The recipe I’m sharing with you today was inspired by a brownie cheesecake recipe I found on Pinterest. The original recipe used a boxed brownie mix and cheese cake filling. I decided to make bars rather than a cake and of course I was able to make it with real food ingredients.
The brownie layer is based on the Flourless Brownie recipe from the book, Indulge by Carol of Ditch The Wheat. These are my favorite brownies! They are rich and delicious! Mix them with cheesecake and you have yourself a winner!
Brownie Cheesecake Bars (Grain Free)
Ingredients, Brownie Layer:
- 4 eggs
- 1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 Cup Coconut Sugar
- 6 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted
- 4 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
Ingredients, Cheesecake layer:
- 8 Ounces Organic Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
- 1/3 Cup Organic Heavy Cream
- 1/3 Cup Organic Sour Cream
- 1/3 Cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Coconut Sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 2 Eggs, Room Temperature
Instructions, Brownie layer:
- Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix dry ingredients together.
- Add eggs one at a time until combined.
- Add the melted coconut oil and vanilla extract.
- Mix well and pour into a greased 8×8 inch pan.
- Bake brownies for 15-20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the middle of the brownies comes out clean.
Instructions, Cheesecake layer:
- Beat all the ingredients together until smooth.
- It is important that the cream cheese is room temp or it will chunk up. You can use a stick blender to smooth out the mixture if your cream cheese isn’t soft enough.
- Pour cheesecake mix over baked and slightly cooled brownie layer.
- Return to the oven and bake 25-30 minutes, or until the cheesecake layer is lightly brown.
- Allow to cool for several hours before serving.
- Cut into squares and serve.
Brownie Cheesecake Bars (Grain Free)
Ingredients
Brownie Layer
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 cup Coconut Sugar
- 6 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, Melted
- 4 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
Cheesecake Layer
- 8 Ounces Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
- 1/3 Cup Cream
- 1/3 Cup Sour Cream
- 1/3 Cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Coconut Sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 2 Eggs, Room Temperature
Instructions
Brownie Layer
- Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix dry ingredients together.
- Add eggs one at a time until combined.
- Add the melted coconut oil and vanilla extract.
- Mix well and pour into a greased 8×8 inch pan.
- Bake brownies for 15-20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the middle of the brownies comes out clean.
Cheesecake Layer
- Beat all the ingredients together until smooth.
- It is important that the cream cheese is room temp or it will chunk up. You can use a stick blender to smooth out the mixture if your cream cheese isn’t soft enough.
- Pour cheesecake mix over baked and slightly cooled brownie layer.
- Return to the oven and bake 25-30 minutes, or until the cheesecake layer is lightly brown.
- Allow to cool for several hours before serving.
- Cut into squares and serve.
Inoticethatthere’snococonutflourintherecipe…isthatcorrect?
★★★★★
I made these this weekend. For the brownie I subbed half Swerve and other half turbinado for the sweetner. For the cheese cake I used turbinado for the sweetener, my own heavy crème made with butter and milk (because I didn’t have it on hand), and subbed plain greek yogurt for the sour cream. They turned out slightly sweet and yummy. I can’t believe you were able to get such a pretty picture though because I had a hard time getting them out in one solid piece from the pan.
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My daughter and I also are dairy (cow) free. What substitutions for dairy (cow) would you suggest? Would goat cheese work? (I’m thinking the coffee goat cheese might taste good) Thanks!
Love your recipes for coconut. Cheaper than almond flour. Will try this brownie cheesecake recipe sooon
★★★★
will xylitol work in place of the coconut sugr
Do you have the nutritional values?
Thanks!
Thank you – these were delicious! I did not have the cream or the sour cream in my house, so I used the cream off the top of a refrigerated can of coconut milk in place of both of them. (I had just under 2/3 cup – close enough.) Except for a big crack across the top while baking, once it cooled and settled, it was fine.
I made just the brownies with no cheesecake and I only used 2 whole eggs plus 2 egg whites and they turned out AWESOME!!! They’re moist chocolatey goodness!! ^_^
made this last night. used the half stevia/half c&h sugar & real butter instead of coconut oil. its all i had. works great… oh, my gosh this is wonderful and delicious and it looked like the pic. bownie and cheese cake part are the bomb. will i make again you better believe it., thanks for the recipe.
What can be used in place of coconut sugar?
Any sugar will work really. Some of the comments/readers above have had great luck with xylitol!
Will the brownies still bake ok if I use two whole eggs and two egg whites instead of 4 whole eggs?
I’m actually not sure Jen! My gut feeling would be you’re fine. If you try and it works out, please let us know here so everyone can see the different options!
Could I use cacao instead of cocoa?
Do you know the Nutrition Facts for each bar? How many calories, fat, etc?
Can these brownies be made the day before and be refrigerated?
