Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
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The first time I tried these Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars, I was seriously in another world.
These are SO good, that even my husband {who is not a cheesecake or lemon fan}, raves about them. The cheesecake filling is to-die for, and the streusel topping is not just a sprinkle, but rather a thick layer that leaves a fabulous sweet crunch in your mouth!
They take a little bit of prep, but the end result is definitely worth it.Trust me, once you serve these little spring lovelies at your next get-together, absolutely everyone will be asking you for the recipe!
The Process
Step 1: In a food processor {I just used my Ninja}, place graham crackers, sugar, and lemon peel. Cover and process on and off pulses until crumbs form. Add in melted butter and process again until mixed in.
Step 2: Press mixture evenly into the bottom of a 8 or 9″ pan, sprayed with cooking spray, or greased with butter. Bake 10 minutes and cool.
Step 3: Use food processor again to mix softened cream cheese, eggs, lemon peel, juice, and sugar until smooth and creamy.
Step 4: Pour filling over crust and top with blueberries. I used fresh, but frozen would work well too.
Step 5: In a medium bowl, mix topping ingredients with fork or fingers until crumbly, then sprinkle over filling.
Step 6: Bake 40-50 minutes until topping is lightly browned and center is almost set. Cool for 1 hour on a wire rack, then refrigerate for about 2 hours until chilled.
Don’t you want to just dig in right now? Yum!
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
Description
If you need a Spring pick-me-up, you MUST try these heavenly lemon blueberry cheesecake bars. The filling is to-die for, and the streusel topping leaves a fabulous crunch in your mouth!
Ingredients
Crust:
- 9 graham cracker rectangles
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp grated lemon peel
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling:
- 2 packages {8oz each} cream cheese, softened
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp grated lemon peel
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup blueberries {fresh or frozen}
Topping:
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 8 or 9″ square pan with cooking spray.
- In food processor, place graham crackers, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, and 1 tsp lemon peel. Cover; process with on-and-off pulses until crumbs form. Add melted butter. Cover; process with 3-4 pulses until incorporated. Press mixture evenly into bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool.
- Meanwhile, wipe food processor with paper towel. Add cream cheese, eggs, 2 tbsp lemon peel, lemon juice, and sugar. Cover; process until smooth. Pour filling over crust and top with blueberries.
- In medium bowl, mix topping ingredients with fork or fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling.
- Bake 40-50 minutes or until topping is lightly browned and center is almost set {center should jiggle only slightly when moved}. Cool 1 hour on cooling rack. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. Cut and serve, or store in the fridge.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cheesecake bars, blueberry cheesecake bars
Total Cost: $8.68/pan or $.96/serving
Blueberries are in season right now in Florida, and I so wish I had gotten the chance to go picking! But since we aren’t in a house where I can use my deep freezer {yet}, I don’t really have the resources to stock up in my itty bitty one.
Instead, I had to grab some fresh blueberries from the store, which were a little more expensive than the U-pick. So if you want to make this recipe even more frugal, definitely plan on picking up a few pounds of blueberries over the Summer to freeze.
Then you can make this Spring-like recipe whenever you want, especially if you need a sunshine pick-me-up during the long, cold Winter!
What’s your favorite way to use blueberries?
If you need even more dessert recipe ideas, be sure to visit and follow my Brownies {and Bars} Pinterest board!
Follow Kalyn Brooke’s board Brownies {and Bars} on Pinterest.
Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.
These look sooooo good! I’m going to have to make these this weekend! I love the idea of blueberry with lemon! Sounds so fresh and tangy!
Let me know if you like them! 🙂
Do you use actual lemon peel, or lemon zest??
I use lemon zest if I’m using a fresh lemon, but I also have dried lemon peel on hand that works great when I’m out of lemons, or they aren’t on sale. Hope that helps!
Is it 9 rectangles, or 9 squares (equals 2 rectangles) of graham crackers? I ask because I used 9 rectangles and it doesn’t cover to the bottom of my 9 inch pan…
It’s 9 full rectangles….not the itty bitty rectangles that make up a square. 2 squares = 1 rectangle. Hope that helps clear things up!
Absolutely AMAZING!! I am horrible at baking but thought I would give these a try with fresh blueberries from the farmers market. They turned out awesome. Thanks!
Shanon, I am SO excited these worked for you!! Thanks for coming back to let me know. 🙂
Hey there.. I love this recipe. It’s so delicious. I wanted to make for s party tomorrow but I’m not seeing the ingredient list… Am I missing something? I know it was on here before and I really want to make these for s party tomorrow. Could you post ingredients please??
Hi Jeanine,
Thanks for letting me know! It’s working for Laptops and desktops but not for mobile. I know what the issue is so now I’m just trying to fix it. 🙂 Here’s the ingredient list in case you can’t get to a computer:
Crust:
9 graham cracker rectangles
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling:
2 packages {8oz each} cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
2 tbsp grated lemon peel
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup blueberries {fresh or frozen}
Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter
Instructions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 8 or 9″ square pan with cooking spray.
In food processor, place graham crackers, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, and 1 tsp lemon peel. Cover; process with on-and-off pulses until crumbs form. Add melted butter. Cover; process with 3-4 pulses until incorporated. Press mixture evenly into bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool.
Meanwhile, wipe food processor with paper towel. Add cream cheese, eggs, 2 tbsp lemon peel, lemon juice, and sugar. Cover; process until smooth. Pour filling over crust and top with blueberries.
In medium bowl, mix topping ingredients with fork or fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling.
Bake 40-50 minutes or until topping is lightly browned and center is almost set {center should jiggle only slightly when moved}. Cool 1 hour on cooling rack. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. Cut and serve, or store in the fridge.
Amazing! Very sweet, but very good. Was extremely easy to make which is a huge plus in my book.
That’s exactly one of the reasons I love this recipe so much, it’s so simple!