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Blueberry Crisp Recipe

A layer of rich cream cheese makes this blueberry crisp recipe truly special! You’ll love the contrast of tangy cream cheese with the sweet berries and cinnamon-infused crumble topping.

Overhead view of blueberry crisp on 3 white plates, center with scoop of vanilla ice cream

Homemade Blueberry Crisp With Cream Cheese

Blueberry crisp on its own is a perfectly delicious dessert, but I always like to find ways to bring recipes to the next level of deliciousness. Add peaches for blueberry peach crisp; layer in cream cheese for this blueberry crisp recipe.

Yes, underneath this traditional blueberry crisp is a sweet cream cheese layer that really makes it a showstopper. Blueberries and cream cheese go together so very well, don’t they?

And that topping! I’m such a sucker for crumb toppings. This is a good one, with plenty of brown sugar and just enough cinnamon. I opted to add some chopped pecans, and I really like the crunch it brings.

There’s a rustic feel to most any crisp or cobbler. This one is no exception, and it definitely tastes better than it looks. This may not be the prettiest dessert you’ll ever make, but it will be among the tastiest.

Blueberry crisp on plate with scoop of vanilla ice cream on top

Why You’ll Love This Blueberry Crisp Recipe

Here’s why this has quickly become my go-to blueberry crisp recipe.

  • Crisp with a twist. A traditional blueberry crisp feels more fitting to cap off a weeknight dinner than for serving at a party. But add cream cheese? Now we’ve got a crowd-pleaser!
  • Simple. Despite that extra cream cheese layer, there’s nothing difficult or fussy about this blueberry crisp recipe. You can have it assembled and ready to go in the oven in minutes.
  • Summery. If you’re looking for ways to put fresh summer berries to use, you can’t do better than a blueberry crisp. This might just be the quintessential summer dessert.
Overhead view of ingredients for blueberry crisp

Notes on Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.

For the Cream Cheese Layer:

  • Cream cheese – Use the cream cheese that comes in blocks, not plastic tubs.
  • Granulated sugar
  • All-purpose flour
  • Egg
  • Vanilla extract – You can use store-bought or homemade vanilla extract.

For the Topping:

  • Blueberries – Fresh berries are best, but frozen will work when they’re not in season.
  • Granulated sugar
  • Lemon juice – The acid in the lemon juice enhances the flavor of the berries.
  • All-purpose flour
  • Light brown sugar – Dark brown sugar has a more pronounced molasses flavor, which is stronger than we’d want here.
  • Ground cinnamon – I love the cozy flavor of cinnamon in a blueberry crisp, but cardamom would be quite nice too.
  • Unsalted butter – Leave the butter in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it; we’ll want it as cold as possible!
  • Pecans – The pecans will be chopped anyway, so save yourself some money and buy less expensive pecan pieces instead of whole pecans.
Baking dish of blueberry crisp with spoon

How to Make Blueberry Crisp

Although there are two steps to this blueberry crisp recipe, both components require just a few minutes of work.

Make the Cream Cheese Layer:

Prepare. Preheat your oven to 325°F and grease an 8″ x 8″ square, 9″ round, or 11″ x 7″ baking pan.

Make the cream cheese mixture. Use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat the cream cheese, sugar, and flour until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Bake. Spread the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or just until set.

Make the Topping:

Prepare. Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.

Mix the fruit layer. Combine the blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium bowl and toss to coat.

Make the crumble topping. In another bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Incorporate the butter with a pastry blender or a fork until the dough is crumbly. Toss in the pecans.

Assemble. Spoon the blueberry mixture over the cream cheese layer, then sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the blueberries.

Bake. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the blueberries are bubbly.

Overhead view of blueberry crisp in baking dish set on round cooling rack

Tips for Success

Read over my Baking Tips for Beginners, then follow these additional pointers for this blueberry crisp recipe.

  • Use room temperature cream cheese. This makes it easier to incorporate the other ingredients, giving you a smooth, uniform cream cheese layer.
  • Make sure the butter is cold. In contrast to the cream cheese, you want the butter as cold as possible! You can even pop it in the freezer for a few minutes, if needed. Cold butter ensures that the topping turns out crumbly and crisp.
  • Add foil if necessary. Keep an eye on your blueberry crisp; if you notice the nuts in the topping are starting to get dark, you can tent the pan with foil to protect them from direct heat. 
Overhead view of blueberry crisp on plate set next to spoon

How to Store

Refrigerate this blueberry crisp recipe for 3 to 4 days; wrap it tightly in the pan or transfer leftovers to an airtight container. Although you can heat it up if you’d like, I think it’s best eaten chilled so the cream cheese layer has a more cheesecake-like consistency.

