Death by Chocolate No-Bake Cheesecake Bars — Need an easy chocolate dessert that will impress? These chocolate cheesecake bars are creamy, decadent, and loaded with chocolate!! A NO-BAKE and an easy MAKE-AHEAD dessert!!
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Easiest Chocolate Cream Cheese Dessert
If you’re a true chocoholic and love rich and decadent desserts, these easy no-bake cheesecake bars are going to be your new be friend.
They’re very elegant tasting and would be perfect served after a dinner party or at a holiday event. They’re also a great summer dessert when you don’t want to turn on your oven. The thin yet crunchy chocolate cookie crust pairs perfectly with the super smooth and creamy chocolate cream cheese filling.
Normally I laugh when people make 16 servings from a 9×9-inch pan but in this case, you really don’t need more than a small square because they’re so rich and satisfying.
You could serve them with whipped cream or whipped topping but we preferred the unadulterated chocolate glory.
Ingredients in Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
To make this easy chocolate dessert, you’ll need:
- Oreos
- Unsalted butter
- Dark chocolate
- Cream cheese
- Heavy whipping cream
- Bailey’s Irish Cream or Kahlua (optional)
- Salt
- Mini chocolate chips
How to Make Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
No-bake cheesecake bars take very little time to prepare, and with the help of a food processor everything comes together quickly. Let’s review how easy this no-bake chocolate dessert is to make:
- In a food processor, blend together Oreo cookies, melted butter, and melted chocolate for the crust.
- Top the crust with a mixture of melted chocolate, heavy cream, cream cheese, and an optional tablespoon of Baileys Irish Cream or Kahlua.
- Finally, sprinkle the surface with mini chocolate chips and allow your chocolate cheesecake bars to set up for at least 3 hours in the fridge, or overnight.
Cheesecake Bars FAQs
I do not recommend using chocolate chips at all for this recipe (except sprinkled on top, of course). They are more resistant to melting than you want. Use a chocolate bar to make these no-bake cheesecake bars.
Absolutely! Because these bars need to chill for at least 3 hours, you’ll have to plan ahead a bit. There is no harm in making them the day before you need them and letting them chill overnight. They will also keep for weeks in the fridge and remain virtually unchanged in taste.
Your mileage may vary of course and I don’t recommend making them 2 weeks in advance of a fancy dinner party and then serving them, but if your teenager happens to find a few in the back of the fridge a couple weeks later and proclaims them just as delicious as when you first made them, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Point being, they are an excellent make-ahead dessert because you can make them well in advance and cross that off your to-do list.
For best results, use full-fat cream cheese. Note that you must use cream cheese that comes in a brick and NOT the whipped / spreadable cream cheese that’s sold in a tub.
If the chocolate cheesecake filling isn’t setting up, it possibly needs more time in the fridge. The filling also won’t set up if you use spreadable / whipped cream cheese from a tub, or if you use milk or half and half in place of the heavy cream.
Since these chocolate cheesecake bars aren’t baked, you need all of that fat from the dairy products to ensure the filling sets up properly!
Yes! Once the chocolate cheesecake bars have set, you should cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap to keep them fresh.
Yes! You can double the ingredients and assemble the bars in a 9×13-inch pan.
Tips for Making Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
You’re going to need 9 ounces of chocolate that all ultimately gets melted. I used a mixture of Trader Joe’s 54% Dark Pound Plus and 72% Dark Chocolate bars. I love the Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Bars because they melt like a dream and they are cost efficient. But you’re welcome to use your favorite dark chocolate bar.
I wouldn’t go much darker than about 72% because there is no added sugar in this recipe and the darker the chocolate is, it’s naturally less sweet and more bitter and you don’t want the dessert to be too bitter tasting because the chocolate is uber dark.
However, I wouldn’t go with milk chocolate either. That’s too wimpy (sorry) to give you the decadent mouth-feel this recipe aims for.
Also note that I used mini chocolate chips to sprinkle on top and recommend doing the same. Full size chocolate chips are going to be somewhat ‘clunky’ for the size and scale of these bars. Mini is the way to go here, if possible.
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Death-By-Chocolate No Bake Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 18 Oreo cookies
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon dark chocolate, melted
- 4 ounces brick-style cream cheese, softened
- 8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon Baileys Irish Cream or Kahlua, optional
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional and to taste but recommended
- ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a 9×9-inch pan with aluminum foil for easier cleanup and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To the canister of a food processer, add the Oreos (whole) and process on high speed until you have fine crumbs; set aside.
- To a small microwave-safe bowl, add the butter, 1 tablespoon chocolate, and heat on high power until the chocolate and butter have melted and can be stirred smooth.
- Pour melted chocolate and butter mixture into the food processor, process on high speed to incorporate, turn crumb mixture out into the prepared pan, and hard-pack the mixture to form and even flat crust layer; set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, and beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed until fluffy; set aside.
