These Rhubarb Cream Cheese Bars are creamy cheesecake bars with juicy rhubarb, sweet blueberries. They are topped with buttery crumble this recipe makes the perfect spring or summer treat
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The lemon and fruit flavor in contrast with the cream cheese filling and buttery crust makes these Blueberry Cream Cheese Bars fresh tasting and decadent!
There’s nothing like fresh, indulgent summer desserts.
For more fruity dessert recipes, try my lemon and lime bars, Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars, and Blueberry Blondies!
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Fresh rhubarb tastes delicious with juicy blueberries! For another delicious rhubarb treat, try these banana rhubarb muffins.
- Everyone will love the creamy, indulgent cream cheese filling!
- The graham cracker crust and crumble topping add a crumbly texture and delicious buttery flavor.
- These bars are easier than making a full sized cheesecake.
Ingredients
Below are useful notes on some of the ingredients needed to make rhubarb blueberry bars.
- Graham Crackers: Use a food processor to crush graham crackers into fine crumbs. You can also place them in a large zip lock bag and hit them with a rolling pin to crush.
- Granulated Sugar. We’ll use a small amount of sugar to sweeten up the crust.
- Cream Cheese: Use brick style, full fat cream cheese. Allow cream cheese to sit out on the counter for a few hours to come to room temperature before using. Room temerature cream cheese will help prevent lumps in the cheesecake.
- Granulated Sugar: This will add flavor and sweetness to the cheesecake bars.
- Eggs: Use 3 large, room temperature eggs.
- Lemon: We’re using lemon zest and juice in the cheesecake filling. I also like to add lemon zest to the graham cracker crust.
- Rhubarb: Rhubarb is a vegetable that grows in stalks. It’s sour but also a bit fruity. For this recipe, I use rhubarb and blueberries. For another delicious rhubarb recipe, try this sour cream rhubarb cake.
- Blueberries: For these bars, I decided to combine rhubarb with blueberries. I prefer fresh berries, but frozen works too. Don’t thaw the berries before using them. If you have extra blueberries, try these lemon blueberry cookies!
Please see recipe card below for full list of ingredients and their measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Use all rhubarb or all blueberries if you like.
- You can substitute raspberries or strawberries for the blueberries.
- To save time, buy a box of graham cracker crumbs from the baking aisle.
Instructions
Step 1 (Picture 1 above)–Stir graham cracker crumbs, lemon zest, salt and sugar together. Stir in melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of an 8 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Set aside and reduce oven to 325 F.
Step 2 (Picture 2 above)– Whisk to combine the flour, brown sugar, cardamom, and salt. Stir in the melted butter til mixture forms crumbles. Chill in the fridge til needed.
Step 3 (Picture 3 above)–In a large bowl, mix the lemon zest and sugar with your fingertips. Add the cream cheese, flour, and salt and beat with a mixer on medium for 1 minute. Turn the mixer to low.
Step 4 (Picture 4 above)– Mix in the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat til just combined. Do not overmix.
Step 5 (Picture 5 above)–Pour the batter over the cooled or slightly cooled graham cracker crust. Bake
Step 6 (Picture 6 above)– Thinly slice the rhubarb. Toss the rhubarb and blueberries with sugar and cornstarch. Sprinkle evenly over the cheesecake batter.
Step 7 (Picture 7 above)– Top the fruit layer with the crumble topping. Bake at 325 F for 38-43 minutes, until the filling is set but still a little jiggly in the center.
Step 8 (Picture 8 above)– Cool at room temperature for 45 minutes then set in the fridge to cool for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Expert Tips
- Instead of using a food processor, you can crush the graham crackers by hand. Place them in a large plastic freezer storage bag and hit with a rolling pin til cookies are crumbs.
- Use room temperature ingredients for the cheesecake filling.
- Mix the sugar and cream cheese well. Once you add the eggs, do not overmix. Mix until just combined.
- Run a knife along the sides of the pan before lifting bars out of the pan. This will loosen any spots that may be sticking to the pan.
Recipe FAQs
Use a long, sharp knife to slice these bars. For the cleanest looking bars, run your knife under hot water and wipe it dry between each cut.
To know when your cheesecake bars are set, bake them until the filling is set but still a little jiggly in the center. You can test this by holding the pan with oven mits and very gently shaking the pan from side to side.
Since these bars have a lot of cream cheese in them, they should be refrigerated. Store the cheesecake bars in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Rhubarb Cream Cheese Bars
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ½ cups (126 g) graham cracker crumbs from about 12 whole graham crackers
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter melted
- 2 teaspoons (4 g) lemon zest
- 1 pinch (1 pinch) salt
Crumble Topping
- ¾ cup (93.75 g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) cardamom optional
- ¼ cup (55 g) brown sugar light or dark, packed
- 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter melted
Fruit Topping
- 1½ cups (183 g) rhubarb finely chopped (into pieces thinner than 1/2 inch)
- ½ cup (74 g) blueberries fresh or frozen (not thawed if frozen)
- 1½ teaspoons (6 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) cornstarch optional
Cream Cheese Filling
- ½ tablespoon (3 g) lemon zest
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 16 ounces (453.59 g) cream cheese full fat, brick style, room temperature
- 4 teaspoons (8 g) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (57.5 g) sour cream full fat, room temperature
- 3 (3) large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (14.79 ml) lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons (1 ½ teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 1 pinch (1 pinch) salt
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter then line an 8×8" square pan with parchment paper. Leave some excess parchment paper hanging over at least two sides to make it easier to remove the bars once baked and cooled.
- Place the graham crackers into a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse graham crackers into fine crumbs.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, lemon zest, sugar and salt. Stir in the melted butter til thick, sandy and well combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared 8 inch pan. Use your hands or the bottom of a 1/4 measuring cup to press the mixture into the bottom and slightly (about 1 inch) up the sides of the prepared pan. Press with medium pressure but do not press down too hard. Press til the mixture is compact.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until set. Remove from oven and allow to cool while you prepare the lemon cheesecake filling. Reduce oven to 325 F.
Crumble Topping
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, cardamom, brown sugar and salt. Stir in the melted butter until mixture becomes crumbly. Place in the fridge til needed.
Lemon Cheesecake Filling
- In a medium sized mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the lemon zest and sugar briefly til zest is incorporated into the sugar. Add the cream cheese, flour, and salt and beat on medium speed for 1 minute, til smooth.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and mix in the eggs one at a time, followed by the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until just combined, about 1 minute. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter over the cooled or slightly cooled graham cracker crust. Top evenly with the rhubarb and blueberries. Top the fruit layer with the crumble topping.
- Bake at 325 F for 38-43 minutes, until the filling is set but still a little bit jiggly in the middle. Avoid overbaking since the cheesecake will continue cooking while it cools.
- Set pan on a wire rack to cool at room temperature for 45 minutes then place in the fridge to cool for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Slice with a long, sharp knife.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
Ruth Emerson
Have tried so many different rhubarb recipes and this one was by far the BEST!! Instead of blueberries, I used mulberries! So delicious!!!
Natalie
Hi Ruth! That makes my day to hear! Thank you so much for making this recipe and for your awesome feedback. Have a wonderful day!
Barbara Briggs Ward
Love cooking with rhubarb, so I tried this recipe and loved it. So delicious with the combination of ingredients!
Natalie
So happy you enjoyed these! Agree-blueberry and rhubarb are so good together!