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Home Dessert

Sopapilla Cheesecake (Churro Cheesecake)

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By: Diana Last updated on May 17, 2024

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Three sopapilla bars stacked on top of each other. Text at top of image says "sopapilla cheesecake"

This easy recipe for Sopapilla Cheesecake takes a few simple ingredients like crescent roll dough, cream cheese, and cinnamon sugar, and turns them into the best dessert bars ever!

Three sopapilla bars stacked on top of each other.


In Mexican and South American cuisine, sopapillas are a fried pastry that can be enjoyed sweet or savory. If you were to enjoy a sweet sopapilla dessert in Mexico you might be served puffed-up fried dough triangles drizzled with honey or sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

That’s not exactly what we’re making here today though. This extremely popular recipe for Sopapilla Cheesecake is loosely based on the traditional sopapilla recipe, but redesigned for maximum enjoyment.

Instead of mixing up a fresh dough, we’re using crescent dough sheets. And instead of deep frying it, we’re baking it, with a rich layer of cheesecake filling in between two doughy layers.

The resulting sopapilla cheesecake (aka sopapilla bars, sopapilla pie, cream cheese delight, or sopapilla cheesecake pie) is a divinely tasty dessert!

Cheesecake bars are always welcome! Try my pumpkin cream cheese bars, or blueberry cheesecake bars too.

A square piece of sopapilla cheesecake on a plate. a fork has removed a pice from the front corner.

Why You’ll Love This Churro Cheesecake Recipe

  1. Tasty Mexican Dessert – Since sopapilla cheesecake is made to taste like Mexican Sopapillas, this cheesecake is wonderful when paired with tacos, nachos, or enchiladas. You can also make sopapilla bars for cinco de mayo!
  2. Simple Flavors – I love the simple sweetness of this easy dessert recipe. Buttery dough, creamy, tangy cheesecake filling, and a cinnamon sugar topping all come together in the best way here.
  3. Easy Recipe – You’ll need just 6 ingredients and 15 minutes to put these bars together. Give them 40 minutes in the oven and then a little while to cool and you’ll be ready to dig in!

key ingredients

Here’s what you need to make this sopapilla cheesecake recipe:

two rolls of crescent roll dough, three blocks of cream cheese, and the ingredients needed to make sopapilla cheesecake in small bowls. Each ingredient is labeled with a text box overlay.

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

  • Crescent Roll Dough: This recipe works best with the Pillsbury Crescent Dough Sheets, but you can also use a regular roll of crescent roll dough. You’ll just need to patch up the holes in the dough with your fingers as you go.
  • Cream Cheese: Regular full-fat cream cheese is the main ingredient for the cheesecake filling for these bars. Avoid low-fat or fat free cream cheese in this recipe, it’s just not the same.
  • Cinnamon and Sugar: Sugar sweetens the cream cheese. It’s also mixed with cinnamon to make a crisp, sweet topping.
  • Vanilla Extract: This is added to the cream cheese as well to give it the flavor of cheesecake.
  • Butter: The top of your sopapilla cheesecake bars will be crispy and amazing because you’ll pour melted butter over the top layer of crescent dough and then sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar!

How To Make Sopapilla Cheesecake

a collage of images showing how to make sopapilla bars with crescent roll dough.
  1. Get Ready: Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Then unroll one of the crescent roll tubes and lay it on the bottom of the pan. Press the seams together if needed. I’m using the non-perforated crescent dough here.
  2. Make Cinnamon Sugar: Mix ¼ cup of sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and set the mixture aside for later.
  3. Mix the Cheesecake Filling: In a mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese with vanilla and 1 cup of sugar until well combined.
  4. Layer: Add the cream cheese mixture to the pan, and spread evenly over the crescent roll dough.
a collage of images showing how to layer and bake sopapilla cheesecake with crescent roll dough and cinnamon sugar on top
  1. Add The Top Layer: Unroll the second can of crescent roll dough onto a flat surface. Seal the seams with your fingers and then transfer the sheet to the pan, covering the cream cheese layer completely. Then, drizzle the melted butter over the dough.
  2. Sprinkle: Grab the cinnamon sugar mixture you created earlier, and use a spoon to evenly sprinkle it over the buttered dough.
  3. Bake: Bake the sopapilla cheesecake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until it’s slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Tip!

Make your sopapilla cheesecake extra sweet and a bit more authentic by adding a drizzle of honey to the bars after they’ve cooled.

a ceramic 9 x 13 dish with sopapilla cheesecake bars. A spatula is lifting one out of the pan. Two other pieces have already been removed.

Recipe Tips

  • Some Recipes Call for an Egg. I didn’t add one here, but you could mix in an egg with the cream cheese filling if you’d like a richer flavor and velvety texture.
  • An Offset Spatula is very helpful for smoothing out the cream cheese filling so that the bars are even.
  • Be sure to let the bars cool completely before cutting them. They cut best when they’ve been chilled first.
  • Cut to Size: Large squares are best if you’re serving this cheesecake as a plated dessert. If you’re serving sopapilla cheesecake as finger food, try cutting it into smaller squares or triangles instead.
a square slice of sopapilla cheesecake on a small plate. a glass of milk is in the background.

