Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies – Shugary Sweets

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies take the decadent fudgy brownie we love and elevates it to new heights. A layer of soft and creamy cheesecake swirled with ultra chocolatey red velvet brownie batter.

For our readers who love red velvet, you MUST try our delicious red velvet crinkle cookies. Or start your day with a batch of red velvet biscotti!

Why These Brownies Are The Best

These decadent Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies are surprising, impressive, and super tasty. If you love thick and fudgy brownies, you’ll have to try today’s recipe

• The brownies use melted butter, so there’s no waiting around for cold butter to soften.
• The brownie and cheesecake share a lot of the same ingredients. So, you won’t have to pick up a million different ingredients to create this over-the-top scrumptious recipe.
• The cheesecake layer is smooth and creamy. It compliments the fudge brownie base perfectly. 

Our classic cheesecake brownies are equally wonderful. Or give our cheesecake stuffed cookies a try next!

Ingredient Notes

For the Brownies:

• Butter – This recipe calls for unsalted butter. However, if you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it and skip the additional salt in the recipe.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• Red Food Coloring – I prefer using gel food coloring, but you could use liquid food dye in a pinch.
• Kosher Salt – Kosher salt is great for baking because it’s less salty than iodized table salt. 
• Eggs – Pull your eggs from the fridge and allow them to sit on the counter while you collect the rest of your ingredients. Room-temperature eggs incorporate into the batter easier than cold ones. 
• All-Purpose Flour
• Vanilla Extract– Use our homemade vanilla extract for best flavor!
• Granulated Sugar

For the Cheesecake:

• Cream Cheese – Softened, room-temperature cream cheese is best. When you pull the eggs from the fridge, set out the cream cheese too. 
• An Egg
• All-Purpose Flour
• Granulated Sugar

Easy Instructions

1. Start the Red Batter Base – The batter will be extremely thick at the start. 
2. Create a Smooth Brownie Batter – This is the stage where you can really go to town mixing the ingredients until you have a smooth consistency.
3. Incorporate Flour & Divide Batter – Stir the flour into the batter, just until combined. Don’t over mix here. You’ll need to set aside about ¼ cup of red velvet brownie batter. Add remaining batter to baking dish.
4. Blend Cheesecake Ingredients
5. Assemble Layers & Create a Swirl – Pour the cheesecake mixture over the red velvet brownie batter, and smooth the top to create an even surface. Then, dollop about 9 scoops of the reserved brownie batter throughout the cheesecake layer. Use a toothpick to swirl the two together gently.
6. Bake & Cool – Only the center of the cheesecake should appear soft and jiggly. The rest of the cheesecake should be set. Chill for at least 2 hours before slicing. I promise, they’re worth the wait! 

Tips and Tricks

• Make sure to use unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe. There’s added sugar in the batter and the cheesecake base, so you don’t want to overdo the sweetness.
• Gel food coloring will give you more vibrancy with less dye than liquid food coloring. You can’t beat gel food coloring for the iconic deep, rich red hue of red velvet. 
• Don’t skip the chilling step in the recipe! The cheesecake layer needs the cold to set fully.
• For super-clean cuts, dip your knife in a tall glass of warm water, and wipe off the excess water. Then, make your slice from edge to edge of the baking dish. Wipe off the knife and repeat. The heated knife will create crisp cuts without crumbs. You’ll have picture-perfect brownies every time.

Recipe FAQs

More Brownie Recipes