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Originally published May 31, 2025

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

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Jump to Recipe Lemon cheesecake bars with golden crumb topping on parchment
Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Sometimes I Want Easy: Lemon Cheesecake Bars from a Cake Mix

Cheesecake meets lemon bars — bright, creamy, and blissfully simple.

Intro

Sometimes I want easy. A box of lemon cake mix was ticking down in the pantry, and instead of baking it as-is, I put it to work twice — as a press-in crust and a crumbly topper. Fresh lemon zest and juice wake everything up, and the cream-cheese center stays light, tangy, and just sweet enough. Think cheesecake vibes with lemon-bar energy, minus the fuss. Most importantly: Mom-approved (ask her about Starbucks’ Lemon Loaf sometime!).

Why You’ll Love These

  • Double-duty mix: crust + crumble from one box.
  • Fresh lemon pop: juice and zest keep it bright.
  • Weeknight-friendly: press, bake, spread, bake.
Text-Only Recipe (Fallback)

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Lemon Cheesecake Bars — Recipe (Text)

Yield: 16 bars

Ingredients

  • 15.25 oz lemon cake mix
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • ⅔ cup white sugar
  • 5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • Zest of 1 small lemon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment.
  2. Stir cake mix, egg, and oil until combined. Reserve ½ cup mixture for topping; press the rest into pan. Bake 15 minutes; cool.
  3. Beat cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and zest until smooth. Spread over crust.
  4. Crumble reserved cake-mix dough evenly over top.
  5. Bake 20–25 minutes, until the cheesecake layer is set. Cool completely before slicing.

Approx. nutrition (per bar): 296 cal • 18 g fat (7 g sat) • 32 g carbs • 0 g fiber • 21 g sugar • 3 g protein • 290 mg sodium