These No Bake Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars are made with fresh lemon juice, a delicious blueberry jam, and the best shortbread cookie crust. Naturally sweetened with maple syrup and dates, these bars are a healthier version of your favorite treat.
No Bake Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Lemon and blueberry, is there a better combination? The tartness of lemon, the sweetness of perfectly ripened fresh blueberries…so, so good! These no-bake lemon blueberry cheesecake bars have the perfect blend of tart, sweet, and refreshing. The best part? There is no baking involved.
A creamy, dairy-free, cheesecake filling is swirled with a homemade blueberry jam for the perfect easy and delicious treat. Not only are these bars delicious, they are vegan, sweetened with unrefined sugar, and Paleo-friendly. They make a wonderful and healthier dessert that everyone will love!
Watch How to Make This Blueberry Cheesecake Recipe
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Blueberry Cheesecake Bar Ingredients
Cashews: Cashews are a huge part of this recipe. You’ll need some for both the cheesecake bar and crust and filling. Soaked cashews are the base of the cheesecake mixture and when they’re blended they give you a smooth, creamy, cream cheese like texture. You want to use raw cashews for this recipe which simply means that they have not been roasted.
Almond Flour: blanched almond flour helps to give the cheesecake bar crust some structure for the perfect cookie like texture.
Dates: to help sweeten the crust, and hold everything together, this recipe calls for dates! They are naturally sweet and sticky so they’re exactly what we need.
Cinnamon: A pinch of cinnamon in both the crust and the blueberry jam is the perfect touch.
Full Fat Coconut Milk: Canned full fat coconut milk helps to give the filling just the right amount of creaminess.
Lemon Juice: All good cheesecake has lemon juice! I include a suggested amount in the full recipe below, but feel free to add more.
Blueberry Jam: These bars are swirled with a delicious blueberry jam that is slightly tart with just amount of sweet. You’ll make a homemade jam with fresh blueberries, arrowroot starch, lemon juice, cinnamon, and maple syrup.
Maple Syrup: These bars are naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup.
Vanilla Extract: An obvious addition that adds just the right amount of maple flavor.
Coconut Oil: Coconut oil helps to solidify the bars once cooled.
Ingredient Substitutions and Notes
Maple Syrup – these bars work best with a liquid sweetener. If you don’t have maple syrup on hand then you can swap it for honey instead. If you prefer your cheesecake on the sweeter side then feel free to add a bit more to the cheesecake mix before freezing.
Almond Flour – you can use almond meal instead of finely ground blanched almond flour in the crust if you like. You cannot substitute coconut flour for almond flour in this recipe as it is too drying.
Blueberry Jam – want to save time? Swap the homemade blueberry jam for your favorite store bought version. You’ll need around 1 cup of blueberry jam for this recipe but feel free to decrease or increase that amount according to your personal preference.
Coconut Milk – if you cannot find canned coconut milk, feel free to use canned coconut cream instead.
Lemon Juice – make these bars as tart as you like! You can start with less lemon juice for less lemon flavor or add extra lemon juice to make them more tart!
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake
(be sure to scroll down for the full recipe ingredients and instructions)
Step One: The first step is to soak the cashews in water overnight. Soaking the cashews helps to soften them and create a creamy “cheesecake” filling.
Step Two: Next, make the blueberry jam to swirl in the cheesecake filling. Combine the blueberries, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla extract over medium-high heat. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to mash the blueberries and break them down. Bring the blueberry mixture to a boil and then lower the heat and let simmer for 10-12 minutes while constantly stirring.
When the blueberries have all burst and the jam has turned a dark purple color, whisk the lemon juice and arrowroot starch in a small bowl to make a slurry. Next, turn off the heat and pour the slurry mixture into the blueberries. Stir until the blueberries have thickened into a jam like consistency.
Step Three: While the blueberry jam is cooking, make the shortbread cookie crust. To do this, add the crust ingredients to a food processor and pulse until a sticky dough forms. Then, use your fingers to press the shortbread dough into an 8×8 baking pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Next, place the crust in the fridge or freezer while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
Step Four: To make the dairy-free cheesecake filling, add the soaked cashews, lemon juice, maple syrup, coconut oil, coconut milk, and vanilla extract to a food process or high powered blender. Blend the cheesecake filling until silky smooth and creamy. You want to make sure that there are no lumps or bits of cashew pieces remaining. Next, pour the filling into a large mixing bowl and add the cooled blueberry jam. Gently fold in the blueberry jam. Next, give the filling a taste and adjust it based on your tastebuds. You can add more lemon juice if you like your cheesecake to be more tart or add more maple syrup to make the cheesecake bars sweeter.
