Simple Cherry Cheesecake Bars — Easy Dessert for a Crowd 🍒

Food for the Soul

Some recipes feed your family. Some recipes feed your soul. These Simple Cherry Cheesecake Bars do both — and they come with a free therapy session courtesy of an innocent bag of graham crackers. Let me explain… (Stephanie’s video is embedded in the recipe card and her story continues after the recipe.)

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Stephanie Longstreth

Simple Cherry Cheesecake Bars

Crunchy graham cracker crust, smooth and creamy cheesecake filling, and loaded with cherry pie filling on top — these bars hit ALL the notes! Easy to make and perfect for feeding a crowd.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 28 minutes mins

Servings: 20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients

  

Graham Cracker Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter melted

Cheesecake Filling:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 16 oz cream cheese softened
• 8 oz Cool Whip

Topping:

• 2 cans cherry pie filling or any pie filling of your choice

Equipment

• 9×13 Baking Pan
• Large mixing bowl
• Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer

Method

 

Graham Cracker Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter together in a 9×13 pan.
3. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan.
4. Bake for 5-8 minutes until set. Allow to cool completely before adding filling.

Cheesecake Filling:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine powdered sugar, softened cream cheese, and Cool Whip.
2. Mix with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
3. Place in the fridge until crust has completely cooled.

Assembly:

1. Once crust has cooled completely, spread cheesecake mixture gently and evenly across the crust.
2. Top with cherry pie filling — I used 2 cans to make sure everyone gets enough cherries!
3. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Video

Notes

The graham cracker crushing step is highly therapeutic — feel free to be aggressive. You’re welcome. 😄 Any pie filling works beautifully in this recipe — try blueberry, strawberry, peach, or mixed berry for a fun variation. Make sure the crust is completely cooled before adding the filling or it will melt. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This recipe makes 16-20 squares depending on how you cut them — perfect for potlucks, holidays, church gatherings, and any time you need to feed a crowd fast!

The crust requires crushed graham crackers. And I may have been a little more aggressive than necessary in the crushing process. My middle name is mess — just ask anyone in this kitchen — but I have found that aggressively banging graham crackers is significantly cheaper than actual therapy. So there’s that.

These Cherry Cheesecake Bars have everything — a buttery crunchy graham cracker crust, a smooth and creamy cheesecake filling (made with Cool Whip), and a gorgeous cherry pie filling on top. I used two full cans of cherry pie filling because in this house everyone gets enough cherries. No skimping. You could use blueberry, strawberry, or any pie filling you love — but I am a cherry girl through and through.

Want to know the history of everyone’s favorite no-bake dessert? The cheesecake has a longer story than you might think — it goes all the way back to ancient Greece.

Makes 16-20 squares, feeds a crowd beautifully, and keeps in the fridge for 3 days. If it lasts that long.

Oh — and I hope you stayed until the end of the video. Olivia didn’t realize the camera was still on. You’re welcome. 😄🍒

More Easy Crowd Desserts You’ll Make on Repeat

If simple cherry cheesecake bars are your kind of dessert, here are a few more that are just as easy and just as crowd-pleasing:

• 3 Ingredient Cherry Dump Cake — if you love cherry you need this in your life immediately — three ingredients and it’s done
• Chewy Oatmeal Cookie Bars — My Mom’s Ancient Recipe — Stephanie’s most-requested cookie, straight from a cookbook called Straight from the Horse’s Mouth
• Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — quick, easy, and gone in minutes at any gathering

Want crowd-friendly recipes like this one in your inbox every Saturday? Join Stephanie’s weekly newsletter — it’s free, it’s fun, and there’s always room at the table!

Simple cherry cheesecake bars — About Stephanie’s Recipes

Stephanie’s recipes are a little bit of everything — treasured old family recipes passed down through generations, dishes she has developed and made her own over the years, great finds from church ladies (because if you want a good recipe, ask a church lady!), and inspiration from food bloggers and corners of the internet. Sometimes she flexes her culinary muscles and creates something spectacular. But most of the time? Quick, easy, and absolutely delicious. Because at the end of the day, Stephanie cooks for her family and her people — and the best recipe is the one that brings everyone to the table, keeps them there a little longer, and leaves them happy and full.

Want crowd-friendly recipes like this one in your inbox every Saturday? Join Stephanie’s weekly newsletter — it’s free, it’s fun, and there’s always room at the table!