A lightened-up version of a traditional cheesecake using low-fat cream cheese and sugar substitute, plus a delightful blueberry sauce on top. Plus, they’re NO-BAKE and gluten-free too!
Want a fun treat without excess sugar? It's easy to substitute some sugar in a recipe for a low-calorie sugar substitute. I'll show you how to try one out today. And they're easy to make as well! Looking for more recipes on the lighter side? Try Strawberry Angel Food Cake or Sugar-Free Strawberry Pie.
Summer is the time for skinny desserts
It's officially summertime. Yay! You know I'm talking about the school calendar, right? The last day of school was Friday and my kids are super excited to have a couple of months off. I'm psyched because I won't have to wake up at 6:00 am for a while. Hooray!
Summer is a great time to make light desserts with berries. Especially locally grown blueberries! Skinny Blueberry Cheesecake Bars are a lightened-up version of a traditional cheesecake using low fat cream cheese and sugar substitute. Then topped with a heavenly sauce made of blueberries. It's berry delicious and you won't miss the calories one bit! It's gluten-free too, making it perfect for many diets.
The best part about this recipe is that it's NO BAKE. The less I have to turn on the oven in the summer, the better!
ingredients you need for this recipe
Blueberries are the star of this recipe. These fresh blueberries are so sweet and juicy and the perfect ingredient for summer baking or no-bake desserts like this one. (Note the cute little hands that belong to my son.)
How to make Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
1) To make Skinny Blueberry Cheesecake Bars, start by making a cookie crumb crust. Line an 8"x8" pan with foil, letting some hang over the edge. Combine gluten-free cookie crumbs and light butter in a bowl, then pour into pan and press down to form crust. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
2) Whip up the filling. Beat cream cheese and sugar substitute until creamy. Add sour cream and vanilla. Mix to combine. Then stir in plain gelatin which you sprinkle over cold water, then heat in microwave for 20 seconds and stir until dissolved. Pour filling into prepared crust and chill for a few hours.
3) Meanwhile, make your blueberry sauce. In a heavy saucepan, stir together some sugar substitute and cornstarch. Add water, lemon juice, and blueberries. Stir constantly as you bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool.
4) Cut chilled cheesecake into 9 bars. Serve with blueberry sauce.
pro Tips for Making Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- Always add gelatin to cool water, not hot. This lets it bloom and dissolve. Then you add the hot water per the recipe to fully incorporate the gelatin.
- Carefully follow the crust measurements. The ratio is just right so the crust sticks together but doesn't turn so solid you can't cut it when chilled.
- Always use a foil sling to line the pan. This lets you remove the entire cheesecake so you can neatly slice it outside of the pan.
- Don't walk away from the blueberry topping! You need to stir to watch for the perfect consistency as well as keeping it from boiling over and making a mess.
The Best Summer Desserts
What is your favorite summer dessert? Ice cream? Are you like me and hate turning on the oven? I'd love to hear your favorite hot weather treats in the comments below!
You might also like these cool treats
- Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake Pops
- Frosted Lemonade Smoothie
- Sparkling Pink Pineapple Lemonade
- Lemon Chiffon Pie
Want even more? Stay in touch on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram for all my latest updates. If you make this recipe, share a photo on social media tagging @momlovesbaking and using the hashtag #momlovesbaking.
Skinny Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the bars
- 1 cup gluten free cookie crumbs about 10 gf vanilla sandwich cookies
- 3 tablespoons light butter softened
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 ½ teaspoon powdered gelatin
- 16 ounces lowfat cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar substitute I used Swerve
- ¼ cup fat free sour cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the blueberry sauce
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar substitute I used Swerve
- 2 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 tablespoon light butter
Instructions
- Line an 8"x8" baking pan with foil. Leave a 2" overhang on two sides. Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Crush cookies in a food processor or place in a sealed plastic bag and pound with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs.
- In a medium bowl, stir cookie crumbs and butter together with a fork until moistened. Pour mixture into prepared pan and press firmly to form a crust. Place in refrigertor.
- Pour 2 tablespoons water into a small bowl. Then sprinkle gelatin over water. Let it rest while you make the filling.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer for one minute. With the mixer on low, gradually add the sugar substitute. Turn mixer up to medium and beat until sugar is thoroughly combined. Turn mixer off, scrape the bowl, then mix again for a few seconds. Mix in sour cream and vanilla. Heat gelatin mixture in microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until completely dissolved. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the gelatin to the cream cheese mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Pour cream cheese mixture into crust. Smooth top with an offset spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for three hours or overnight. Cut into bars and serve with blueberry sauce. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For the blueberry sauce:
- In a heavy saucepan, stir together the sugar substitute and cornstarch. Stir in lemon juice and water. Add blueberries. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Let it come to a boil and continue boiling for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in butter. Let it cool, then serve with bars. Store sauce in refrigerator with plastic wrap right on top.
Nutrition
All text and images © Lise Ode for Mom Loves Baking. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate. This post may contain affiliate links.
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
These blueberries!! Yum!
Lauren Gaskill | Making Life Sweet says
My husband would just die if I made these! So good!!
Rebecca Hubbell says
These cheesecake bars look absolutely divine and that blueberry sauce is calling my name!