My Chocolate Cheesecake Bars are made with just 8 ingredients (including the crust!) and NO water bath! They’re perfectly chocolatey, with real melted chocolate in the batter and an Oreo cookie crust. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Chocolate Cheesecake Made Easy
These chocolate cheesecake bars are pure chocolate bliss, from their buttery Oreo crust to the creamy chocolate cheesecake itself. My recipe incorporates real melted dark chocolate into the batter for a perfectly rich cheesecake base. These will be your new go-to chocolate fix!
You loved my regular cheesecake bars so much that I had to re-share this chocolate version. It’s just as simple as the regular version, with minimal ingredients (only 8) and unfussy directions (no water bath!). I personally love making cheesecake bars because they have all the flavor of a full-sized cheesecake, but they bake in half the time. Pretty lovable, right?
My cheesecake bars are:
- Quick and portable.
- Shockingly simple, with just 8 ingredients!
- Fancy, but also so easy.
- Crack-free WITHOUT a water bath!
What You Need
Here’s what you need for perfectly chocolatey, crack-free chocolate cheesecake bars:
- Oreo cookies.There’s no need to remove the filling from our Oreo cookies, since we aren’t using a springform pan (the filling can sometimes leak through the cracks in the pan). I do recommend removing the filling if you’re making my Oreo cheesecake though!
- Chocolate. For the richest possible chocolate flavor, we’ll melt down 60-75% cacao dark chocolate bars. I’ve also used dark chocolate chips when they were all that I’ve had on hand, but I definitely prefer the bars.
- Softened cream cheese. If your cream cheese is too cold, it can leave lumps in your cheesecake. It can also cause the chocolate to harden when you add it, leaving chunks of hard chocolate in your cheesecake. We want a smooth cheesecake, so let that cream cheese soften!
- Sour cream. Not all cheesecake recipes call for sour cream, and that’s just mind-boggling to me! As I mentioned in my no-bake cheesecake recipe, sour cream is critical for that real, rich cheesecake flavor. I can pick out a cheesecake made without sour cream from a mile away… and I’ll pass on it every time.
SAM’S TIP: Go easy on your eggs! Don’t over-beat the eggs when you add them; just stir them in on low-speed until just combined. Make sure to pause after each egg to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Over-beating the eggs can actually ruin the texture of your cheesecake and can cause cheesecake to crack.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
- Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Stir in sour cream and vanilla, then add melted chocolate.
- With mixer on low-speed, add eggs one at a time, stirring just until combined after each addition,
- Spread batter evenly into Oreo crust. Bake until set.
SAM’S TIP: Lining your pan with foil or parchment serves two purposes: it makes for easy removal and clean-up, but it also prevents cracks! Your chocolate cheesecake bars will contract as they cool, and the foil or parchment will contract with them for crack-free results!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Simply follow my graham cracker crust recipe and press it into your pan like the Oreo crust–no need to bake it first.
Yes! You can double this recipe to make it in a 9×13 pan. They will need to bake longer this way, so keep an eye on them!
Yes! These cheesecake bars can be wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months.
While you can certainly enjoy these plain, I love to top mine with whipped cream and strawberries (regular or macerated strawberries work great!).
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Oreo Crust
- 24 Oreo cookies
- 4 Tablespoons (56 g) butter melted
Chocolate Cheesecake
- 8 oz (226 g) dark chocolate 60-75%
- 24 oz (680 g) cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 g) sour cream
- 3 eggs room temperature
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
Oreo Crust
- Preheat oven to 325F (160C) and line a 9×9" baking pan with parchment paper or foil.
- Place your Oreo cookies in a food processor and process until pulverized to fine crumbs.24 Oreo cookies
- Add melted butter and pulse again until well-combined.4 Tablespoons (56 g) butter
- Pour cookie crumb mixture into prepared baking pan and use the back of a spoon to press the crumbs firmly into an even layer. Set aside.
Chocolate Cheesecake
- Chop your chocolate bars into small pieces (if using chocolate chips, you do not need to chop) and place in a medium-sized bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir well. Microwave again for 15 seconds and stir again, repeat until chocolate is smooth and completely melted.8 oz (226 g) dark chocolate
- In a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand-mixer), beat together softened cream cheese and sugar, scraping down the sides with a spatula occasionally to ensure ingredients are mixed well.24 oz (680 g) cream cheese, 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- Add sour cream and vanilla extract and stir well, pausing once to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup (120 g) sour cream
- With mixer on low-speed, add melted chocolate and stir until completely combined.
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring on low-speed until just combined after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl once more to ensure everything is well-combined.3 eggs
- Pour chocolate cheesecake batter evenly over prepared cookie crust.
