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Cream Cheese Crumb Bars have a walnut crumb bottom and top layer with sweet cream cheese in between. This easy dessert is fantastic!

Quick and Easy Cheesecake Bars
I’ve got a serious weakness when it comes to cheesecake – and these Cream Cheese Crumb Bars are an easy and very delicious way to get my fix!
We found this vintage recipe in my mother’s old recipe box, and it’s the perfect sweet treat when you have a craving for cheesecake – but don’t have the time to prepare the full dessert.
The same light and buttery walnut crumb mixture makes up the bottom crust as well as the top – and a light and creamy cream cheese filling sweetens up the middle.
The filling also has a slightly lemony flavor (thanks to the addition of fresh lemon juice) and it adds a perfect amount of brightness so these bars are sweet – but not too sweet!
We cut our cream cheese crumb bars into 18 triangles for a bite-size treat – or you could serve this as larger squares for dessert. Either way – these are a delicious – and any cheesecake lover in your life will surely love these cream cheese crumb bars!
Reader Review
“I don’t even know how I’m able to write this review, as my eyes rolled to the back of my head after the first bite of these wonderful bars, and they still haven’t recovered! These are the absolute bomb! Crunch, creamy and flavorful! I love the suggestion of cutting them into triangles…they look so elegant! I plan on serving these at my next dinner party with some beautiful fresh strawberries on the side! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!” -Amy Jo
Why You’ll Love Cream Cheese Crumb Bars
- The sweet and lemony cream cheese filling with the buttery walnut crumb topping is the perfect flavor combination.
- This recipe is quick and easy to make – and you can easily double the recipe to make a larger quantity if needed.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cream Cheese – Full-fat cream cheese is best for this recipe.
- Walnuts – Or other nuts such as pecans or almonds.
- Butter – Either salted or unsalted can be used.
- Sugar – You’ll use brown sugar in the base and topping, while granulated sugar is added to the cream cheese filling.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Oil – Canola or vegetable oil
- Egg
- Whole Milk or Light Cream
- Lemon Juice – We always suggest using fresh lemon juice.
- Vanilla Extract
Nut-Free Substitution
While we’ve only made the recipe as written, we’ve had a number of readers swap out the nuts and replace them with oatmeal with good results.
Special Tools You’ll Need
- 8×8-inch Baking Pan
- Aluminum Foil
- Stand Mixer fitted with Paddle Attachment (or hand mixer and mixing bowl)
- Various Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Rubber Spatula
- Cooling Rack
- Cutting Board
- Sharp Serrated Knife
How do I make Cream Cheese Crumb Bars?
- Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with foil, allowing the ends to hang over the edges of the pan. This will help you easily lift the baked slab out of the pan for cutting.
- Mix butter, brown sugar, flour, and half of the walnuts together to form small crumbs. Set one cup aside to be used later for the topping.
- Press the remaining crumb mixture into the foil-lined pan. Bake for 12 minutes, then set aside to cool.
- Add more brown sugar and walnuts to the reserved cup of the crumb mixture, along with some oil. Mix and set aside.
- Cream sugar and cream cheese together until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat again until very light and creamy.
- Pour the filling over the baked and cooled bottom crust.
- Sprinkle the reserved walnut-crumb topping evenly over the cream cheese filling.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then cool in the pan on a rack.
- Carefully lift out of the pan, using the edges of the foil to lift. Place onto a cutting board and fold the foil edges down flat.
- Cut into bars or triangles for serving.
Tips and Tricks
- We think these Cream Cheese Crumb Bars are especially good when eaten still slightly warm from the over.
- This recipe can be doubled and baked in a 9×13-inch pan. Just note that the baking time may vary so keep a close watch to avoid over baking.
- A serrated knife will allow you to cut through the cream cheese bars more easily and more cleanly than a solid blade knife.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Cream Cheese Crumb Bars ahead of time? Yes. You can fully bake these bars ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to serve. We suggest bringing them to room temperature before serving for the creamiest texture and best flavor.
- Can I make these in a 9×13-inch pan? Yes, but you’ll need to double the recipe ingredients and the baking time may vary.
- Can I freeze these bars? We haven’t tried doing so ourselves, but it should work. Since the bars are delicate, we suggest freezing them in the baking pan, pressing parchment paper or plastic wrap directly on top of the crumb topping to avoid freezer burn. Then wrap well before freezing.
This Cream Cheese Crumb Bars recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in February 2015. We’ve updated the photos and post, but the delicious recipe remains the same.
