Best Cheesecake Bars Recipe (Easy, Gluten-Free)
This gluten-free cheesecake bars recipe features almond flour, honey, fresh oranges, and Neufchatel cheese. They’re creamy, naturally sweetened, and perfect for a healthy dessert.
By posting this recipe for Orange Honey Cheesecake Bars, I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the National Honey Board, and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I received a gift card to offset the expenses of my ingredients.
If you’ve been looking for a cheesecake bars recipe that feels a little more doable than traditional cheesecake…this is it.
These gluten free cheesecake bars are creamy, lightly sweetened with honey, and layered with fresh orange flavor that makes them feel just a little extra special (without being fussy).
They’ve got that rich, classic cheesecake vibe, but in an easy bar form, no water bath, no complicated steps, and no graham cracker crust required.
Just simple ingredients, a cozy almond flour base, and a dessert that somehow feels both indulgent and a little lighter at the same time.
Basically: the kind of cheesecake bars recipe you make once…and then keep coming back to.
Why You’ll Love This Cheesecake Bars Recipe
🍯 Ingrediets for Cheesecake Bars + Variations
This cheesecake bars recipe uses simple, wholesome ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen:
- Crust: Almond flour, avocado oil, egg white, honey
- Filling: Neufatchel cheese (or cream cheese), Greek yogurt, honey, vanilla
- Topping: Fresh sliced oranges, honey
- Variations: Top with berries, peaches, nectarines, pitted cheeries, mango, or any favorite fruit
How to Make Gluen Free Cheesecake Bars
This cheesecake bars recipe comes together in a few simple steps:
- Press the crust into the pan (no perfection needed)
- Bake the crust, then cool it in the refrigerator.
- Make the filling with a hand mixer. Spread on top of chilled crust.
- Top with orange slices and drizzle with honey.
- Slice into squares before serving. Enjoy right away or chill an additional 20 minutes in the fridge.
How to Store Cheesecake Bars
These cheesecake bars store really well, which makes them perfect for making ahead. Put them in a well-sealed container in the:
- Fridge: up to 4-5 days
- Freezer: up to 2-3 months
Pro tip: they’re really good slightly chilled straight from the fridge!
👩🍳Dietitian Nutrition Note
Don’t you love it when desserts are a little bit healthier? I do! These gluten free cheesecake bars are made with a few simple swaps that add more balance without sacrificing that classic creamy texture you expect from cheesecake. Each serving offers:
- Gluten-free ingredients, thanks to an almond flour crust instead of graham crackers or refined flour.
- Naturally sweetened flavor, using honey and fresh orange instead of refined sugar.
- About 6 grams of protein, coming from Neufchâtel cheese, Greek yogurt, and almond flour.
- Around 3 grams of fiber, thanks to almond flour and oranges.
- Lower saturated fat than traditional cheesecake bars, using lighter dairy choices and a more balanced ingredient profile.
Orange Honey Cheesecake Bars Recipe (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil, plus extra for greasing pan
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 egg white
For the filling:
- 6 ounces cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese
- 1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the topping:
- 3 oranges, peeled and sliced in to rounds
- Additional honey to drizzle on top of oranges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine almond flour, avocado oil, honey, and egg white in a mixing bowl. Mix well, then press mixture in to a 9 x 9 baking dish that has been greased with a little coconut oil.
- Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. When finished baking, cool slightly, then transfer to refrigerator for 20 minutes to cool completely.
- While crust is baking, make the filling. Combine the cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese with the Greek yogurt, honey, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl, and beat with a hand mixer until well combined.
- To prepare the tart: Spread filling over the crust, top with orange slices, and drizzle honey on top. Cut in to 12 squares. Best served chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
Let’s Chat! Are you a honey lover like me? What’s your favorite way to use/bake with honey? How many varieties do you have in your own kitchen???
Those bars look so fun and yummy! I can’t wait until I feel ready to cook/bake again!
These look amazing!
I am definitely a honey lover!
I need to get back on the redux challenges. I have just been so busy! I miss all these fabulous recipes!
Wow! These are so bright and delicious! I can’t wait to try these. Plus, I love that they’re healthy!
PS I’ve long sworn by honey, hot water & lime juice as a cough suppressant. SO good! 🙂
EA – these are so cheery – love the way you lightened up this dessert!
Thanks Jeanette!!! xo
Thanks so much Liz! The tiles are leftover from a decorating project I did 🙂
Yum! These look amazing!! Orange blossom honey? I’ve never seen nor heard of it before..I’m so curious of its taste. Love the use of almond flour as I’ve been experimenting with it a lot lately. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Min, and yes~love baking with almond flour, as it is super versatile. Happy ReDux to you!!
These look delightful!
Thanks so much Lauren!! xo
SO cute! Lovely cool, orangey, healthy treat – just in time for the heat of summer (for some of us anyway). And I have the same tiles, all the way over here in Scotland (weird, huh?). I bet you already know this, but acacia is much lower GI (32) than other honeys, which are of course in the 80s. But there is so little added sugar in this recipe that it wouldn’t matter anyway. Lovely
OK-the tile thing is pretty strange… 🙂 And, I did NOT know that Acacia honey has a much lower GI index, so thanks for letting me know. Hope it warms up your way soon Kellie!
we had similar flavor combos going on! Love the creativity in this recipe.
Yes we did~Great minds cook alike, and I love your coffee cake recipe too Kristina!!
Oh I absolutely LOVE honey!! Too bad it’s not low fodmaps. Seriously, such a bummer. I always have to omit the honey and replace it with maple syrup (Which I also love, so it’s ok). Thanks for the recipe…I wonder if maple syrup would taste weird with this?? I’m thinking it might not work this time, with the orange? IT may be worth testing!
You can definitely make this with maple syrup Gina, as I have made something similar-a tart-that uses maple syrup~although I used peaches in that one instead of oranges. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out 🙂
My answer is E too! what a lovely recipe for hot days.. buckwheat honey seems interesting, havent seen it yet
Almost too lovely, since I’ve been enjoying one every day since I made them 🙂
These look great and all the best for the contest
Thanks Rebecca!! xo
how beautifully sunny and appealing do these look? I recently picked up some sage honey and love the flavor.
Thanks Deanna! Isn’t it cool how you can really taste the differences between the varietals of honey??
What a great treat! I’m pinning it!
I’ll have to pick up some more honey at the Farmers’ Market!
Thanks Andrea! Farmer’s Markets are the best for picking up local honey 🙂