Ricotta Crumb Bars

These Ricotta Crumb Bars are really tender, creamy and soft. They have a sandy, buttery crust and topping, with a sweet cheese filling.

Ricotta cheese is an excellent filling in desserts and in this case, makes these Ricotta bars taste very much like cheesecake. The sandy, super tender crust just melts in your mouth and the cheesecake-like center is much more delicate and soft than a traditional cheesecake made with cream cheese. The crumb topping gives these simple treats a “bakery” finishing touch. Altogether, this dessert is SO quick to put together and then all you have to do is cut them up and serve.

As an introvert, I’ve always loved to spend time at home. There is nothing more comforting to me than relaxing in our “humble abode”, no matter what I might be doing – housework, cooking, cleaning, reading a good book while curled up on the couch, spending time with my husband or sipping a cup of tea while watching all the deer and turkeys paying us a visit in our yard.
Even though I love spending time with people, I’m definitely more comfortable in my bedroom slippers than in party shoes.

I think this dessert is just like me, very simple, homey and quiet. It doesn’t call attention to itself and isn’t very complicated or fancy. The delicious aroma of dessert baking in the oven adds another dimension of coziness to the atmosphere. It’s perfect anytime of the year, any day of the week.

Video of How To Make Ricotta Crumb Bars

Ingredients for the Ricotta Crumb Bars:

Ingredients for Ricotta Crumb Bars

The crust and topping are made with all purpose flour, baking soda, a bit of salt and butter.

The cheesecake like filling is made with ricotta cheese, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.

What Can You Use Instead of Ricotta Cheese?

Instead of ricotta cheese, you can also use cottage cheese, drain it first though. You can also use farmer’s cheese, which will work perfectly.

If you want to use cream cheese, you can do so, although it will have a different texture.

Making the Crust and Topping:

How to make the crust and topping for the Ricotta Crumb Bars in the food processor.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine and then add the butter, in 1 Tablespoon pieces. The butter should be soft, at room temperature.

Pulse to combine, until the butter is dispersed in the flour and is a crumbly texture with pea sized butter pieces throughout.

Instead of a food processor, you can use a pastry blender or a fork to combine the flour with the butter.

If you want the crust to have a more buttery and shortbread cookie consistency, not as crumbly add more butter. You can use about 1/4 – 1/3 cup more butter and the crust will not be as crumbly.

Preparing the Filling, Assembling and Baking the Ricotta Crumb Bars:

Ricotta Crumb Bars tutorial; preparing the cheese filling, layering the crust, sprinkling with the topping and baking.

Mix the ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla until thoroughly combined. You can use a mixer or mix it by hand with a whisk, or even use the same food processor that you used for the crust, just put the flour mixture into another bowl. 

Put 2/3 of the flour mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and press it into the bottom of the dish. Be sure to press the crust very firmly into the bottom of the baking dish, using a large spoon or the bottom of a measuring cup.

At this point, you might be wondering, how is this ever going to work? I know. Even though I’ve made these bars many times, it still amazes me every time that it comes together at the end. 

Pour the cheese mixture over the crust and sprinkle the remaining flour mixture over the top of the ricotta filling.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. Let the bars cool for 10 minutes before cutting them into pieces.They will be very delicate and tender, so be gently when you are handling them. There will be crumbs – that’s why I called them Ricotta Crumb Bars:).

Store at room temperature, covered, up to 3 days or in the refrigerator up to a week, covered.

Other Ricotta Desserts:

Ricotta Cheesecake

Chocolate Ricotta Cheesecake

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Ricotta Crumb Bars

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4.4 from 14 reviews

These Ricotta Crumb Bars are really tender, creamy and soft. They have a sandy, buttery crust and topping, with a sweet cheese filling.

  • Author: Olga’s Flavor Factory
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 40 mins
  • Total Time: 55 mins
  • Yield: 36 bars 1x
  • Category: Sweets

Ingredients

Scale

Crust/Crumb Mixture:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup (12 Tablespoons) butter, plus 1 Tablespoon for greasing the baking dish (room temperature)

Filling:

  • 2 cups ricotta cheese (1 lb)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with 1 Tablespoon of butter.
  2. In a food processor, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter, in 1 Tablespoon pieces to the flour and pulse to combine, until the butter is dispersed in the flour and is a crumbly texture with pea sized butter pieces throughout.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla until thoroughly combined. 
  4. Put 2/3 of the flour mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and firmly press it into the bottom of the dish.
  5. Pour the cheese mixture over the crust and sprinkle the remaining flour mixture over the top of the ricotta filling.
  6. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. Let the bars cool for 10 minutes before cutting them into pieces.
  7. They will be very delicate and tender, so be gently when you are handling them. Store at room temperature, covered.

