Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars - Handle the Heat

Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars

  |  
June 13th, 2014
4.82 from 102 votes
4.82 from 102 votes

These beautifully vibrant Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars are bursting with fresh, slightly tart, and sweet flavors. You need to make them asap!

Yield: 16 squares

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Tessa's Recipe Rundown...

Taste: Like your favorite summer drink turned into cheesecake. Tangy, tart, sweet, and fresh.
Texture: The crust is thick, buttery, and crunchy to perfectly balance the smooth, creamy, and rich cheesecake.
Ease: Easier than a traditional cheesecake. The hardest part is waiting for the bars to chill in the fridge!
Appearance: How pretty are those vibrant raspberry swirls??
Pros: Fun, fresh, and flavorful dessert. I even used low-fat cream cheese to make this recipe a *little* more summer swimsuit friendly.
Cons: None, really. If you aren’t a fan of a little bit of tartness, you may want to add an extra few tablespoons of sugar.
Would I make this again? Sure!

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Do you guys ever get caught up in the “panic loop?” Where you know you need to do something like write a report for work, an essay for school, organize your finances, make an uncomfortable phone call, or some other less-than-stellar task.

Nine squares of cheesecake bars
Where you avoid said task by suddenly and obsessively looking at your app messages, looking at everyone’s perfect lives on Instagram, reading silly political rants on Facebook, checking your Pinterest feed, staring at your overflowing email inbox, checking Google Analytics (if you’re a blogger), then you just start all over again. Suddenly 30 minutes, even an hour has passed and you’ve accomplished nothing. It’s the worst!!

The internet is simultaneously such an awesome tool of production AND such a time-waster. How do you stay focused at the computer?

Hopefully this spring/summer we can all get away from the computer for a little bit to enjoy the warm weather and summer traditions. These Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars are the ultimate spring or summer dessert recipe. They’re as bright as they are flavorful with that balance of sweetness and tartness of your favorite summer drink. I think you’ll enjoy this recipe!

Stack of three cheesecake bars

This cheesecake bar recipe is certainly a crowd pleaser with their beautiful bright raspberry colored swirls!

More cheesecake bar recipe

4.82 from 102 votes

How to make
Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars

Yield: 16 squares
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Time 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 55 minutes
These beautifully vibrant Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars are bursting with fresh, slightly tart, and sweet flavors. You need to make them asap!

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 9 whole graham crackers (138 grams)
  • 4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake:

  • 16 ounces (454 grams) cream cheese, completely softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

For the raspberry swirl:

  • 1/2 cup (62 grams) raspberries, fresh or thawed frozen
  • 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

Make the crust:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with foil or parchment, leaving an overhang.

  2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until finely ground. You should have about 1 cup crumbs.

  3. Add the melted butter and pulse until moistened. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and fragrant. Let cool.

Make the cheesecake:

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, scraping down the edges as necessary. Beat in the lemon zest, lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add in the flour and salt and beat until just combined. Spread the mixture over the crust.

Make the raspberry swirl:

  1. In a food processor or blender, puree the raspberries until smooth. Press through a fine mesh strainer, discarding any seeds and pulp that remain. Stir in the sugar. Dollop the unbaked cheesecake batter with spoonfuls of the raspberry puree. Use a knife or skewer to make swirls.

  2. Bake for 30 minutes, or until set at the edges but ever so slightly jiggly in the middle. Don't overbake. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill the cheesecake in the fridge until very cold, at least 3 hours. The cheesecake can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.

  3. Before serving, use the foil or parchment to remove the cheesecake from the pan and onto a work surface. Cut into 15 squares. Serve chilled.

Recipe Notes

To double this recipe, double all ingredients and bake in a 9 by 13-inch pan, adding about 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.
Course : Dessert
Cuisine : American

Tessa Arias
Author: Tessa Arias

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

Tessa Arias

About Tessa...

