesecake bars is a lot like this cheesecake pie. Lemon juice replaces the sour cream and we can get away with 1 egg since the bars aren’t quite as thick.
Expect a thick filling. Make sure you spread it over the crust while the crust is still warm. Why? This will help the filling adhere to the crust a little better.
Success Tip: Here’s how I like to line square baking pans. So easy! Lining the pan makes it much easier to remove the bars before slicing and serving. I use the same tip when making rice krispie treats and M&M cookie bars, too.
How to Cut Neat Squares
Cool baked bars at room temperature for about 1 hour, and then refrigerate them for 2 hours or until the bottom of the pan feels cold. If you cut the bars into squares too early, they’ll completely fall apart. If I’m serving these at a party or event, I prepare them the night before just so I know they’ll cool and chill long enough to yield neat squares.
Slice them with a sharp knife and wipe the knife clean between each cut.
I wouldn’t change a thing about this recipe! The whole team loved how light they tasted, as well as how the buttery graham cracker crust complemented the lemon cheesecake filling. Finding the tasty balance between tart and sweet is tricky when it comes to lemon desserts, but these bars nail it!
More Lemon Desserts You’ll Love
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Citrus Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes or Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Creamy Lemon Pie
- Lemon Blueberry Babka
- Lemon Pound Cake
- Lemony Blueberry Galette
For more summer dessert inspiration, see my roundups of favorite Memorial Day recipes and BBQ cookout dessert recipes.
Print
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 50 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Creamy lemon cheesecake bars studded and swirled with blueberries. They’re prepared on my simple graham cracker crust and will absolutely be your new favorite dessert!
Ingredients
Crust
- 12 full-sheet graham crackers (to yield 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) graham cracker crumbs)
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
Filling
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 6 Tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (210g) fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides to easily lift the chilled bars out as a whole. Set aside.
- Make the crust: If you’re starting out with full graham crackers, use a food processor or blender to grind them into fine crumbs. You can also place them in a zip-top bag and crush them into fine crumbs with a little arm muscle and a rolling pin. Stir the graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar together in a medium bowl, and then stir in the melted butter. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Press into the bottom of the lined pan.
- Prebake crust: Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Cool for a few minutes as you prepare the filling in the next step.
- Make the filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese for 1 minute on medium speed until smooth. On medium speed, beat in the egg, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract together until smooth and creamy, about 3 full minutes. Gently fold in the blueberries. Pour/spoon filling evenly onto the warm crust.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until the cheesecake has set up and the edges are lightly browned. The bars will be very puffy, but will sink down slightly as they cool. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature on a wire rack and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
- Lift the parchment paper out of the pan and cut into squares.
- The bars stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the bars for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Food Processor | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Non-US Readers: Don’t have graham crackers where you live? Use 200g ground digestive biscuit crumbs instead (about 13–14 biscuits), the same amount of butter, and add a bit more sugar (about 1/3 cup, or 67g). You may need to add a few extra minutes to the pre-baking time, as digestive biscuits are not quite as crispy-crunchy as graham crackers. And from what I understand, spreadable cream cheese sold in a tub in countries outside of the US is a little different from the spreadable cream cheese in the US. It’s thicker, sturdier, and more solid and should be OK to make cheesecake. I have no experience with it, but this is what I’ve heard from other non-US readers.
Reader Comments and Reviews
A huge hit at Easter lunch and so easy to whip together! Thank you!
Does this take longer to cook at altitude ?
Very giggly at 30 min. Still cooking at 40 and just beginning to brown on edges, no puffing yet
Hi Anne, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
This looks so yummy! I’m making it now for Easter dessert. The recipe says to let it cool 30 minutes after coming out of the oven, the refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Well … after 30 minutes, my (pyrex) pan is still VERY hot. Too hot to put in the fridge, I would think. Not sure what to do now. Is it a difference between metal and glass baking pans?
Hi Sheryl! Glass will cool more slowly. You can just let it cool until it seems cooled enough to pop in the fridge.
I made these today for Easter tomorrow, couldn’t help but sneak one for myself, and……OH MY STARS. These are absolutely divine. I am so excited to share with family! They were so easy to make. Sometimes a whole slice of cheesecake can feel like too much, these are the perfect amount!
Wondering if I could double and make in a 9×13??
Hi AJ! Yes, double the recipe for the 9×13 pan. The bake time will be longer, but we are unsure of the exact amount of time.
Even in the 9×13 these came out so well! Thank you for your help! They did take an extra 30 minutes or so but totally worth it. With the extra bake time tenting foil over for the last ~30 min is definitely necessary but they came out perfect! Can’t wait to serve for Easter dessert!