Storing Tips

If you should happen to have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

You can enjoy leftover sopapilla cheesecake bars cold, or heat them in the microwave for 15-30 seconds to take the chill off first.

What To Serve With Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

A Sopapilla Dessert is the perfect ending to your taco Tuesday or Cinco de Mayo feast!

My favorite Mexican meals include Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos, Grilled Shrimp Tacos, Cilantro Lime Chicken, and Chicken Nachos piled high with toppings.

While this sopapilla cheesecake is a nod to a traditional Mexican dessert, you can truly enjoy it with any type of meal.

I’ve been known to make these cinnamon sugar cheesecake bars for brunch, and they are particularly tasty on Christmas morning too, with this delicious Cracker Barrel hashbrown casserole. A perfectly brewed cup of coffee is all that’s missing.

More Delicious Dessert Bar Recipes

Carmelitas

Biscoff Cheesecake Bars

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Magic Bars (Seven Layer Bars)

All Desserts →

FAQs

Can sopapilla cheesecake be frozen?

Yes, these freeze very well. I like to freeze individual squares so that they’re easy to pull out when I want one. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge before enjoying them.

Can I make this recipe ahead of time?

You can make these cheesecake bars 2-3 days before you’ll need them, just be sure to keep them in the refrigerator.

Can sopapilla cheesecake be left out of the fridge?

Like any cheesecake, you can leave these bars at room temperature for an hour or so. Because this is a cream cheese dessert, after an hour or so you should absolutely refrigerate it to reduce the chance of foodborne illness.

Forget all your other dessert recipes – Sopapilla Cheesecake is the dessert you want to make this week! You’ll probably end up making it over and over again, so be sure to Pin the recipe for later.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe
Three sopapilla bars stacked on top of each other.
5 from 25 votes
(Click stars to rate!)

Sopapilla Cheesecake (Churro Cheesecake)

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 40 minutes mins
Cooling Time: 30 minutes mins
Total Time: 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
Author: Diana
Print Rate Recipe
Sopapilla Cheesecake is the best cheesecake bar dessert ever! It's easy to make with crescent roll dough and a few other common ingredients.
12 servings
Sopapilla Cheesecake is the best cheesecake bar dessert ever! It's easy to make with crescent roll dough and a few other common ingredients.

Equipment

  • 9 x 13 inch baking pan
  • Hand mixer
  • Mixing Bowl

Ingredients 

  • 2 8-ounce cans (450 g) refrigerated crescent roll sheets divided – if you can find the seamless dough sheets that’s ideal but crescent rolls can be used too.
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar divided
  • 24 ounces (680 g) cream cheese at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup (56 g) salted butter melted

Instructions 

  • Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), or 160°C for a fan oven.
  • Lightly spray a 9×13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan, then unroll one of the crescent roll tubes and press it in the bottom of the pan, pressing the seams together.
  • In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup of sugar with the cinnamon and set aside.
  • In a mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese with vanilla, and 1 cup of sugar until well combined.
  • Transfer the mixture and spread it over the crescent rolls.
  • Unroll the remaining can of crescent rolls, press the seams together and layer it over the cream cheese layer.
  • Drizzle the top with melted butter then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.
  • Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes until it’s slightly golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes:

  • For extra sweetness, drizzle the bars with honey after they’ve cooled. 
  • Some similar recipes call for an egg to be mixed into the cream cheese. I don’t find it necessary, but you can add it if you prefer your filling to be richer.
  • To Store: Keep these cheesecake bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. 

Nutrition Information

Calories: 117kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 0.1g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 34mg, Potassium: 4mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 119IU, Vitamin C: 0.01mg, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 0.04mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Little Sunny Kitchen

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  1. sheryl lord says

    Posted on 12/18/22 at 23:01

    love this recipe, however, i find it hard to believe the low calorie and sodium levels. i have seen this recipe on several sites, and no one can seem to agree on the numbers,coming if from 10 cal/ slice to 880, with sodium levels usually more in the 3-500 range. how can they fluctuate so wildly? are there more than one way they caluclate these things? or are they just takind a WAG?

    Reply
  2. Sharina says

    Posted on 12/18/22 at 12:26

    5 stars
    Sopapilla cheesecake is one of the best dessert bars I’ve tried! It is so easy to make and so tasty. Highly recommended!

    Reply
    • Little Sunny Kitchen says

      Posted on 12/19/22 at 01:56

      Thank you for the wonderful review, Sharina! I’m glad you love this recipe.

      Reply
  3. Anna says

    Posted on 12/17/22 at 02:46

    5 stars
    This cheesecake dessert was so fun to make! My whole family absolutely loved it!

    Reply
    • Little Sunny Kitchen says

      Posted on 12/19/22 at 01:53

      Thanks for the great review, Anna. I’m so happy that you and your family enjoyed it!

      Reply
  4. Jamie says

    Posted on 12/16/22 at 23:30

    5 stars
    Simple and delicious!! Loved these cheesecake bars!

    Reply
    • Little Sunny Kitchen says

      Posted on 12/19/22 at 01:46

      Thank you for the kind review, Jamie! Glad to hear you loved it!

      Reply

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