Notes

If you want the crust to have a more buttery and shortbread cookie consistency, not as crumbly add more butter. You can use about 1/4 – 1/3 cup more butter and the crust will not be as crumbly.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

This recipe was originally published here at Olga’s Flavor Factory on August 31, 2014. I added a video and clarified the instructions, but the recipe is still the same. This has been our family favorite and many readers’ favorite for years. Enjoy!

85 Comments

  • Justina

    My MIL make a recipe similar to this, but with cream cheese. She also freezes a portion of the crust and grates it over the top before baking. It happens to be my husbands favorite dessert. I can’t wait to try your version. We love your blog. Keep it coming!

  • Katya @ Little Broken

    Olga this looks so yummy! I can see this as a breakfast or dessert dish. Reminds me a little of blini stuffed with cheese

      • olgak7

        No, sour cream has a completely different texture and will not bake up the same way as ricotta. Since there is a significant amount of ricotta, you shouldn’t use sour cream.

    • Jianna Cates

      Maybe I did something wrong, but this was not good. The amount of egg was too much, and the crust was too floury, so it tasted like sweetened scrambled eggs on flour. It just hit the trash. I’m sad about my ricotta going to waste. If I were to ever try this again, I would do half the amount of egg, and for the crust I would do a graham cracker crumb crust with melted butter and sugar, and add a tiny bit of brown sugar crumble on top.






  • LanaR

    Olga, this recipe looks delicious! I was wondering though, how does the flour/butter mixture come out in texture and taste once the dish is baked? One could automatically assume it could be pasty but I feel that you might say that is not quite the case.

  • Alina

    Hello Olichka,
    Yesterday I your Golubtsi 🙂 my hubby loved them 🙂 we had them for dinner 🙂 then at 10 pm just as I’m half asleep his like “where are those Galubtsi” haha 🙂 so he had them late at night 🙂 and took them to work 🙂 (I made a big batch)
    Then I made your ricotta crumb bars!! I was dreaming then ever since you posted them 🙂 and as soon as they where cooked we both ate them but honestly had a disappointed face 🙂
    Then put it back in the oven for another ten minutes 🙂
    And this morning ate 2 🙂 they are absolutely perfect!!!! I should never doubt your site 🙂 it must have been my oven 🙂
    They are my fav now!!!
    Absolutely Devine! 🙂
    Also I read your story about your little angel! That Jesus decided to take to heaven! And I sobbed! Hubby kinda looked like he was going to cry!!
    My parents know a family a big family!
    Heaps of children! And when they had there first born, it was dying and the church and parents prayed and prayed pretty much begged this baby from God, his said you can have this child but he won’t be christian (something along this lines) as far as I heard from my parents he grew up giving the parents grief. And siblings. All his siblings are christian.
    He got married and His two daughters became christian.
    God knew why, sometimes we have sorrow, but God does things for his best. Also for his Glory.
    Your a very inspiring women! I’m going to share this story. It’s absolutely a treasure.

    Xxx Alinchik!

  • Lana

    Thank you Olga for another simple and delicious recipe. These crump bars will be on my quick to-do list when I do not have a lot of spare time. Do you think I can substitute ricotta for tvorog in this recipe? I was even thinking of adding raisins or some other dried fruits to the ricotta.

    • olgak7

      Absolutely, Lana! I’ve used farmer’s cheese instead of ricotta and it turns out great. Raisins are always a great addition to farmer’s cheese or ricotta too.

  • yelena

    These are so good! I just made them this morning and have already eaten 2 bars! Even my husband who doesn’t like sweets, had a bite and liked it.

    Thank you for taking the time to blog, I love following your stories

    • olgak7

      Lily, you can use a fork to work the butter into the flour mixture and mix it with your hands quickly. You don’t want the heat of your hands to melt the butter completely. It should work just fine.

