If you're craving something sweet, creamy, and downright irresistible, these no bake cheesecake bars are about to become your new obsession.
They're made with a few simple ingredients, and the best part is that this requires NO oven time. Plus, these cheesecake bars blow store-bought cheesecake out of the water.
I absolutely love making simple and tasty desserts like my easy 30-minute apple pie crescent rolls or assembling a whipped cream fruit trifle. These cheesecake bars are right up there in the "easy" category and take no time to come together.
TL; DR Recipe Summary
- 👩🏼🍳 Bake Level: Easy/Beginner
- ⏱️ Chill Time: 6-7 hours.
- 😋 Taste: Creamy, buttery, smooth, tangy.
- 🍽️ Best Served With: Serve this recipe as an after dinner delight with juicy pan fried breaded chicken cutlets and a simple greens salad, a classic stuffed shells recipe, or pair with a homemade creamy espresso martini for a double delight.
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Trusted Tips and Key Reminders
- Keep it Room Temperature - For the smoothest texture and taste, make sure the cream cheese and greek yogurt are completely room temperature before whisking them together.
- Add the Powdered Sugar, Gently! - Powdered sugar is known for flying everywhere, so be gently when pouring it into the bowl with the cream cheese and yogurt. Whisk on a low speed, then increase the speed as the powdered sugar becomes incorporated.
- Let it Chill - When it comes to no bake desserts, they MUST chill for a prolonged period of time to let the ingredients set and firm up. I've tried making these at least six different times and each time there was something wrong with them. I've come to learn just how important the chill time is. Trust me and my failures, do not rush this recipe!
- Start Slow - Use a slow speed to start so that the ingredients don't fly all over the place. Then, as the ingredients combine, you can increase the speed.
The Ingredient List
- Cream Cheese - Full fat, room temperature cream cheese in brick or block for is classic and very traditional when making cheesecake. You could also use your favorite non-dairy alternative.
- Greek Yogurt - I prefer to buy full fat greek yogurt to eat on a daily basis but also add to my baked goods. The slight tanginess in the yogurt helps to balance out the sweetness.
- Vanilla Extract - Vanilla extract brings out the other flavors of the recipe and also provides a slight hint of caramel.
- Powdered Sugar - We use powdered sugar to help stabilize these no bake cheesecake bars but also is our sweetening ingredient. Powdered sugar is also one of the reasons these cheesecake bars are incredibly smooth and creamy.
- Graham Crackers - Pulverized, blended graham crackers mixed together with butter is the easiest, most classic base for a cheesecake recipe. It's taken me YEARS to finally land on my favorite ratio, and how to set it the right way.
- Butter - Melted, salted butter mixes with the graham crackers to create a sand-like mixture which, when set in the freezer, makes a perfectly sturdy base for the cheesecake batter.
- Sugar - We add a little sugar to the graham crackers for structure, taste, and texture.
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of this post for more information about quantities, measurements, and specific cooking instructions.
Simple Swaps and Substitutions
- Swap out the greek yogurt for sour cream.
- You can use gluten free graham crackers for the crust.
- If you want to go dairy free, while I have not tested it, you can use dairy free yogurt and cream cheese, as well as non-dairy butter for the crust.
How to make no-bake cheesecake
Step 1: In a food processor, blend the graham crackers together until finely ground.
Pour into a bowl, then add in the sugar and mix to combine.
Step 2: To the bowl, pour in the butter and mix until it forms a sand-like texture.
Press into a prepared 8x8 pan using the back of a measuring cup (preferably a ⅓ cup) until set. Chill in the freezer for 30-45 minutes.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract using a hand mixer or stand mixer.
Step 4: Last, gently pour in the powdered sugar, then whisk again until the powdered sugar is fully incorporated and the cheesecake filling is smooth and fluffy.
Step 5: Add the cheesecake filling to the set graham cracker crust, smoothing the filling out with an offset spatula or the back of a large spoon.
Place in the fridge for up to 5-6 hours, or overnight.
Cheesecake Bars FAQs
Any leftover cheesecake bars can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. If you want to freeze them, add them to a container and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
You can thaw overnight in the fridge of leave out on the counter for an hour or so to come to room temp. These will not lose any flavor!
Yes! While graham crackers is a pretty classic ingredient in a base recipe for cheesecake, other cookies or biscuits will work well here. Some others I recommend are Biscoff cookies, vanilla wafers, chocolate sandwich cookies, or biscotti.
If you don't want to use greek yogurt, sour cream, cool whip, or heavy whipping cream work here too.
Check out these other no-bake desserts!
Did you love this recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you're just as in love with this recipe as I am, please share a comment below and rate it! Better yet, share this recipe with family and friends!! Thank you!
No Bake Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- 8x8 Pan
- large mixing bowl
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- measuring cups and spoons
- spatula one offset; one regular for scraping bowl
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 sleeve Graham Crackers blended
- 6 tablespoon Butter melted
- 2 ½ tablespoon Sugar
For the Filling
- 16 oz Cream Cheese brick style; room temperature
- ¾ cup Greek Yogurt
- 1 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
For the Crust
- In a food processor, blend the graham crackers together until finely ground Pour into a bowl, then add in the sugar and mix to combine.
- To the bowl, pour in the butter and mix until it forms a sand-like texture.
- Press into a prepared 8x8 pan using the back of a measuring cup (preferably a ⅓ cup) until set. Chill in the freezer for 30-45 minutes.
For the Filling
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract using a hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Last, gently pour in the powdered sugar, then whisk again until the powdered sugar is fully incorporated and the cheesecake filling is smooth and fluffy.
- Add the cheesecake filling to the set graham cracker crust, smoothing the filling out with an offset spatula or the back of a large spoon.
- Place in the fridge for up to 5-6 hours, or overnight.
Aria L. says
Wow these were delicious! I made this last night for a girls book club and they were unreal. Like so so so good and just very creamy. I also really liked that they were made with simple ingredients. I used sour cream instead of greek yogurt and didn't add the berries on top we just used jam but they were so good either way!