by Kellie
Rich and creamy, Easy Sopapilla Cheesecake is inspired by the popular Mexican pastry. This simple dessert is made of a thick, sweet cheesecake layered between flakey crescent dough with a touch of cinnamon sugar.
I’m a Mexican food fanatic through and through….from enchiladas and Easy Chicken Fajitas to a flakey sopapilla dessert, I love it all. So, when I have an opportunity to take another favorite food (it’s cheesecake, if you haven’t guessed) and mash it up with my favorite Mexican dessert….good things happen.
Funny thing though, I was told that Sopapillas were a Mexican dessert but there are also people who claim Sopapillas originated in New Mexico.
What is a Sopapilla?
A sopapilla is a crispy, flakey deep fried pastry commonly served with honey or syrup. They can be served salty or sweet.
This Easy Sopapilla Cheesecake recipe is one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever made. While you can make sopapilla cheesecake pie, this recipe is made in a 13×9 inch baking dish so they REALLY should be called Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars since they’re sliced into squares….or rectangles….or whatever strikes your mood at the time.
How to make Sopapilla Cheesecake
Sopapilla Cheesecake is quick and easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool so you can eat it!
To make Sopapilla Cheesecake:
- Unroll crescent dough and press it into the bottom of a baking dish.
- Combine the cream cheese, vanilla, egg and sugar together in a bowl and top the first layer of dough.
- Unroll the second can of dough and lay it over the cheesecake filling.
- Pour the butter over the dough and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake, cool and enjoy!
The Perfect Cheesecake Recipe
Now, I do love a classic cheesecake recipe and have clearly mastered the New York Cheesecake with a light creamy filling. I used the same similar ingredients in this Sopapilla Cheesecake Bar recipe to get the same airy, ethereally smooth texture.
To up the ante just a smidge, I added a bit of cinnamon to the cheesecake filling, as well as, the topping for a warm, comforting flavor that is so totally dreamy.
Do you need to refrigerate sopapilla cheesecake bars? Simple answer, yes. When I am asked how to store sopapilla cheesecake bars, I suggest you tightly wrap your baking dish and place them in the fridge, for up to a week.
I love that this Sopapilla Cheesecake is a non-traditional cheesecake recipe, it seems more casual and fitting for a relaxed get together or even a tailgate party.
More Fun and Easy Cheesecake Recipes
- Easy Blender Cheesecake
- Baklava Cheesecake – So good!
- Cheesecake Dessert Tacos
- Apple Cheesecake Pie
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
Easy Sopapilla Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 8-ounce cans refrigerated crescent rolls divided
- 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon divided
- 1 3/4 cups sugar divided
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
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Instructions
- Preheat to 350 degrees.
Unroll one can of crescent roll dough and press it evenly into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish pinching the seams together if necessary.
- Using a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, vanilla, egg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar in a medium bowl on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the dough with a rubber spatula.
Unroll the second can of dough and lay it on top of the cream cheese layer. Stretch the dough to cover the cream cheese and pinch the seams to seal.
- Pour the butter over the top of the dough and spread to coat.
- Whisk together the remaining sugar and cinnamon then sprinkle over the top of the dough to coat.
Bake until the dough is cooked through and puffed up, about 50 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 30 minutes before cutting into 12 pieces.
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
This is delicious! Great recipe!
But the calorie count in the nutrition information is way, way off.
If you are using four 8-oz packages of cream cheese per recipe, and that makes 12 servings, that cannot be 157 calories per serving. 32 ounces of cream cheese is almost 100 calories per ounce, so that’s 259 calories per serving JUST from the cream cheese. Then you have butter and everything else, that’s a whole lot more calories.
So per recipe:
3104 cal from 32 oz cream cheese
1600 cal from 16 crescent rolls
180 cal from 2 eggs
400 cal from 4 T butter
1353 cal from 1-3/4 cup sugar
TOTAL 6637 calories for the recipe. 12 servings, 1/12 of 6637 is 553 calories, more than three times the 157 calories listed.
You’d have to cut the pan into 42 servings to get 157-calorie servings.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Anne!
You are right with the nutritional information. The program I use for calculating was using 4 oz cream cheese instead of FOUR x 8 oz. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, I’ve updated the information.
Can you use the spreadable cream cheese or does it have to be the hard stuff warmed to room temp?
Spreadable cream cheese is not recommended in this recipe as it won’t set up the same way.
Can you make this the night before you want to serve this. Make at night, and bake in AM to bring to work?
I suggest you tightly wrap your baking dish and place them in the fridge, for up to a week. Making a day ahead will work just fine :) Enjoy, Rhea!