Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish -These cheesecake bars with a cream cheese center and strawberry filling look as impressive as they taste. No one will suspect just how easy they are to make!
Looking for the perfect dessert? Our readers are obsessed with this classic cheesecake recipe! Or skip the oven and make our delicious and easy No Bake Cheesecake Recipe!
Why this Recipe Works
Who doesn’t like strawberries and cheesecake? They’re even better sandwiched between layers of flaky buttery pastry crust!
Do you remember these Sopapilla Cheesecake bars I shared a while back? This easy Strawberry Cheesecake Danish recipe is like those but flavored with berries and almond instead of cinnamon sugar.
I could have just made a straight-forward cheesecake bar with a graham cracker crust. But then I remembered the amazing crescent roll crust from that sopapilla recipe–the perfect match for strawberry cheesecake!
The buttery pastry layers make this taste like a cheese danish, fresh from the bakery. Only you don’t have to spend hours making pastry crust from scratch.
Best of all: This is a cheesecake recipe you can eat for breakfast! It has “danish” right there in the name.
Make these the night before and sit down to a delicious chilled strawberry danish with your morning coffee!
Ingredient Notes
- Crescent rolls. If you can find the crescent roll sheets, those work great. You can also use traditional crescent rolls–just press the seams together.
- Strawberry Pie Filling. I used canned store bought pie filling. Swap out the strawberry for blueberry or cherry pie filling to make different flavored danish bars.
- Granulated Sugar. Makes a creamy cheesecake filling. Take it to the next level and use vanilla sugar instead (easy to make at home)!
- Cream Cheese. Soften to room temperature before using for creamiest results!
- Almond Extract. The key to such great flavor in the filling! Or skip it and use my homemade vanilla extract instead!
Easy Instructions
Crust. Press one unrolled can of crescent rolls into the bottom of a baking dish.
Cheesecake. Make a cheesecake filling by beating together cream cheese with sugar and almond extract.
Assemble. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the dough. Spread the pie filling on top.
Crust. Stretch a second can of crescent rolls over the pie filling. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle the tops with sliced almonds before baking.
Glaze. As the bars cool, make the glaze by whisking together powdered sugar with almond extract and milk. Drizzle icing over the cooled bars and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tips and Tricks
- Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. I like them best when they’ve had several hours to get completely cold. Delicious with hot coffee!
- Full fat cream cheese is best. The flavor is richer and much creamier than low fat versions. Strawberry Cheesecake Danish bars have so few ingredients that the rich cream cheese flavor is essential.
- Pinch the seams. If you’re using standard crescent rolls make sure to fully seal the perforated seams by pinching them together. Otherwise there will be separation in your crust.
- Brunch. Serve this sweet pastry with a savory Vegetable Quiche for a complete breakfast!
Recipe FAQs
If you cannot get crescent roll dough where you live, you can substitute refrigerated pie or puff pastry dough. The crust will not be as puffy, but the bars will still be delicious!
I used a 9 x 13 baking dish to make strawberry cheesecake bars.
These bars need to be kept chilled and covered in the refrigerator. Transfer cut bars to an airtight container for longer freshness.
More Easy Breakfast Recipes
- Baked Chocolate Donuts
- French Toast Casserole
- Strawberry Pie Bars
- Vegetable Quiche Recipe
- Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
- Buttermilk Pancakes
Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 packages cream cheese, room temperature 8 ounce each
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 can strawberry pie filling 15 ounce
- 2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
For the glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoon milk
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with granulated sugar and almond extract for several minutes until smooth.
- Unroll the first can of crescent rolls and press into the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish. Press the seams together. Pour cheesecake filling over the dough.
- Open pie filling and spread over cheesecake layer.
- Unroll second can of crescent rolls and before laying over pie filling, try to stretch them out just a little bit. Place over top of pie filling, and carefully pinch seams together if possible. Brush with melted butter and add sliced almonds.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract for the glaze. Pour over cooled danish. Refrigerate for at least one hour or more.
Notes
- Pie Filling- swap out the strawberry for cherry or blueberry with delicious results!
- Crescent Rolls- if you can find the crescent roll sheets, those work great. Otherwise, using the original crescent rolls works too, just press the seams together.
- Chill- these bars are best when chilled completely. Make the night before and serve for breakfast.
Nutrition
All the delicious flavor of a fruit filled Danish baked into a cheesecake bar! These easy Strawberry Cheesecake Danish Bars make a deliciously sweet breakfast, dessert or midnight snack.
The flavor was delicious! However, there was way more cream cheese than I would like, compared to what a normal Danish would have. I will make it again, but will reduce the cream cheese to 2 packages & see how it goes.
I absolutely love your recipes……I have so many “saved” and never know which to make first! This recipe will, for sure be a “must make” as we all love cream cheese in anything! ❤️ Have a Happy & Blessed Easter! 🐣
What an awesome dessert! My family enjoyed it and this is probably going to be one of our favorites at home. Thanks for your great recipes, I have enjoyed trying many of them!
Wow..incredible!! It’s got a little bit of everything, we love! We will be making these again!
These bars are the most delicious thing I have ever made! Using the crescent rolls was genius but it was the almond extract that made this dessert! Loved it.