Step Five: Once the filling meets your taste preference, pour the cheesecake filling over the prepared shortbread cookie crust crust.
Step Six: Freeze the cheesecake bars overnight or until completely solid. When you are ready to serve the bars, remove the cheesecake from the freezer and let sit out on the counter for around five minutes to slightly soften. Then, use a sharp knife to slice the bars into 9 or 16 pieces.
Tips and Tricks for the Best Cheesecake Bars
These blueberry cheesecake bars are incredibly easy to make but a few helpful hints never hurt. Here are a few tips and tricks to make sure that your cheesecake bars are perfect every single time:
- Be sure to remove the pits from your dates before adding them to the food processor to make the crust.
- Don’t over process the crust. It should be sticky, similar to a cookie dough, but not smooth like a nut butter.
- To get that nice blueberry swirl in the cheesecake, do not over mix the filling. Instead, gently fold in the blueberry jam so you have swirls of blueberry and cheesecake.
- Let the bars freeze until they are completely solid before slicing. It will be tempting to dive in right away but freezing the bars until completely firm makes them much easier to slice.
- These bars are designed to be eaten cold. If you let them sit out for too long they will melt and loose their solid texture.
How to Store
These bars are designed to be eaten from frozen so they need to be stored in the freezer for best results. Once you have cut the cheesecake into individual bars add them to a freezer safe storage bag and place in the freezer.
How to Serve
When you are ready to enjoy a bar, pull one out of your storage bag and let sit on the counter for a few minutes before digging in!
More Popular Blueberry Recipes
- Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Blueberry Smoothie
- Blueberry Pie Bars
- Gluten Free Blueberry Crisp
- Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Blueberry French Toast Casserole
- Blueberry Banana Smoothie
I hope you give these Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars a try! They are full of fresh blueberry flavor and pretty easy to make!
If you do give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews and ratings help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you trust and love.
Print
No Bake Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- Prep Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: no bake
- Cuisine: american
- Diet: Vegan
Description
No Bake Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars made with fresh lemon juice, a delicious blueberry jam, and the best shortbread cookie crust. Naturally sweetened with maple syrup and dates, these bars are a healthier version of your favorite treat.
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookie Crust:
- 6 pitted dates
- ¾ cup cashews
- 1 cup almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Blueberry Jam
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot starch
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup
Cheesecake Filling
- 2 cups whole cashews
- ¼ cup full fat coconut milk
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
Instructions
- Soak 2 cups of cashews in water overnight for the cheesecake filling.
- Combine the blueberries, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla extract over medium-high heat. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to mash the blueberries and break them down. Bring the blueberry mixture to a boil and then lower the heat and let simmer for 10-12 minutes while constantly stirring. When the blueberries have all burst and the jam has turned a dark purple color, whisk the lemon juice and arrowroot starch in a small bowl to make a slurry. Next, turn off the heat and pour the slurry mixture into the blueberries. Stir until the blueberries have thickened into a jam like consistency.
- Add the crust ingredients to a food processor and pulse until a sticky dough forms. Press the dough into an 8×8 baking pan lined with parchment paper. Put the crust in the fridge or freezer while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
- Add the soaked cashews, lemon juice, maple syrup, coconut oil, coconut milk, and vanilla extract to your food process or high powered blender. Blend the filling until silky smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the filling to a mixing bowl and add the cooled blueberry jam. Gently fold the jam into the filling. Give the filling a taste and adjust the level of sweet or tart to your taste.
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the prepared crust. Freeze the cheesecake bars overnight or until completely solid.
- When you are ready to serve, remove the cheesecake bars from the freezer and let sit on the counter for around 10 minutes to slightly soften. Use a sharp knife to slice the bars into 9 or 16 pieces. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe by: Ashlea Carver / All the Healthy Things | Photography by: THE MINDFUL HAPA
