No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

By Mark Bittman

No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Evan Sung for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes, plus 1 hour’s chilling
Rating
4(970)
Comments
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There are those who may not find this sweet enough, and if that’s the case I recommend adding a quarter cup or so of sugar instead of increasing the honey, because you don’t want the honey flavor to become overpowering. Other flavor possibilities to add with the blueberries: any citrus you like; a teaspoon or so of very finely ground coffee or cocoa; or chopped raisins or, I suppose, chocolate chips. I prefer the straight honey-lemon combination, unadulterated.

Featured in: Summer Cheesecake, Without the Stove

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 12 servings
  • 16graham cracker squares (8 whole crackers), crushed
  • ¼cup ground pecans or walnuts, optional
  • 3tablespoons melted butter
  • 18-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1cup ricotta cheese
  • 2tablespoons honey, or to taste
  • Rind of a lemon, freshly grated
  • Pinch salt
  • About 1½ cups blueberries
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine crushed graham crackers, nuts if using, and melted butter. Press evenly into bottom of an 8- or 9-inch square pan (glass is good) to form a crust about ¼-inch thick. Put in refrigerator until ready to use.

  2. Step 2

    Using a standing or hand mixer, or a whisk, combine cream cheese, ricotta, honey, lemon rind and salt, and blend until smooth.

  3. Step 3

    Spread cheese mixture carefully and evenly over crust, using a spatula or butter knife to smooth top. Cover with fresh blueberries and chill for at least an hour, or until set. Cut into squares or bars and serve.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
970 user ratings
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Comments

Andy

So I made this over the weekend and not sure what I might have done wrong, but it never set :(.
It was very tasty, but when i cut it up it crumbled... not enough melted butter in the graham crackers perhaps? I put it in the fridge for two hours...

Tara

I made this as written. I saw others had trouble with it setting so I strained my ricotta to get out any excess moisture. We loved having a dessert that wasn't sugar loaded. Fresh and delicious.

Cathy

Instead of nuts in the crust, I used 1/4 cup of shredded coconut.

Allie

Love this recipe. It's a very low effort no bake cheesecake that is really satisfying. I added a little more butter, but didn't feel like it needed it. I would just make sure to grease the pan before pressing the crust in. I didn't have graham crackers, but I did have biscoff cookies and those were amazing and the crust became my favorite part. I used a little honey, just to get it sweet enough. Berries are great, love blueberries but also added raspberries and cherries because I had them and why not? The ricotta I used didn't have a lot of liquid, so no trouble getting it to set. I left it in the fridge until I got too impatient. Better the next day. Worth making.

lazy baker

This has been my go-to "Summer Cheesecake" since the recipe was first published in the print edition, and it never fails me. I use premium full fat ricotta, often sub some mascarpone for the cream cheese, and use a really good honey, because the flavor shows. I adjust the honey-lemon depending on the tartness of the berries and sweet tooth of the audience, and if upping the honey I add a squeeze of lemon juice. Always better the next day, (but I often serve it soft after a few hours set if I think of making it at the last minute, and no one complains.) I occasionally use a drop of vanilla or vanilla powder if I am going light on the honey. Most recently I subbed Good Culture cottage cheese for the ricotta because it's what I had on hand. It required a blender to get the right consistency. Still great!

Bond

Question: Can I make no-bake cheesecake squares without heavy whipping cream? If so, what do I substitute?

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