Sink your teeth into these decadent Chocolate Chai Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Bars. They’re truly the perfect fall dessert!
Healthy cheesecake bars? You bet that’s a thing. These chocolate chai greek yogurt cheesecake bars are our newest cream cheese creation!
They are made with a chocolate chai swirl (we used our delicious DIY chai spices in the chocolate swirl) and they make the most perfect fall treat.
The Key to Healthy Cheesecake Bars
We have so many variations of cheesecake bars on FFF. People have fallen in love with our blueberry cheesecake bars and really love our raspberry cheesecake fat bombs.
I guess you just can’t go wrong with cream cheese! Though cream cheese it self is protein packed, to make a healthier cream cheese dessert, we substitute part of the cream cheese out with GREEK YOGURT!
Using greek yogurt in cream cheese bars gives the cream cheese bars a tart flavor and makes them a bit lower in fat. We just love the greek!
How to Make Homemade Graham Cracker Crust
You can’t have cheesecake without a graham cracker crust! Honestly, graham cracker crust is very easy to make, especially if you have a high powered food processor!
We did take the graham cracker crust up a notch and added a little cocoa powder to make the crust delicious and chocolatey.
Making graham cracker crust is as easy as 1-2-3!
- Place graham crackers, butter, and cocoa powder in a high powered food processor.
- Processes ingredients on medium/high until you end up with a crumble that can hold its form.
pro tip
We suggest using COLD butter in your graham cracker crust! Don’t have butter? Feel free to use hardened coconut oil!
How to Swirl the Top of Cheesecake Bars
Creating a gorgeous swirl on top of any cheesecake is easier than you thing! Here are some tips to swirl it up!
- For an easy swirl design you need two different colors of cream cheese mix. We usually take 1/3-1/2 cup of white cream cheese batter and set it aside. After that you add melted chocolate chips, spices, or whatever you are using to differentiate your swirl from the white batter.
- All you have to do to end up with a swirl is create a checker board out of the chocolate batter and then use a toothpick to swirl the different colors together!
- Don’t worry if it’s not perfect! Any fun swirl on the top of cheesecake or cheesecake bars are fun!
Everything Else You Need to Know
How long do you wait to cut cheesecake bars?
You want to wait until the muffins are completely cool before cutting into them. That usually takes about an hour. Try placing them in the refrigerator after 20 minutes of being out of the oven. That usually speeds things up!
What toppings are good with these cheesecake bars?
The topping options are endless! For these chai and chocolate cheesecake bars, whipped cream is our favorite simple topping!
Can you freeze cheesecake bars?
Yes, you can freeze these cheesecake bars! Let them cool completely and then place them in the refrigerator over night. Then, wrap them with plastic wrap or in an airtight container and place them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Do you have to refrigerate cheesecake bars?
Yes, we recommend refrigerating cheesecake bars after they have cooled completely.
Chocolate Chai Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Bars
Sink your teeth into these decadent Chocolate Chai Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Bars. They’re truly the perfect fall dessert!
Prep: 20 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 50 minutes
Ingredients
Crust
- 9 sheets of graham crackers
- 5 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Cheesecake
- 8-oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 large egg white
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon chai spices (1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray an 8×8-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Next, place graham crackers, butter, and cocoa powder into a food processor and process everything together until the mixture turns into a crumble (about 3-4 minutes).
- Pour the graham cracker crumble into the 8×8-inch pan and press it into the bottom of the pan until it is evenly spread out.
- Bake the crust for 7 minutes at 350ºF and then remove it from the oven.
- Wash and dry the food processor and then place the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and maple syrup into the food processor. Blend all of the ingredients together until smooth.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and then add the egg white and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
- Next, remove 1/2 cup of the cream cheese mixture from the food processor and set aside.
- Pour the remaining cream cheese mixture over the graham cracker crust. Spread the mixture evenly over the crust.
- Then, add the chocolate chips and coconut oil to a microwave safe bowl. Cook the chocolate chips for 10 second intervals (stirring every 10 seconds) until the chocolate chips are melted.
- Add the 1/2 cup of cheesecake batter that was set aside to the food processor along with the melted chocolate and chai spices. Blend until smooth.
- Add the chocolate cheese cake mixture to the plain cheesecake mixture and create a checker board design (horizontal and vertical lines). Don’t worry if the lines are not perfect!
- Finally, take a toothpick and swirl the chocolate cheesecake mixture and plain cheesecake mixture together to create a marble top.
- Place the bars in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let the cheesecake bars cool for at least 30 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/9 Calories: 254 Sugar: 11 Fat: 18 Carbohydrates: 17 Fiber: 1 Protein: 4
Photography: photos taken in this post are by Erin from The Wooden Skillet.