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

Find Tessa on  

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Recipe Rating




  1. #
    Monica Prudencio — June 30, 2019 at 12:04 pm

    These bars were delicious and refreshing, and very easy to make! My only complaints were that the lemon flavor was not very strong, and the crust was quite soft and tended to fall apart.

  2. #
    Paulina Zacchia — June 30, 2019 at 11:57 am

    These were lovely! Delightful summer flavours & nice, creamy texture.

  3. #
    María Navarro — June 30, 2019 at 10:10 am

    I love cheesecakes! I used blueberries but it’s great too.

  4. #
    Jennifer Wiseman — June 30, 2019 at 7:51 am

    THEse taste amazing and aren’t difficult to put together. Getting the raspberry to swirl in a pretty way was tricky, but the flavor was great regardless of how my swirl looked.

  5. #
    Mae — June 29, 2019 at 9:06 pm

    Easy recipe for a perfect summer treat! The creamy cheesecake mixed with a hint off the tartness of the raspberries was perfect.

  6. #
    Alice Hattery — June 29, 2019 at 6:34 pm

    I finally got to make the Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake. My Krogers did not have any frozen Raspberry’s. I already had blueberries so I used them.
    This was very good, loved the lemon juice & zest. I will definitely be making these again. Thank you Tessa.

  7. #
    Courtney — June 29, 2019 at 2:02 pm

    This was my first attempt at cheesecake & I was surprised how easy it was. It’s a delicious summertime recipe. Next time I think I’ll try taking it out a minute or 2 earlier.

  8. #
    Maegan Thornton — June 29, 2019 at 12:59 pm

    Perfect summertime dessert – Light and refreshing!

  9. #
    Ashley — June 29, 2019 at 12:09 pm

    My 9 yo daughter and I made these yesterday. They are delicious! She posted them on her baking blog and linked to your recipe. Thanks!

  10. #
    Nancy_Remy — June 29, 2019 at 8:57 am

    So delicious and simple to make. I’m not a cheese cake person but this is delicious!

  11. #
    Julie Stephens — June 28, 2019 at 9:50 pm

    These were easy to make. The lemon and raspberry complimented each other nicely. Not overly sweet which I liked. If you like your cheesecake on the sweeter side I would definitely recommend adding more sugar as Tessa suggests.

  12. #
    Sarah Oswald — June 28, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    My swirls on my cheesecake wasnt impressive but the4 taste made up for it. It turned out AWESOME I would make this again real soon. I LOVED IT!!!!

  13. #
    Sarah Oswald — June 28, 2019 at 7:35 pm

    I LOVE cheesecake and I loved that this was easy to make and it tasted AWESOME my swirls didnt look like swirls but it didnt affect the look or taste I would make this again real soon. I LOVED IT!!!!

  14. #
    Briana Schulte — June 28, 2019 at 5:59 pm

    Love this recipe!
    So easy to make and very flavorful.

  15. #
    Kathleen Prudencio — June 28, 2019 at 3:30 pm

    I prefer more lemon, so I will double the lemon juice next time. I will also make in 9 inch pan because I had so much delicious raspberry swirl leftover.

  16. #
    Wendy Maher — June 28, 2019 at 2:02 pm

    Generally speaking, it’s not dessert without chocolate, but this was really good. Summer-y!!

  17. #
    Patricia Chng — June 28, 2019 at 7:11 am

    Love this recipe! Simple and easy to follow. My friends all love it!

  18. #
    Alyssa England — June 27, 2019 at 5:49 pm

    Delicious and beautiful! Easy to make. Yum!

  19. #
    Ashley Morrow — June 27, 2019 at 5:32 pm

    The Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars were delicious. I love lemon so I couldn’t wait to make this recipe. My family loved them.

  20. #
    Sylvia — June 27, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    Those cheesecake bars look so pretty and are really tasty. Great recipe!

  21. #
    Cassie — June 27, 2019 at 10:24 am

    Love how easy this recipe is. Perfect for summer!

