In elementary school, I never bought cafeteria lunches and rotated between two homemade meals instead: half of a whole wheat peanut butter sandwich (with an extra thick layer of creamy peanut butter, if Dad prepared it!) and half of a plain bagel with cream cheese.
At the brown picnic tables in my school’s courtyard, I unzipped my insulated lunch tote, and I always first peeked at which entrée my parents packed. I pulled it out, along with apple slices and a juice box, and I left my treat inside to enjoy last, usually a store-bought chocolate cream-filled cupcake or chocolate chip cookies.
After finishing my meal and clearing away any trash, I raised my hand to be excused by the yard duty, and when she nodded at me, I ran off to drop my lunchbox by my classroom door, along with the other students’, and headed to the playground for time on the swings and monkey bars.
When I passed through the grocery store’s bakery section last week, I spotted their bins of freshly baked bagels, and those childhood memories started to float through my mind.
Those bagels look good… With a little cream cheese… Yum… Especially the blueberry bagels! Blueberries… Cream cheese… Blueberries… Cream—hmm, what about cheesecake??
And that’s exactly how I dreamed up these Healthy Blueberry Cheesecake Bars… In the grocery store, staring at the stacks of bagels! These treats are actually easier to make than you’d expect, especially with no butter, refined flour or sugar. Even better, they’re perfectly sweet and creamy with just 63 calories!
Which means it’s completely acceptable to enjoy a second one, right?? ?
To make these skinny cheesecake bars, you’ll begin with the crust. Instead of graham crackers, you’ll use crisp brown rice cereal! I know it sounds strange… But I promise it works! Just grind your cereal (this is the kind I use!) in a food processor or blender until it turns into fine crumbs, just like with graham crackers, and then stir in a little stevia (this is what I use!) to boost its sweetness.
To bind those crumbs together, you’ll use just 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or butter, if you prefer!) and an egg white. Yes—it’s that simple! And far fewer calories than in traditional graham cracker crusts with a full stick or two of butter… Hooray!! Then press it into the bottom of your 8”-square pan, and pop that in the oven to bake.
For the healthy cheesecake filling, you’ll use a mix of Greek yogurt and light cream cheese. If you’ve been around my blog for a while, then you know how much I love Greek yogurt! It’s packed full of protein, around 21g per cup, which gives your cheesecake bars a big protein boost.
Note: It’s really important that your Greek yogurt and cream cheese are at room temperature, so plan ahead!
Just like with the crust, you’ll sweeten the filling with stevia, rather than refined sugar, but we’re using liquid vanilla crème stevia this time! I absolutely adore this kind because of its warm vanilla flavor, and I don’t notice any funky aftertastes like with some other brands. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I always 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!)
Then for the star of the show… Fresh blueberries! That sweet pop of fruity flavor when you bite into one is completely irresistible. And they make these cheesecake bars perfect for the 4th of July and Memorial Day with their festive color—or just any ol’ laid-back BBQ! Or Mother’s Day… Or your best friend’s birthday… Or a girl’s night in… The possibilities are endless, especially when you have as big of a sweet tooth as I do!
Pure cheesecake bliss. ?? 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 Blueberry Cheesecake Bars | | Print |
- for the crust
- 3 cups (90g) crisp brown rice cereal
- 1 tbsp powdered stevia, or adjusted to taste
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg white, room temperature and lightly beaten
- for the filling
- 1 cup (240g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 8 oz (226g) light cream cheese, well softened (see Notes)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- 1 ½ tbsp (12g) cornstarch
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups (175g) fresh blueberries
- 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 it turns into fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, and stir in the powdered stevia. Add in the coconut oil and egg white, cutting them 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 vanilla extract and vanilla crème stevia until completely incorporated. Beat in the cornstarch until incorporated. Beat in the egg whites, one at a time, mixing until just incorporated. 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.
If the crust is too dry to come together after a few minutes of mixing, then add milk (any kind will work!) ½ teaspoon at a time until all of the cereal has been incorporated.
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 blueberries 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, low sugar, lower carb, higher protein}
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Healthy Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Bars
♥ Healthy Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
♥ Healthy Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
♥ Skinny Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
♥ Skinny Lemon Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars
♥ Skinny Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cheesecake Bars
♥ Skinny Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Hi amy, is there anything we can substitute with brown rice cereal I can’t seem to find any
Sorry I’ve just seen the comment, my bad
No worries Holly — it happens all the time! I know it’s easy to miss the Notes sections of my recipes. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these cheesecake bars if you try making them!
I made this the other day and we loved it.I love your site!
I’m glad you enjoyed these cheesecake bars, Aileen! It really means a lot to me that you’d take the time to let me know — thank you so much!! 🙂