I’m sharing today’s recipe in collaboration with NaturallyMore. Their roasted almond butter is full of wholesome ingredients like California almonds and probiotics—and it tastes absolutely amazing! I’m obsessed with it!
During my high school years, my mom scheduled a doctor’s appointment for allergy testing. The office examined her reaction to over a hundred different things, ranging from plants and pollen to pets and food (even chocolate!).
When Mom received her results, she was extremely relieved that chocolate wasn’t on the list (I definitely inherited my chocoholism from her!), but she discovered that she tested positive for plenty of other things, including peanuts.
Since my family plowed through peanut butter throughout my entire childhood, Dad quickly brought home jars of almond butter from the grocery store as a delicious substitute for Mom. Little did he realize… Our whole family fell in love with it just as much as peanut butter (including Dad himself!), and those jars emptied in the blink of an eye!
We spread it on crackers… Slathered it on toast… Even snuck it straight from the jar with spoons! Within just a few weeks, almond butter became a permanent item on Dad’s weekly grocery shopping list, and although my brother and I both moved out of the house for college, it stayed on Dad’s list… Because our dogs often enjoy licking a little bit from their bones as a special evening treat!
Despite our unwavering love for almond butter, I recently realized that I haven’t been baking with it very often… Just digging my spoon into the jar! Since I haven’t posted an almond butter baked treat for you since these and these, I decided to change that, starting with this recipe for Healthy Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Bars! They’re sweet, creamy, and full of juicy raspberries. With no butter, oil, refined flour or sugar, they’re also packed with protein and just 68 calories!
I think that makes it perfectly acceptable to sneak a second one… Don’t you? ?
To make these healthier cheesecake bars, you’ll start with the crust. It’s a mixture of crisp brown rice cereal, lightly sweetened with powdered stevia, rather than crushed graham crackers made of refined flour and sugar. I know—cereal for the crust probably sounds a little strange! But trust me, it totally works!
To bind those crumbs together, you’ll use a bit of milk and almond butter. I recently discovered NaturallyMore’s Roasted Almond Butter, and I’m absolutely hooked! It’s made with simple, good-for-you ingredients like California almonds, flaxseeds, and probiotics that promote good gut health. It tastes incredible too—I nearly had to get a second jar to make sure I saved enough for these cheesecake bars after sneaking so many spoonfuls! (If it’s not available in any of these stores near you, then you can find it online here!)
While your crust bakes and cools, you’ll prepare the filling. The base is a combination of Greek yogurt and light cream cheese. Make sure your cream cheese is well-softened to avoid any lumps or bumps in the mixture! To accentuate the almond butter in the crust, you’ll also mix in a bit of almond extract. It’s one of my all-time favorite flavors in baking!
Rather than granulated sugar, you’ll sweeten your filling with vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s highly concentrated. You just need 1 ½ teaspoons! This is the kind that I buy, and you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores. However, I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Just before spreading the filling on top of your cooled crust, you’ll add in fresh raspberries. Be sure to dice them fairly small, about the size of chocolate chips, to ensure the cheesecake bakes evenly! And remember to gently fold them in with a spatula or spoon, rather than using your electric mixer. Raspberries are fragile and need to be handled with care!
Then after baking, cooling, and {impatiently} waiting for them to chill and set in the fridge…
Time to enjoy your delicious cheesecake bars! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cheesecake bars and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Bars | | Print |
- for the crust
- 2 ½ cups (75g) crisp brown rice cereal
- 1 tbsp powdered stevia, or adjusted to taste
- 3 tbsp (48g) NaturallyMore Roasted Almond Butter
- 2 tbsp (30mL) nonfat milk
- for the filling
- 1 cup (240g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 8 oz (226g) light cream cheese, well softened (see Notes)
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla crème stevia, or adjusted to taste
- 2 tbsp (16g) cornstarch
- 1 ¼ cups (175g) fresh raspberries, diced (about 1 pint)
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the crust, add the cereal to a blender or food processor, and pulse until they’re fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, and stir in the powdered stevia. Add in the almond butter, and cut it into the crumbs with the back of a fork. Add in the milk, cutting it into the mixture with the back of a fork until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Gently press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan with a spatula. Bake at 300°F for 13-16 minutes or until firm. Cool completely to room temperature.
- To prepare the filling, beat the Greek yogurt and cream cheese with an electric mixture on low until smooth and creamy. Beat in the egg whites, almond extract, and vanilla crème stevia until completely incorporated. Beat in the cornstarch. Gently fold in the raspberries with a spatula or a spoon.
- Spread the filling on top of the cooled crust. Bake at 300°F for 18-21 minutes or until the filling barely jiggles when shaken. Cool completely to room temperature. Once cooled, place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the cheesecake, ensuring that it completely touches the top of the cheesecake, and chill for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving to allow the cheesecake bars to fully set.