- To a separate, large, microwave-safe bowl, add the 8 ounces chopped chocolate, heavy cream, and heat in 30-second increments until the chocolate has melted and can be stirred smooth into the cream and mixture is silky, likely about 90 seconds total, but microwaves vary and you don’t want to scorch your mixture.
- Transfer the creamy chocolate mixture into the bowl with the cream cheese and beat on high power until smooth and combined.
- Optionally add the liquor and/or salt. I really recommend not skipping the salt because it complements the chocolate flavors in the dessert and balances the richness. Actually, I added 1 full teaspoon and we still didn’t think it tasted like a salted chocolate dessert but all tastes and preferences vary.
- Evenly spread the mixture over the crust.
- Evenly sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight or a few days in advance, before slicing and serving. After the 3-hour point when dessert is well chilled, cover with foil when dessert is in the fridge. Initially, there will be some heat which will create condensation and that’s why initially you don’t want to cover it but after it’s sufficiently chilled, yes cover it.
Notes
- Dessert will keep for at least 10 days in the fridge, and likely much longer, but store and consume it for as long as you’re comfortable.
- Recipe adapted from BHG
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This looks delicious! Can I use an 8 x 8 metal pan?
I have not tried. It will be quite full but it probably will be fine but I haven’t tested it.
Excellent taste, I used all dark chocolate products. I did chocolate shavings on top instead of chips. I used Bailey’s. My only issue, really didn’t taste anything like cheesecake.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Julia, and I’m glad the taste was excellent despite not having not having a strong cheesecake flavor. I find that when you do add flavoring to cheesecake, it does mute some of the overall cheesecake flavor that you have when it’s purely plain. I have a great “plain” cheesecake recipe if you’d like to try that https://www.averiecooks.com/new-york-cheesecake/
I wanted to make death by chocolate bars. I do not have kaluah
or baileys what can I substitute? it looks so delicious.
Love your recipes
It is optional so you can just omit if you don’t have either. Thanks for being a fan of my recipes!
Can I use coffee instead of liquor to enhance the flavor? If so, how much would you recommend. Thanks! Can’t wait to make these!
If you want to swap the 1 tbsp Baileys or Kahlua for coffee, then you can use 1 tbsp brewed coffee.
This might be a foolish question but how do you know what a Tablespoon of chocolate is when you’re breaking it off the bar to melt? In my case two tablespoons as I will be making a double batch?
You will just have to eyeball it unless you want to weigh it. Approx 14-15 grams. But it’s just enough to mix with the butter and crumbs so everything will combine and then you can pack it into the pan for the crust layer.
Sounds good
These were very good but really not what I would consider cheesecake bars. They’d be more aptly named chocolate truffle bars. Because I was specifically looking for a cheesecake flavor and texture, I was a little disappointed in the results. Otherwise, they are decadent and easy to make. Because my chocolate was 70% dark, I added a little powdered sugar, which seemed to work well. I might make these again sometime but will try another recipe for chocolate cheesecake bars.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I am glad you enjoyed them overall. For me ‘cheesecake bars’ really varies from place to place, restaurant to restaurant, or home-kitchen to kitchen. It’s not true chocolate cheesecake but for me, I don’t prefer true chocolate cheesecake although if you do, then these are not quite that. However, I don’t know if I would call them truffle bars either….which is why I didn’t exactly know what to call them and came up with the title years ago and they’ve been an overall reader favorite ever since!
This recipe looks fab. However I live in Ireland & we cannot buy Brick style cream cheese. Can you recommend any substitutes that might work for this recioe?
The issue with “spreadable” types of cream cheese is that they have a high water content and you need fat not water for this to set up properly. You cannot get the Philadelphia brand of cream cheese in a brick? I have seen it in many countries but I have never been to Ireland so I don’t know.
If you can’t get it, I would go to a specialty grocery store and see what they have that’s a full fat cream cheese and try your hand with that.
This recipe looks fab.
This sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it. Do you think this can be made ahead and frozen? I read that it lasts in the fridge, but I’m thinking to make it 2 weeks ahead and would still like it to taste fresh- haha!
If you want something to taste fresh and new, then you really shouldn’t freeze it. It will be “fine” but if you’re serving it at an event or for guests, I would make it within a day or two prior to your event rather than freeze it and then thaw it. Chocolate changes a bit in those processes in terms of the color and the texture will change a bit.
I don’t have a food processor could I just use a hand mixer or a blender for the crust? I was also thinking that it would be great if you could have a jump to recipe button.
The Jump button is coming.
As for a food processor, there is really no way to pulverize the Oreos with a hand mixer like you would get with a food proc. You could try in a blender, that would be better than a hand mixer.
I made this recipe with Dove dark chocolate and it was amazing! I used an 8×8 pan and it was just fine. I cannot wait to make it again – it was so delicious!
I made this recipe with Dove dark chocolate and it was amazing! I used an 8×8 pan and it was just fine. I cannot wait to make it again – it was so delicious!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was amazing and turned out fine in an 8×8 pan!