- Bake on 325F (160) for 40 minutes or until cheesecake is just set and slightly jiggly to the touch.
- Allow cheesecake to cool to room temperature, and then transfer to refrigerator and chill at least 6 hours before slicing and serving.
- Top with whipped cream, if desired.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They may also be wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Gail
Can you use a glass 8×8 glass pan.
Pat Yanikoski
Hi!
Would this batter work if I wanted to make mini cheesecakes?
Sam
Hi Pat! That should work just fine. 🙂
Abe Cannon
Can I use Oreo thins?
Sam
Hi Abe! You will likely need more, but they should work. 🙂
Sylvia
Hi Sam,
I would like to make the chocolate cheesecake for a family gathering and wondered if I used a 9×13 pan, do I just double the recipe, or would I need to make 2 9×9 pans? It looks like a delicious dessert, especially with the Oreo cookie crust.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Sylvia! We think you would need to almost double the recipe to fit it in a 9×13 pan. 🙂
Christa
I made this last week. It looked so delicious and I really had a sweet tooth that I wanted to satisfy. LOL
I forgot the small information about adding foil or parchment paper and just sprayed the pan only. The batter made one large round pan and a very small round pan. The small one turned out perfectly with no cracks. The other cracked with 20 minutes still remaining on the timer.
I can’t say that its bad…it really is good. I just can’t put my finger on it, but it feels like something is missing. I don’t know if it’s the slight lemony taste I enjoy with my regular cheese cake or what it could be.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re sorry they didn’t measure up to your expectations, Christa 😞 Sounds like you may enjoy our regular cheesecake bars a little more.
Maureen McInerney
I made this yesterday and let it chill overnight. It came out perfectly! The tip about using parchment paper was awesome – when the mixture contacted, the paper remained “adhered” to the sides and I didn’t have any cracks. It was also ridiculously easy to lift the whole thing out of the pan. I absolutely LOVE your recipes and instructions!! Thanks so much.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so glad it was helpful, Marueen! Thanks for giving our recipe a try and coming back to leave a review–we really appreciate it! Enjoy 🥰
Jayne
Hi Sam, I love your recipes and really want to make the chocolate cheesecake bars, however, in the UK we don’t have block cream cheese, do you think it would work with soft Philladelphia. Thank you.
Sam
Hi Jayne! Unfortunately I’m not sure how the spreadable type of cream cheese will hold up. I believe it typically has additives to make it more easily spreadable and could prevent the cheesecake bars from setting properly. That being said, if you do try it and it works well I would love to know so I can relay the info to others. 🙂
Kaylee
Hi Sam. I’ve made these twice already and my whole family loves them! I was wondering if you could offer me any tips to prevent cracking? I always get lots of cracks and while it’s still delicious, yours is so much prettier! I bake in an 8×8” and yes.. some batter gets sacrificed in the end after not fitting 😢. Is my pan just too full?
Thank you!
Sam
Hi Kaylee! I’m so glad you have enjoyed them! I actually have a few tips sprinkled throughout the post to help prevent cracking. 🙂
JEANNE MEYER
Jayne, can you find block creamcheese online or through a dairy ?
Jayne
Unfortunately not Jeanne, its not available here at all, but thank you for the suggestion.
Kailey
Hi Sam!
This is the first recipe of yours I made and it was almost perfect! I like a sweeter chocolate so instead of dark I used milk. Probably a mistake, lol. When I first tasted the batter with the 8oz you recommend I could barely taste it. I ended up using the whole bag (11.5 oz). After baking and chilling, the edges seemed a bit burnt (and tasted a bit burnt) and the entire cake sunk around the edges 🙁
I cooked it at the temperature and time you recommended. Do you think it sunk becuase of the extra chocolate? Any thoughts on how to correct this next time?
Even though it sunk it was still DELICIOUS and perfect in the middle. Love this recipe.
Sam
Hi Kailey! Unfortunately I think the milk chocolate is the issue here. It’s much milder and adding all of that extra chocolate probably caused the sinking issues. It is sweet even when you don’t use milk chocolate. I would give it a try as it is written and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. 🙂
Jody
I’m looking to do this recipe but in place of melted chocolate I want to use either nutella or biscoff spread. would that work following the same directions? or I was thinking even to try 1/2 melted chocolate and half nutella. What do u think?
I’m going to use an 8×8 inch pan though, and use 16oz cream cheese and 2 eggs.
Sam
Hi Jody! You’ll likely need to melt the biscoff or Nutella a bit to help it spread but those toppings will be fine, just be aware they won’t likely become firm (and don’t heat them too much or they’ll become greasy). Haven’t tried the recipe with your other modifications though to say how that will go, but I hope you love the cheesecake bars!