This is the powdered stevia that I used in the crust. If you prefer, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar may be substituted.
NaturallyMore’s Roasted Almond Butter is made with simple, good-for-you ingredients like California almonds, flaxseeds, and probiotics that promote good gut health. It tastes incredible too! If you can’t find it in any of these stores near you, you can find it online here.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
I used tub-style fat-free cream cheese in these cheesecake bars. Greek yogurt cream cheese, Neufchâtel cream cheese (⅓-less fat), or regular cream cheese may be substituted. Make sure the cream cheese is well softened!
This is the kind of vanilla crème stevia that I use, and I get mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) If you prefer, 10-12 tablespoons of granulated sugar or 6 tablespoons of this powdered stevia may be substituted for the vanilla crème stevia.
Frozen raspberries that have been completely thawed and patted dry of excess moisture may be substituted for the fresh.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, sugar-free, low carb, higher protein}
This recipe was sponsored by NaturallyMore. As always, all text, photographs, recipe, and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Amy’s Healthy Baking possible!
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Healthy Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
♥ Healthy Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
♥ Healthy Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
♥ Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
♥ Healthy Peanut Butter Cheesecake
♥ Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
♥ Peanut Butter Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
♥ Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Swirled Brownies
We have a peanut-free home due to allergies and I’m so glad to see this recipe. Almond butter is our favorite alternative and it is incredibly delicious:) These bars look so creamy and yummy:)
Thank you so much Maria! I completely agree about almond butter! 🙂
This looks so yummy!
I really need to get some almond butter. x
Izzy |http://www.pinchofdelight.com
Thanks Izzy! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these!
Amy, this is genius!! Almond butter and rice crisps as a crust?? With almond extract in the filling to complement!? I think I’ve just died and gone to heaven. I’m planning on trying to reintroduce dairy in the next week or so (the whey protein bar I tried the day we talked made me a little bloated, but after what you said about whey sometimes bloating people, I’m going to try other dairy separately) and if it for sure works, I’m making this first thing! Your cheesecakes still remain to be my favorite of your recipes, and I’ve been craaaaving some! <3
Thanks so much Andrea!! That means SO much to me that you want to make my cheesecake bars as your first dairy treat, if you’re able to successful reintroduce it. I’m so honored!! ♡ If the whey protein bars made you slightly bloated, I think yogurt might be a good next step. At least, judging by my dad’s reactions to dairy! 😉 Also, have you tried Beano? I’ve had it work for me with certain things, but I don’t know if your healthcare person warned you against using it. Just thought I’d mention it! 🙂
I have it on hand! It never worked when I didn’t know what the problem was, but maybe if I can isolate dairy, it will work for that. Going to the store today or tomorrow after work to stock up on plain greek yogurt! We shall see!
Yay!! Once I started to isolate even more things, it came in really handy. ? Keep me posted — and text me with what happens! ♡
These looks so incredibly delicious, I’m definitely going to have to try them out for myself. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
My pleasure! I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cheesecake bars! 🙂
So. Freaking. Good. And so fresh tasting with the load of raspberries that are in there!! To anyone who accidentally buys puffed rice instead of rice crisps like I did- just use the same volume as the recipe states and it will work just fine! Thanks for the delicious recipe, Amy… deciding which cheesecake to make next right now! 🙂
I’m so glad you loved these cheesecake bars Andrea! That really means a lot to me. ♡ I have a feeling something lemony might be in your future! ?
Eeep! Can’t wait!! 🙂 🙂
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These look fabulous! Have you ever tried using a different cereal like plain cheerios?
Thanks! I’ve only used crisp rice cereal and rice pockets (aka Rice Chex) as the crust base. Cheerios are denser than either of those, so I’m not sure how they’d turn out. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cheesecake bars!
Hi Amy! A friend introduced your site to me. I really love to try your cheesecake. Question:with your recipe can I use water bath to prevent cracking? Thanks!
how many slices do you have to slice it into to get 68calories?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Caleb! I include the yield / number of servings directly underneath the recipe title, as well as the full nutrition information directly underneath the recipe (which also includes the number of servings / slices / bars). I know those can be easy to miss! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cheesecake bars!
Do you know what the amount of the cereal is after they are crushed? I measured after instead of before crushing and it resulted in too much. thanks
It means a lot that you’d like to try my recipe, Sandy! You’ll need about 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of crushed cereal crumbs for the crust. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these cheesecake bars, once you get a chance to make them!
Thank you for your answer. I have now made these several times and they are delicious and easy to make.
It’s my pleasure, Sandy! Thank YOU for taking the time to circle back and let me know! It really means a lot that you’re enjoying these cheesecake bars. That’s the best kind of compliment there is, if you’ve already made them multiple times! 😉