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These Banana Cheesecake Bars are so creamy and filled with banana flavor and are perfectly complemented by the a Golden Oreo Crust!
Raise your hand if you cannot eat an entire banana. Please, I can’t be the only one who eats half a banana and can’t swallow the rest. Right? Please?
I also can’t be the only one who has that same problem with melon. And who shudders at the thought of biting into a grape (will it be sweet? sour? mushy?)
I’m not alone in my weird food habits, right?
Like, I totally understand if no one else is a bean burrito vampire like me…but bananas? There has to be someone that can’t eat a whole banana like me.
Luckily my husband is my other half. As in, he eats the other half. Or, I put them in a breakfast smoothie. I’d much rather drink my fruits and veggies.
{And yes, I know that’s not as good for you. I have texture issues people, should I drink the fruit or not eat it at all?}
Luckily I have no problem eating bananas if they’re baked in something. Like cheesecake.
I’m kind of on a cheesecake kick right now. In the last few weeks I’ve posted Apple Cheesecake Bars and Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars. You don’t mind, right?
I know these are bars and not a regular round cheesecake. Here’s the thing: I don’t like making a full cheesecake. Who’s gonna eat it? Plus, it’s hard to give away slices of cheesecake. For some reason it seems okay to give away a square of something than a slice. Or is that just me?
So I make bars. I like bars.
Especially these banana cheesecake bars!
I don’t know what got me thinking about banana cheesecake. Even thought I have an aversion to actual bananas, I love desserts that contain banana. This cake is one of my favorites. And I also have two versions of cupcakes. Somehow, banana cheesecake popped into my head.
These cheesecake bars start with a Golden Oreo Crust. First of all, Golden Oreos are the Best. Oreos. Ever. I like them more than regular Oreos, by a long shot. They make an amazing crust to start with, and the spiciness of the cookie is the perfect complement to the banana. {FYI, Nilla Wafers would also make an amazing crust!}
The cheesecake is made similarly to the Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars; that is they are made with greek yogurt. I mixed cream cheese and greek yogurt together to form the base. A banana is added to that, along with a box of banana pudding to really amp up the banana flavor. {I’ve never made it without the pudding, but if you can’t find it, I’m pretty confident you could skip it.}
Once it’s baked it’s super rich and creamy. These are probably the creamiest cheesecake bars I’ve ever made! And the banana flavor…I’m really in love with it.
Serving with caramel sauce is not required but I certainly recommend it. Golden Oreos + Banana + Caramel = Magic. It’s GOOD.
Mel finishes my half-eaten bananas. But he won’t eat banana desserts, so I got all these bars.
We complement each other nicely that way. And, I know I’m not the only weird one…
Banana Cheesecake Bars with Golden Oreo Crust
Ingredients
- 25 Golden Oreos
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- 8 ounces cream cheese I use low-fat, room temperature
- 1 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt or you can use vanilla, room temperature
- 2 medium bananas or 1 large, peeled (it's best if it's a "tired" or brown spotted banana, but not too spotty!)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1-3.4 ounce size box instant banana pudding
- Caramel ice cream topping for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x9” pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Crush Golden Oreos in a food processor until they are a fine crumb. Mix with melted butter and press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Beat cream cheese, banana, and yogurt with a stand mixer until smooth. Beat in sugar, vanilla, eggs, and flour. Stir in pudding.
- Pour cheesecake mixture over prepared crust. Bake for 33-35 minutes, until the edges turn golden. It will still jiggle a little in the center, but it will set as it cools. Cool to room temperature on the counter, and then chill until set, overnight (or at least 4 hours). Slice into bars and serve with caramel sauce and/or whipped cream.
Recipe Nutrition
Click here for easy ways to use overripe BANANAS
Sweets from friends:
Skinny Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars by Sally’s Baking Addiction
Double Chocolate Cheesecake Cups by Confessions of a Baking Queen
Cheesecake Caramel Pumpkin Cups by Something Swanky
Could I use sour cream instead of yogurt???
I would use the remaining 8 ounces half and half with sour cream and cream cheese, not all sour cream! 🙂
We must have a talk … I eat a banana (the whole thing) almost every morning. If my boys would tell me that they were hungry (between meals), my answer would be ‘eat a banana’! They still give me grief about that, LOL. Grapes – eat 2 at a time, then if one is sour, the other will balance it out! Do I sound like a mom on her soap box? All in all, I would rather have my banana in cheesecake 🙂
I actually love bananas and especially banana dessert and even more especially banana cheesecake. These bars are amazing!! Pinned 🙂
OMG! Love this recipe, I only changed one thing I made graham cracker crust instead, and it was a big hit with my husband, and it paired well with Cush coffee- Kenya a a+, It was wonderful!
I JUST learned something new yesterday: a full banana counts as two servings of fruit! So you don’t have to feel guilty or weird about eating just half a banana — you still get a full serving of fruit that way! And there’s nothing wrong with drinking your fruit in smoothies. You still get all of the nutrients, which wouldn’t be the case with juicing. See, you’re already ahead of the curve! 🙂 But I’d still gladly eat half the pan of cheesecake bars to get a full “two servings” of fruit!
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