Yep! 🙂
I just made the brownie half. I used half splenda/half regular sugar instead of coconut sugar and half butter/half coconut oil instead of just coconut oil. I WAS lazy and added all 4 eggs at one time, but it was super dry, even after I put the oil/butter and vanilla in. At that point, it was a dry, crumbly mess that I couldn’t get to combine, wighmy mixer or by hand with a fork. Cement clumps made me fear for the motor in my stand mixer! So I thought…I added about a tablespoon of honey. Still not mixing. I then broke down and added water, roughly 1/4 a cup before all was said and mixed. I lubed my 8X8 glass dish with coconut oil and scraped the goo into it. I baked 20 minutes and the toothpick was still not close to clean, but I decided to take them out anyway, let ’em cool, and then judge if they needed more baking. SO- they were done, a toothpick came out clean once they were cooler.They taste pretty good, but not BETTER than the flour-befouled variety. The texture is a lil’ bit crumbly and dry. Without something to drink, they are hard to get down! If I hadn’t added the H20, the extra moisture which the honey should have helped the batter retain, I imagine the texture being awful. Next time I’ll add 1/4 dry mix, then 1 egg, repeat…any suggestions? I was really hoping these would bemy new go-to brownies! 🙁
how would you store these. I am making today for christmas day. fridge?
Can you use Brown Sugar? I don’t have any coconut sugar.
I tried to use stevia as was suggested by another post, and they were HORRIBLE!!! I had to send my husband to the store immediately to get me sugar…. so disappointed… hopefully the next batch will come out better!!
This sounds sooo good but I need to substitute the Cocoa as it triggers Migraines in my son what would you suggest?
Is it correct that there is no type of flour or a nut meal in the brownie layer? Seems odd.
There’s 4 eggs and an entire cup of cocoa powder, truly it’s not that odd. Basically a flourless chocolate cake, many restaurants serve these (even non GF establishments)
Can you use greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
I’m sure that would work just fine.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
All I can say is… OMG YUM! Cannot wait to make this!!
Excellent Coconut Mamma, except I avoid using coconut sugar. The use of sap from coconut flowers etc makes the coconuts sterile, and they no longer produce coconuts. LOVE YOUR RECIPE though! <3
Any recommendations on what to use instead?
Mmmm! This is wonderful! Not too sweet, and I could eat the cream cheese topping all by itself! I don’t have a 8×8 inch pan, I had to use a 9inch one. This is most likely why everyone’s brownie is not coming out very thick. Mine barely covered the bottom of the pan, so I’ll just double the brownie layer next time!
Like others have experienced, my brownies were less than half the height of the cheesecake! I’ll probably double the brownie layer and halve the cheesecake next time, or keep the cheesecake the same and double the brownie.
Hi Tiffany! These look yummy and I am going to try them… but reading the recipe and reading some of the post, I am wondering… there is no gluten free flour or coconut flour used in the Brownie layer? Is that why their layers were thinner? Just a thought as it seems like there is something missing in the recipe?
Nope! These are flourless brownies 🙂
Is there someplace I can buy coconut sugar without having to order it online?
Sure! Check out your local health food store.
I get mine at Sprouts or Whole Foods!
You can buy a big bag of organic coconut sugar at Costco.
I use Greek Yogurt as a substitute for sour cream..wonder if if will work in this recipe?
I would think so 🙂
Being recently diagnosed with celiac disease, gluten free has seemed like a punishment, but these brownies have made life soooo much better..thank you
Thank you for sharing, Stacia! 🙂
looks yummy!! I’m confused about the timing of the first baking (brownie layer). The-toothpick-coming-out-clean part seems to be unmatched with the pour-cheesecake-mix-over-baked-and-slightly-cooked-brownie-layer part. What do you mean by “slightly cooked”? Is the total baking time approximately 45 minutes? As usual, I’m confused.
Ahh It should say slightly cooled! Not cooked! I’ll fix it. Thanks 🙂
omg these look heavenly! And sound simple to do! I haven’t had alot of time to make any “wholesome” treats lately. Can’t wait to do this one. Thanks for sharing.
What is coconut sugar and how do you make it or where can I buy it? I clicked on the link in the recipe and it took me to the village green website. I clicked on coconut products and there wasn’t any coconut sugar shown.I would greatly appreciate your help with this. Thanks so much!
amazon has coconut sugar
wildernessfamilynaturals.com has really great coconut sap sugar, and they use responsible, sustainable sources
I buy Coconut Crystals or Coconut Sugar (Same thing) at my local Sprouts or Whole Foods markets.
Wonder what you could substitute to make the cheesecake dairy free?
Me too! Me too!!!!! 🙂
soak cashews then cream them in the food processor with agave, coconut oil
and vanilla is what is used in raw desserts
We baked these and like Lisa said .. the brownie layer was shorter and the cheesecake taller. Disappointed you answered other people and not her as to why this happened. DId you double your brownie recipe for the picture?
I have no idea why your brownie layer was not higher. Did they taste bad? I did not change anything for my pictures.
This looks amazing! Thanks so much for sharing such a recipe. Question: What non-dairy alternative would work well to replace the cream and sour cream in this recipe? (I’m wondering about using coconut milk and coconut concentrate (coconut manna). Any suggestions on this? Thanks!
