Exceptionally quicker and easier than a full cheesecake, these white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars are luxuriously creamy, perfectly sweet, and swirled with layers of homemade fresh raspberry sauce. Baked in a 9-inch square pan, they sit on a buttery sweet Oreo cookie crust and are filled with real white chocolate.
This recipe started as a full cheesecake that went horribly wrong. I’m chalking it up to poor decisions in the recipe creation process, but it (1) was too thick (2) overflowed and (3) burned around the edges (from the sugar in the white chocolate I believe?). It tasted fine, but I knew I could do better especially since this classic cheesecake recipe is top-notch.
I didn’t really have an occasion for a full cheesecake coming up, nor did I want to waste another 2 lbs of cream cheese and raspberries, so I tossed the whole idea and opted for white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars instead. I always appreciate cheesecake I can eat with my hands, plus these are easier to serve to a crowd.
Why You’ll Love These White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars:
- Easier than a full cheesecake
- No messing with a water bath
- Quicker to bake & chill than a full cheesecake
- Portable
- Hand-held individual servings
- Exceptionally creamy
- Made with real white chocolate & raspberries
- Buttery Oreo cookie crust
Behind the Recipe
The starting point for my white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars was my lemon blueberry cheesecake bars. To this base, you’ll add real melted white chocolate, an extra egg to help stabilize that white chocolate, and a Tablespoon of flour to help soak up the extra liquid. Pour this on an Oreo cookie crust and swirl with layers of raspberry sauce.
3 Parts to This Recipe:
- Raspberry Swirl
- Oreo Cookie Crust
- White Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
Raspberry Swirl
The raspberry swirl is not quite as thick as our raspberry cake filling. It’s more similar in consistency to our raspberry sauce recipe. I recommend preparing it first. Made from real raspberries, this homemade sauce must cool down completely before swirling into the white chocolate cheesecake filling. I usually stick it in the refrigerator for 1 hour to speed up the cooling process. Or you can make the raspberry sauce the night before.
- Mix some water and cornstarch together.
- Cook fresh or frozen raspberries, sugar, and more water together on the stovetop.
- Add cornstarch mixture.
- Once slightly thickened, remove from heat.
- Press raspberries through a fine mesh strainer to rid the seeds. Discard the seeds.
- Let the seedless sauce cool completely before using.
Oreo Cookie Crust
This is my standard Oreo cookie crust recipe that I use for many other desserts, too. You need 22 Oreo cookies and 5 Tablespoons of melted butter. I’ve gotten away with 18 Oreos and 4 Tablespoons of butter (as seen in my salted caramel chocolate chip cheesecakes), but I like this slightly thicker crust for bars.
- Using a food processor or blender, pulse the Oreos (the whole Oreo—cookie AND filling) into crumbs.
- Mix with melted butter.
- Press into a lined 9-inch square baking pan.
- Pre-bake for 8 minutes as you prepare the filling.
Or you could use a Biscoff pie crust instead if you’d like.
White Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
Let’s make the cheesecake filling, then bring each component of this recipe together before baking.
- Chop and melt pure white chocolate. Don’t use white chocolate chips/morsels. Instead, pick up two 4-ounce white chocolate baking bars from the baking aisle; I prefer Ghirardelli or Baker’s brands sold right next to the chocolate chips. You need 6 ounces for this recipe. Cool the white chocolate as you make the batter.
- As the white chocolate cools, beat 16 ounces of brick-style cream cheese with some sugar.
- Add flour, lemon juice to brighten up the otherwise flat flavor (don’t worry, it won’t taste like lemon cheesecake), vanilla extract, and salt.
- Beat in 2 eggs.
- Add melted/cooled white chocolate.
Bring It All Together
- Pour 1/2 of the cheesecake filling onto warm pre-baked Oreo cookie crust.
- Drizzle with 1/2 of the cooled raspberry sauce.
- Pour remaining 1/2 of the cheesecake filling on top.
- Drizzle with remaining raspberry sauce.
- Swirl everything together with a toothpick.
