Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars (easy with step-by-step photos)

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Made with crescent roll dough, these Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars are easy and quick to make. You’ll love the layers of cinnamon sugar and sweet cream cheese.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars on a pink plate with a bite out of it

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Ingredients
Step by Step Instructions
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Desserts You Will Love
How to Make Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
Sopapilla Cheesecake Recipe

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars are loosely based off of Spanish sopaipillas – round, flat pieces of fried dough. Sopaipillas can be sweet or savory and the toppings vary by region. In Peru, they sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar. That’s where this recipe comes from. You will love how easy it is to make this delicious dessert! Plus, when I was shopping for the ingredients to make Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars, I found a crescent roll dough that wasn’t perforated. That made it even easier because usually I have to squish the edges together. So, if you find that dough in your grocery store, get that instead of the perforated dough.

A stack of sopapilla cheesecake bars on a pink plate

Ingredients

Refrigerated crescent rolls
Cream cheese – softened
Sugar
Vanilla extract
Butter – melted

For the Cinnamon Sugar:

Sugar
Cinnamon

Step by Step Instructions

Here is our step-by-step guide to making Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars.

First you want to preheat the oven to 350. Then line your un-greased 9×13 pan with the first tube of crescent roll dough. (See how nice that looks when it comes in one piece?)

A layer of crescent roll dough on the bottom of a 9x13 pan

Then, in a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Spread the cream cheese layer over the first crescent roll layer. Make sure to push it all the way to the edges.

A cream cheese spread over the top of crescent roll dough in a 9x13 pan

Then, place the second sheet of crescent roll dough over the cream cheese layer. Again, make sure it goes all the way out to the edges.

Top layer of crescent roll dough in a 9x13 pan

Now for the top – the part that is most like a sopapilla. Melt about ¼ cup butter. Using a pastry brush, spread the butter over the top of the crescent roll dough. You probably won’t use the whole ¼ cup of butter.
Then mix up your cinnamon sugar and sprinkle it generously over the top. Pat it down into the butter.
Bake for 30 minutes.

Cinnamon sugar sprinkled over the top of sopapilla cheesecake bars in a 9x13 pan

When the timer goes off, take the pan out of the oven and lightly drizzle some honey over the top (optional).
Cool to room temperature, slice, and serve!

Cooked sopapilla cheesecake bars in a 9x13 pan

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do sopapillas originate from?

It is said that sopapillas began and took their original form in New Mexico more than 200 years ago. Sopapilla is a modified word of “sopaipa”, a Spanish word that came from the Mozarabic language “xopaipa” which means bread soaked in oil. Sopapillas have, themselves become modified to be a puffy piece of fried dough that is sweetened with a drizzle of honey. They are now very popular in the South and in Tex-Mex cooking.

What is the difference between sopapillas and churros?

The main difference is the shape- churros are long and thin, whereas sopapillas are smaller and puffier. They have a similar flavor, both being fried and covered in cinnamon sugar. The churro is my favorite Mexican dessert, actually. A churro cheesecake might be kind of delicious, right?

Other Desserts You Will Love

If you like these Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars, try some of our other favorite dessert bars!

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How to Make Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars