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!
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…★★★★★”
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, 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 Pound Cake
For more summer dessert inspiration, see my roundups of favorite Memorial Day recipes and BBQ cookout dessert recipes.
PrintLemon 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.
These came out AMAZING! I love anything with blueberry and lemon combined, and these are the most delicious and light dessert. The crust by itself was so good I was eating the residue out of the bowl. I am going to use this recipe for the rest of time lol
Hey everyone! I made these yesterday, instead of using blueberries I used frozen saskatoon berries. Also I used zest + juice from only one lemon. I didn’t want the lemon to overpower the saskatoon flavour and they turned out great! Had to increase the baking time (approximately 20 minutes additional time) most likely due to the frozen berries? Anyway, they turned out amazing! Thank you for this.
I’ve been baking thing from your site like crazy the past couple months challenging myself to become a better baker/cook. Of the many different recipes I’ve tried from your site (all of which have been great) these were my husband’s favorite (he is my official taste tester for everything). The kind of dessert that you take a bite of and your eyes roll back in your head while you go “mmmmmmm” lol. I have a feeling he will request these again.
I made these two nights ago and they’re almost all devoured! Like your Creamy Lemon Pie (also delicious), I added salted almonds to the crust, and a teeny bit of almond extract in the filling along with the vanilla. I made slightly sweetened whipped cream as an accompaniment, in case the cheesecake was too tart, and it was divine! Thanks once again, Sally!
Made this many times and they are always a hit! Thanks for the great recipe Sally!
Hi Sally, I have made these bars several times before and they are delicious! I’ve got this thick cranberry-blueberry compote in my fridge (from the holidays). I am wondering if I can use this concoction swirled into the cheesecake layer instead of the blueberries before baking it up? Any thoughts or tips on that? Thank you in advance for your help!
I think that sounds delicious, Faye!
These beautiful cheesecake bars right now are in the oven! I used homemade blueberry jam to make a design with the filling! It is going to be a bday present.
Thanks for always sharing.
I am making this recipe today and they are taking a long time to bake! The edges are golden but the inside is still very wet and jiggly. I’m assuming they are set when a toothpick comes out clean? I hope the longer baking time helps! The recipe looks amazing and I know my family will love them for after Easter dinner!
I am so sad as I type this comment. I’ve made your Pineapple Upside Down cake many times before and it was a huge success. I had people come to me with hugs to thank me for such a delicious treat. Now, this recipe for Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars? They turned out to be soggy and fell apart as I cut them. I had to scrap the whole deal and go make a new batch. I think the reason for it was the frozen blueberries. Next time I will use fresh OR will thoroughly thaw out the frozen ones.
These turned out perfectly. They were so rich and yet perfectly refreshing for a hot summer day. Everyone couldn’t get over how perfect the crust was.
These are wonderful! The light and fluffy cheesecake is perfectly citrus without being tart. The pop of blueberries is both tasty and pretty, and the thick and fresh tasting crust is the right amount of sweet. These were a hit. Thanks Sally.
Could I make these into bites? The small cupcake pans?
Sure can! The bake time will be quick.
Just made these today for a crawfish boil this weekend, and hey came out great! They’re tangy but still sweet (and not too sweet). Lemon and blueberry is such any amazing flavor combo. Thank you!
I need to make some cheesecake bars that can be served as canapé type deserts. How strong structurally are these? If I cut them and they are at room temperature for up to an hour, will they still be bars?
Thanks
Polly
Yes, they’re sturdy and you shouldn’t have an issue.
THESE BARS WERE A HIT at my neighborhood cookout this weekend. Your lemon oatmeal creme bars are an absolute favorite of mine so I decided to give this one a whirl. They literally were gone 5 minutes after I put them out and I received so many compliments. Little did they know how simple this recipe was! I can’t wait to make them again.
These are delicious! Sally, I have been reading your blog for several months now and I have tried over a dozen recipes and each one is amazing. I am an avid baker and I spend most of my free time in the kitchen, so I definitely consider myself a bit of a food snob, ha. But your recipes continually exceed expectations!!
I grew up in rural SC, and I remember baking all the time with my mom as a kid. Isn’t it funny how once you’ve had amazing homemade goodies it becomes difficult to settle for store-bought goods?? 🙂 I am usually that person who always brings the dessert or homemade goodies to a get together, and your lemon blueberry cheesecake bars are definitely going into my repertoire. In fact, my best friend has had a terrible week so I am making another batch to surprise her with tomorrow. Also love your pancake recipes, amazing.
These are delicious. While the adults all loved the intense lemon flavor, my grandchildren thought they were too lemony. I changed the recipe to use only the juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon and they are perfect for the little ones. Thanks so much for sharing.
I made these last week after hearing rave reviews from my mom and sister. :-)) They are amazing…addictive, actually! I live in Germany so I made my own “graham cracker” crust. (For those in a similar situation, I used Leibnitz Vollkorn Kekse and added nutmeg and cinnamon, with the 6 tablespoons butter and sugar per the recipe. For the cream cheese, I used Philadelphia “Doppelrahm” because I couldn’t find the “Regular”. They turned out perfectly….). Thank you for the recipe! I think I will be making them frequently. 🙂
This was just incredible!! Baked it as a whole cheesecake and everyone went crazy! Thank you 🙂
I made these for my family. We used cane sugar and oranges instead as that is all we had. Thank you!
Hello Sally,
The recipe sounds easy to make and I love the combination of lemon and blueberries. I was just wondering , should it be done in a bed bath. I’ve done a cheese cake before and it required one. Please respond soon. I was planning on having it ready for a dinner party after tomorrow and wanted to make it tomorrow.
No need for a water bath for these bars. That’s really more needed for a large, thick cheesecake.
I made this recipe for a spring party at my house and it was a big hit. I used reduced fat cream cheese and it turned out excellent. Love the lemon and blueberry combo.
I loved the look of these so gave them a go and they are fab! Made the whole house smell divine 🙂 I did substitute the Graham crackers for digestive biscuits (UK) and made 50% more of the base than you said in the recipe as it was very thin for me! But absolutely loved them 🙂
Thank you very much for sharing all these wonderful recipes! I have just bought your cookbook on amazon and can’t wait for it to arrive.
I made these today, and already half the tray is gone! Delish! Lemon and blueberry are a hit in my house.
I left the sugar out of the graham cracker crust, as I’m not big on too much sweetness, and luckily it still came out okay! Maybe a bit crumblier than normal, but certainly manageable and definitely yummy!
Sally, this is absolutely amazing! I’ve made them twice now, and the second time I didn’t cut them and just served the whole thing as a cake. That worked especially well since I used a spring form instead of a baking sheet! I did tweak it a little: less sugar, and different cookies (no Graham crackers in the Netherlands). Anyway, I write about and photograph my food experiments at my blog Looking Down On Food – you can find my entry with your recipe here
SUCCESS!! These tasted soooo amazing!! Everyone that tried them, loved them!! I will be making these again for sure!! My boyfriend made the comment “this is your second good dessert in a row!” I told him that they were both from the same person!
I made these last night (for dessert after making two pizzas using your pizza dough recipe–which is always a huge hit in my house!). They were so amazing! I snuck a bar before everyone else had one a tried to convince them they were horrible, but no one believed me and I had to share. 🙂 Thanks for yet another great recipe!!