- Bake! No water bath required. The bars take about 32–36 minutes in the oven. They’ll puff up as they bake, then settle back down as they cool.
After cooling the bars at room temperature, place them in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours until sufficiently chilled. Cold cheesecake bars not only taste better, but they cut much easier too. For neat slices, wipe your sharp knife clean between each cut.
This recipe yields 16 perfect squares. For a 9×13-inch pan of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars, see my recipe note below.
3 Success Tips for White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
- Read Through the Recipe: Included in my 10 Best Baking Tips is this crucial piece of baking advice: read the recipe before you begin. Have everything in place so you don’t miss an important ingredient or step.
- Take Your Time: Work on each component one at a time. This isn’t a recipe you can rush because the raspberry sauce and white chocolate must cool down before using.
- Chill the Cheesecake Bars: Like a full cheesecake, these bars must cool down and chill in the refrigerator before slicing. Unlike regular cheesecake, though, you don’t need to cool them in the cooling oven. And since they’re thinner, they take about half the time to cool down as a full cheesecake. That’s always a nice bonus!
PS: You can turn these into individual mini cheesecakes. See my recipe note below.
PPS: If you love these flavors together, try my raspberry cheesecake brownies next.
PrintWhite Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours, 5 minutes (includes chilling)
- Yield: 16 squares
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Exceptionally quicker and easier than a full cheesecake, these white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars are luxuriously creamy, perfectly sweet, and swirled with layers of homemade fresh raspberry sauce.
Ingredients
Raspberry Sauce
- 2 teaspoons room-temperature water, divided
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 and 1/2 cups (205g) fresh or frozen raspberries (do not thaw)
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
Crust
- 22 regular Oreo cookies (not Double-Stuf)
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 6 ounces (170g) white chocolate, finely chopped
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (8g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
Instructions
- Make & cool the raspberry sauce: The raspberry sauce must cool down completely before using, so I recommend making it first. Mix 1 teaspoon water with 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a very small bowl. Set aside. Combine raspberries, granulated sugar, and remaining 1 teaspoon of water together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mixture as it begins to cook, breaking up some of the raspberries as you stir. Once simmering, add the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Allow the thin raspberry sauce to cool completely before using. Cover and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan (8-inch is too small) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.
- Make the crust: In a food processor or blender, pulse 22 Oreos (including the cream filling) into a fine crumb. You should have about 2 cups (packed) crumbs, or 250g. Pour crumbs into a large bowl. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. The mixture will be thick and quite wet. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into prepared pan. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom to make a compact, thick crust. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Leave oven on.
- For the filling: Melt the chopped white chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave: place the white chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Melt in 20 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Let the warm chocolate cool as you work on the other cheesecake filling ingredients. You can place it in the refrigerator, but just don’t let it solidify!
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt, then beat until fully combined. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. After the 2nd egg is incorporated into the batter, stop mixing. A few small lumps can remain. Pour in the cooled (but still liquid) white chocolate. Beat on low speed just until combined.
- Pour half of the cheesecake filling onto the crust. It’s ok if the crust is still slightly warm. Drizzle half of the raspberry sauce all over the top. Spread remaining cheesecake filling on top. (It’s ok if the raspberry sauce has spread to the sides or slightly incorporates into the top layer of cheesecake.) Drizzle remaining raspberry sauce on top, then use a toothpick or knife to gently swirl everything together.
- Bake for 32–36 minutes or until the cheesecake appears set on top and the edges are lightly browned. The bars will be puffy, but will sink slightly down as they cool. Place pan on a wire rack. Cool for 45 minutes at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours (and up to 1 day) before slicing. If you plan to chill the bars for longer, loosely cover with aluminum foil after 3 hours of chilling.
- To slice, lift the bars out of the pan as a whole using the parchment overhang on the sides. Cut into squares with a sharp knife. For extra neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut.
