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.
Sandra Sliva
Could you make these in cupcake liners like your mini cheesecakes?
Sam
Hi Sandra! That should work, but I’m not sure on a bake time. 🙂
Kim
WHOA! Absolutely delicious and no water bath!!! Thank you for taking the time to perfect this recipe. 8500 ft 50 minutes no changes to recipe
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Kim! 🙂
Doug
I baked these for the first time last night. Followed the directions pretty much to the tee except I did not have a 9×9 baking dish so the closest I had was a 9×11 (approximate). The Oreo crust had a slight burned taste initially, but after chilling in the fridge all night it disappeared. The only thing I can figure is that the crust was a little thinner than your recipe so probably didn’t need quite as long to bake. The filling was delicious. Gave some to several neighbors who enjoyed it. The top cracked so I figured I must have beat the eggs a little too long based on your tips. Will definitely make again. Very glad I found this site as I have made several of the recipes during our work at home period. No complaints on any that I have tried.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Doug! 🙂
Pam
Love these chocolate cheesecake bars! A hit with everyone! So delicious!
DelishDiva-Z
Can I add chocolate gram crackers for the crust instead of oreos? Would it taste good?
Sam
I think that would be great! You could use my graham cracker crust for this recipe as your guide, only substitute the chocolate graham crackers for regular ones. I hope that helps!
Cynthia Goebel
How can I make a 13×9 pan? Would I 1 1/2 times the recipe?
Sam
I think you would need to almost double the recipe to fit it in a 9×13 pan. 🙂
Kate
For the 9x 13, I think 1 & 1/2 times would work. I made a different cheesecake bar recipe and it called for 32 oz of cream cheese, 4 large eggs, 1 cup of sugar.
I’m wondering if the Best Cheesecake recipe measurements would work because of that? Just not sure the chocolate amount would be adjusted?
Sam
You would want to increase all of the ingredients proportionally here. If you don’t adjust the chocolate the same way you are definitely going to lose a lot of the chocolate flavor.
Esther
Is there anything I can use to substitute for the sour cream? I want to make this non-dairy. Can use soy cream cheese but don’t know of any non dairy sour cream substitute.
Sam
Hi Esther! I’m honestly not sure of a non-dairy substitute. Hopefully someone else can chime in with some ideas.
Sara
I feel uncomfortable about baking a cheesecake. I usually just refrigerate cheesecakes when I’m making them; the one time I baked one it turned out pretty gross. Can we refrigerate this rather than bake it?
Sam
Hi Sara, while there are some no-bake cheesecake recipes out there, this one does need to be baked due to the eggs. Otherwise it would not set up properly.
Maren
I have an odd question- I going to make this, but SOMEONE ate all my chocolate chips (okay, it was mostly me) So! Do I need to tweak the rest of the ingredients at all to make regular cheesecake bars?
Sam
😂 Your comment made me laugh! You should be fine to just omit the chocolate, they may need to cook a few minutes less just because they’ll be ever so slightly thinner. Enjoy!! 🙂
Jess @ Sweetest Menu
These photos are gorgeous Sam! Wow! And I am EXACTLY the same as you. I eat EVERYTHING, all the time, especially when I’m cooking. It is a serious hazard of being of a food blogger! 😛
Hira
Sam, these look absolutely incredible! I love cheesecake. I love chocolate. I love Oreos. I also love fitting into my jeans, but I’ll make an exception for these! 😉
Sues
These look sooo perfect! Chocolate cheesecake is my favorite kind of cheesecake and that drizzle makes these bars even more amazing!
Emma @ Lights, Camera, BAKE!
Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate! You’re speaking my language with these bars. I absolutely love these and the Oreo crust is my favourite to make also! 😉
Joanne
These bars look decadent, and I had to chuckle over the comment you made about your husband! 🙂
Emily
Hi! Do you use the whisk or paddle attachment on the mixer? Also, is there any difference is using a springform pan, other than it not being a bar? Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Sam
I use the paddle! I actually think this would do perfectly fine in a springform pan, I intend to try it out that way myself next weekend. I hope you love it!!
Emily
I’m going to make this for my boyfriend’s birthday this week! I take it this recipe is good to go without a water bath, no matter the pan, but would a standard ~60 minutes in a spring-form be sufficient before checking it? I haven’t made a cheesecake in years.
Shawnna Griffin
hey girl- these look amazing! yummy!