Perfectly light and sweet, these lemon cheesecake bars are great for a spring or summer dessert! Made with a graham cracker base and a delicious lemon cheesecake filling, these bars are simply irresistible.
If you’re like us and love lemon desserts, be sure to try a few more of our favorites; Best Lemon Cupcakes Recipe, Strawberry Lemonade Cookies, or Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Blueberry Glaze.
Warmer weather has me so excited for all things summer, including fresh summery foods. These lemon cheesecake bars are deliciously light, creamy and lemony, They are perfect for a spring party, a summer potluck, or just when you’re craving something light and sweet!
How to Make Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Prep – Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You’ll also want to grab a 9 by 9 baking pan, line it with parchment paper and give it a shot with a little cooking spray.
It’s All About The Base – To make the delicious base of your cheesecake bars, you’ll start by combining the crushed graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press the graham cracker base evenly . Bake the crust in the oven for 5 minutes. Let it cool while you’re prepping the cheesecake filling.
Make The Filling – Start by beating the cream cheese until it’s nice and smooth. This should take about 1 minute. Next, add an egg, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar. You can also add 1 to 2 drops of yellow food coloring if you want your cheesecake bars to have a yellow color. Mix everything for about 2-3 minutes until the mixture is completely smooth.
Recipe Tip – I only like using regular cream cheese for this recipe. I don’t like the taste of a reduced fat cream cheese. It just doesn’t have the same rich taste as the regular cream cheese.
Combine – Pour the cheesecake filling over crust and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until the middle is no longer jiggly. Allow the lemon cheesecake to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Chill – Cover everything and then place it in the fridge for 3 hours. You can also chill the cheesecake bars overnight before slicing and serving.
More Easy Cheesecake Recipes
- Red Velvet Oreo Cheesecake Recipe
- Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip
- Delicious Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
- Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
- Mini Cheesecakes With An Oreo Crust
How good do these lemon cheesecake bars look??? Here is the printable recipe so you can enjoy them!
Lemon Cheesecake Bars Recipe
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 8 graham cracker sheets, or 16 squares
- 2 TBS sugar
- 3 TBS melted butter
For the Lemon Cheesecake Filling
- 16 oz softened cream cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 TBS flour
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Press tinfoil or parchment paper into a 9inch square pan. Spray lightly with nonstick spray.
- Crush your graham crackers using your food processor till a fine crumb is formed.
- Combine your graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl.
- Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes.
- Allow to cool, while preparing filling.
- Beat your cream cheese until smooth, for about 1 minute.
- Add in your egg, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar. (Add 1 to 2 drops of yellow food coloring if you want yellow colored bars)
- Mix for 2-3 minutes until mixture is completely smooth.
- Pour mixture over crust and bake in oven for 25 minutes until the middle is no longer jiggly.
- Allow to set at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cover and place in fridge for 3 hours, or overnight before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
Other Notes
Enjoy!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Ellen and Aimee are the mother & daughter duo behind the blog Like Mother Like Daughter. They share their favorite family recipes that will quickly become favorites for your family too! Aimee was a contributor on Somewhat Simple in 2016.
I have made this recipe 3 times for different groups (family, friends, strangers) and they’re always a hit! So easy to make and I always make them bite sized, perfect refreshing summer dessert!
I’m so glad you like this recipe! Thanks Anne!
Just baked them and at 25 minutes, seemed still to be jiggly, so then I added 5 minutes. I hope it will work. Will not cut them until tomorrow.
I hope they turn out ok! Fingers crossed!
well, I did cook the recipe for 30 minutes and it came out perfect. they were delicious!
I’m glad it turned out great!
I’d like to double this and bake in a larger pan. Would you adjust the bake time?
I’ve never used a bigger pan, so I can tell you exactly how much time to add but I would definitely recommend adding more baking time.
I’ve watch several of your videos and I really love the “bloopers”. I am a Doctor of Education and too many times, my students want to believe I am “perfect” which could not be farther from the truth. it’s fun to see people are just like we are. Good Job, Stephanie!
Your comment made my day! Thanks Sherry!!! xo, Stephanie
If I used graham crackers already crushed, how many cups would I need?
I’m not sure what it measures out to be but I crushed 8 full graham crackers to make the crust.
If i make them for a party in less than 2 days should i leave them in the fridge until im ready to cut and serve them?
Personally, I wouldn’t make these any earlier than the day before. They would still taste great but if you made them 2 days ahead but the graham cracker base will get a little soft and the texture may be a little different.
You have a darling family. Thank you for the recipes.
Thanks Anne, you really made my day! You’re very welcome!
best dessert ever! Give me all the lemon!
You’re so sweet, thanks Rachel!
These bars are so refreshing and creamy! Love it!
Thanks! I’m so glad you loved them.
These were a huge hit! They polished them off after school and won’t stop asking for more!
LOL, I’m so glad they enjoyed them!