- Cover and store leftover cheesecake bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make-Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare the raspberry sauce up to 1 week in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Prepare recipe through step 6 up to 2 days in advance. Cover unbaked cheesecake bars and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Continue with step 7. Since they’re cold, bars will take a few extra minutes to bake. To freeze: cool, chill, and slice bars as instructed. Freeze bars between layers of parchment paper for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Fine Mesh Strainer | 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Parchment Paper | Food Processor | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Cooling Rack
- Oreo Cookies: You need about 22 whole Oreos, which pulse down into about 2 packed cups of crumbs (250g).
- Graham Cracker Crust Instead: If you want to use graham crackers instead of Oreos, use this graham cracker crust recipe. Same pre-bake time.
- White Chocolate: Use 6 ounces of “baking chocolate” bars, found in the baking aisle. They’re sold in 4-ounce bars, so you’ll need 2. (You’ll have 2 ounces leftover for another use.) I prefer Bakers or Ghirardelli brands. Do not use candy melts, white chocolate dipping wafers, or white chocolate chips; all contain stabilizers or added ingredients preventing them from combining evenly with the cheesecake filling.
- Lemon Juice: This recipe does not taste like lemon. The 1 teaspoon of lemon juice brightens up the otherwise flat white chocolate flavor.
- Raspberry Jam: You can try using raspberry jam instead of the homemade sauce. I recommend 3 Tablespoons for each layer (6 Tbsp total).
- 9×13-inch or Full Cheesecake: For a 9×13-inch pan, you can double the filling recipe. Do not double the raspberry sauce or crust ingredients. For the sauce, use 3 teaspoons of water (1.5 teaspoons with the cornstarch, 1.5 teaspoons with the raspberries & sugar), 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, and 3 Tablespoons of sugar. For the crust, use 30 Oreos and 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) of melted butter. Bake time is closer to 45–50 minutes. Cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then chill for at least 4–5 hours before slicing. Use these same amounts for a full cheesecake in a 10-inch springform pan (no smaller). I recommend following the baking and cooling instructions, including using a water bath, as found in my regular cheesecake recipe. I found the edges rose up and burned quickly, so tent with aluminum foil after about 30 minutes. (I found the cheesecake then stuck to the foil, creating a bit of a mess on top.) For these reasons, I strongly recommend using this recipe for bars instead of a full cheesecake.
- Mini Individual Cheesecakes: Use the baking and cooling instructions found in my mini cheesecakes and use this recipe as written. Recipe makes about 2 dozen cheesecakes in a muffin pan. Line 2 12-count muffin pans with liners. Firmly press 1.5 Tablespoons of crust mixture into each. Pre-bake for 5 minutes. Pour filling on top, about 1 Tbsp filling for each. Drizzle each with raspberry sauce. Swirl with a toothpick. Again, use the baking and cooling instructions found in my mini cheesecakes. Feel free to top cooled mini cheesecakes with whipped cream.
More Cheesecake
- No-Bake Cheesecake Jars
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
- Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake
- No-Bake Cheesecake
- Small Batch Cheesecake (so fun—bake in a loaf pan)
Sally my daughter said of all the cheesecakes I’ve made this is her favorite. She loves the raspberry and chocolate crust combination. She also said the filling isn’t chokingly thick like New York style cheesecake. She doesn’t know how easy it is to make this cheesecake. I don’t have a 9″ square pan so I consulted with your pan conversion lesson and made it in a 9″ round springform pan. Delicious!
We’re so happy these bars are a hit with your daughter, Jodie!
Thank you for this most amazing and delicious recipe, Sally! I only had a 8×8 pan and was feeling adventurous so gave it a whir without changing the ingredients quantity. I ended up baking it for 50 minutes (edges slightly brown and center had set). I cooled it for ~4 hours in the fridge (so similar baking and cooling steps as a 9×13 pan) to factor in the added thickness. It came out perfect and I’m so glad I gave the recipe a try despite the pan problems. 🙂
Hi there, can I use my 8″ pan for half the recipe? Will that be less? You mentioned 8″ pan will be too small..
