Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars begin with a cake mix for a simple peanut butter dessert that is decadent and delicious! Simple cheesecake recipe made with peanut butter, peanuts and a few other basic ingredients.
I love cheesecake and I love peanut butter! Combine the two and it’s amazing. Especially when the crust is made from a cake mix – it can’t get much easier.
Ingredients in Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
Yellow cake mix – Most boxes are about 15-18 ounces. I prefer a yellow cake mix in this recipe, but you can use a white cake mix or even a chocolate cake mix if you want to change up the flavor a little bit.
Butter – You’ll need a stick of butter and it needs to be softened to room temperature before adding to the cake mix.
Cream cheese – The most important ingredient in any cheesecake recipe, right? You’ll need 2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese. You can use regular, low-fat or non-fat cream cheese, but I feel like you get the best consistency with the regular variety. Make sure the cream cheese is softened to room temperature.
Peanut butter – The recipe calls for chunky peanut butter, but creamy peanut butter works great too!
Eggs – You’ll need 3 large eggs to give this cheesecake the right texture and consistency.
Sugar – Can’t make cheesecake without some sweetness!
Peanuts – Salted, roasted peanuts add a lot of crunch and flavor. I prefer to use the lightly salted ones, but you can use regular peanuts if you prefer.
How to make Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
Preheat oven to 325°.
Beat cake mix and butter in large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well mixed. Mixture will be crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture in a medium bowl. Evenly press the remaining dough into a greased 9X13 pan.
Bake 10 minutes and then cool in the pan.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together for 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs. Add sugar and continue to beat for another 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Spoon the filling over the cooled crust and evenly spread with a rubber spatula or knife.
Add the peanuts to the reserved cake mix mixture and mix well. Sprinkle over the cheesecake filling.
Bake for 45 minutes or just until the filling is set. Cool for 30 minutes and then place the bars in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
If desired, make a chocolate drizzle for the top of the cheesecake bars. In a small glass bowl, combine 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1 Tbsp shortening. Microwave for 40 seconds and then stir. Microwave for another 20 seconds and then stir until smooth. Spoon into a ziplock bag and snip a small hole in the corner. Drizzle the chocolate all over the bars before serving.
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 1 pkg yellow cake mix
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 pkg 8 oz each cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup chunky peanut butter or creamy works too!
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 cup salted roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Beat cake mix and butter in large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well mixed. Mixture will be crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture in a medium bowl. Evenly press the remaining dough into a greased 9X13 pan.
- Bake 10 minutes and then cool in the pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together for 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs. Add sugar and continue to beat for another 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Spoon the filling over the cooled crust and evenly spread with a rubber spatula or knife.
- Add the peanuts to the reserved cake mix mixture and mix well. Sprinkle over the cheesecake filling.
- Bake for 45 minutes or just until the filling is set. Cool for 30 minutes and then place the bars in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- If desired, make a chocolate drizzle for the top of the cheesecake bars. In a small glass bowl, combine 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1 Tbsp shortening. Microwave for 40 seconds and then stir. Microwave for another 20 seconds and then stir until smooth. Spoon into a ziplock bag and snip a small hole in the corner. Drizzle the chocolate all over the bars before serving.
Nutrition
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WHAT KIND OF CREAM CHEESE TO USE IN CHEESECAKE?
I usually use regular cream cheese, but you can also use a low-fat or non-fat variety in cheesecake. Just make sure it is softened to room temperature before adding to the recipe.
HOW TO SOFTEN CREAM CHEESE
Cream cheese is easy to soften – you can set it out at room temperature or soften it more quickly in the microwave.
-To soften at room temperature more quickly, just set the cream cheese on a plate and cut into smaller pieces. The cream cheese should reach room temperature in about 15-20 minutes with this method.
-To soften the cream cheese in the microwave, remove the foil packaging and set the cream cheese in a small bowl or on a plate. Microwave for about 10-15 seconds. If the cream cheese is still cold and hard, continue to microwave for about 5 seconds at a time until the cream cheese is soft throughout. Just make sure not to microwave it too long or it will start to melt!
MORE DELICIOUS CHEESECAKE RECIPES!
- Skinny Pumpkin Cheesecake
- White Chocolate Cherry Cheesecakes
- Cranberry Cheesecake
- Lemon Cheesecake Bars
- Mini No Bake Cheesecakes
- Frozen Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
- Easy No Bake Cheesecake
- Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies
- Rocky Road Cheesecake
- Cheesecake Berries and Chocolate Ganache
- Cherry Cheesecake Cookies
- Banana Cream Cheesecakes
- Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins
- Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars begin with a cake mix for a simple peanut butter dessert that is decadent and delicious! Simple cheesecake recipe made with peanut butter, peanuts and a few other basic ingredients.
Allison says
So decadent! Love, love, love these bars.
Izzy says
The crunch and flavor in these sweet cheesecake bars makes them a great dessert, but I can’t help but have them as snacks in the middle of the day too. One bar is never enough!