Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Bars are decadent, creamy, rich and perfectly combine deep chocolate and tart cherry flavors. These bars are so easy to bake up, making them fail-proof when compared to a real cheesecake. Plus, bars are so much easier to share with a crowd! The chocolate ganache drizzle is your first sign that this dessert is going to be something special, but just wait until your fist bite of crisp graham and cool cheesecake layers marbled with bright cherry!
These cheesecake bars are perfect for summer if you’re lucky enough to live somewhere (hi, Michigan!) where you can pick your own cherries and make jam. But don’t fret - you can make these special chocolate cherry cheesecake bars from anywhere, all year round! Cherry jam is easy to find and a simple shortcut to bursting cherry flavor in every bite.
Bar desserts are some of my favorites because of fuss-free prep. Add in a creamy rich cheesecake flavor (and chocolate) and I’m sold! If you’re looking to increase your dessert bar repertoire, try these Cranberry Cheesecake Bars next!
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Ingredients
I include ingredient notes here when I think they’ll be helpful, including ways to source, any preparation tips, or why I've chosen a particular ingredient. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their quantities!
- Chocolate Graham Crackers - Chocolate grahams help easily make a sturdy and sweet base for the cheesecake bars with perfect chocolatey flavor.
- Sugar - Just a bit of granulated sugar helps the graham cracker crumbs really firm up when they are baked so that the base layer can hold up all of those cheesecake and cherry layers without crumbling.
- Salted Butter - I developed this recipe using salted butter because it’s what I most often have on hand. If you only have unsalted butter, add about ¼ teaspoon of salt to the crumb mixture when processing.
- Cream Cheese - Use full-fat cream cheese for a rich and decadent cheesecake layer. I have not tested this recipe with low fat or fat free alternatives, but if you do share your results in the comments!
- Greek Yogurt - Just a bit of Greek yogurt adds a balancing tanginess to the cheesecake layer plus helps to thin out the filling a bit. Use 2%, whole milk, or low-fat yogurt here.
- Vanilla Extract - Adding vanilla to a creamy cheesecake is a given, it adds subtle flavor and fragrance that compliments both the cherry and chocolate flavors well.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk - This is the secret to a cheesecake layer with a perfectly smooth texture and that is sturdy enough to cut into bars without needing any eggs.
- Cherry Jam or Preserves - But any jam or preserves that you’d normally enjoy. Jam will usually have a more uniform texture while a preserve is likely to have larger chunks of cherry.
- Semisweet Chocolate Chips - Chocolate chips are great for making a ganache, their small pieces melt uniformly and a semi-sweet variety isn’t too overly sweet to distract from the deep chocolate flavor.
- Heavy Cream - A bit of heavy cream is needed to melt the chocolate for a ganache that is thin enough to drizzle but keeps its glossy shape.
Prepare the Cheesecake
Preheat the oven to 350°F and clear some space in the refrigerator for the cheesecake bars to thoroughly chill once they are baked.
Line a 9” x 13” baking pan with parchment paper with enough overhanging the long sides of the pan that you have handles to lift and remove the bars for slicing later. Spray the parchment and the pan with cooking spray.
Add the chocolate graham crackers to the bowl of a food processor and process until you have fine crumbs.
Add the melted butter and sugar to the cracker crumbs. Process to combine the ingredients, scrape the edges of the bowl, and then pulse once or twice to fully incorporate the ingredients.
Pour out the cracker mixture onto your prepared pan. Spread the crumbs evenly and then press them down with your fingers, the back of a measuring cup, or bottom of a drinking glass to compact the crumbs into a sturdy, even layer. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, and then remove from the oven and set it aside.
Brush most of the graham crumbs out of the bowl of the food processor. A few stragglers won’t hurt anything, and it’s much better than trying to wash and dry the bowl of the food processor in between steps. Add the cream cheese (no need to soften it ahead of time, the processor will take care of it), vanilla, Greek yogurt, and sweetened condensed milk.
Process the filling ingredients until they are smooth and well-mixed. Stop the food processor, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and pulse one or two times more to fully incorporate all of the ingredients.
Pour the filling out over the baked crust. Spread it into an even layer with a spatula.
Spoon the jam in lines parallel with the short side of the pan. If your jam is very stiff, warm it in the microwave for a 20 second burst and stir it so that it spoons over the filling easily.