  22. #
    Cecilia Chung — June 27, 2019 at 9:45 am

    The cheesecake flavor was okay. The crust was delicious and the look of the bars with the swirl was gorgeous. Instead of raspberries, I used strawberries and it created the same effect.

  23. #
    Alicia Baumgartner — June 26, 2019 at 9:58 am

    My husband LOVED these!! If/when I make them again, I need to practice my swirl game, though. Yours is so beautiful, and mine didn’t come out as vibrant. Here’s to practice!

  24. #
    Dee — June 25, 2019 at 7:11 pm

    Hi did you use all purpose flour or cake flour?

    • #
      LISA WHITTEN — June 26, 2019 at 12:26 am

      I ised all purpose when I made it…

  25. #
    Matt — June 25, 2019 at 2:26 pm

    What a great flavor combo!

  26. #
    Julia — June 25, 2019 at 11:53 am

    Very delicious,thank you! It was so easy to make- impossible to fail!

  27. #
    Norman Quednau — June 25, 2019 at 11:49 am

    wonderfully fresh on hot summer days!

  28. #
    Susan Hoyer — June 25, 2019 at 8:10 am

    This recipe came together easily and with great flavor! This is for sure a keeper.

  29. #
    Irena Persidska — June 25, 2019 at 12:18 am

    It was fun to make these cheesecakes with my two year old son! Thanks for delicious recipe! :))

  30. #
    Michelle Wuzinski — June 24, 2019 at 6:52 pm

    AMAZING! I used gluten free crumbs for my celiac sister and she loved them.

  31. #
    Cayla — June 24, 2019 at 6:43 pm

    This was super easy and fun to make! It tasted delicious and I’m so glad I tried it!

  32. #
    Meena Patel — June 24, 2019 at 5:38 pm

    I’ve always been nervous about making cheesecake but these were so easy to make. These bars are sweet and tangy and so delicious!

  33. #
    Lisa Whitten — June 24, 2019 at 3:34 pm

    I love it. I will use more raspberries next time. But i need a small food processor.. Great recipe…

  34. #
    Megan — June 24, 2019 at 8:53 am

    Such an easy and delicious recipe!!

  35. #
    Blia — June 24, 2019 at 8:31 am

    Can these be frozen after baking?

    • #
      Tessa — June 24, 2019 at 10:00 am

      Yes!

  36. #
    Nancy — June 23, 2019 at 2:11 pm

    Perfect! Love the refreshing combo of lemon and raspberry! These are so easy to make and absolutely delicious! Family and friend approved!!

  37. #
    Dana Babers — June 23, 2019 at 1:46 pm

    Loved the recipe . Simple to make and the entire family loved it .

  38. #
    Jamie Graham — June 21, 2019 at 11:33 am

    This was my first cheesecake to make, and it was much easier than I anticipated! My husband loves cheesecake and lemon, so I planned to make this for Father’s Day. He really enjoyed it and is ready for me to make another already! Lol.
    My only issue was with the raspberries. I had a hard time pureeing them and could not properly separate the seeds. In the end, I used strawberry jelly that I had on hand instead.
    Next time I am going to try this with blueberries. And my husband would like more lemon flavor. The lemon is noticeable, but faint. I will be doubling the lemon juice and adding zest on top.

  39. #
    Rebecca Hawkins — June 21, 2019 at 7:01 am

    I love cheescake, but it is a rich dessert! The raspberry and lemon flavors really brightened this up for summer! I cut it up into bit size pieces to take to a small group gathering. It didn’t last long! I even forgot to add the sugar to the raspberries (these things happen when a crying toddler is hanging on to your legs), and it still turned out wonderfully 🙂

  40. #
    Jodi Christensen — June 21, 2019 at 6:23 am

    Sadly this didn’t turn out as I expected. 🙁 the cheesecake part was too thick and dense and it didn’t taste at all lemony. Not sure what I did wrong.

