Seriously indulgent and creamy, these chocolate peanut butter cheesecake bars are like eating a peanut butter cup in cheesecake form. Quicker to bake and chill than a full cheesecake, these layered bars are the perfect choice when you need a crowd-pleasing dessert that’s also portable, easy to serve, and handheld.
I’m an author, food photographer, baker, and blogger. And as of today, I can add Cheesecake Ambassador to my list of professional titles too. 😉 This chocolate peanut butter cheesecake bars recipe is sponsored by PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, whose products I’ve long admired and trusted in my baking. I’m thrilled to show off their quality cream cheese today and, as always, all opinions are 100% my own. (You know I never steer you wrong!)
Today I’m breaking down the barrier to making real cheesecake, showing you that it’s not only delicious, but approachable for all home bakers. A little more special than a batch of cookies and not nearly as overwhelming as a tall layer cake, cheesecake bars are the perfect solution when you need a crowd-pleasing dessert without complicated ingredients.
After testing the recipe, I made them for girls night the other week. I chose this recipe because they’re really easy to prep ahead of time and are extra convenient for serving. No fork needed! Each person literally said these are the best dessert they’ve ever had.
(And they’ve tasted many of my creations! Total win!)
These Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars Are:
- Indulgently rich and creamy
- Like a peanut butter cup in cheesecake form
- Sitting on a buttery chocolate cookie crust
- Topped with chocolate ganache (that sets!)
- Quicker to bake & chill than a full cheesecake
- Handheld individual servings (but you need that napkin!)
- Devoured whenever I make them, whether that’s for a party, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, baby shower, Halloween (top with crushed Reese’s Pieces!), etc.
Plus, there’s no need for a water bath. Let me show you how to make them.
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars:
- Make the crust: You only need 2 ingredients for the crust: Oreo cookies and butter. Grind the cookies into a crumb (the cookie AND the filling), then mix with melted butter. Since this recipe fits a 9×13-inch pan, I slightly scaled up my regular Oreo cookie crust. Same fantastic crust we use for this peanut butter Butterfinger cheesecake, too.
- Pre-bake the crust: Press the crust mixture into a lined 9×13-inch baking pan. Simply line with a piece of parchment paper. If you leave enough overhang on the sides, you can lift the chilled cheesecake bars out of the pan as a whole, which makes cutting squares REALLY easy. Pre-bake crust for 10 minutes.
- Make the peanut butter cheesecake filling: You need brick-style cream cheese, sugar, sour cream (for a little extra creaminess), peanut butter, vanilla extract, salt, and eggs. Good rule of thumb for any and all cheesecake baking: always add the eggs last. You can mix the other ingredients as much as you want, but as soon as you add the eggs, mix just until they’re combined. Over-mixing eggs results in overly dense cheesecake.
- Bake: Spread the filling over the warm crust. Bake until only slightly jiggly in the center. Each of my test batches took 35–37 minutes.
- Cool bars at room temperature.
- Chill: After cooling at room temperature, place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 3–4 hours until sufficiently chilled. Cold cheesecake bars not only taste better, but they cut much easier too.
- Make the ganache topping: We usually make chocolate ganache with chocolate and cream, right? Well, we want a sturdier ganache that will set, so use a fat that’s solid at room temperature: BUTTER! Melt the butter and chocolate together. You can use baking chocolate or chocolate chips. I usually use chocolate chips. This is exactly how I top my mint chocolate brownies, too!
- Let the topping set: Pour and spread the ganache over the chilled pan of cheesecake bars. Let it set completely in the refrigerator, at least 45–60 minutes.
- Cut into squares: Lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang on the sides. For neat slices, wipe your sharp knife clean between each cut.
Different Size Pans
This recipe yields a 9×13-inch pan of cheesecake bars. If this is too big, you can easily halve the recipe for an 8-inch square baking pan. Want to bake a full cheesecake from this recipe? You definitely can. See my recipe notes below. I also give instructions for turning these into individual mini cheesecakes.
I’d obviously never deprive you of chocolate, peanut butter, and cheesecake. The possibilities are endless!!!
3 Success Tips for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
- Use Bricks of Cream Cheese: Cheesecake won’t set up properly if you’re not careful about the type of cream cheese you use. Make sure you use 8-ounce bricks of full-fat cream cheese. Do not use low-fat cream cheese or cream cheese spread that’s sold in a tub. (Save that for bagels!)
- Use Creamy Peanut Butter: Unless otherwise noted, it’s best to use thick and creamy peanut butter in baking recipes, including cheesecake. Avoid natural style or oily peanut butters, which will change the texture of the baked cheesecake. Chunky peanut butter is usually a little drier and thicker, so I recommend avoiding that too.
