This easy, no-bake lemon and ricotta cheesecake bars recipe is the perfect summer dessert! The addition of creamy ricotta cheese makes it even lighter and tastier!
This post is sponsored by The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA). All opinions are my own. For more inspiration during #JuneDairyMonth, be sure to check out delicious ideas from NFRA at EasyHomeMeals.com #JDM2020
I am a firm believer that every day should be celebrated. Whether it is a holiday, a birthday or just a random Tuesday, life is more fun when you find something to celebrate!
Speaking of celebrations, June is National Dairy Month - a tradition that started in 1937 as a way to promote milk. To celebrate delicious dairy, I'm sharing with you my new favorite summertime dessert recipe: No-Bake Lemon and Ricotta Cheesecake Bars made with my new favorite Galbani® Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese!
Summer is my favorite season and I know many of you feel the same. The warm weather and the constant sunshine just makes everyone happy. There are also all those amazing summer flavors that epitomize the season. Juicy berries, refreshing lemon, and fresh picked produce remind us all of summer. And since June is also National Dairy Month, dairy products are going to find their way into my summer recipes as well!
So yes, I love summer and all the great foods that it brings however, I'd much rather be spending time outside with my family, enjoying the season, rather than stuck in the kitchen with a hot stove. No bake, quick recipes become my go-to dishes and, with this super easy Lemon and Ricotta Cheesecake Bars recipe, there is no need to turn on that oven!
To make the crust, the ingredients are simply mixed together in one bowl and pressed into the pan by hand. Then, the luscious cheesecake filling is made in a matter of minutes! The creamy Galbani® Whole Milk Ricotta is essential here to give the filling the perfect rich yet, light texture. A little bit of honey adds just the right sweetness and the fresh lemon gives the cheesecake that zesty, summery taste! To make the flavors of summer even more prevalent, I made a fresh strawberry drizzle to top the bars, giving them that finishing touch that takes this dessert from basic to fantastic! Seems pretty easy, right? No oven, no baking and just a few, simple, flavorful ingredients and you have a delicious dessert ready to go!
I mentioned before that Galbani® Whole Milk Ricotta is necessary in this recipe and I can't stress that enough. It really is the perfect textured ricotta. I have tried other brands and many are super watery or have little to no flavor. So, skip that store-brand ricotta and get the Galbani® for sure- your lemon cheesecake bars will thank you! Grab an extra container of Galbani® while you're at it because you can use it to add a creamy texture and naturally sweet dairy taste to lots of other summertime recipes as well. My personal tips: use it in place of cream cheese or cottage cheese in recipes or just mix a big scoop of the Galbani® Double cream ricotta into a bowl of pasta for an extra indulgent, easy dinner. The 48 oz size is prefect for when you are making a big, family sized lasagna while the 15 oz is perfect to have on hand in case you feel like whipping up some fresh cannolis!
Galbani® cheese is the perfect ingredient to use to celebrate National Dairy Month and my recipe for No-Bake Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake Bars are the first thing you should make to get the party started. It's easy to make, incredibly flavorful and is a refreshing dessert that your whole family will love.
Grab some Galbani® at your local store today and then give this summery recipe a try. Today is a great day to celebrate summer, National Dairy Month and life in general!
Enjoy! 🙂
Visit Easy Home Meals for great recipe and meal solutions and to enter the June Dairy Month Sweepstakes for a chance to win up to $10,000 in prizes!
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No-Bake Lemon and Ricotta Cheesecake Bars
Description
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Servings: 12
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups Graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the cheesecake:
- 3 (8oz.) packages of cream cheese softened
- 1 cup Galbani Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- zest from 2 lemons
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
For the strawberry drizzle:
- 1 cup fresh strawberries
- 2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Place the ingredients for the crust into a mixing bowl, and beat until a loose crumble has formed.
- Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x9 baking dish.
- Freeze the crust for 30 minutes to chill.
- Add the ingredients for the cheesecake to a mixing bowl, and beat on high until smooth and creamy.
- Spread the cheesecake filling in an even layer over the chilled crust.
- Chill the cheesecake in the fridge for a minimum of four hours, and up to overnight.
- Add the ingredients for the drizzle to a food processor, and pulse until well combined.
- Drizzle the strawberry mixture over the bars before serving.
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These look absolutely amazing. I can't wait to try them sometime. I love lemon and cheesecake.