Hi Liz, halving the recipe would be too thin for an 8 inch pan. Though we haven’t tested it ourselves, you could try halving it for a loaf pan. Or, see recipe notes for details on making mini cheesecakes in a muffin tin. Hope this helps!
I made these for February challenge this year and to celebrate our 36th wedding anniversary. Since we are trying to cut down on such yummy treats, we shared the bars with three of our neighbors. One neighbor came back and asked me to make a whole pan just for their family commenting, “I know good cheesecake and THIS is GOOD cheesecake!” I do not take any of the credit. It all goes to Sally. Thanks for this wonderful recipe. Might become a yearly Valentine/Anniversary dessert.
Love your site and came straight here to find a cheesecake recipe.
I have a friend who doesn’t like taketh though, so it’s there anything you can replace the raspberry with?
Would this recipe work with just 8 ounces of cream cheese instead of 16? Just trying to cut back on the fat. Thanks!
Hi Jan! We don’t recommend cutting the cream cheese in half, it would change the structure of these bars. You may love these skinny raspberry cheesecake bars instead!
My daughter has celiac so I made these gluten free and they were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes!
Hi Sally, Made these this weekend. They were absolutely delicious. But for some reason, I could not get the cake out of the pan. I used parchment paper with an overhang and I sprayed the dish before I put the parchment paper into it. Than I filled the pan. I used the 13X9 recipe. Consequently I had to cut the bars while still in the dish. They were absolutely delicious but certainly the cut bars did not look as pretty or perfect as yours. Any thoughts on what may have happened? I usually use King Arthur parchment paper but didn’t have any so used another brand I had on hand. Could it have been the paper? They seemed like similar weights so I didn’t think it would matter. But as I said regardless of how they looked, they were delicious! Thank you.
Hi Bernice! I’m so glad that you tried these bars and loved them. I wonder if some of the sugar from the crust melted/burned and seeped between the parchment and pan, sticking the two together so it’s impossible to lift the parchment out. Did that happen? You can try pulling the parchment out as best you can, which should be easier after you chill the bars in the refrigerator. This doesn’t happen often with glass pans. If you have a glass 9×13 inch pan, use that one next time instead.
I made this today and it came out AMAZING! I followed everything as is except used Nila wafers for the crust. Was a hit, will definitely make again!!
Excellent! Instead of using the Oreos I crushed up 25 biscoff biscuits – just because I love them & it tasted great. My family said I can make this recipe again. I agree. Thank you!
Absolutely delicious! I made this on Valentine’s weekend for the Feb baking challenge and they turned out perfectly. Definitely worth all the steps. The homemade raspberry sauce swirl is the best part.
I made this, fam loves it. Amazing recipie.
If I wanted a normal digestive biscuit base would I use the same measurements but swap Oreo for digestive?
I do believe that you’d have to increase the amount of butter by 25%, but I’m not fully sure… sorry! Hope this helps!
I made this for the Feb Challenge and let me tell you I’m so happy I chose to make this!! This reminds me of my favorite cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory!! So yum and worth all the steps. Praying it lasts me through the weekend!
Hi Sally, can I take out the white chocolate from the recipe, or will the mixture be too thick? Thanks!
Hi JJ, you can leave out the white chocolate. If doing so, leave out the flour as well. The bake time will be similar.
Hi! I couldn’t find white chocolate… will the recipe change if I use semi-sweet instead?
Hi Sally, Recipe sounds wonderful.. Quick question: when making these in the 13×9 pan, do I need to pre-bake the crust longer than the 8 minutes recommended for the 9 ” pan. I am assuming yes, but wondering how much longer. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
Hi Bernice! See recipe notes for baking in a 13×9 pan.
Thank you Trina.. So I want to be sure I understand.. I did see where it said to bake for 45-50 min. I took that to mean to bake for 45-50 min for the entire cake (with the filling).. Am I wrong and I am suppose to pre-bake just the crust for 45-50 min. I just want to make sure I understand so I don’t ruin it. So if I bake just the crust for the 45-50 min. than how long do I bake the cake including the filling. Sorry for the additional questions, I just want to ensure I understand. Thanks again.
