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Cherry Cheesecake Bars layer a creamy vanilla bean cheesecake over a dark Oreo crust and crown it with glossy cherry pie filling, all the cherry cheesecake payoff with none of the springform stress. I baked a pan on a Sunday afternoon and by Monday lunch the container held exactly one bar and a note from Maddie that said dibs. If my no bake cheesecake is the summer move, these bars are what the oven months are for.
No water bath, no springform, just a square pan and four easy stages.
Cherry Cheesecake Bars Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 36 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 4 hours 46 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 9 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 320kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Tangy vanilla bean cream over dark chocolate cookie crunch with sweet cherries
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, a true beginner cheesecake
Quick Answer
Process Oreos into fine crumbs, mix with melted butter, and press into a parchment lined 8 inch square pan, then bake the crust briefly at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat cream cheese smooth with sugar, then mix in sour cream, vanilla bean paste, and an egg just until combined. Pour the filling over the crust and bake about 30 minutes until the center barely jiggles. Cool, then chill at least 4 hours, cut into bars, and spoon cherry pie filling over each one just before serving.
Jump to:
- Cherry Cheesecake Bars Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Cherry Cheesecake Bars
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Cherry Cheesecake Bars FAQs
- Other Recommended Cheesecake Recipes
- Cherry Cheesecake Bars
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Bars skip every cheesecake failure point. A thin layer in a square pan bakes evenly without a water bath, and any surface crack gets buried under cherry topping anyway.
- The whole Oreo is the crust. Processing the cookies filling and all means the cream binds the crumbs, so the crust needs less butter and tastes like chocolate, not just crumbs.
- Sour cream loosens and tangs. It thins the dense cream cheese into a silky filling and adds the tang that makes cheesecake taste like cheesecake instead of sweet cream.
- One egg, added last, mixed gently. Minimal mixing after the egg keeps air out of the batter, which is what prevents the puff and crack cycle.
- Topping goes on at serving time. Storing the bars naked and spooning the cherry filling on per serving keeps the cheesecake surface firm and the topping glossy for days.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- All the flavor of a classic cherry cheesecake in a square pan you probably already own.
- Nine clean handheld servings, no plating pressure, no slicing a wobbly round in front of guests.
- The Oreo crust against the cherry topping beats a graham crust every time, ask anyone who has had my strawberry cheesecake bars.
- It is the kind of no fuss win that pairs beautifully with our maple cheesecake bars on a busy week.
- It is the kind of no fuss win that pairs beautifully with our pumpkin cheesecake bars on a busy week.
- It earns a spot in the rotation right next to our lemon poppyseed bars.
Key Ingredients
A short list where every item earns its spot.
- Oreos: The entire crust, cookies and cream filling processed together with a little melted butter.
- Cream cheese: Full fat, fully softened, the body of the filling.
- Sour cream: The tang and the silkiness, it keeps the filling from baking dense.
- Vanilla bean paste: Those little flecks and a deeper vanilla flavor than extract, though extract works in a pinch.
- Cherry pie filling: The glossy crown. A quality canned filling makes this dessert a pantry recipe.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
One bar formula, a full year of toppings.
- Swap the cherry topping for blueberry or strawberry pie filling, the filling below loves them all.
- Use golden Oreos for a vanilla crust that lets the cherry color pop even harder.
- Stir a quarter teaspoon of almond extract into the filling, almond and cherry are a bakery classic.
- Go bite sized instead with my mini cheesecakes and spoon the cherry topping over each one.
- Drizzle melted chocolate over the cherry topping for a black forest style finish.
- For another spin on this idea, try our creamy biscoff cheesecake bars next time.
- For another spin on this idea, try our white chocolate cranberry cheesecake bars next time.
- In the mood for something different? Our coconut cheesecake scratches a similar itch.
How to Make Cherry Cheesecake Bars
- Process the Oreos, filling and all, into fine crumbs in a food processor, then pulse in the melted butter until the crumbs look like wet sand.
- Press the crumbs firmly into an even layer in a parchment lined 8 inch square pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 minutes to set the crust.
- Beat the softened cream cheese and sugar until completely smooth, then mix in the sour cream and vanilla bean paste. Add the egg last and mix on low just until it disappears.