- Chill the Cheesecake Bars: Like a full cheesecake, these bars must cool down and chill in the refrigerator before slicing. Unlike regular cheesecake, though, you don’t need to cool them in the cooling oven. And since they’re thinner, they take about half the time to cool down as a full cheesecake. That’s always a nice bonus, especially if you’re serving these as dessert when you’re entertaining!
More Cheesecake Recipes
If you need more recipe inspiration, here are plenty of cheesecake recipes to try next:
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
- No Bake Cheesecake
- Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes
- Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars or Lemon Cheesecake
- Nutella Swirl Cheesecake Bars
And if you can’t get enough of the peanut butter + chocolate combination, try this peanut butter ice cream pie or unbelievable peanut butter pie next.
Print
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 36 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours, 5 minutes (includes chilling)
- Yield: 24 squares
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Quicker to bake and chill than a full cheesecake, these chocolate peanut butter cheesecake bars are the perfect choice when you need a crowd-pleasing dessert that’s also portable, easy to serve, and handheld. For best results, follow the recipe as written including sufficiently cooling and chilling the bars.
Ingredients
Crust
- 30 regular Oreos
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
Peanut Butter Filling
- 24 ounces (678g) full-fat brick PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 1 cup (250g) creamy peanut butter (not natural style)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
Chocolate Topping
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter
- 1 heaping cup (around 200g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.
- Make the crust:Â In a food processor or blender, pulse 30 Oreos (including the cream filling) into a fine crumb. You should have about 3 cups crumbs, or 330g. Pour crumbs into a large bowl. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. The mixture will be thick and quite wet. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into prepared pan. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom to make a compact, thick crust. Pre-bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Leave oven on.
- For the peanut butter cheesecake filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and beat until fully combined. Then add the peanut butter, vanilla extract, and salt and beat until fully combined. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. After the 3rd egg is incorporated into the batter, stop mixing. A few small lumps can remain. Whisk the filling a few times by hand to rid any large lumps at the bottom of the bowl.
- Pour the cheesecake filling onto the crust. It’s ok if the crust is still warm. Spread evenly on top with a rubber spatula or back of a spoon. (It will seem like a thick layer of cheesecake filling; that’s ok.)
- Bake for 35–38 minutes or until the cheesecake appears set on top and the edges are browned. The edges may slightly crack. (Mine do!) The bars will be puffy, but will sink slightly down as they cool. Place pan on a wire rack. Cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 3–4 hours (and up to 1 day) before topping with chocolate. If you’re in a rush, place in the freezer for 2 hours (or until chilled throughout.) If you plan to chill the bars for longer than a few hours, loosely cover with aluminum foil after 3–4 hours of chilling.
- For the chocolate topping: Cut the butter into Tablespoon-size pieces. Place into a heat-proof bowl. Pour chocolate chips on top. Place in the microwave and melt in 30-second increments until smooth, stopping and stirring after each. You can also melt together on the stove, stirring constantly until smooth. Let the mixture cool for 2–3 minutes, then pour and spread evenly over chilled cheesecake bars. The cheesecake bars usually have a lip around the border since the center slightly sinks down, so it’s easy to spread the chocolate topping, stopping around the border/lip. If yours don’t have a raised lip around the edges, don’t worry and just spread the filling evenly all over the top.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 45–60 minutes or in the freezer for 30 minutes until the chocolate topping has set. If chilling for longer than 1 hour, loosely cover with aluminum foil after 1 hour of chilling. Chocolate topping must be completely set and solid on top of the cheesecake bars before slicing.
- To slice, lift the bars out of the pan as a whole using the parchment overhang on the sides. Cut into squares with a sharp knife. For extra neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut.
- Cover and store leftover cheesecake bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make-Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare recipe through step 4 up to 2 days in advance. Cover unbaked cheesecake bars and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Continue with step 5. Since they’re cold, bars will take a few extra minutes to bake. To freeze: cool, chill, and slice bars as instructed. Freeze bars between layers of parchment paper for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Baking Pan  | Food Processor or Blender | Glass Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatula | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Chocolate Cookie Crust: You need about 30 whole regular Oreos, which pulse down into about 3 cups, or 330g, of crumbs. If desired, you can substitute 3 cups of graham cracker crumbs, which is about 22–24 full-sheet graham crackers.
- Peanut Butter: Natural-style peanut butter isn’t ideal for peanut butter cheesecake. The filling will be too dry, crumbly, and/or won’t set up properly. I do not recommend crunchy style peanut butter for that same reason. It’s too thick.
