These Cream Cheese Brownies are rich, chocolatey fudgy brownies with a cheesecake ripple!
This recipe is made with a simple and fudgy one-bowl brownie batter, then swirled with a foolproof 4-ingredient cheesecake batter!
Nothing beats a classic, fudgy chocolate brownie… except maybe one that’s swirled with cheesecake! These cream cheese brownies are the ultimate sweet treat, made with ripples of cheesecake and whorls of rich chocolate. They’re also incredibly easy to make, with a one-bowl brownie recipe and a simple 4-ingredient cheesecake swirl.
The brownie portion of these cheesecake swirled brownies is adapted from my favorite brownie recipe (which you may also recognize from these Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies!). While I always prefer to make my desserts from scratch (especially if they’re as easy to make as this one), I have also made these using Ghirardelli’s Classic chocolate brownies with great success! If you’ve been asking yourself what desserts can you make with brownie mix, Cream Cheese Brownies are a fantastic option!
These brownies work best in a 7×11 pan, but you could also make a 9×9 pan work, I’ve found that a 9×13 pan makes the brownies much thinner than I like them to be.
How to Make Cream Cheese Brownies:
To make cheesecake swirled brownies, you’ll need a fudgy brownie batter and then, of course, a small batch of cheesecake!
To make the cheesecake swirl, you’ll need to combine cream cheese, sugar, an egg, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth. For best results, you’ll want to start with room-temperature cream cheese, and I also recommend using an electric mixer to beat your ingredients together so that the cheesecake is completely lump-free. Then you’ll drizzle this over the chocolate brownie batter and swirl with a knife before baking.
Can you add chocolate chips to brownie mix?
Yes, stir them into the batter last, just before spreading into the baking pan. The average batch of brownie batter can handle having about 1 cup of chocolate chips added.
How do you cut brownies cleanly?
Allow the brownies to cool completely before attempting to cut. For a very clean cut, refrigerate the brownies for several hours, use a warm knife (the best way to warm a knife is to run it under hot water and then dry it off just before cutting), and wipe the knife clean between cuts.
I recommend lining your baking pan with parchment paper so that once the cream cheese brownies have cooled completely you can simply lift them out of the pan and place them on a cutting board to cut them that way — much easier and neater than trying to cut directly in the pan!
What do you serve with brownies?
These cream cheese brownies taste great on their own, or they also are wonderful when served warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or chocolate syrup! Walnuts, pecans, and sprinkles are some other great options!
*NOTE: I originally suggested that you could use your favorite box mix as a substitute for the from-scratch brownie batter, but after a few people had difficulty with the recipes I no longer recommend using a box mix. I have had success using Ghirardelli’s Classic Chocolate brownie mix, but outside of that I can’t vouch for the success of this recipe using a box mix!
Equipment
Ingredients
Brownies
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar light or dark, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Cheesecake Swirl
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a metal 7×11-inch pan with baking spray.
- Combine butter and chocolate chips in a large, microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well and microwave again for another 15 seconds and then stir well again. Repeat in 15 second intervals until chocolate and butter are completely melted and well-combined.
- Add cocoa powder and stir well.
- Add sugars, stir until completely combined.
- Add eggs and then egg yolk, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
- Add vanilla extract and salt and stir to combine.
- Add flour and stir until completely combined.
- Reserve ¼ cup of the batter and spread the rest of the batter evenly into prepared pan. Prepare your cheesecake topping.
Cheesecake
- Combine cream cheese and sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until creamy.
- Stir in egg and vanilla extract. Stir until well-combined.
- Pour cheesecake over prepared brownie batter. Take your reserved ¼ cup brownie batter (if it has become stiff just stir it with a spoon) and drop/drizzle over cheesecake.
- Use a knife to swirl brownie batter and cheesecake together.
- Bake on 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with a few fudgy crumbs.
- Allow to cool COMPLETELY before cutting and serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
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These sound delicious. I haven’t made these yet but I wanted to know if you think a 9 in square cake pan would work instead of the 7×11? In terms of total square inches they are fairly close.
We have only tried this as written but that being said, I do think it would work ok in an 9×9 pan. You’ll want to bake until the top is set, I would check it around 16-18 minutes. I would love to hear how it turns out for you, Carol!
They turned out great in a 9×9 pan. I baked it the full 30 minutes. I didn’t think it would need the full time but it did. I think in order to get the center properly baked it needed the full time. The edges are chewy but not over done. They will not last long in our house!
I made the cream cheese brownies but could only eat the edge pieces because the bottom of the rest of the pan was literally raw after 40 minutes. Help!
Hi Terri, did you bake this in a 7×11 baking dish? If using a larger baking dish the edges will cook faster and be done before the center is able to fully cook.
Excellent recipe! My brown batter was a bit too stiff to swirl with the cheesecake so I just spooned it on. Not sure how to thin it out. Very nice recipe👍
My whole family loves this recipe. It comes out beautiful and is easy to make. It’s a fudgy brownie with a bit of cream cheese to break up the richness. Yum!
I’ve make these often. After I cut them into bars, I freeze in a freezer bag and take one out and defrost when I want one. I use black cocoa powder, as I love darker chocolate, and it complements the cream cheese swirl.
Thank you, our family loved these
I also have issues with box brownies. I have found that Pilsbury works the best for me. A box and a half in a 9×13 comes out perfect every time.
These turned out PERFECT. Will be my go to recipe from now on. I didn’t have a 7×11 pan and used a 9×13 instead, worked just fine, maybe just not as pretty.
Made this recipe a few times and it’s always a hit!
No leavening agent? Mine did not set at all
Hi Angela, these are a denser brownie so a leavening agent is not used. I am sorry this recipe didn’t set properly for you. Was it the cheesecake portion or the brownie portion that didn’t set?
When it comes to brownies no leavening agent is the norm unless you want cakey brownies. Probably just need to bake for way longer which most people seem to state here. Maybe OP runs a convection oven so it bakes faster for them?
A 7×11 cookie sheet? I can’t seem to find a 7×11 baking dish except for thin cookie sheets.
A 7×11-inch pan is sometimes called a brownie pan—you can find one here on Amazon.
Would it be okay to prep the night before, refrigerate, and bake the next day?
I haven’t tried it that way so I can’t say for sure.
The flavor of these is amazing, but like many other commenters, the baking time is off by a lot. Next time I would start with 50 minutes and go from there
I am glad you enjoyed the flavor so much, Carly! Thanks for trying our recipe.
Hi!
What size pan would you recommend if doubling (2x) the recipe? And what would the cook time be?
I’ve never tried so can’t say for sure. You may want to bake it in two pans. Enjoy Kayley!
I made this with 2 packages of Hershey’s triple chocolate brownie mix and a 9 x 13 glass pan. I cooked it for 40 min at 325 like the box mix recommended but then ramped it up to 350 for around 10 or 15min, depending on the color. They turned out great!
I used this delicious recipe to make a brownie bites by using a well oiled muffin tin. I like the crispy edges and fudgy center this recipe creates. Layer the brownie mixture (I added 1 C of milk chocolate chips) on the bottom of each tin while reserving about 1/2 c and then topped each brownie bite with the cream cheese mixture. Then divide the remaining 1/2 c of brownie mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture with a heaping teaspoon of brownie mixture in the center of each cream cheese layer. Swirled it with a toothpick and baked in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Amazing!
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing, Jill.
What a great idea, using muffin cups! I tried that today and it worked great.
I like this version. I have always liked the corner pieces of brownies and the edges better than the gooey center.
going to try the muffin tin idea on my next batch. thanks!
What size muffin tin? Regular or Mini muffin?