- Pour the filling over the crust, smooth the top, and bake about 30 minutes until the edges are set and the center barely jiggles. Cool to room temperature, chill at least 4 hours, then cut into 9 bars and top each with cherry pie filling.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Soften the cream cheese completely. Cold cream cheese beats into lumps that never smooth out, give it a full hour on the counter.
- Line the pan with a parchment sling. Two overhanging strips lift the whole slab out for clean bakery style cuts.
- Mix on low after the egg goes in. Whipping air into the batter is what makes cheesecake puff, crack, and sink.
- Pull it while the center still jiggles. A barely wobbly center sets perfectly in the chill, a fully firm one is overbaked.
- Chill the full 4 hours before cutting. Warm cheesecake smears, cold cheesecake slices into sharp corners.
- Wipe the knife between cuts. A hot, clean blade gives you those perfect layered edges in every bar.
- Double up for gatherings. Serve it alongside our no bake cherry cheesecake and watch both disappear.
- Make it a full spread. Our strawberry icebox cake rounds out the table.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
And for a special occasion upgrade, plate a bar with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of the extra cherry syrup from the can, minimal effort, restaurant plating.
Store the bars untopped in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, adding cherry topping as you serve. Untopped bars also freeze beautifully for 2 months, wrap each individually and thaw overnight in the fridge.
Cherry Cheesecake Bars FAQs
No, and that is the point. The thin bar format in a square pan bakes gently and evenly on its own, so you skip the foil wrapping and roasting pan entirely. Even if a hairline crack appears, the cherry topping covers it completely.
Yes, simmer about 3 cups of pitted cherries with a third cup of sugar, a tablespoon of cornstarch, and a splash of lemon juice until glossy and thick, then cool completely. It is a 10 minute upgrade when cherries are in season, and canned filling wins the rest of the year.
The edges look set and slightly puffed while the center 2 inches still jiggle like gelatin when you nudge the pan. It firms as it cools and chills. If the whole surface is firm and domed in the oven, it is past done, expect a denser texture.
At least 4 hours, and overnight is even better. The filling needs the cold to fully set so the bars cut clean and hold their layers. Cutting warm gives you delicious but sloppy squares, so bake them the day before if you need them for an event.
Yes, they freeze exceptionally well without the topping. Wrap individual bars and freeze up to 2 months, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator and top with cherry filling before serving. The Oreo crust holds its snap through the freeze better than graham crusts do.
Almost always overmixing or overbaking. Air whipped in after the egg expands in the oven and splits the surface as it cools, and a fully firm bake shrinks and cracks. Mix the egg in on low, pull at the jiggle stage, and remember the topping forgives everything anyway.
Made these Cherry Cheesecake Bars? Leave a comment and a star rating below, and tell me if the pan survived the first day!
Still filling out the menu? Readers love pairing this one with our peppermint cheesecake, dulce de leche cheesecake bars, sopapilla cheesecake bars, and strawberry icebox cake.
And when you are planning next week’s dinners, our mini lemon cheesecakes and lemon blueberry cheesecake bars keep the same easy comfort going.
Cherry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 20 Oreos
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- canned cherry pie filling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a food processor, add the Oreos. Pulse into crumbs. Add the butter and mix to combine. Press crust into the bottom of the baking dish and set aside.
- Wipe out the food processor, add the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, and egg. Mix until smooth. Pour over the crust and smooth out with a spatula. Bake for 36 minutes until cheesecake is set but still will be very slightly jiggly just in the center.
- Let cool on the counter for about 10 minutes, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours to set. Cut into bars and serve with cherry topping.
Notes
- You can swap out the Oreos with Golden Oreos for a more basic crust if you like.
- Try any type of pie filling or fruit mix you want on the top of these bars.
- They need to completely cool before being refrigerated, do not forget that set.
- You can double this recipe and use a 9″x13″ pan if you’d like, a little more time will be needed for baking.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
Nutrition
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You had me at cheesecake and then you went and added cherry! These are delicious!
I am 100% for anything that combines cherries and cheesecake. Throw in an oreo crust and you’ve put me over the top!