Can This Recipe Be Frozen?

Freeze your blueberry crisp for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly in the pan. Let it thaw in the refrigerator before serving.

Baking dish of blueberry crisp with portion removed

More Recipes for Blueberry Lovers

Blueberry Cream Cheese Crisp

Yield 8 to 10 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Blueberries and cream cheese are perfect companions in this Blueberry Cream Cheese Crisp.

Blueberry crisp on white plate with scoop of vanilla ice cream and spoon

Ingredients

For the cream cheese layer:

  • 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (15g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:

  • 1 pint blueberries (about 340g or 2 & 1/2 to 3 cups)
  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup (60g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup (56g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

To make the cream cheese layer:

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8" x 8" square, 9" round, or 11" x 7" baking pan.
  2. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and flour until well-blended and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix until combined.
  3. Spread the mixture evenly into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or just until set. Set the pan aside while you prepare the topping.

To make the topping:

  1. Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.
  2. Place the blueberries in a medium bowl. Add the granulated sugar and lemon juice, and toss to coat. Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or a fork until combined. The dough will be crumbly. Add the pecans, and toss to mix.
  4. Spoon the blueberry mixture over the cream cheese layer.
  5. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the blueberries.
  6. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the blueberries are bubbly.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

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    31 Comments on “Blueberry Crisp Recipe”

  1. You may be out of blueberries, but you went out with a bang! Cream cheese in a crisp sounds delicious!

  2. I know what you mean about being a sucker for crumb topping, If I could put crumb topping on everything I would,,,:)

  3. I’m SO GLAD that I’m not out of blueberries! Goodness, I would love to eat all four of the corners of that dish!

  4. Dang, what a way to end your blueberry streak! This crisp makes my mouth water 🙂

    I have a huge bag of frozen blueberries, do you think it’d be okay to use those instead of fresh?

  5. This sounds perfect! What a fun recipe!

  6. Oh for thee love of Pete does that look divine!! I wish I had this recipe just two days ago. I made a peach and blueberry crisp – delicious, but something tells me this would have been sooo much better! 🙂

  7. I’ve done blueberry cream cheese pie before but I think a crisp would be even better. Love that topping!

  8. LOL!
    Do you know I eat 2 cups of blueberries mon-fri?
    I do.
    They are so good for you.
    I wish I could have it in crisp form.

  9. Jen – that looks absolutely lovely – I love cream cheese danishes too. Without sounding boring, could you use light cream cheese or would it just not work? Thanks for all the lovely posts. Janet London UK

  10. Wow, how delicious! I bet this tastes like a cross between pie and cheesecake. We just got a pint of blueberries from our CSA. I imagine it will be our last batch of blueberries for the season. I’m thinking this recipe would be the perfect way to “go out with a bang” as you say. Thanks for the inspiration!

  11. Love blueberries and cheesecake! This sounds divine!

  12. Just made this and can’t wait to try it. Looks yummy.

  13. Making it now! Looking forward to it! Super excited about a crumble topping that is majority pecan pieces!

  14. Use corn starch instead of flour in  the cream cheese, use oats instead of flour in  the topping.  Just as good.  I also made it with blackberries  and not blue berry.  Still just as  good.  My daughter can’t have flour.  Taste Great!

  15. Can it be re-heated after frozen.?

    • Hi, Ron. I’ve never tried freezing this, but I’d assume you’d need to reheat it in the oven. If you’ve frozen an individual serving or two, then the microwave would probably work.

  16. This was an amazing dish to impress! Although I did add lime zest and lime juice to the cream cheese mixture and used the lime juice instead of lemon because its what I had on hand. Definitely a keeper@! Thank you

  17. In the oven now! Smells amazing!!

  18. This will be my first time making a cheesecake recipe, so this recipe sounds easy and tasty, I’m anxious to see how it turns out. I really love blueberry desserts

  19. Hi! I love this recipe and wanted to know if using just egg whites is okay?

  20. I was out of blueberries and tried it with apples. Top tier. I just used two-three chopped apples instead of blueberries and I HIGHLY recommend it.

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