Lemon Cheesecake Bars

4.34 from 3 votes

Lemon cheesecake bars are a simple and sweet treat with a graham cracker crust, cheesecake filling and lemon curd filling swirled throughout. They are the perfect dessert for every occasion!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Rest Time3 hrs

Total Time4 hrs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Lemon

Servings: 2 inch x 2 ½ inch slices

Calories: 297kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

CRUST:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp granulated sugar
8 tbsp salted sweet cream butter melted
2 tsp fresh lemon zest

FILLING:

16 ounce packages cream cheese softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
½ cup lemon curd (for the lemon swirl)

Instructions

Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray and set it aside.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, lemon zest, and melted butter. Stir until the mixture is completely combined.
Press the crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 325°F.

Filling:

Using a medium-sized mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on low speed, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest, just until well combined.
Keeping the mixer speed on low, add the eggs one at a time. Mix until the filling is completely incorporated.
Evenly pour the filling on top of the crust.
Drop the lemon curd by teaspoon on top of the filling. Use a knife, toothpick, or offset spatula to shallowly swirl the lemon curd, being careful not to swirl too deep. Bake for 40 minutes.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven, allow the cheesecake to sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Place the cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Video

Notes

Use one large lemon for all of the lemon ingredients. If you do it right, you can zest the lemon first and leave it in a bowl to use when needed. Then, cut the lemon in half and juice it to get your fresh lemon juice. That way, you are using the entire lemon and there is no waste! If you juice it first, it makes it more difficult to get the zest!
If you don’t have a juicer at home for your lemons, that’s no problem! You can use the backside of a spoon to make sure that you get all the juice possible out of your lemon.

Nutrition