- Smaller Pan or Full Cheesecake: For an 8-inch square pan (9-inch is too big), follow the recipe as instructed, but halve the crust, filling, and topping. For the filling, use 1 egg + 1 egg yolk. Bake time is closer to 30 minutes. For a full cheesecake in a 9-inch springform pan, use the filling recipe as written. Halve the crust recipe (use 15 cookies and 1/4 cup (57g) butter) and chocolate topping recipe (1/4 cup (57g) butter and 1/2 cup (90g) chocolate chips). I recommend following the baking and cooling instructions, including using a water bath, as found in my regular cheesecake recipe. After the cheesecake has chilled completely, top with chocolate topping then chill for at least 45–60 minutes as instructed in this recipe (step 7) before slicing and serving.
- Mini Individual Cheesecakes: Use the baking and cooling instructions found in my mini cheesecakes and use this recipe as written. Recipe makes about 4 dozen cheesecakes in a muffin pan. Line 12-count muffin pans with liners. Firmly press 1.5 Tablespoons of crust mixture into each. Pre-bake for 5 minutes. Pour filling on top, about 1 Tbsp filling for each. Again, use the baking and cooling instructions found in my mini cheesecakes. Once chilled, top each with chocolate topping then chill in the refrigerator to set it before serving.
Made this for a potluck and it was a big success, even with people who don’t love cheesecake. It was a perfect sweetness and texture. Highly recommend!
Made 2 pans of this! It was great & everyone loved it !!
This recipe is amazing! The peanut butter cheesecake is so creamy, and it has just the right amount of peanut butter flavor, not overpowering. The chocolate crust and chocolate top are nice compliments to the cheesecake. Again, they are the right amount, perfectly balanced, not overwhelming. Every bite is a delicious treat! YUM!
There is no possible way 30 oreos make a “thick crust”. Finaly gave up and added more crumbs. Might wanna edit that part.
Hi Dennis! 30 Oreos is what we used in testing and for the photos and video accompanying this recipe. Did yours look as thick as the photos? You can certainly add more if you prefer an extra-thick crust.
This recipe is SO good! And I don’t even like peanut butter They have been a huge hit the two times I have made them.
I wanted to make them again for a smaller gathering. I saw your suggestion of doing a half recipe, but could I do 2/3 of the recipe in a 9×9 pan?
Hi Carrie, so glad you enjoy these! I haven’t tested 2/3 of the recipe before, so I can’t say for sure. Let me know if you try it though.
Could I use ghee instead of unsalted butter?
Hi Michell, we haven’t tested that substitution so we’re unsure of the results. For best results, we recommend sticking with butter.
Help, Sally! How can I adapt this recipe to make mini individual cheesecakes in a muffin tin? I need this for an event. Thank you!
Hi Nisie, see recipe Notes for full directions on making mini cheesecakes. Enjoy!
I made the 9-inch spring-form pan version of this last night for my spouses birthday. It was a big hit.
He loves Reese’s so I chopped them up a la Sally’s Snicker’s Cheesecake recipe and topped with that along with the chocolate topping. I have to say, it was a very aesthetic cheesecake after all was said and done. It is *very* peanut-buttery, which he loved. I’d personally prefer a lighter peanut butter flavour though.
@Sally, if I make this again, will the recipe still work if I reduce the peanut butter a bit to suite my preferences?
Hi Jessica, slightly reducing the peanut butter shouldn’t be a problem at all. So glad many enjoyed this!
I love this recipe,thank you for sharing it..It was a huge hit for me and my family..I’ve made it in bars and standard size cupcakes and both didn’t last very long lol..
I just love this recipe. I also try a difference variation using the same recipe concept , by replacing the chocolate biscuits and peanut-butter with Lotus biscuits and Lotus spread, people loved them! I also try it with tennis biscuits (coconut biscuits) and white chocolate coconut spread, also amazing. Thank you again
hi do you have a recipe for a chocolate cheesecake or can i make this without the pb
Hi Muhammad, We don’t have a chocolate cheesecake recipe at this time, but you could use the classic cheesecake recipe and slightly reduce the sour cream and add 3 or 4 ounces of melted (and slightly cooled) unsweetened chocolate. Let us know what you try!
Love this recipe. I want to make a version of this for Thanksgiving. I was wondering if I can replace 1 cup peanut butter for 1 cup of pumpkin. Any thoughts?
Hi Darci! So glad you enjoyed these cheesecake bars. Pumpkin would be delicious, however, it wouldn’t be a 1:1 substitution for the peanut butter. Though we haven’t tested this, we would take out the peanut butter and sour cream, and add 3/4 cup of canned pumpkin puree. Add pumpkin pie spice too. Let us know how it turns out!
