Making this No Bake Strawberry Lemon Dream Bars Recipe is a dream because it’s simply that easy. 15 minutes is all it takes to prep these strawberry lemon bars. Layers of Golden Oreos crust, lemon cheesecake, topped with whipped topping, and a fresh berry!
This dessert is so good! You get a little sweet Strawberry flavor mixed in with a sweet and tangy lemon cheesecake filling, and whipped cream topping that just makes this a fabulous way to “wow” your guests or family.
Dream bars are so popular, and this lemon berry dessert is one of the most popular for spring and summer. Grab your ingredients and get to whipping.
🍴 Why This Recipe Works
- Simple Ingredients
- Easy Prep
- No Cooking
- Rich and Creamy Layers
- A fun layer dessert for potlucks, summer cookouts and more
- 15 minute prep work
🍓 Ingredients
There are ingredients for the crust, lemon cheesecake filling, and the whipped cream topping. Don’t worry; they are all easy ingredients. Let’s dive a little deeper into what you need:
Golden Oreos – If you haven’t tried Golden Oreos yet, now is a perfect time. They are insanely good and make the perfect crunchy crust for these bars. You can certainly substitute any variety of Oreos, but the Golden ones are my favorite for this recipe.
Lemon – The most crucial flavor is all the lemony goodness! To obtain such a fantastic result, we use lemon pudding mix, lemon juice, lemon extract, and three fresh Meyer lemons. The combination of the four is outstanding.
Strawberries – Every batch of these strawberry lemon dream bars has one pound of fresh strawberries. While you can use different berries if you’d rather, we can never get enough strawberries and lemons together.
🍽️ Instructions
Step One: Using a good quality blender, pulse the Oreo cookies until they become a fine crumble. Then put the crumbs into a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Add the graham crackers to the blender and pulse until they are crumbs too. Add the graham crackers on top of the Oreo cookies.
Step: Two Melt butter and drizzle it over the graham cracker and cookie crust. Stir until the butter is incorporated with the crumbs.
Then, press the crust down, so it evenly covers the bottom of the baking dish. Put some muscle into it and make the crust nice and firm. Put the baking dish in the freezer to chill.
Step Three: Place five packages of softened cream cheese in the blender or a stand mixer. Blend the cream cheese until it’s smooth and creamy.
Step Four: Using another bowl, mix together the instant pudding and the half and half. Combine until smooth. Add the pudding mixture to the cream cheese and blend until combined.
Pour in the vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon extract. Sprinkle in the powdered sugar and mix until it’s creamy and smooth.
Add two cups of the cream cheese and pudding mixture on top of the cookie and graham cracker crust and spread evenly. Put the dish back in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Step Five: Run the strawberries under some cold water then place them on a paper towel so they can dry off. Take 12 smaller berries and pinch the stems off. Then set the rest of the strawberries aside for later.
Step Six: Add one teaspoon of yellow food coloring gel to the rest of the cheesecake mixture. It should be bright yellow and smooth after it’s blended.
Take the dish out of the freezer and add half of the yellow cheesecake mixture on top. Add the small strawberries and place them into four rows down and three rows across.
Add the rest of the yellow mixture on top of the berries. Put the cheesecake in the freezer for one hour.
Step Seven: Prepare the topping by using a high-speed blender or stand mixer. Blend the cream cheese until it’s smooth then add in ½ cup of heavy cream.
Add the powdered sugar and blend. Sprinkle in the vanilla and heavy cream and mix until it’s thick and stiff peaks begin to form.
Step Eight: Take the dish from the freezer and add the whipped topping. Smooth it out, so it’s even and covers the entire dish. Put the cheesecake back into the freezer.
Step Nine: Cut the rest of the strawberries into thirds. Then slice the Meyer lemons. Put the slices into rows on top of the cheesecake alternating between the strawberries and lemons.
Put the cheesecake in the freezer for at least four hours or overnight. Before serving remove the cheesecake from the freezer and let it sit for 15 minutes then cut into pieces. Serve and enjoy!
PRO TIP: You can skip the food coloring all together. It is just for visual purposes so don’t get caught up on it.
🍲 Meal Prep Instructions
You know there are usually time savers using meal prep ideas in our recipes and this one is no different! To cut back time even more when you want to make this dessert, try out these ideas!
- Crush the Oreos early and store them in an airtight container. You can do this days and even weeks ahead of time as long as you use a good, solid airtight container like the Rubbermaid ones.
- Wash and prep the strawberries. Depending on how fast your strawberries ripen, you may want to do this one the night before. If you got them from picking at a farm, you can do this up to two days before.
- Another way to save time is to prep all the ingredients in containers already measured and have your mixer and utensils ready to go. I know that seems silly to people when I suggest that but I do it when I want to prep ahead. I like certain spatulas and such, so knowing they are not put somewhere mysterious or they are in the dishwasher but it didn’t run last night. You see where this is going. When I use this technique, I can put together a banana bread in less time than it takes to heat up my oven and I am back to drinking coffee – all with no stress.
🧊 Freezer Friendly Directions
You can keep the strawberry lemon cheesecake in the freezer for up to six months. Just make sure that it’s covered and it’s kept airtight.