Use a knife to swirl the jam into the cheesecake layer, taking care not to score or scratch the graham layer beneath. Drag the knife in lines along the long edge of the pan, then in the opposite direction or diagonally until you’re satisfied with the marbled appearance of the jam and cheesecake.
Bake the cheesecake bars for 22-25 minutes, until the center of the bars doesn’t jiggle and the edges are light golden brown. The jam on the surface will appear very runny but will solidify as it cools.
Finish the Cheesecake Bars
Once the bars are out of the oven, allow the pan to cool for 30 minutes. Cover the bars with a clean kitchen towel before placing them into the refrigerator to chill for an additional 3-4 hours. Avoid covering the bars with plastic wrap as condensation will form on the plastic and then drip onto the bars, making things soggy. Chilling overnight is perfectly fine and may give you an even easier time when slicing the bars.
You can slice the bars in the pan for ease, but the best way to get clean slices is to remove the bars from the pan using the parchment paper handles. Place them on a cutting board and slice them into 24 bars using a chef's knife. Rinsing the knife with water and drying it with a towel between slices will seem fussy, but it will get you very clean edges on the bars.
I like to add the ganache after the bars are sliced so that the ganache can drip over the edges of each bar. To prepare the ganache, heat the heavy cream in the microwave for 40 seconds, stopping halfway to stir the cream. Add the chocolate chips to the hot cream and let them sit for 3 minutes.
Stir the chocolate chips into the cream until the chocolate and cream incorporate and you get a glossy chocolate ganache. At first, it will seem like the chocolate and cream aren’t blending, but keep stirring!
Either spoon the chocolate over the sliced bars, drizzling it in fine ribbons, or place the chocolate into a piping bag or zip top bag with a corner cut off to make more defined ganache lines. The bars can be served immediately or you can allow the ganache to cool a bit on the chilled cheesecake bars before serving.
Substitutions and Variations
The substitutions listed below have been tested in this recipe and work well. If you successfully make any other ingredient substitutions, let us know in the comments!
- Use Any Jam - Chocolate strawberry or raspberry cheesecake bars are delicious, too! Swap cherry jam for strawberry or raspberry jam for a twist on this recipe.
- Omit the Ganache Swirl - These bars are perfectly tasty without the ganache swirl, so if that's the step that prevents you from making them go ahead and skip it.
Equipment
Using a food processor is the quickest and easiest way to prep this dessert in short order. If you do not have a food processor, you can still make these chocolate cherry cheesecake bars! Here are some tips:
For the chocolate graham crust, add the crackers to a zip bag and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to crush them into a fine crumb. Combine the crumbs, butter, and sugar well in a medium bowl before transferring the mixture to the prepared pan.
When preparing the cheesecake layer, whip softened cream cheese well with an electric mixer (or by hand if you have the muscles!) until it is very smooth. Add the Greek yogurt, vanilla, and sweetened condensed milk and blend again until fully incorporated, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice.
Serving Suggestions
Serve these chocolate cherry cheesecake bars while they are still a bit chilled for the best texture. The base will stay crisp and sturdy and the cheesecake will be thick and rich.
Storage
The chocolate cherry cheesecake bars should be stored in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic wrap. We keep them in the baking pan to protect the ganache from being smudged. If you need to transfer them to an airtight container for storage (and to save some space), it’s best to keep them in a single layer. If they need to be stacked, add a piece of parchment paper or waxed paper between each layer so that the ganache doesn’t get crumbs stuck to it.
Store the bars in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Top Tip for Clean Slices
Once the baked and cooled bars are ready for slicing, a sharp chef’s knife is a great tool for clean slices. For the best presentation, cut off about ½-inch from the perimeter of the bars. These tidbits are a chef’s snack (or go straight to the kids if they’re around). When slicing into 24 bars, rinse the knife under warm water and wipe it dry with a clean towel between each slice.
FAQ
Cheesecake bars contain no eggs and no cream but add in sweetened condensed milk to create a denser, richer texture than standard cheesecake recipes.
While we are lucky to get homemade sour cherry jam from my father-in-law to use in this recipe, this recipe has also been tested with Bonne Maman cherry preserves as well as a reduced-sugar cherry preserves from E.D. smith (purchased from Costco). If you enjoy the jam on its own, it’s a good option for these cheesecake bars! If your jam is very thick, it may help to warm it in the microwave for a 20 second burst so that it spoons over the filling easily and can be swirled.
