Nutella Cheesecake Bars are the perfect dessert! You won’t be able to stop eating these once you try them. And the best part? You won’t believe how incredibly easy this cheesecake bar recipe is to prepare at home. Everyone will beg you for the recipe!
I know I’m in the minority but I’ve never been a huge fan of cheesecake. It’s a bit too heavy for me. I love the flavor but a full slice is always too much. If it’s up to me, I’d much rather enjoy cheesecake bars or parfaits. Something smaller and lighter.
These Nutella cheesecake bars are perfectly portioned treats that will make a wonderful addition to holiday parties, birthday celebrations or even just a regular Sunday night.
A little Nutella straight out of the jar is never a bad thing. These bars are a really good excuse to keep some on hand.
Tips For Perfect Cheesecake Bars
- When creating decorative swirls, take care not to go overboard. You don’t want to stir the ingredients together. A few zigzags and you should be good to go!
- After the bars have finished baking and cooling the ends might shrink up and away slightly from the pan, that’s perfectly normal. I slice the ends off for presentation purposes and keep them for myself. They’re delicious.
- Feeling creative? You could try swapping out the Nutella for hot fudge, peanut butter, caramel, dulce de leche or cookie butter. So many possibilities!
If you love cheesecake, be sure to also check out my recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake.
Or maybe you’re seeking out Nutella recipes? Try my Macerated Cherry Nutella Pop Tarts, or my Nutella Irish Cream Milkshake!
Nutella Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
for the crust
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
for the filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 4 tablespoons Nutella, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x9 inch pan and line with parchment paper, allowing 2 sides to hang over the edges.
- Prepare the crust: in a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt. Use clean hands, a fork or a pastry blender to mix in the butter until its well blended with the other ingredients. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown.
- While the crust is cooking, prepare the filling: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the softened cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, egg and 1 tablespoon Nutella, scraping down the sides to ensure that the ingredients are evenly combined. Continue mixing on medium speed until well blended, 1-2 minutes.
- Place the remaining 3 tablespoons of Nutella in a microwave-safe dish and heat in 15 second intervals, stirring each time, until the spread has thinned out and will be easier to swirl onto the top of the cheesecake mixture.
- Remove the pan from the oven and pour the filling over the crust, using a spatula to spread evenly. Drizzle the warm Nutella on top and use the tip of a spoon to swirl decoratively, taking care not to disturb the crust.
- Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the filling is set. Cool for 30 minutes and then refrigerate for 30 minutes. Slice into 16 bars and serve. Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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I love cheesecake bars, they are just the perfect amount of richness. These are gorgeous!
This looks amazing Jennifer! I et everyone would go crazy for them!
“A little Nutella straight out of the jar is never a bad thing” – it made my day! : )) And the bars look amazing!
I think you just made my dreams come true – Nutella and cheesecake in one stunning treat!! And now I have to go find my lonely jar and a spoon.
I’m definitely all ofr slicing hte ends off and keeping for myself. This looks DELICIOUS!
The swirl of nutella on top of these bars makes them look so fancy AND completely addicting!
wish there was a picture from the side angle so we can see what it looks like.. instead of always seeing the top… to me i see no crust. – thanks
Sorry… it looks like a pretty standard crust from the side.
oh okay i see. ill definitly try making it still & excited to try them out – thank you !!
Chocolate hazelnut is my dessert weakness! Beautiful swirling. :)
I’d like to double this (at least!) for a wedding shower. What size pan do you think would be safe to use?
That’s a good question. If you want to be really safe, you could double/triple/quadruple (whatever) the recipe and then divide it evenly into separate 9×9 inch pans. The benefit of doing this is that you’ll know the exact cooking time. If you use a larger pan, it will effect the cooking time. If you want to use a larger pan, the closest approximation I can think of is to use 2 – 9×13 inch pans and triple the amount of batter. That should yield a similar sized cheesecake bar in terms of thickness, but you’ll want to keep an eye on the cooking time. It will probably take a bit longer for the center to set. I hope that helps! :)
I always keep any trimmings and edge bits for myself – cooks perk! These look fabulous, the swirls of nutella are beautiful :)
My grandchildren love Nutella and cheese cakeso, this recipe will be a hit. One question, will a graham cracker crust, instead of the pie crust, work for this recipe?
Hi Suzy! The crust is more like a shortbread cookie as opposed to a pie crust, if you’re worried a pie crust-type texture and flavor wouldn’t work with this (I agree that it wouldn’t). So the texture is firm and buttery, making it a very stable option for the bars. It also tastes amazing, in my opinion. However! I’ve seen plenty of recipes for bars using a graham cracker crust, so I’m sure it will work just fine. Maybe try this crust from Martha Stewart?
These were EPIC. Thank you!