No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Name: No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 16 graham cracker squares (8 whole crackers), crushed; 1/4 cup ground pecans or walnuts, optional; 3 tablespoons melted butter; 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature; 1 cup ricotta cheese; 2 tablespoons honey, or to taste; Rind of a lemon, freshly grated; Pinch salt; About 1 1/2 cups blueberries

By Mark Bittman

Total Time: 20 minutes, plus 1 hour’s chilling
Rating: 4(955)
Comments: Read comments

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

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Preparation

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.
Step 2
Using a standing or hand mixer, or a whisk, combine cream cheese, ricotta, honey, lemon rind and salt, and blend until smooth.
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.

Ratings

4 out of 5

955 user ratings

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Comments

Andy7 years ago

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...

Tara7 years ago

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.

Cathy7 years ago

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

Cathy4 weeks ago

As another Cathy suggested, I used shredded coconut in place of the ground nuts, and as no one suggested, I substituted maple syrup for the honey -- both of which turned out well. My sweet tooth led me to add a quarter-cup of sugar, as Bittman suggested. That was especially needed because I left out the berries (the ones I can get here are usually quite tasteless). But all I really wanted was cheese cake that didn't involve cooking, and this recipe as modified fit the bill.

Katherine2 months ago

Good potential, but ratios are off. Not enough butter for the graham cracker crust to hold. Cream cheese overpowers the ricotta. Hard to taste the lemon. Needs a bit of sugar, which I sprinkled this on top, to feel like dessert. Maybe peel the lemon with a peeler and blitz with sugar as part of the crust?

Camille10 months ago

This dessert shows off summer fruit very well. The limited sweetness really lets the fruit shine. I added about two more tablespoons of honey because it was not sweet enough for me. The filling will not harden in the time allotted, but it’s still super tasty. I placed some of the leftovers in the fridge overnight and it has hardened nicely with a longer time to chill. If you do want the cheesecake consistency make it a day ahead and chill it overnight.

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