Happy to help! The 45-50 minutes is the bake time for the cheesecake bars (crust and cheesecake filling). You’ll need to pre-bake the crust for slightly longer than stated in the recipe – 10-12 minutes should be good!
Hi Sally,
I have found when baking with raspberries I struggle within the seeds – did you do any straining to avoid the crunch? With the cheesecake part being so smooth I feel like I wouldn’t enjoy the crunch from the swirl. Thank you!!
Hi Katie, yes we strain the mixture to rid any large lumps and the seeds. See step 1.
Thank you – so sorry not sure how I missed that in the instructions – pregnancy brain!
I made this for my family and everyone loved it. I didn’t have raspberries but I used frozen strawberries, reduced them to a sauce like you said, then I blended them.
It was divine – thanks Sally!!
I’m wondering why this recipe does not call for sour cream?
Sally in a pinch, no Oreos, I do have Nabisco chocolate wafers will that work? Do I need to do anything about the lack of cream filing? Enjoy your recipes and your detailed instruction and notes.
Hi Sally, I just ordered 18x18x5 cm spuare pan to bake and I see that it’s 4 cm smaller than what recipe calls for??? Does it change the baking time for these bad boys?????
Hi Caroline, Your pan should be ok. Your bars will be slightly thicker so you may need an extra minute or two of bake time – just keep your eye on them and bake until the cheesecake appears set on top and the edges are lightly browned. Enjoy!
Hi Sally. First of all, everything you do is amazing!
I was hoping to make this for Xmas but I was wondering if you would advise making it as you would a regular cheesecake, but thinner. I didn’t want to make a tall one. And in that case, could I just use a springform pan and no parchment paper? Thank you!
Hi Renato, You can definitely make this as a regular cheesecake, but we recommend it as bars for best results. See recipe notes for details on making it into a regular cheesecake using a 10 inch springform pan. Let us know if you give it a try!
Can we substitute lemon juice with lime juice? Also can we substitute vanilla extract with vanilla essence? Thanks
Hi Laura, We haven’t tested this recipe with either substitution. Lime should be just fine and you can try vanilla essence, just keep in mind that it’s not quite as strong as extract. Let us know if you try it!
These look good! I’m just curious, why can’t you use white chocolate chips?
Hi Paula, They contain stabilizers or added ingredients preventing them from combining evenly with the cheesecake filling.
Can you please post recipes with metric measurements as they seem to only have the old measurements for them…
This recipe is outstanding, as are all the recipes on this site. I have never been disappointed. Sally is my go to for all my baking! Thanks, Sally for testing all your recipes so thoroughly. Your instructions are very clear and ensure the mistakes you made or anticipate could be made, means we don’t have to.
FYI for any Canadian readers. Our cream cheese blocks are 250g but I found this didn’t make any difference. Great recipe!
Hi, is there any way to make this, or any cheesecake or cheesecake bars, with spreadable cream cheese? I live in a country that does not have the full fat blocks, only spreadable.
Do you have a recipe that could make cheescake bars or a cheesecake using spreadable cream cheese?
Hi Katherine, 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 these bars. We have no experience with it, but this is what we’ve heard from other non-US readers.
Hi Sally
I only have fat free cream cheese on hand. Will that work?
These were absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for the 9×13 breakdown and for letting us know the raspberry sauce can be made in advance. Your step-by-step instructions were so helpful. The bars are not too sweet, and the raspberry sauce has just the right amount of tartness to it. I will definitely include this in my top dessert recipes! Thanks so much!
Hi Sally! I was wondering if this recipe could be done in an 8×8 pan? Also, if I use raspberry jam instead of making the sauce, should I still add water plus cornstarch and strain the seeds? Thanks for your help, I love all your recipes!
Hi Millie! Some readers have baked these bars in an 8-inch square baking pan, but I find it was too small when I tested it. No need to add water to raspberry jam if you’re using that as the swirl instead.