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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great
This was so easy, and so good!
I didn’t have any dark chocolate on hand, but I did have 3 Dairy Milk milk/dark bars, so I used those, and added in the salt, and it was perfection.
I was a bit worried about how runny the mixture was and thought I had done something wrong, but I tossed it in the fridge overnight and the next morning I ate a piece for breakfast.
Will definitely be making this one again, thank you for this too easy dessert!
This was so easy, and so good!
I didn’t have any dark chocolate on hand, but I did have 3 Dairy Milk milk/dark bars, so I used those, and added in the salt, and it was perfection.
I was a bit worried about how runny the mixture was and thought I had done something wrong, but I tossed it in the fridge overnight and the next morning I ate a piece for breakfast.
Will definitely be making this one again, thank you for this too easy dessert!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this tuned out great for you with what you had on hand and will make again!
Death by Chocolate is right up there with chocolate mousse!
I did add salt and yes, it does not taste salty. It heightens the chocolate taste and makes the dessert taste “expensive.” :D The cookie crumbs did not solidify – not enough butter? better to hand mix it? As soon as the batch was over, my husband insisted I make another one immediately! For this second round, I withheld the salt and just solidified the chocolate mixture in a bowl (skipped the crust). Without salt, the dessert tastes more ordinary but still delicious.
Death by Chocolate is right up there with chocolate mousse!
I did add salt and yes, it does not taste salty. It heightens the chocolate taste and makes the dessert taste “expensive.” :D The cookie crumbs did not solidify – not enough butter? better to hand mix it? As soon as the batch was over, my husband insisted I make another one immediately! For this second round, I withheld the salt and just solidified the chocolate mixture in a bowl (skipped the crust). Without salt, the dessert tastes more ordinary but still delicious.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad these were so good you made them twice! With chocolate, a pinch (or more) of salt is always a good idea IMO.
Cookie crumbs not solidifying…my hunch would be actually if the crumbs are too moist, i.e. moisture-logged with butter, they may not solidify and you’d want to add a touch more crumbs. Could be from the humidity in the air this time of year still in many climates that with baking you need a touch more dry ingredients. If you mean they didn’t solidify because the mixture was dry, then more butter would be in order.
There are SO MANY ADS on your site that I cannot READ the content!! This is unnecessary and irritating!!
You were easily able to leave a rude comment though. The ads must not be that debilitating.
HAHA! I’m dead. I like you even more, if that is possible! Thank you for all of your hard work and delicious recipes :-)
You’re welcome and thanks for your support!
You have so many recipes,and l’d like to pin some of them. I don’t see anyway l can. No button to hit. I don’t always have time to copy,and l don’t have a printer.
Thanks Averie
Upper Right or Left hand corner of every photo there is a floating Pin It button.
Roll your mouse over the upper right area of the image and the Pinterest button will appear. (It was not visible to me until I accidentally rolled the pointer over it.)
…actually, it appears when you move the pointer anywhere over the image.
Love your recipes but please, please! Stop recommending the use of aluminum foil for easy clean up. We are perfectly capable of washing dishes and there is certainly no need to add this awful item to our landfill.
To each their own. I make things that can get pretty sticky at times and would prefer to use foil then to scrub a pan for an hour trying to get all the goup off. This can happen when I’m testing recipes for my website and I’m not sure how something is going to go. But of course you can always leave the foil off.
Unfortunately chefs, bakers and cooks alike use foil like it is tissue paper… It’s just part o the industry…. I use the Dawn power-scrub spray foam it works amazing on burnt on or sticky things, I was skeptical about it at first but it really helps cut down clean up.. also I can’t wait to see how this recipe is..
These bars are so rich and decadent. I have made them on three separate occasions, and they never disappoint!
I didn’t have heavy cream on hand so subbed half and half, and it seems to have worked fine.
My personal preference would be to add a little sugar to these, since there is so little, but that really depends how sweet you like your desserts.
I didn’t have heavy cream on hand so subbed half and half, and it seems to have worked fine.
My personal preference would be to add a little sugar to these, since there is so little, but that really depends how sweet you like your desserts.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad the half and half worked just fine.
I just realized as you pointed out, there is no added sugar, but for me, between the Oreos and the various chocolate, they are sweet enough but I am sure that adding 1/2 cup sugar or so to the cream cheese mixture would be fine for the future if someone wants them sweeter. Or to use more of a milk chocolate that is naturally a bit sweeter and less intense than dark varieties.
Hello!
I discovered your site recently and decided to give a try to this recipe. I made it last weekend and it is so good! Thanks for the recipe. I think I’ll make more this week, I’m addicted :)
Hello!
I discovered your site recently and decided to give a try to this recipe. I made it last weekend and it is so good! Thanks for the recipe. I think I’ll make more this week, I’m addicted :)
Glad you tried these bars and they turned out so well for you!
Can I make the crust with chocolate crumbs, rather than the whole Oreo cookie, will the lack of icing alter the base?
I would make as written so you know it will set up. Without the filling, there is less to ‘glue’ the crust together and it may not set up/stick together.
These look amazing! And since we are getting into the holiday season, it’s good to have some make-ahead dessert recipes available.
I actually made these in the dead of summer when I didn’t want to bake anything but then realized they would actually be more fitting for the holiday season and the elegance of it all…so here we are. And yes the make ahead aspect is awesome this time of year!
Wow-these are to die for!!! And no bake also ( not even the crust)! Perfection. What more can this fellow chocolate lover say?!
Yep, I agree!!! They have a lot going for them, especially for us chocolate lovers :) And the no bake aspect is huge – whether it’s during the hot summer or the busy holiday season, I am always a fan of that.