One of the foods and flavors that always comes to my mind during spring is coconut. I’ve always included coconut in my Easter menu!
Today I’m sharing a delicious and easy dessert recipe that is perfect for Easter, and the best part (aside from it tasting amazing) is that no baking is required. These Layered Coconut Cream Cheesecake Bars can be made ahead of time, won’t take up any space in the oven and will be a fabulous addition to your Easter table.
These delicious bars have layers of different flavors, including coconut cream, cheesecake and vanilla wafers. It’s fantastic how simple they are given how much flavor they pack in.
You can whip these bars up in almost no time, but they do need to chill for about five hours prior to serving. I prefer to make them the day before, which not only gives them time to set, but frees me up to enjoy Easter morning with my family and only focus on getting our Easter meal made, with dessert ready and waiting for me in the refrigerator.
To help make sure mine cut easily, I prefer to line my pan with foil, which can then be lifted out of my pan prior to slicing and serving. I also like to place my pan in the freezer for about 20 minutes prior to slicing and serving. I run a knife under hot water, dry it off, then pull the foil gently out of the pan, place my bars onto the counter, and gently slice and serve using the warm knife.
You can make these bars with either JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding or use JELL-O Coconut Cream Pudding, which I used for mine. Both pair so wonderfully with the cheesecake layer and the vanilla wafer crust. I’m sure your family will enjoy this recipe as much as mine does!
Coconut Cream Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 84 vanilla wafers divided
- 6 Tbsp. butter melted
- 1 pkg. 8 oz. PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 tub 8 oz. COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
- 2 pkg. 3.4 oz. each JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
- 2-1/2 cups cold milk
- 1-1/2 cups BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut toasted, divided
Instructions
- Reserve 24 wafers. Crush remaining wafers; mix with butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer until blended. Whisk in 1 cup COOL WHIP; spread carefully over crust. Stand reserved wafers around edges.
- Beat pudding mixes and milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in 1 cup of the remaining COOL WHIP and 3/4 cup coconut; spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining COOL WHIP and coconut. Refrigerate 5 hours.
Looking for some other delicious recipes like this one? You’ll enjoy these!
Disclosure: As a Kraft Tastemaker, I am compensated for my posts with Kraft. All opinions however are mine and mine alone.
Jackie says
Hi Christi
How long do these bars keep after sliced.
Christi says
You want to store them in the fridge, covered, and eat within two or three days.
Sommer @ASpicyPerspective says
These cheesecake bars look absolutely mouthwatering! Please pass the fork and milk, time to dig in!
Christi says
Thanks Sommer! And love your new profile pic!