I’ve made this several times and it’s always a big hit! Question – would cinnamon graham crackers work also, or does it have to be regular?
Hi Emily! We don’t recommend using graham crackers that are topped with cinnamon sugar because it will change the consistency of the crust. So glad you love these!
Yet another winning SBA recipe! After cooling/cutting, I put each individual square into a jumbo baking cup before storing in an airtight container for easy serving. Thinking about substituting raspberries next time. Do you think they’d hold up or just turn to mush?
Hi Donald, that should work, just be extra careful folding in the raspberries so as not to break them. Let us know how it goes!
I made my own gluten free graham cracker crust, and followed the recipe exactly after that. I even used the same pan. My bars came out very soggy and mushy. Taste ok but hard to eat without a fork.
I cannot wait to make these ! I do have a question-why do we not thaw if using frozen blueberries? Isn’t it difficult to mix in frozen state ? Thank you so much ☺️
Hi Carol! Thawed blueberries are too wet and bleed their color. Best to keep them frozen!
Hi Sally, can I use half mascarpone and half cream cheese for this recipe? Hoping the mascarpone can “hold up” as well as cream cheese.
Otherwise, excellent recipe. Have made it a couple times as written, but just have some mascarpone that needs using :). Thanks
Hi MJ, we haven’t tested this recipe that way, so don’t know for sure, but my guess is it will be a lot softer. This recipe for a fruit tart uses mascarpone, however.
Second time in two weeks making your lemon blueberry cheesecake bars and I have so many more requests to make more. EXCELLENT
Can I make this into a regular cheesecake size in a 9 or 10″ springform pan?
Hi Ariel! Here is our full sized Lemon Cheesecake recipe. You could add blueberries to that recipe, or top with blueberry sauce.
5 star excellent
I actually made this for my son in law; he loves anything blueberries and cheesecake.
He told me this is the best blueberry cheesecake ever and he should know. Thank you for a wonderful and very easy desert.
Can vanilla wafers be used instead of graham crackers for the crust?
Hi Darlene, we haven’t tried, but can’t see why not! Let us know how it turns out.
This was in the top 5 near desserts I have ever made! I did use Organic valley cream cheese, which I think make it even better. I mixed it by hand with a whisk which was quite the arm workout… Time to get an electric mixer. Everyone loved it!!
This was a delicious and refreshing dessert that everyone loved. Sugar level was perfect. I made this according to the recipe with a little extra lemon zest (whole lemon zested).
Made this today and we loved it. Made exactly to recipe.
I did the same recipe in cupcake tins with a raspberry compote on top and they killed at my dinner party thank you so much!
Can you make this with blackberries instead of blueberries?
That should work just fine—enjoy!
What would be the baking time if you are using a mini muffin pan?
Hi Heather, We’re unsure of the exact bake time. You can use these mini cheesecakes as a guide and look in the notes section for super mini cheesecakes.
Could I substitute other berries like strawberries? Or better to stick to frozen blueberries if I can’t get fresh?
Hi Steph, strawberries should do well here. After chopping the strawberries, we would blot them with paper towels to rid any excess moisture. Frozen blueberries also work (do not thaw).
These bars are so easy and so good! I received so many complements and so many requests to make again!! This recipe will be added to my favorites. Thank you, Sally!!
I made this as written without any changes, and enjoyed the ease of preparation and the taste! I will make these again.
Do blackberries work instead of blueberries?
Hi Donna, that should be fine!
Can a sheet pan be used for larger crowds
Hi Ted, you can double the recipe for a 9×13 pan. The bake time will be longer, but we’re unsure of the exact amount of time.
Fantastic summer dessert!!! My family absolutely loves it. This recipe is a winner!!!
Question: my crust was really firm and hard to cut. I didn’t overbake it but maybe I used too much muscle in pressing it into the pan? Maybe do a light pressing?
Otherwise I loved this recipe. I have one outlier in my family who doesn’t love citrus so I left the zest out but put in the juice only. It was the perfect light lemon flavor, and the citrus outlier loved them too!
Hi Alice, yes, a light pressing is all you need. Glad they were enjoyed!
This recipe is so good !! Very refreshing and perfect for summer, everyone loved !!
So easy to make! If you want a quick recipe this is for you. Perfect size to take with to a bbq. Everyone loved them. I went to culinary school and people are always like that’s why your food is so good I was like no way I use Sally’s baking addiction the recipes are always perfect. Thank you sally. Onto the next.