I honestly don’t know. I only tested this recipe with cream cheese. Please let me know if you test it out with coconut milk/coconut butter. I would like to know your results! Thanks!
me too! Me too!!!!! 🙂
We used cashew “cheesecake” as a substitute for the the cheesecake topping. Worked very well. Although you do not do a second baking (cashew version goes in the freezer to firm up), so I recommend extending the brownie bake time by 5-10 min.
Can I substitute the cream cheese for raw cream cheese from the farm? We dont buy philadelphia cream cheese or any of that stuff so I dont know if the raw, unprocessed stuff will still bake the same way as the store bought stuff…any ideas?
I’m not sure for this recipe. I used Nancy’s organic cream cheese, which is not as thick as the philadelphia cheese.
These are so good..however, my brownie layer was like half an inch high, and the cheesecake layer was much taller. What could I have done differently? I thought i followed the recipe exactly. Also, the cheesecake layer was brown! Could have been the Haitian vanilla that I use though, it’s very dark.
YUM YUM YUM!!
Do you bake the brownies 15-20 min THEN add cheesecake and bake additional 25-30?
Yes 🙂
Would these turn out properly if I substituted melted butter 1:1 for the coconut oil and cane sugar 1:1 for the coconut sugar?
I would think so!
We only made the brownie layer (too impatient), but it was heavenly! Thanks so much. We doubled the batch and substituted half of the coconut sugar with stevia. Our nine kiddos gobbled it down! First time brownies have been in this house in a loooong time.
Aww I’m so glad you and the kiddos liked them! These brownies are the best!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
How much stevia did you sub for the coconut sugar? And do you mean the pure stevia extract or Truvia (whether it be store bought or home made).? Thank you! Was the consistency of the brownie changed at all? I’d make this with the cheesecake part of it attached.
truvia contains erythritol, a sugar alcohol which I do not recommend.
Why not ERITHRYTOL?
Tiffany, thanks. These were simple and great. Pecans are a nice touch for those that can have them. I know you don’t use stevia or xylitol, but we’re going to try a batch with birch xylitol, and if it works out, we’ll let you know, for those who can’t have the sugar.
Let me know how they turn out! I know it will be helpful for others who want to sub the coconut sugar.
Tiffany, I forgot to let you know how the birch xylitol worked out. If someone can tolerate it, the birch xylitol works great with your recipe. We tried it, and it was the best recipe we’ve ever made with birch xylitol. We still prefer the coconut sugar, but for those who can’t do the sugar, the birch xylitol is definitely a great alternative. If anyone tries it, as you know, they should not use regular xylitol, which most likely will be sourced from GMO corn, and probably from China. I had forgotten about this, until Becky asked about it above. All of a sudden I feel an illness coming on. I think it’s time for my wife to nurse me back to health with another three or four batches!!
How did the birch xylitol work for you? I have some here as well that I’d consider using if you recommend it. Thank you!
Becky, the birch xylitol works great. It appears I can’t have it very often, but it is easier for me to tolerate than typical xylitol (which I now know is probably GMO and from China). We usually use raw honey or coconut sugar, and the coconut sugar is great for baking, but since it and birch xylitol are a bit pricey, we usually just stick with local honey.
If you can tolerate the birch xylitol, then you will probably like it in this recipe. Good luck with it, and if it works out, let others here know.
This is really, really horrible. I couldn’t eat more than two complete batches, before I had to ask my wife to please, PLEASE not make these ever again…until tomorrow! Then I’ll be willing to suffer through another batch. Oh the lengths a man must go to for the sake of gluten-free culinary science!
Haha. You had me worried for a second there!
I’m glad you guys liked them :).
I made these and they were soooo good, but my brownie part was not as high as yours and the cheesecake part was taller…I followed the recipe to a tee…any advice?
I had the same issue…. it was much skinnier than picture…
Making this right now and the batter tastes AMAZING!!!
Hope you enjoy them!
Now this is a brownie recipe i can sink my teeth into no faux sugar or weird flour. Just coconut and chocolate, mmm some pecans sound good with this also.
I bet pecans would taste really good in these 🙂
Is there coconut flour in the brownie?
Nope! No flour at all 🙂
Thank you. Question, how many bars does this make? I’m assuming 16 since you say to use an 8×8 inch baking dish.
It depends on how you slice them. We made our a little big. I think we had 12 bars.
Great. thanks for your response!
Congratulations on coconut baby #3!!
Thank you, Breezy! 🙂
These sound amazing! Can I substitute xylitol for the coconut sugar?
I’d like to know how to sub that too. I have some I want to use up.
Sorry, Pamela. I don’t bake with stevia or xylitol because they make me sick.
What about substituting honey to make is gaps legal? Do you have any suggestions, or would this recipe not work with that substitution?
I’m honestly not sure! Xylitol makes me sick so I don’t bake with it. 🙁