Active time: 15 minutes Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Perfect for a picnic, these little jars look and taste like your favorite cheesecake recipe, but with less sugar and fat thanks to reduced-fat cream cheese (aka Neufchatel), part-skim ricotta, and thick Greek yogurt. Be sure to read labels and choose graham crackers and vanilla yogurt that are lower in sugar to keep calories in check. To drop the sugar content even more, opt for plain Greek yogurt with a few dashes of vanilla extract.
Raspberry Cheesecake Jars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (170g) raspberries, frozen or fresh
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar, divided
- 5 cinnamon graham crackers, crushed (78g) (i.e., Annie’s Organic Cinnamon Grahams)
- 4 ounces (113g) Neufchatel cheese
- 1/2 cup (124g) part-skim ricotta
- 1 (5.3oz/150g) container less-sugar vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
Place the raspberries and 2 teaspoons sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the juices are thick and syrupy, 3 minutes. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until cooled.
Smash the graham crackers into crumbs with a rolling pin or mallet. Sprinkle the crumbs evenly among 6 small (4 ounce/117ml) jam jars. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat the remaining tablespoon of sugar, cream cheese, yogurt, ricotta, lemon zest and almond extract with a hand held mixer until smooth and fluffy, 3 minutes. Spoon the mixture into the glasses on top of the graham crackers. Spoon the raspberry sauce over the top. Screw on the lids and chill for at least 1 hour before serving or store for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Serves: 6 | Serving Size: 1 jar (1/2 cup or 95g)
Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 189; Total Fat: 7g; Saturated Fat: 3g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 21mg; Sodium: 179mg; Carbohydrate: 25g; Dietary Fiber: 3g; Sugar: 14g; Protein: 7g
