Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars

by sammymoniz

If you’re looking for a slightly sweet something with your morning coffee, look no further than these Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars. They are ideal! Layered with an oat crust, cheesecake center, fresh berries and an oat crumb topping. These bars are simple to put together, pack great bursts of flavor and keep well stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Store-bought energy bars have nothing on these hearty and homemade squares. Filling and fueling!

Two plates of Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars with bars on a cutting board.

Ingredients for Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars.

  • 1 1/2 cups blackberries — You can swap this out for raspberries or blueberries but blackberries are a Fraser house favorite!
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice — Lemon juice enhances the flavor of the fruit.
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
  • 3/4 cup salted butter, melted — This recipe also hold up well dairy-free. Swap the butter for coconut oil.
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, divided
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
  • 4 cups rolled oats— Rolled oat and quick-cook oats are the best for this recipe. Steel cut oat’s are not a good substitute here as they need a lot of liquid and cook-time to breakdown.
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon — It’s just enough to give a little warmth to the oats without overpowering with a strong cinnamon flavor.
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 6 oz cream cheese, room temperature — This recipe also holds up well dairy-free. Swap the cream cheese for a dairy-free alternative like Kit Hill plant based products.
  • 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt — — This recipe also holds up well dairy-free. Swap the cream cheese for a dairy-free alternative like Kit Hill plant based products.
  • Pinch of salt
Sliced Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars on table surface with blackberries.

Step by step.

The prep.

Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. Line a square 8×8 dish with parchment paper and set aside. This is helpful for easy clean up and for lifting the entire bake out of the pan for cutting.

In a small bowl, toss the blackberries with lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Macerating the berries helps to soften them and releases their juices.

Next, you’ll use a large mixing bowl to prepare the oat crust and topping. What’s great about this recipe is the crust and topping are the same! In a large bowl mix the melted butter, brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar for 1 minute. Add one egg and 2 teaspoons of vanilla, beat until well combined. Add the oats, cinnamon, cornstarch and baking soda. Mix until well combined.

Add all but 1 cup of the oat mixture to the square baking dish. Spread evenly throughout the baking pan and press firmly to create a crust. The remaining oat mixture will be used in later steps as the crumble topping.

In a separate medium bowl beat the cream cheese, yogurt and remaining 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar for 1-2 minutes. If you have a hand mixer, bust it out for this step or simply put some elbow grease into it with a whisk to ensure it’s nice and smooth. Add the remaining egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until well combined. Pour the cheesecake layer over the oats, spread to evenly coat the crust. Add the macerated berries (and their juices!) to the top of the cheesecake layer. Lastly, top it all off with the remaining oats to create a crumble layer.

The bake.

Place the dish into the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. If at the 35 minute mark your topping is beginning to brown but there is a small jiggle to the center, loosely cover with aluminum foil and bake an addition 5 minutes.

The cooling.

Remove the dish from the oven and allow the bake to cool for 1 hour in the pan. The toughest part about this recipe is waiting for it to cool! If you slice into it before it’s cooled it will completely crumble. Once the Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars have cooled in the baking dish, use the parchment paper edges to lift the bake from the pan. Move the entire thing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Slice once the bake has completely cooled into even squares and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. 

Sliced Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars on table surface.

Can I make this dairy-free?

You bet!! I have made this recipe numerous times with dairy-free ingredients. Simply swap out the butter, cream cheese and yogurt for your favorite alternatives. I suggest coconut oil as a swap for butter, it’s mild in flavor and works great in this recipe. And as for the cream cheese and yogurt, I have had great success with plant-based almond milk alternatives to both. The brand I’m most familiar with is Kite Hill for these ingredients. Their products can be found at most grocery stores and while the selections may vary, the basics are all you need for this recipe!

Looking for more recipes with oats?

Here are a few to try:

BROWNED BANANA OATMEAL BAKE

CARROT CAKE CROCKPOT OATS WITH CREAM CHEESE YOGURT TOPPING

PB&J OVERNIGHT OATS

Lastly, if you make this Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a comment! Above all, I love to hear from ya’ll and do my best to respond to every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of your dayyyummm good recreations is my favorite!

This post contains affiliate links that will not change your price but will share some commission.

Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars

sammymoniz If you’re looking for a slightly sweet something with your morning coffee, look no further than these Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars. They are… Appetizers Oats, Oatmeal, Cheesecake, Blackberry European Print
Feeds: 12 Prep Time: Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

 

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line and square 8x8 dish with parchment paper and set aside. 
  2. In a small bowl toss the blackberries, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. 
  3. In a large bowl whisk the melted butter, brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar for 1 minute until smooth. Add one egg and 2 teaspoons of vanilla, beat until combined. Add the oats, cinnamon, cornstarch and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
  4. Add all but 1 cup of the oat mixture to the square baking dish. Spread evenly throughout the dish and press firmly to create a crust.
  5. In a separate medium bowl beat the cream cheese, yogurt and remaining 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar together for 1-2 minutes. Add the remaining egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until combine. Pour the cheesecake layer over the oats, spread to evenly coat the crust.
  6. Add the berries to the top of the cheesecake layer. Lastly, top with the remaining oats to create a crumble layer.
  7. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the oat bars in the dish for 1 hour.
  8. After one hour, use the parchment paper edges to lift the bake from the pan. Move the entire thing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
  9. Once the bake has completely cooled, slice into even squares and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. 

Notes

This can easily be made dairy free. Simply swap out the butter, cream cheese and yogurt for your favorite alternatives. I suggest coconut oil and Kite Hill cream cheese and plain greek yogurt. 

