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This mini cheesecake recipe is cold, creamy, and so much easier than baking a full-sized cheesecake! These mini cheesecakes feature an ultra creamy cheesecake filling and crunchy graham cracker crust. Top with whipped cream… or have fun and try different toppings like fruit, chocolate sauce, or caramel.
Mini Cheesecake Recipe
It’s no secret cheesecake is my FAVORITE dessert. And with the summer holidays coming up, I wanted to provide you with a mini version of my internet famous New York-Style Cheesecake. Such a great recipe for Memorial Day, 4th of July, graduation parties, or summer picnics!
Reasons to Love Bite-Sized Cheesecakes:
- Baked in a muffin pan… there’s no fussy water bath or springform pan required!
- Everything you love about a full sized cheesecake, in cupcake form.
- Individual portions make it easy to serve a crowd… or practice portion control.
- Makes exactly one dozen individual cheesecakes! But you can easily double it if you need more.
- Delicious with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, or fresh fruit… you can get super creative with the toppings.
- Always a crowd-pleaser at parties and celebrations!
Mini Cheesecake Ingredients
- Graham Cracker Crumbs: You can use crushed graham cracker crumbs or buy the sleeves of graham crackers and crush them yourself. To do this, place them in a blender or food processor and pulse until completely crushed. Then measure and use the amount called for.
- Granulated Sugar: Don’t sub brown sugar here, as it will change the taste, texture, and appearance.
- Salt: A tiny dash helps balance sweetness and enhance the other flavors.
- Unsalted Butter: Melted butter is the binder for the graham cracker crust. In a pinch, salted butter may be used if needed, but you’ll want to omit the salt called for.
- Cream Cheese: Full-fat cream cheese gives the cheesecake filling the best taste and texture. Bring your cream cheese to room temperature before using it in this recipe. And use brick-style cream cheese for best results.
- Sour Cream: Full-fat works best and bring it to room temperature before use. If you can’t find sour cream, you can use full-fat plain Greek yogurt instead.
- Vanilla Extract: Just a dash adds rich vanilla flavor and enhances all the other flavors. Always use real vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla.
- Eggs: You’ll want to use large eggs, that are at room temperature. This recipe calls for 2 large eggs and 1 large egg yolk.
- Lemon Juice: Just 1 teaspoon adds a burst of brightness to the flavor without tasting “lemony”. You may leave out this ingredient in a pinch, no need to replace it with anything else!
- Heavy cream: Aka whipping cream, this makes our mini cheesecakes extra rich and creamy, so don’t skip it! Do not replace heavy cream with milk! You’ll also need heavy cream if you plan on making homemade whipped cream.
How to Make Mini Cheesecakes
- Baking Prep: Preheat the oven at least 20 minutes before you plan on baking. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin liners. I suggest using a lighter colored muffin tin for best results.
- Make the Graham Cracker Crust: In a large bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Stir everything together until evenly combined.
- Pre-Bake Crust: Add the crust to the muffin tin and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature and set the muffin tin aside until needed.
- Make the Cheesecake Filling: Use a food processor and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl in between pulsing. The cheesecake batter should be silky smooth with no large lumps of cream cheese. No need to add the eggs one at a time.
- Fill the Muffin Tin: Evenly divide the cheesecake filling among the muffin cups. Pouring it on top of the prepared graham cracker crust. And filling each mold up all the way to the top of the muffin tin, the molds will be very full.
How Long to Bake Mini Cheesecakes
- Bake the Mini Cheesecakes: Place the muffin pan in the preheated oven and bake for 16 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the door closed for another 10 minutes. The cheesecakes should still look jiggly at this point, but don’t fret, because they’ll firm up as they cool!
- Cool to Room Temperature: Remove the muffin pan from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack. Cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Once cool to the touch, place the muffin tin in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
- Time to Serve: Once the cheesecakes are cool, remove them from the pan and serve! Top with whipped cream or your favorite cheesecake toppings right before serving.
How to Store Mini Cheesecakes
Did you know you can store mini cheesecake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days?! Because you can… making these bite-sized cheesecakes the perfect make-ahead party dessert.
- Place the muffin pan on a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
- Carefully remove the cheesecakes from the muffin tin and transfer to an airtight container.
- Place the container in the fridge and keep chilled until needed, up to 5 days. Or freeze according to the instructions below!
How to Freeze Mini Cheesecakes: Grab a Freezer Bag
You can freeze mini cheesecakes for up to 2 months! The cheesecake filling stays super creamy and the graham cracker crust stays delightfully crunchy. So I always have a few of these hiding in my freezer for “dessert emergencies”!
- Simply cool to room temperature. Then place the muffin tin in the freezer for about 20 minutes, or until they mini cheesecakes feel solid.
- Remove the muffin tin from the freezer and carefully remove the cheesecakes from the pan.
- Tightly wrap each mini cheesecake in saran wrap and freeze until solid. Then arrange the solid cheesecakes in a freezer bag and freeze until needed!
- Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving. Then top with whipped cream – or your favorite cheesecake toppings – and serve! Don’t be surprised if these are gobbled up in less than 20 minutes!
Mini Cheesecake Toppings
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More Mini Cheesecake Recipes:
- Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes
- Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Mini Lemon Cheesecakes
- Mini Pecan Pie Cheesecakes
- Mini Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes
Easy Mini Cheesecakes
This mini cheesecake recipe is cold, creamy, and so much easier than baking a full-sized cheesecake! These mini cheesecakes feature an ultra creamy cheesecake filling and crunchy graham cracker crust. Top with whipped cream… or have fun and try different toppings like fruit, chocolate sauce, or caramel.
Ingredients
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 cup Graham Crackers Crumbs
- 3 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 3 and 1/2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
For the Cheesecake Filling:
- 16 ounces Full-Fat Cream Cheese, very soft (use brick-style cream cheese for best results)
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 large Eggs plus 1 Egg Yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Whipped cream, for topping, optional
- Cherries, for topping, optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, lightly spray liners with non-stick spray and set aside.
For the Crust:
- In a large bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Using a rubber spatula, stir well to evenly combine. Add 1 heaping tablespoonful to each lined muffin cup. Press the crust firmly into an even layer.
- Bake in preheated oven 5 minutes then remove from oven and set aside to cool. In the meantime, make your filling.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees (F).
For the Cheesecake Filling:
- In the body of a high power blender, food processor, stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand held mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla and beat smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Add in the eggs and yolk and beat until combined. Add in the lemon juice.
- Turn the mixer off and, using a rubber spatula, gently stir in the cream, mixing until evenly combined.
- Divide the filling evenly among cups, pouring it on top of the prepared crust layer. The molds will be very full.
- Bake in preheated oven for 16 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the door closed for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool to the touch, place the pan in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours. Once the cheesecakes are completely cool, you can remove them from the pan.
- Store in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, until needed. Cheesecakes will keep for 5 days.
Video
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These look so cute and delicious! Love that you don’t need a water bath.
Wow, these mini cheesecakes look amazing!