Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Squares

Rich, creamy and seriously delicious, these cheesecake squares are perfect for any occasion. Two simple ingredient swaps make this dessert a “not-so-guilty” pleasure.

Mar 21, 2023

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I launched Recipes Made Healthy – what an exciting and awesome journey! Let me start with a huge thank you to subscribers and followers. I realize you have thousands of recipe blogs and websites to visit, and the fact that you’re here means a lot to me.

For those of you that have been around for a while, you know that I’m all about making ingredient adjustments that lead to more nutritious, great-tasting recipes. Today’s cheesecake squares offer a perfect example of the impact that just two, healthier ingredient substitutions can have on a recipe.

Most recipes for cheesecake squares call for 16 ounces of regular, full-fat cream cheese. That ingredient alone provides a whopping 1,600 calories, 144 grams of total fat, and 96 grams of saturated fat. After a couple of recipe tests, I came up with the perfect replacement for that ingredient – an 8-ounce package of reduced-fat cream cheese combined with one cup of part-skim ricotta cheese. The reduction in calories, total fat, and saturated fat for just this ingredient swap is quite impressive – 44% fewer calories, 53% less total fat, and 54% less saturated fat.

Reduced-fat cream cheese (also known as Neufchatel) is my go-to replacement for full-fat cream cheese. It contains fewer calories and less saturated fat than full-fat cream cheese. And, when it comes to taste and texture, I find the Philadelphia brand of Neufchatel indistinguishable from full-fat cream cheese.

Ricotta cheese is similar to a fine-textured cottage cheese with a slightly sweet, mild flavor. It comes in a few varieties including whole milk, part-skim, low-fat (light), and fat-free. I like using part-skim ricotta. It’s similar to whole milk ricotta with respect to its rich, creamy texture but contains less calories and fat. Low-fat and fat-free ricotta cheese can have a rather crumbly texture and mediocre flavor.

While I was testing this recipe, I had trouble finding part-skim ricotta. Interestingly, I started noticing that the nutrition label information for some brands of whole milk ricotta was the same as part-skim ricotta. If you find yourself in a similar situation, check the nutrition label. A 1/4 cup (the label serving size) of part-skim ricotta cheese typically contains 80 calories, 4.5 grams of total fat, and 3 grams of saturated fat.

The reason for using some part-skim ricotta cheese in this recipe is for additional calorie and fat savings. Ounce for ounce, part-skim ricotta cheese has 39% fewer calories, 58% less total fat, and 63% less saturated fat compared to reduced-fat cream cheese. This perfect cheese duo makes these dessert squares a “not-so-guilty” pleasure.

To your health,

Darlene

BLUEBERRY LEMON CHEESECAKE SQUARES

Yield: 16 servings

Serving Size: 1 square

Prep: 15 minutes

Ready: 50 minutes (not including chilling time)

INGREDIENTS

Crust

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (6 plain graham cracker sheets, crushed into crumbs)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons spreadable butter and oil blend (such as Challenge Spreadable Butter), melted

Batter

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups fresh blueberries, divided

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving enough overhang on sides to easily lift whole chilled cheesecake out of pan. Spray foil with cooking spray.
To prepare crust, place 6 graham cracker sheets in a zip-top bag and crush into fine crumbs using a rolling pin. In a bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar (1 tablespoon), and melted butter and oil blend. Add crumb mixture to prepared pan and press into bottom of pan. Bake crust in preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove crust from oven and allow to cool while preparing batter.
To prepare batter, place ricotta cheese in a food processor and process until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add whipped ricotta cheese and softened cream cheese to a large bowl and using a hand mixer, beat until smooth. Add sugar (3/4 cup), salt, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Gently fold in 1 cup blueberries. Evenly pour batter over graham cracker crust. Bake 35 minutes, or until cheesecake filling is set but slightly jiggly in the center. Remove from oven and allow to cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 6 hours before cutting.
Using foil overhang, lift cheesecake out of pan and place onto cutting board. Cut into 16 squares. For clean cuts, run knife under hot water and dry with a cloth after each cut. Using remaining 1/3 cup blueberries, garnish each square with 2 blueberries and serve.
Lining the baking pan with foil and leaving enough overhang on the sides allows the entire baked cheesecake to be easily removed and cut into squares.

Nutrition Information per Serving

143 Calories, 6 g Total fat, 3 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 28 mg Cholesterol, 145 mg Sodium, 18 g Total carbohydrate, 1 g Dietary fiber, 13 g Total sugars, 11 g Added sugars, 4 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 55 mg (4%) Calcium, 0 mg (0%) Iron, 32 mg (0%) Potassium