Nutrition Information: 12 servings 376 cals / 20g F /43g C /8g P

Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars

sammymoniz If you’re looking for a slightly sweet something with your morning coffee, look no further than these Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars. They are… Appetizers Oats, Oatmeal, Cheesecake, Blackberry European Print
Feeds: 12 Prep Time: Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

 

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line and square 8x8 dish with parchment paper and set aside. 
  2. In a small bowl toss the blackberries, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. 
  3. In a large bowl whisk the melted butter, brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar for 1 minute until smooth. Add one egg and 2 teaspoons of vanilla, beat until combined. Add the oats, cinnamon, cornstarch and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
  4. Add all but 1 cup of the oat mixture to the square baking dish. Spread evenly throughout the dish and press firmly to create a crust.
  5. In a separate medium bowl beat the cream cheese, yogurt and remaining 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar together for 1-2 minutes. Add the remaining egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until combine. Pour the cheesecake layer over the oats, spread to evenly coat the crust.
  6. Add the berries to the top of the cheesecake layer. Lastly, top with the remaining oats to create a crumble layer.
  7. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the oat bars in the dish for 1 hour.
  8. After one hour, use the parchment paper edges to lift the bake from the pan. Move the entire thing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
  9. Once the bake has completely cooled, slice into even squares and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. 

Notes

This can easily be made dairy free. Simply swap out the butter, cream cheese and yogurt for your favorite alternatives. I suggest coconut oil and Kite Hill cream cheese and plain greek yogurt. 

Nutrition Information: 12 servings 376 cals / 20g F /43g C /8g P

20 comments
7

Leave a Comment

20 comments

Nickol March 11, 2021 - 9:02 am

Do you by chance know calorie, carb, protein content?

Reply
sammymoniz March 15, 2021 - 10:47 am

Nickel, I do not yet provide that information but you can easy attain but copying the recipe link into MyFitnessPal.

Reply
Nicole March 12, 2021 - 3:14 pm

Made these today but subbed blackberries for frozen cranberries because that’s what I had on hand…and they are DELICIOUS! Can’t stop eating them

Reply
sammymoniz March 15, 2021 - 10:48 am

Nicole, what a great sub!!

Reply
Lauren March 18, 2021 - 1:34 pm

I made these last night using frozen blackberries—they are outstanding. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

Reply
sammymoniz March 19, 2021 - 10:54 am

Lauren, so glad you enjoyed them!

Reply
McKenzie Ann March 29, 2021 - 10:42 pm

These were SO yummy! I used raspberries instead of blackberries and I am obsessed! The hardest part is waiting for them to cool down for an hour LOL! Will definitely be making these again…might try apple cinnamon.

Reply
sammymoniz March 30, 2021 - 12:21 pm

McKenzie, I LOVE to hear this and agreeeee the cooling is the hardest part but SO worth it!

Reply
Sarah March 31, 2021 - 2:54 pm

I was so excited to make these and they’re delicious, but I found that my oats seemed chewy when I was expecting crispy. Any suggestions?

Reply
sammymoniz April 1, 2021 - 9:47 am

Sarah, you are spot on! They are going to be more soft and chewy vs. crispy. It’s more of a tender fig newton texture than a natures valley crunchy granola bar, does that make sense in this context?? When there’s sugar and cheesecake involved I’m pretty happy either way but hope that sets the proper expectation haha

Reply
Iona April 11, 2021 - 7:08 am

They are just delicious ! Thanks for this easy recipe, feeding the frasers (and YOU of course) is GOLD.

Reply
sammymoniz April 12, 2021 - 10:53 am

Thanks for giving this recipe a try and for your kind words Iona!

Reply
Diane Snopek April 11, 2021 - 9:48 am

I used frozen triple berry mix….love, love, LOVE. Thank you for sharing!!

Reply
sammymoniz April 12, 2021 - 10:53 am

Diane– that sounds perfect!

Reply
Mary Decker May 6, 2021 - 10:04 am

Have made these weekly for a little over a month now. Various berry combinations and with some tweaks. Coconut oil instead of butter. Non fat cream cheese and non fat Greek yogurt, 1/2 T less sugar here and there and 1 scoop of vanilla sfh pure whey to bump the protein just a bit and the other subs to bring down the fats for my macros. I eat a lot for my overall intake in a day and sometimes that’s hard and boring but these oat bars really give me something to look forward to – they taste great and never get old, they have great balance for my macros, they provide great energy AND my husband loves them too so nothing ever goes to waste. A weekly staple. Thank you Sammy.

Reply
Geneviève May 27, 2021 - 1:35 am

Can I use frozen berries??

Reply
sammymoniz June 1, 2021 - 7:55 am

you bet! I would let them sit out an extra 10 minutes or so before baking but they do not need to be fully thawed.

Reply
Paula July 14, 2021 - 10:49 am

Yet again Sammy you have constructed a winning recipe. Made this today and my partner and son could not get enough. Thank you for your excellent recipes. I love to cook and bake but am not that skilled and yet your recipes are easy to follow, contain a great mix of ingredients and it is a thrill feeling like a success in the kitchen. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Reply
Liz Diaz January 10, 2022 - 11:22 pm

Gotta say my kitchen and living room smell AMAZING right now! Most definitely the hardest part is waiting and try not to dig in lol, question recipe says eggs divided, not sure if thats only using yolks only since that what i did and wondering the whites?? Thanks

Reply
Dragonfly February 12, 2022 - 7:07 am

Is ‘square baking pan’ 9×9? 12 servings out of an 9×9 at 376 cal seems alot, hoping for a typo 76 cals 🙂

Has anyone made this in a 9×11?

Gonna try this substituting:
– Coconut Oil for Butter
– Maple Syrup for the sugars

They look awesome, thank you for the recipe!

Reply

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