These WW Lemon Cheesecake Bars are incredibly light and decadent with flavors of tangy cream cheese, fresh lemon, and a yummy graham cracker crust. Each cheesecake bar is just 4 WW points per serving, which is excellent since they don’t take up too much of your daily point allowance. You’ll love these dessert bars since they’re simple to prepare and transport. Cut them into squares and store them in a container for convenience, or take them along to a gathering party.
If you’re wondering why these cheesecake squares are so low in points, it’s because of a few swaps I made in the ingredients list. Usually, cheesecake bars have regular cream cheese, sugar, and graham cracker crumbs. However, the base of this recipe has about half Greek yogurt and half cream cheese. I use a Jell-o pudding mix to help thicken it! Also, the recipe calls for an alternative sweetener rather than sugar and low-fat graham crackers instead of regular ones. All of these adjustments are what make the recipe Weight Watchers-friendly!
If you’d like to check out some other WW-friendly desserts, you can look at my dessert recipe collection here.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- It’s the perfect light dessert. This sweet treat satisfies your craving while also being nice and light.
- It is low in fat and sugar. There are less than 5 grams each of fat and sugar in every serving! This is significantly lower than other recipes for cheesecake bars that use real sugar and full-fat cream cheese.
- It’s easy to make! You can have this dessert made and out of the oven in less than an hour.
Recipe Overview
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Number of Servings: 12
- Time to Cook: 35 minutes
- WW Points Per Recipe: 4 WW points per serving (Click here to view the recipe in the WW app. WW login is required)
Ingredients in Weight Watchers Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Graham Crust
- 1 cup Low-fat graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tbsp Granulated sugar replacement (use a 1:1 replacement)
- 4-5 tbsp Unsweetened applesauce
Cheesecake Filling
- 8 oz 1/3-less fat cream cheese
- 2 cups Nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 3 Eggs
- 1 oz box Sugar-free Jell-o cheesecake pudding mix
- 6 tbsp Granulated sugar replacement (use a 1:1 replacement)
- Pinch Salt
- ¼ cup Lemon juice
- 1 ½ tbsp Lemon zest
- Optional: ½ tsp lemon extract
Instructions for making Weight Watchers Lemon Cheesecake Bars
- Preheat oven to 325F. Make the crust by mixing the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar replacement together. Slowly add the applesauce, a little bit at a time, and mix gently with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly and resembles wet sand. If needed, add a small amount more of applesauce than is called for.
- Press the crumb mixture into a parchment-lined 8×11 baking dish. Bake in the oven for 10-14 minutes until set. Set aside and let partially cool.
3. Make the cheesecake filling by mixing the softened cream cheese with the salt and sweetener. Add the Greek yogurt, eggs one by one, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Then, add the Jello mix and stir until the mixture is thickened and the Jello powder is thoroughly distributed.
4. Pour the cheesecake filling into the crust and spread with a spatula so it has an even top. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until set. Allow to cool to room temperature and then move to the refrigerator to fully cool before slicing into bars.
Variations and Substitutions
- Splurge Version: You can use full-fat cream cheese or regular graham cracker crumbs if you have extra points to use up. You can also decorate the bars with whipped cream!
- Lower the Points: There isn’t much room for modifications with this recipe since it requires precise measurements, however, if you wanted each portion to be lower in points, you can cut them into smaller bars.
- Graham Cracker Substitute: Feel free to use cookie crumbs with your cookie of choice. There are plenty of store-bought sugar-free cookies that would work well for the crust. The amount of applesauce may need to be adjusted.
- Lemon Cheesecake Bars with Lemon Curd: If you don’t mind the extra points, you can spread a thin layer of lemon curd over top of the baked bars to amp up the lemon flavor.
- Lemon Cheesecake Bars with Raspberry Swirl: Make raspberry coulis and then swirl it into the top of the batter before baking for a pretty design on top and an extra fruity flavor.
- Sugar vs. Sweetener: If you don’t like to use alternative sweeteners, use the same amount of granulated sugar. You can adjust the recipe in the WW app to determine the new points amount.
Tips and Tricks for Making Weight Watchers Lemon Cheesecake Bars
- How to store leftover lemon cheesecake bars: Transfer the bars to an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I don’t suggest freezing them since they have a lot of Greek yogurt.
- Make sure not to overwork the crust mixture; otherwise, it will form into one big clump and have a weird texture. Gently mix it with your hands until it is crumbly, and then press it in the pan.
- I highly suggest using parchment paper because it makes the cheesecake bars much easier to remove from the pan. However, if you don’t have parchment, just make sure to grease the pan well to prevent sticking.
- You can put a pan filled halfway with water in the bottom shelf of the oven if you would like the cheesecake to have a more custardy texture and prevent cracking on top. However, it isn’t necessary; they bake just fine with the dry heat.
Related Recipes
Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Graham Crust
- 1 cup Low-fat graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tbsp Granulated sugar replacement, use a 1:1 replacement
- 4-5 tbsp Unsweetened applesauce
Cheesecake Filling
- 8 oz 1/3-less fat cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups Nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 3 Eggs
- 1 oz box Sugar-free Jell-o cheesecake pudding mix
- 6 tbsp Granulated sugar replacement, use a 1:1 replacement
- Pinch Salt
- ¼ cup Lemon juice
- 1 ½ tbsp Lemon zest
- Optional: ½ tsp lemon extract, for a bolder lemon flavor
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Make the crust by mixing the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar replacement together. Slowly add the applesauce, a little bit at a time, and mix gently with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly and resembles wet sand. If needed, add a small amount more of applesauce than is called for to reach the right consistency.
- Press the crumb mixture into a parchment-lined 8×11 baking dish. Bake in the oven for 10-14 minutes until set. Set aside and let partially cool.
- Meanwhile, make the cheesecake filling by mixing the softened cream cheese with the salt and sweetener. Add the Greek yogurt, eggs one by one, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Then, add the Jello mix and stir until the mixture is thickened and the Jello powder is thoroughly distributed.
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the crust and spread with a spatula so it has an even top. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until set. Allow to cool to room temperature and then move to the refrigerator to fully cool before slicing into bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
