These no bake chocolate cheesecake bars are the perfect dessert for a summer day. No oven on, lots of flavor and a great play of creamy and crunchy textures from the crust and layers above.
I actually love cheesecake bars in general and have a raspberry and lemon curd version on the blog for you to check out if you’re a fan too!
You can see in the photo above that the Graham cracker crust has been compacted well and chilled so that it forms a nice sturdy base for these cheesecake bars.
Pour the ganache on and smooth into a thin layer using an offset spatula or small knife. Place in the refrigerator to chill while you mix up the cheesecake filling.
Once your cream cheese mixture is whipped together add a thin later and smooth out. I have very shallow pans perfect for this dessert but you can play with whatever you have at home and make it work.
To get that pretty marbleized effect just ass a few dollops of the chocolate cheesecake mixture here and there, then use a knife or skewer to swirl it around. Be careful to only swirl the surface as you don’t want to disturb the crust.
Pro Tips to Make Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
- Use a flat-bottomed measuring up to really pack the crust together. The more you pack, the more stable it will be when you cut it.
- These bars can be made four days in advance. Just cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
- I love the pans from Wilton I use for this recipe. But you can make these in any cake pan; round, rectangular or square. Just line with foil and use an offset spatula to smooth it out.
- Try subbing out about a cup of the graham crackers for finely chopped toasted pecans. You’ll get some extra crunch and depth of flavor.
- Mix 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter in with your chocolate for a delicious chocolate peanut butter cheesecake bar.
If you like this recipe check these out!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you’ve tried this no bake chocolate cheesecake bar recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 package graham crackers
- 6 tbs unsalted butter melted
- 2 tbs sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Cheesecake Mixture
- 16 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Ganache
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup cream
Instructions
For the Crust
- Crush the Graham crackers in a plastic bag with a rolling pan or in a food processor.
- In a large bowl add the sugar, salt, and graham crackers. Mix together. Add melted butter.
- Press mixture into 3, foil-lined rectangular loaf pan sheets and transfer to refrigerator to chill.
For the Ganache
- To make the chocolate ganache, place the chocolate chips in a bowl and pour in scalded cream. Cover and leave for 5 minutes then whisk until smooth.
- Reserve 1/3 cup and pour the rest into your chilled pans. Use an offset spatula to smooth and place back in refrigerator.
For the Cheesecake
- In a large bowl, add cream cheese, vanilla and condensed milk. Beat together until smooth.
- In a small bowl add 1/3 cup of the cheesecake mixture with 1/3 cup of the ganache. To make the chocolate cheesecake for marbleizing, mix 2 parts cheesecake mixture with one part chocolate ganache and mix until streaks disappear.
- Add the cheesecake layer to the pans and smooth with a knife or spatula.
- Add dollops of the chocolate cheesecake mixture and use a skewer to swirl around and create a marbleized effect. Chill until for at least 30 minutes or until set.
- Run a knife along the edge of the pans. Remove foil and flatten then cut into bars and serve.
Video
Notes
- Use a measuring up to really pack the crust together. The more you pack, the more stable it will be when you cut it.
- These bars can be made four days in advance. Just cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
- I love the pans from Wilton I use for this recipe. But you can make these in any cake pan; round, rectangular or square. Just line with foil and use an offset spatula to smooth it out.
- Try subbing out about a cup of the graham crackers for finely chopped toasted pecans. You'll get some extra crunch and depth of flavor.
- Mix 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter in with your chocolate for a delicious chocolate peanut butter cheesecake bar!
Hi John,
These look wonderful I can’t wait to make them. Do you have a recipe for pecan bars? Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Take care,
Lisa
love
yummmm
What is the pan that you used?
It’s a Wilton pan that’s part of a set for making very thin layer cakes. I bought it at Michaels, but you can probably find it on Amazon.