Transform your boxed brownie mix into these amazing Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies with only four ingredients! Perfect for impressing house guests or taking to a party!
There are some things in life that I refuse to make from scratch.
I’m sure brownies from scratch are delicious, but I have laundry to be done and a messy living room and a dog that needs some lovin’ and a life that needs to be lived and boxed brownies will do just fine thankyouverymuch.
These cream cheese swirl brownies are possibly my favorite variation of brownies in all the land.
Even better- the cream cheese topping only uses THREE ingredients.
All about simplicity here, people😉
If you want to make your brownies from scratch, I promise not to roll my eyes at you. I’m sure they’re delicious. You can send me some and I’ll taste test them, ok?
What You’ll Need
- Your favorite boxed brownie mix (I swear by this Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate mix. I buy it in bulk at Sam’s Club, people. Also recently loving this FoodStirs mix for a better-for-you option)
- Cream cheese (or Neufchatel cheese, explained below)
- Vanilla extract
- Egg
- Sugar
- 8×8 dish (I love the square one from this Pyrex set because it has a lid, so I can just pop it on and be done with it rather than having to deal with transferring the brownies to a Tupperware)
Neufchatel Cheese vs. Cream Cheese
Chances are you’ve never noticed Neufchatel cheese next to the cream cheese at the grocery store. I grew up with Neufchatel and thought I would share the difference between the two in case you’re curious.
Neufchatel & cream cheese are very similar in flavor and texture. The difference is neufchatel cheese is made from milk only, while cream cheese is made from both milk and cream.
Make the swap to Neufchatel for a lower in fat option while keeping that creamy good flavor!
How To Make Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies
Prepare your brownie batter as normal, but reserve about a cup of it (SO IMPORTANT).
Pour into a greased 8×8 pan.
Next, pour the cream cheese mixture over the top of the brownies.
Then, drizzle the reserved brownie mix on top. You don’t have to be precise- you’re going to swirl around the cream cheese anyway.
Be careful not to swirl too much, because the cream cheese will mix with the brownie and start to turn brown. You’ll lose the pretty contrast of the dark brownie and the white cream cheese.
The brownies will take longer than prescribed on the box because you’ve added this extra layer. See below for notes.
Makes 9 (thick) brownies. For more, use a 13×9 dish and double the brownie mix. See notes.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
brownies
|
- 1 box brownie mix
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients
|
|
- Prepare the brownies as directed by the box.
- Reserve about a cup of the brownie mix before pouring the rest into a greased 9×9 dish.
- In a separate bowl, blend together the cream cheese, vanilla, egg and sugar mixture.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture across the surface of the brownie mix.
- Pour the reserved brownie mix over the cream cheese. It doesn’t have to be neat- you’re going to do the swirls after this.
- Using a toothpick or knife, gently swirl the cream cheese mix around into the mix.
- Bake for the amount of time directed on the box + 25 minutes*
- I don’t like the cream cheese topping to be TOO sweet, so I used 1/4 cup of sugar. If you’re unsure, mix together the cream cheese and sugar FIRST, then taste it. Add more sugar if you’d like. Then mix in the egg.
- It made 9 brownies because I used a 9×9 dish for majorly thick brownies. You can just as easily do it in a 13×9 dish, just use two brownie mixes and double the cream cheese mixture.
- The cream cheese topping added about 25-30 minutes to the box recommended cook time because the brownies were so thick. I would cook it for a little over what the box says, and check it. If you’re worried about the top getting too cooked, simply tent some foil over the top.
Enjoy!
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Hi Jessica,
The beginning reads “what you need” and list vanilla. The ingredients does not list vanilla and is not mentioned in the instructions. Is vanilla used in the cream cheese mixture? If so how much per 8 ounce block? Thank you for your help in this matter. 😊
Hi Sandra! Thanks so much for catching this. I’ve made the correction to the recipe. Mix 1 tsp of vanilla extract in with the cream cheese mixture.
For some reason when I poured the 1 cup of brownie mix put to the side over the cream cheese mixture it did not swirl that much. I didn’t want to mix the cream cheese in so I did what I could. But the cream cheese wasn’t showing on the top.
Bianca, I kind of drizzled the reserved brownie mix on top of the cream cheese mix..instead of covering it
I used salted caramel cream cheese and only added the egg and vanilla. They turned out great.
That sounds so delicious! Glad you liked them!
Love. I added some small dove chocolate Carmel pieces broken up. Looks great. Baking in a heart shaped silicone pan. Wish me luck!
I love that! Sounds delish!
Would you recommend serving these warm? Or is chilled abs made a day ahead still good?
I think either would be tasty, but warm is always my favorite.
You mentioned 8 × 8 baking dish and the recipe Indictates 9× 9. Would 8 × 8 be large enough? I would think a few more minutes to bake with smaller dish.
I wanna do the 13 x 9 so I can add nuts to half of the pan. How long would I bake the 13 x 9?