  • jenny

    I have been making these for a while now and realized I didn’t thank you for another great recipe. I added 1/4 cup of sugar to the crust because I didn’t like the salty/semi sweet taste and by adding only 1/4 cup it makes its perfect and not overly sweet. Also I don’t have a processor and always make all Crumb or streusel recipes with hands and never have problems with butter melting or becoming to soft. Just FYI.
    I’ve had many people ask for recipe so its a winner!! Thanks again 🙂

    • olgak7

      Thanks for taking the time to write, Jenny. I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe.
      You can definitely make this without a food processor, it just makes it a lot faster.

  • Aleksandra

    Olga, I made these today and they tasted kind of eggy, like a soufle. Do you think I could put one or two fewer eggs in the cheese mixture?

  • Vita

    Thank you so much for such a great recipe! I substituted ricotta with Farmers cheese. It was so good I made this 3 times in 2 days! Me and my husband practically ate almost the entire thing in one day (probably not a good thing) but it just melts in your mouth.

  • Yelena

    YUMMY!!! Honestly I was a bit nervous about the baking soda in these… I was hoping that you won’t be able to taste it in the “dough” but let me tell ya, these are DELICIOUS! I love everything ricotta cheese related, especially desserts and these are no exception!!! Now just waiting on the kids and hubby to try these bars when they come home 😉

    • olgak7

      Yay! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed these Ricotta Crumb Bars, Yelena. Thank you so much for taking the time to write. I hope your family enjoys them too:).

  • Yana Yagolnikov

    Thank you for such a yummy recipe, Olga! I honestly lost count how many times I’ve made this crumb bar in this month alone and its only the 16th! 🙂 Thank you again!

  • Katarina

    The bottom layer never turned into a crust for me…it literally stayed a flour mixture with little buttery lumps. Do you have idea what I did wrong? The filling was delicious so I’d love to try these again if I can figure out how to make the crust correctly!

  • Stacy

    Thank you so much for this recipe! I Iook forward to making these bars. Do the bars need to be refrigerated afterwards or can they be left out?

  • Stacy A.

    I made these and they were delicious! After they came out of the oven the crust was a very crumbly. We stored it in the fridge and the next day they held together nicely. We recommend them cold! Thank you for the recipe.






  • Barbara

    I made these and they were absolutely delicious! I added a little sugar to the crumb topping and also sprinkled some cinnamon. Will definitely make again!






  • Kate

    I stumbled onto this recipe a couple of months ago and had only just now tried it and don’t regret a thing! They are so yummy and way simpler to make than some other recipes out there, also very filling for a dessert. Definitely recommend and will try them again!






  • Marianne Evans

    Just out of the oven. Well not quite, I’ve already had 2 small squares. This is a perfect recipe for me. Not too sweet. I added a couple of tablespoons butter as suggested. Came together easily and will be a wonderful addition to my recipe collection. I look forward to dinner parties again.

    I found this looking for ways to use ricotta. What a find!






  • Sarah

    Quick and easy recipe for leftover ricotta; however, the ricotta I normally used downsized to a 15 ounce container, so I augmented with 1/4 cup of sour cream. My BF had two HUGE pieces after dinner! Thanks for posting this!






  • Jill Hibberd

    Made this for dessert this evening. Stunningly yummy. Thank you for recipe, Will save to make again. Needed to use up some ricotta. Found it hard to convert to French measures(metric but 2c flour = 300g ; 3/4+ c butter = 200g; 2 250g tubs ricotta; 170g sugar; teaspoons are same. Incase someone else wants equivalents Also cook at 175*C for 350*F
    Brilliant!

  • Kandice

    I found this recipe tonight while looking for something to use up some extra ricotta, and they were a big hit! I made a half size batch and baked in an 8″x8″ pan. I used a bit of extra butter to make the crust a little more short bread-ish, and just mixed it by hand like I do for scones. My husband described them as “somewhere between bread and cheesecake” and ate three pieces!






