If you love cheesecake and berries, but you're not keen on baking a cheesecake from scratch, I've got a terrific alternative for you. These bars have a luscious strawberry crust and a rich layer of cheesecake baked on top. Best of all, they start with a box of cake mix.

Is it Hard to Make Cheesecake?
I've got a great recipe for cheesecake and I was surprised that it wasn't as hard as I thought it might be.
That said, not everyone has the time (or the springform pan) to pull off a cheesecake.
If you're in a hurry but you want the rich sweet flavors of a strawberry cheesecake, these bars are the perfect alternative.
Strawberry Cheesecake Bars are Easy to Make
The bottom is a cookie-like layer of strawberry (which starts with a box of cake mix).

The center is a rich cheese and sweetened condensed milk with a hint of lemon.
The top is a layer of strawberry pie filling.
I guess I'm getting ahead of myself, so let's take a little pause and look at the ingredients.
Strawberry Cheesecake Bars Ingredients

- strawberry cake mix
- large egg
- melted butter
- room temperature cream cheese
- sweetened condensed milk
- lemon juice
- strawberry pie filling
How to Make these Amazing Strawberry Squares
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare your 9x13-inch dish by spraying with nonstick spray. Place a piece of parchment paper inside cross-wise. Spray it lightly with nonstick spray and set aside.

(Optional) Puree the strawberry pie filling to break down the large berries.


Make Your Crust
Combine the strawberry cake mix, butter, and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. If you don't have a stand mixer, use a large mixing bowl with electric mixer.
Mix on low speed until fully combined. You'll end up with something about the consistency of cookie dough.

Press dough into the bottom of the dish and place in preheated oven.

Bake for ten minutes.

Make Your Filling

Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Add lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk.

Mix well. Pour over partially baked strawberry base.

Now it's time to spoon on the strawberry puree. Do your best to cover the cream cheese filling as best you can.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool for one hour.
Place in refrigerator and continue to chill for an hour.

Slice into squares and serve.

Serve and enjoy!

Store leftovers in refrigerator in an airtight container (or covered in plastic wrap). They should stay fresh 4-5 days. I don't recommend freezing these bars.
What to Expect from These Bars

Y'all, I have to admit. . .these are beyond delicious! Sometimes when I make up recipes I'm not sure how they will turn out. But in this case, the outcome was heavenly.
The luscious strawberry crust, with its crunchy bottom. . .

The creamy filling, similar to a real cheesecake.
And can we just talk about that strawberry topping? It's so yummy, the perfect complement to the other ingredients.
Variations on this Recipe
There are so many ways you could change up this recipe with a different flavor of cake mix and pie filling. Here are a few options:
Lemon cake mix with blueberry or blackberry filling. I've already baked this recipe and it's divine!
Chocolate cake mix with cherry pie filling. (Yum!)
Lemon cake mix with lemon pie filling.
Golden butter cake mix with caramel apple pie filling. (Delicious!)
Other Strawberry Favorites from Out of the Box Baking
That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe.
Learn more about doctored cake mixes, the theme of this blog.
For the master list of all doctored cake mix recipes on this site, visit Doctored Cake Mix Recipes, Master List.
See this recipe at
About the Author
Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.

Amazing Strawberry Cheese Bars
If you love cheesecake and berries, but you're not keen on baking a cheesecake from scratch, I've got a terrific alternative for you. These bars have a luscious strawberry crust and a rich layer of cheesecake baked on top. Best of all, they start with a box of cake mix.
Ingredients
- 1 box strawberry cake mix
- 1 egg
- 1 stick (½ cup) melted butter
- 2 blocks room temperature cream cheese
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- Lemon juice
Instructions
Make Your Crust
Combine the strawberry cake mix, butter, and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. If you don't have a stand mixer, use a large mixing bowl with electric mixer.
Mix on low speed until fully combined. You'll end up with something about the consistency of cookie dough.
Press dough into baking dish.
Bake for 10 minutes at 350.
Make Your Filling
Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy.
Add lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk.
Pour over partially baked strawberry base.
Now it's time to spoon on the strawberry puree. Do your best to cover the cream cheese filling as best you can.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool for one hour.
Place in refrigerator and continue to chill for an hour.
Slice into squares and serve.
Store in refrigerator in airtight container or covered in plastic wrap.
Bars can be frozen up to two months.
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