I would love to try this. This is interesting this is made with ricotta cheese!
So yummy! These lemon bars are so tempting to eat, I'm craving now!
Who can resist to these delicious and flavorful lemon bars! I've never tried ricotta in a cheesecake. I should!
This looks so good. I am going to print your recipe.
This post made me crave them lol. I like how you made this easy to follow.
I love your No-Bake Lemon and Ricotta Cheesecake Bars! I'll follow your recipe and do it tonight. So convenient!
Oh yum! This looks so good. My sister would love this.
Wow. Those look absolutely insatiable! I'd love to give those a try sometime!
Wow! I love this No bake cheesecake. and I am so excited to try this! Thanks for the recipe.
I'm all about no-bake treats and these look delicious. The perfect easy Summe treat. Yum!
Oh my god, this is the perfect summer dessert! I can't wait to try this.
Ohhh you are killing me! This looks soooo delicious. I will give it a try later on, next week.
I loooooove cheesecake, especially cheescake bars! So handy for a to-go snack! I would love to eat these!
OMg just loved it and just can't wait to make this out...as it is much easy to make...Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe it looks so tasty and delicious...
oh man this looks amazing. i def have to make it and try
Yummy! We are so fond of cheesecakes and at the start of the lockdown, we also did some. Will add this treat to my recipe collections ♥️
I love Ricotta cheese and am always on the lookout for new recipes using it. This looks like a delicious recipe! Thanks for sharing.
These are cheesecake bar looks delicious. I like that this is no bake version of cheesecake. great treat.
When I used to live in NJ, there's a little cafe where I used to get these often. I haven't had that since I moved to FL. I will try to make them. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
These cheesecake bars look absolutely delicious! It's a nice treat to eat when I'm craving for dessert haha. I'm glad you shared the recipe with us, I might try making them sometime for the whole family! Thanks for sharing.
Yum!! I have so many fresh lemons & this is a perfect, easy refreshing summer treat, I can't wait to make it!
These...look...incredible! I am a sucker for lemon, and cheesecake is my go-to dessert. Add ricotta...and it just may be the best thing ever! I'm definitely going to try these!
No bake desserts are my go-to this time of year. And add lemon on top of it? I am SOLD!
Wowwww! Those look absolutely amazing! My mouth is watering looking at the pics!
Do you have any tips on how I can make a vegan version of this? ?
Yummy!! These look so delicious and easy to make. I like anything cheesecake related. 🙂
This is my kind of dessert. I think I'll try this one day.
Wow, these look amazing. Cheesecake is one of my all-time favorite desserts so this would be perfect for me.
I'm making these tonight! They look SOOOO good!
These look really yummy for sure. I love how the bake is a no bake too this is so perfect and really easy to do
Decadent! Nothing beats a good lemon bar and these look amazing!
I love lemon cake, and I will try this too. Saving it for weekend.
This looks really amazing! Would love to give it a try!
You won me with no bake and cheesecake! Looks divine!
This looks pretty good! And quite simple to make. Thanks for sharing!
These bars look so inviting. It's exactly what I need!
You had me at no-bake. These bars combine my love of lemon and cheesecake. Can't wait to make them.
This looks so delicious. Lemon is the perfect treat for the summer.
I love any kind of fruit dessert. And this one is so easy and no bake! I know my kids and I will love it!
These look amazing. I've had lemon bars before, but not like this. I bet they are so delicious too.
For a very long time, I have been a serious fan of lemon cheesecake. Until seeing this post, I had never heard of lemon and ricotta cheesecake bars so was interested to check it out. Seeing that using the ricotta makes this cake lighter is something that drives me to give this a go. Lighter means that I might be able to enjoy this more often and I can't wait to see how it turns out.
oh yes please!! saving this post for future use. thank you so much. yummmmmmy.
I love lemon desserts! These look so amazing. I am excited to try them out.
I have recently found a love for cheesecake and oh my these sound like they would be right up my street! Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe.
I love that this recipe is no bake. Looking forward to giving this recipe a try.
These lemon ricotta bars are so flavorful! The recipe is so easy to follow. Will definitely make again!
I love that this is no-bake. I have an abundance of cream cheese in my fridge. I will have to make this,
No bake. That's all you had to say. No bake. That looks delicious, and I don't have to fire up the oven. I'm all about it.
Now that's what I like to see! It's easy, it's tasty, and it's full of cheesy goodness. I'm so in for this one.