  41. #
    cristina aguerrea — June 21, 2019 at 4:40 am

    Really good recipe!!! It´s so yummy.

  42. #
    Laura Barry — June 20, 2019 at 2:44 pm

    Really great taste! I didn’t bother straining the seeds from the raspberries and I love the crunchy feel.

  43. #
    Ryoko Ernst-Hites — June 20, 2019 at 1:45 am

    Not the best cheesecake I’ve made but it was very aesthetic, very simple to make, and others enjoyed it!

  44. #
    Mayline Arnold — June 19, 2019 at 8:05 pm

    There use to be the most delicious pastry shop in where I live sadly it closed but they made blueberry and raspberry cheesecake bars that
    my husband was in love with needless to say he was devastated when it closed.
    When I saw this recipe I thought oh my I wonder if this recipe will be as wonderful as the pastry shop. Let me tell you they are just as good if not BETTER My husband loves them. Everyone I’ve shared these with rave about them. Thank you Tessa!
    P.S. I’ve made them 3 times already!

  45. #
    Vicki Ma — June 19, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    Made his first or a few a celebration work. All my coworkers loved it!

  46. #
    Vicki Ma — June 19, 2019 at 1:41 pm

    Fantastic recipe. Brought it for a bunch of coworkers – all female – and they couldn’t a stop raving about them.

  47. #
    Denise Watkins — June 19, 2019 at 10:20 am

    Fantastic recipe! So easy and tastes amazing! I took them to work and I think they were gone in less than 5 minutes. I’ll definitely be making them again!!

  48. #
    Sandra D — June 18, 2019 at 5:22 pm

    I love how these bars look. I loved how they turned out but just find the raspberry flavor is lacking. Might just need to add more raspberries the next time. They sliced beautifully and were very creamy. Would be great on any pastry tray.

  49. #
    Fithria Truong — June 17, 2019 at 9:04 pm

    Not a cheese person but enjoyed these. Very yummy

  50. #
    Rebecca — June 17, 2019 at 9:03 pm

    I’ve made this recipe several times and it comes it Percy every time!

  51. #
    Jenna Zaback — June 17, 2019 at 8:47 pm

    The directions were super easy to follow and made a beautiful dessert, the bars are creamy but not too sweet and the lemon really comes through

  52. #
    Adam — June 17, 2019 at 7:16 pm

    I made these for Father’s Day, and they were a complete hit!

  53. #
    Comena — June 17, 2019 at 5:59 am

    Super easy to make and so delicious!

  54. #
    Linda Rinaldi — June 17, 2019 at 5:30 am

    Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake … so easy to make. Really satisfies a cheesecake craving! Yummmm

  55. #
    Linda Rinaldi — June 17, 2019 at 5:27 am

    Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake … yummmm! So easy to make and soooo good!

  56. #
    Kindra O’Connell — June 16, 2019 at 8:07 pm

    My family loved them

  57. #
    Mandy Bashura — June 16, 2019 at 6:28 pm

    Very easy recipe and so delicious! I used a bigger pan so they ended up on the slim side. I love the fresh raspberry taste.

  58. #
    Melissa — June 16, 2019 at 1:24 pm

    These look amazing ! Would lotus biscuits work as a crust instead of graham crackers or would the combination of flavors not work? What would be a good substitute for graham crackers?
    Can’t wait to try making me them !

    • #
      Tessa — June 17, 2019 at 10:28 am

      I think that could work! I haven’t tried so let us know how it turns out if you do 🙂

  59. #
    Taylor Flowers — June 16, 2019 at 1:23 pm

    These are delicious! If I could change one thing it would be that I had a strainer to use for the raspberry mixture. I didn’t have a fine mesh strainer so I ended up with some seeds int he mixture.

  60. #
    Br. Paul — June 16, 2019 at 10:27 am

    Fairly simple and was enjoyed by all. I tripled the recipe and used a pan close to 13 x 16 and made 25 squares close to 3 x 3. I use a bit more raspberries than recipe called for.

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