Hi Muhammad, I wanted to let you know that you can use chocolate Nutella in the place of the peanut butter. You use the same amount of the Nutella as you would the peanut butter. I hope this helps you.
Hi Sally I just recently made your No bake cheese cake for my annual family gathering. It was a hit ! Everyone loved it . I followed recipe exactly. So
Light and creamy. Topping was also amazing , fresh strawberry compote in the center and a outside layer of fresh blueberries . It was Perfect!
I’m now attempting to make peanut butter chocolate cheese cake (alternate to bars) Can I use the crust recipe for the no bake cheese cake , substituting graham
Crumbs with chocolate crumbs? Thank you
Hi Maria, yes, you can use the crust from the no-bake cheesecake (regular graham crackers or chocolate graham cracker) in this recipe if you’d like. Let us know how it goes!
Hey Sally! Can I substitute Nutella for the peanut butter? Thank you!
Hi Shuja, you sure can!
Hi! Quick question, could I make these in a large aluminum foil tray? Thinking of baking these for a large get together!
Thank you in Advance
Hi Mehak, absolutely. Hope they’re a hit!
Is a glass or metal pan better to use? Assuming metal since springform pan is the other option but just want to confirm.
Hi Joane! Either will work. We usually use metal – if you use glass the bars may take a couple minutes longer to bake.
I love all your recipes and the good directions. I would love to see a recipe for blueberry bagels I have looked at al lot of cooking sites, but your’s is the only one I have ever signed up for. Thank you
Hi Linda, we’re so glad you’ve been enjoying our recipes! For blueberry bagels, you can add dried blueberries in when we add the raisins in our Cinnamon Raisin Bagels.
I liked the bars a lot. Think we make the crust a little thick but otherwise the only issue was the topping was s little hard. When i make this recipe next time i will add some milk or cream to the topping to make it a little more ganache like.
I made this recipe early this morning. My cooking time was about 40 minutes due to my oven. I had to use 48 Oreos (1-1/4 sticks of butter) to get enough crumb to cover the bottom of my 9×13″ pan, so I would suggest buying the ‘Family Size’ pack. I did not like working with the parchment paper inside which made the edges a little bit sloppy, so maybe I will try it as mini muffin cheesecakes next time. I was tossed between mini peanut butter cups or Reese’s pieces to use as a garnish, but to my surprise I found a bag of mini peanut butter cups with mini Reese’s pieces inside them. I chopped them up in the food processor and sprinkled them over the melted chocolate coating. Waiting for the final chill-down was the hardest part.
Overall these turned out AWESOME and I will be making this recipe again and again.
Sally!! Your recipes are my absolute favorite. I have tried sooo many over the last two years (more free time on my hands!) and I am always impressed. Love the jump to recipe button and your rationale for why certain steps matter. Thanks for sharing your recipes with us!
hi there – I’m hoping to make this as a full cheesecake for my friend’s birthday. She’s requested Reese Cups as well….do you think I could put them into the cheesecake, or should I just sprinkle them on top?
thanks for any advice!
Hi Katie, That sounds delicious! See the recipe note for instructions on how to make a full size cake. You can chop up Reeses Cups and layer them on top of the crust, and then pour the filling on top. You can see how we did this using Snickers in our Snickers Cheesecake.
Great! Thank you =)
These were dope! Made them for a family party and they were a huge hit! Thanks for sharing.
Is it ok to use chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips? Specifically a Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bar. I know chips have stabilizers but I’m not sure if they are necessary here. Also if I use chopped chocolate should the amount of butter stay the same? Thanks and love your recipes!!!
Hi Joanne! That should work just fine – let us know if you try it!
It worked like a charm!!! I melted the chocolate and butter on the stove top, let it cool a few minutes and then spread it over the cheesecake. Looked beautiful and everyone LOVED them. Thanks!!!
I came across this recipe when I was looking for a brownie bottom PB cheesecake recipe. I debated making it with a brownie base but decided that might be too rich, so I made as written. It’s great! My family and friends approved. Making the bar form is much less fussy than breaking out the springform pan.
Hi Sally, I made these Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars for my annual Christmas Eve dinner and they were one of the best desserts I have ever made, not only of your recipes but of ANY recipe! They were a huge hit and were mostly easy – the reason they weren’t is because I don’t own a food processor! Everyone loved them, I had some leftover and froze them and they defrost beautifully and taste delicious later. They are divine and I will be making them whenever I get the chance to take a dessert somewhere or host at my house. Thank you!!
We’re so thrilled to hear that you loved these cheesecake bars, Patty! They’re definitely a favorite 🙂