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Cream Cheese Crumb Bars
Cream Cheese Crumb Bars have a walnut crumb bottom and top layer with sweet cream cheese in between. This easy dessert is fantastic!
Ingredients
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar plus two tablespoons, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, chopped and divided
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 egg beaten
2 tablespoons whole milk or light cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line an 8×8-inch pan with foil pressing tightly up sides. This will help remove the finished bars once baked.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and the 1/3 cup of brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add flour until just combined.
- Remove from mixer and blend ½ of the chopped nuts in by hand and stir mixture until a small crumb forms. Reserve one cup of this mixture. Take remaining mixture and press into the prepared 8X8 pan and bake for 12 minutes. Place on rack to cool.
- To the reserved cup of crumb mixture, add the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, remaining ½ cup chopped nuts and the one tablespoon of oil. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
- Place stand mixer bowl back on with paddle and cream the sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Scrape bowl and mix again.
- Add egg, milk, lemon juice and vanilla and beat until very light and creamy.
- Pour this mixture into cooled pan over the cooked crust and top with reserved topping pressing just slightly into mixture.
- Bake for 25 minutes and cool on a rack in the pan. Once cool, lift the foil edges up and place the bar on a cutting board. Fold the foil down flat and slip the foil out.
- With a sharp serrated knife, cut the whole pan into 3 rows x 3 rows for total of nine squares. Then, if you’d like, cut each square in half corner to corner yielding 18 triangle pieces like we show in our photos.
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My mom use to make this recipe when I was growing up. I haven’t had for years. This recipe is perfect! Absolutely as I remembered them! Delicious and simple.
Thanks Kobi!
dont have any vanilla flavor , any suggestions
Hi Jeanette – You can make it without, or if you have some bourbon (and don’t mind a touch of alcohol) that’s another alternative.
This looks amazing…was just wondering if I could skip,using aluminum foil and just leave them in the pan. Can they be cut and taken out easily with using the foil?
Hi Bee – Yes – the purpose of the foil is to allow you to lift it out of the pan and more easily cut into bars. I suppose you can skip that step and just serve it right from the pan with a spatula. I’d make sure you grease the pan very well to avoid sticking. Enjoy!
Do these bars need to be refrigerated?
Hi Sheri – Yes – if you are baking them a day ahead, I would suggest refrigerating them. But I think they are best served closer to room temperature. Hope that helps!
Hello, just wondering if the crust can be baked a day ahead of making and baking the filling. I need to make a whole bunch of these for a work function and that would be a big help!
Hi Victoria – I don’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work! If you chill the crust overnight after it is baked, I would suggest bringing it back up to room temperature before adding the filling and baking again. You could also do a test batch ahead of time just to be sure.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this recipe. My mother, who passed away suddenly six years ago, made these each year for Christmas. I have searched high and low for this recipe and when I came across your and saw your pictures I knew I had found it. I can’t wait to make these for my father, sister, and the rest of my family each Christmas from now on.
You’re very welcome Victoria! I hope they are as delicious as your mother’s!
I am definitely going to make these. I don’t have walnuts on hand, but I have slivered almonds and I also have pecans. I am going to try substituting for the walnuts. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Rebecca – Either of those nuts will substitute nicely for the walnuts! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
So excited to try this but I only have a hand held mixer. Do you think that will work?
Yes Liz – A hand held mixer should do just fine!
Can these be frozen?
Hi Stephanie – We haven’t tried freezing these ourselves, but I think you should be able to freeze these successfully. I’d suggest freezing them in the pan, pressing a pieces of parchment paper or plastic down against the top to avoid freezer burn and so that the crumb topping stays intact, then wrapping it tightly.
Do you have to use nuts? I’m allergic, and these look so yummy.
Hi Shannon – No – you can leave the nuts out – or substitute in some oatmeal for a little bit more texture in the crumbs!
I do so love how you raided your mother’s recipe box for this scrumptious dessert. A hint of lemon in any dessert just makes it so delicate and delicious for me. And once again, my Russian grandmother would be proud, she was famous for making cheese cake bars (and I was famous for eating them, so yes, I was quite a pudgy kid =) haha. She loved it though, I remember when I would ask for seconds.
These look so good and they are easy to make the coffee club will love them. The old time deserts are the best. Thanks for sharing them with us.
I agree Richard! There is something very special about old family recipes! Thanks for writing to us today!