A bit of sugar along with the butter helps the crust to bake up into a solid and stable base for the dense cheesecake filling.
More Chocolate, Please!
Chocolate lovers are welcome here! Check out the recipes below for more rich and chocolatey ideas:
Extra Berry Flavor
Berries make desserts better, whether they are blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries. Check out the recipes below for extra berry goodness:
Try It and Share
I hope you try these Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Bars and enjoy the recipe as much as I do. I want to see your results! Tag your photo with #planeatpostrepeat and mention me @planeatpostrepeat on Instagram or Facebook. I can give you a virtual high five and thank you for cooking one of my recipes! Comment below with any questions and please leave a review so others can find this recipe more easily.
Recipe
The Best Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- 1 9x13-inch baking pan
Ingredients
Chocolate Graham Crust
- 10 oz. chocolate graham crackers (300g)
- 6 tablespoon granulated sugar (74g)
- ½ cup salted butter, melted (144g)
Cheesecake Filling
- 12 oz. cream cheese (341g)
- ⅔ cup 2% Greek yogurt (74g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup cherry jam (300g)
Chocolate Ganache
- ⅜ cup semisweet chocolate chips (85g)
- ¼ cup heavy cream (57g)
Instructions
Prepare the Chocolate Graham Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9"x13" baking pan with a sheet of parchment, leaving extra draped over the long edges for "handles" to remove the bars after baking. Spray the parchment paper and pan with cooking spray.
- To a food processor, add the chocolate graham crackers and process until the crumbs are fine. Add the melted butter and the sugar and pulse to combine. Scrape the sides of the processor and pulse a few more times to fully incorporate the ingredients.
- Without a food processor, place the graham crackers in a zip bag and crush with a rolling pin or mallet until finely crushed. Combine the crushed crackers, butter, and sugar until well mixed.
- Pour out the cracker mixture into the prepared pan and pack the crumbs tight into a smooth layer. Use your hands or the bottom of a flat glass or measuring cup.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F and then set aside.
Prepare the Cheesecake Filling
- Brush out the crumbs from the food processor after making the crust. Add the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, vanilla, and sweetened condensed milk to the bowl of the food processor.
- Process until the mixture is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse a few more times to make sure everything is fully incorporated.
- Without a processor, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the Greek yogurt, vanilla, and the sweetened condensed milk. Mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl once.
Bake the Bars
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the baked cookie crust and spread with a spatula to coat the crust evenly.
- If the cherry jam is very thick, microwave it for 10-20 seconds and stir it well to loosen it up.
- Using a spoon, make lines of the jam along the short side of the pan. Use a knife to swirl and marble the jam into the cheesecake filling by dragging the knife through the lines of jam (along the long sides of the pan) and then in the opposite direction (diagonally or along the short sides of the pan). Swirl until you see the marbled effect you desire, but take care not to score the graham crust with your knife.
- Bake the bars for 22-25 minutes, or until the center of the bars doesn't jiggle and the edges are very lightly browned. The jam will be runny but will set while it cools.
- Cool the bars for 30 minutes on the countertop and then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 3½ hours more. Overnight chilling is recommended. Take care when removing the plastic fil that any water condensation doesn't drip onto the surface of the cheesecake bars.
- Score around the edges of the pan with a knife. Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment paper handles and place them on a cutting board. Slice, using a sharp knife, into 24 pieces. For clean edges, rinse the knife off in water and dry it after every slice.
Make the Ganache
- Heat the heavy cream in a medium bowl in the microwave for two 20 second bursts, stirring in between each heating cycle.
- Add the chocolate chips to the hot cream and let them sit for 3 minutes.
- Stir the chocolate into the cream with a whisk or spatula, starting in the center, until the chocolate is fully incorporated.
- Drizzle or pipe the ganache over the cheesecake bars after slicing and serve.
Nutrition facts are sometimes provided below and are calculated using an online calculator. With specific brands of ingredients and additions, omissions, or substitutions the nutrition facts may change. We encourage you to use your own nutrition facts caculator to obtain the most accurate nutrition facts for your meal.
Cassie Waltman says
These delicious cherry cheesecake bars disappeared in one day at my house!