This is fantastic if you have a last-minute dinner party or event, and you need some dessert. We like to keep one in the freezer for any time we are in the mood for something sweet.
🍴Substitutions
This beautiful dessert easily lends itself to substitutions! Try some of these swaps whenever you feel like changing the dessert a little.
- Strawberries – Easily swap the strawberries for any other berry you enjoy. Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries would be fantastic.
- Half And Half – Swapping the half and half for heavy whipping cream is always an option.
- Oreos – Skip the cookies altogether and just use graham crackers. Another option is to use a different variety of Oreos. Regular, peanut butter filled, or mint filled Oreos would be a great option. Keep in mind if you use a different flavor that they may not go well with the lemons, so be careful.
🍴 Variations
You know how much I enjoy changing up my recipes from time to time. You never know what I may get in the mood for! Ha! Anyway, I wanted to point out a few ideas for you to try out.
- Oranges – Swap out the lemons with oranges. If you do, use orange extract and orange juice in place of the lemons. It will look pretty and smell lovely too. It’s a great idea to use orange food coloring if you go this route too.
- Limes – They are another fantastic option to try instead of the lemons. The bright green would be so pretty with the strawberries too. It will be tangy and yummy.
- Cookies – Crush some gold Oreos and sprinkle them on top of the cake to add some more character.
Expert Tips
- Feel free to do one of the variations to this recipe. Just always think will these flavors blend well. If you think so, mix and match and have fun!
- Follow the steps and you will end up with an easy and delicious dessert.
- You do need to allow your dessert time to fully set up. That way it holds shape when you slice into it.
- Double the recipe if you want, by using a larger pan or do two different pans.
👩🍳 Recipe FAQs
Since this is a no-bake dessert, you will find it does need to be refrigerated. Otherwise, it will spoil fast. Cover properly and then store in the fridge until ready to serve.
If you don’t plan to eat these right away, go right ahead and freeze the leftover bars. Place in a freezer friendly container and store for months.
Don’t want to make a homemade whipped topping? Go right ahead and reach for a Cool Whip to spread on top. It will work just as good and be the light and fluffy component to your dessert.
More Berries and Lemon Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
No Bake Strawberry Lemon Dream Bars
Equipment
- Sturdy Blender
Ingredients
Crust
- 26 Golden Oreos
- 1 sleeve Graham Crackers
- 1 stick Butter
Lemon Cheesecake Filling
- 40 oz Cream cheese softened (5 packages)
- 6 oz Instant Lemon Pudding Mix
- 1 ½ cup Half and Half
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Lemon Extract Goodmans was used
- Neon Yellow Food Coloring Gel
- 1 lb Strawberries
- 3 Meyer Lemons
Whipped Cream Topping
- 3 oz Cream Cheese
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
Crust
- In a high powered blender, place the Oreo cookies, and blend until they're fine crumbs. Pour the cookie crumbs into a 9 X 13 dish. Place a sleeve of graham crackers into the blender and blend until the Graham crackers are crumbs. Pour the graham cracker crumbs on top of the cookie crumbs.
- Melt the butter in the microwave, and pour the melted butter on the crumbs in the dish. Mix the butter with the cookie/cracker crumbs until well blended, and press the crumb crust evenly in the bottom of the 9 X 13 dish. Place the dish in the freezer.
Lemon Cheesecake Filling
- In the same blender, or in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer, place five packages of softened cream cheese, and blend or mix until smooth and creamy. In a separate bowl, mix the instant pudding, and half n half together until smooth. Add the pudding to the cream cheese, and blend until mixed. Add the Vanilla, lemon juice and lemon extract, and blend. Add the powdered sugar and blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Place about two cups of the cheesecake mixture on the crust, and smooth evenly, and place the dish back in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Wash the Strawberries under cool water, and lay them on paper towels to drain. Using smaller Strawberries, remove the stems from about 12 small berries, and set the others aside for topping.
- Add about a teaspoon of Yellow gel food coloring to the remaining cheesecake mixture, and blend until smooth and bright yellow. Remove the dish from the freezer after 30 minutes, and place about half of the yellow mixture on top of the white mixture in the dish.
- Place the small Strawberries in rows (four rows down and three rows across) in the dish, with the stem sides down, and the point sticking up. Spoon the rest of the yellow cheesecake filling over the berries, covering them in the yellow filling. (If all the berries aren't completely covered, don't worry, because the whipped cream topping will cover the berries) Place the dish in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
Whipped Cream Topping
- In a high speed Blender, or in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese, and blend until smooth. Add about ½ cup of the heavy cream, and the powdered sugar, and blend until smooth. Add the Vanilla and the rest of the heavy cream, and blend until the cream becomes very thick and forms stiff peaks. Remove the dish from freezer (after one hour) and top the yellow layer with the whipped cream topping. Smooth the topping with a spatula, until it's even across the dish. Place the dish back in the freezer. Slice the remaining berries in thirds, and wash and slice the large Meyer lemon in slices. Place the slices in rows on top of the whipped cream topping, alternating the strawberries and lemons. Place the dish back in the freezer, for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to serve, remove the dish from the freezer about for about 15 minutes, then cut the pieces about 3 X 3 inches, and through the center of the strawberries to make a pretty presentation. Top with half a lemon slice, and a whole strawberry. Serve and Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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