  • Zhanat

    What an amazing, delicious treat it is! I made it many times and writing a review now. I, personally, love Ricotta (well, actually I love tvorog – hi, Russia🤭), so I’ve tried some baking with Ricotta before but this one is the best! Even my picky son loved it and asks me to make “his favorite pie” (мой любимый пирог). My guests also enjoyed it too. Thank you so much for sharing amazing recipes! I’m SO glad I found you, now I never worry what to cook for my family or for my guests 🥰






  • Afrin

    Looks so delicious. If I want to add lemon juice to add some lemon flavor to it, can I do that? How much lemon juice do I need to add? Thank you!






  • Ava

    The concept is good, and the bars are delicious!! We still ate the whole batch, BUT I felt the base and crumb coat was pretty floury, so next time I will be trying them with a little more butter! (Granted I did cut the recipe in half so some of the measurements weren’t perfect and that might have made the difference).






  • Teena Hout

    I had some leftover ricotta from making eggplant parmesean the other day and searched for a recipe to use it and stumbled on this one. I made them last night with the intention to cut the recipe in half and made the mistake of using all 4 eggs. Needless to say it can out “eggy” and wasn’t good at all. Determined to try these I made them again tonight and they were pretty good, not sweet at all. Actually my husband want them sweeter so the next I make them I’ll add sugar to the filling. Otherwise I enjoyed them; thanks!!






    • olgak7

      Thank you for sharing your feedback, Teena. I really enjoy “eggy” desserts, but I can understand that it’s not for everyone. I’m glad you made it work for your taste preference.

  • Cathy

    The filling is delicious but the crust is to floury and to blah. I put some sugar on top which tasted much better. Next time I make the cheese cake I will put about a half cup of sugar in the crust mixtures.

  • Bonnie-Marie Ares

    I made these Ricotta Crumb Bars at the end of December 2021…about a week ago. I made the recipe exactly as stated but instead of using the food processor for the crumb topping, I just used my hands to brake up the butter into the flour mixture…came out just fine. The bars looked just like the picture above. These bar are so delicious! My husband and I ate the whole pan by ourselves…it took us a few days lol. I will definitely make these over and over again. It will be put into my yummy dessert folder. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

  • Michelle Schaefer

    So delicious and easy! I did tweak it a little. I used a cup of butter and I did use my hands rather than the food processor. I used 2/3 of the mixture for the crust. Then I added another 1/4 stick of butter and about 1/4 cup of sugar to the mixture that was left for the topping . I mixed it with my hands working it into a crumble. I made a blueberry reduction which was almost at a jam consistency…added a bit of lemon juice to that. I also added lemon zest to the ricotta mixture. Assembly: crust, ricotta mixture, blueberry reduction, crumble topping and baked for 40 min. The sugar in the topping created a bit of a crunch in the top…yum! I will definitely make this again!!






  • Connie Harn

    I made these this morning. They’re good, but to serve as a dessert, I think the topping needs to be sweetened a little bit. I drizzled some powdered sugar icing over the top. Also, the recipe doesn’t say whether or not these should be refrigerated after they are cooled.

  • Tanya

    Olga,
    I normally don’t comment but I HAD TO with this recipe. I made these this past weekend and they are AMAZING! 🤩 can’t believe I haven’t tried making them before. I’m obsessed.

    Thank you for sharing your love of food with the rest of us gals. God bless you, and everything you do.

  • Paul

    Has anyone made these in cupcake tin with paper liners? I’m thinking of making these for a bake sale and would be easier to sell in that form.

  • Cheryl Taylor

    I’m disappointed cheese mix taste great but it’s so dry taste like flour and did recipe to the T. How can I save it. Is there something I can add to baked squares to help serve it up
    Please and thanks






    • olgak7

      It sounds like the butter wasn’t worked into the flour enough. If the butter isn’t incorpoarted into the flour enough, it could be too dry. Next time, you can even add more butter.
      So sorry it didn’t work out for you. You can add some fruit to add some “juiciness”, or even pie filling or whipped cream. Hope that helps.

  • Joanne

    This recipe is very good and easy, however it did taste a little too eggy maybe because I used 4 extra large eggs. Question: will the recipe still work if 3 extra large eggs are used instead of 4 eggs? Can lemon zest be added as well? Thank you

    • olgak7

      Hi Joanne! I’m pretty sure it will still work with 3 eggs. If you prefer not to have an “eggy flavor”, I would recommend using less egg whites. Egg whites are what give things an eggy flavor. You can just use egg yolks and remove the egg whites and it will probably still work and won’t taste eggy at all.

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