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Mini Ricotta Cheesecakes are rich, creamy, and baked in a muffin tin! No water bath required for this mini cheesecake recipe. These little cuties are so perfect for parties and are always a crowd pleaser!
Mini Cheesecakes
Easter is quickly approaching and in our house that means one thing: Ricotta Cheesecake! We make one every year. But this year I’m shaking things up and treating my family to these mini ricotta cheesecakes. They’re just as creamy and flavorful as the original recipe, buy way easier than baking an entire cheesecake. Plus, their tiny size makes them perfect for sharing! So if you love ricotta cheesecake, you have to try this mini version! Bonus: no water bath required! I know that little tidbit will make many bakers rejoice!
We love topping creamy ricotta cheesecake with fresh berries and a sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar, but here a some other fun topping ideas:
- chocolate syrup
- whipped cream
- lemon curd
- fresh strawberry sauce
- nutella
- cherries
- and almost any variety of jam or jelly would be tasty!!!
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make Muffin Tin Ricotta Cheesecakes:
- cream cheese: always use full-fat!!! and be sure your cream cheese is very soft before you begin assembling the batter!
- ricotta cheese: makes the cheesecake batter creamy, dense, and flavorful. Again, use full-fat.
- sugar: granulated sugar works best for this recipe!
- eggs: you’ll use whole eggs and egg yolks for this recipe.
- and finally, heavy cream: this makes the cheesecake batter creamy, creamy, creamy! do not substitute this with milk or even half and half.
Oops! I almost forgot: you’ll also need graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar to make the crunchy graham cracker crust! You can make your own graham cracker crumbs by crushing sheets of graham crackers in a blender or food processor. Or, save yourself the extra step and buy them pre-crushed at the grocery store.
This recipe yields one dozen mini ricotta cheesecakes, but the recipe doubles like a dream. You can also make this recipe up to 5 days in advance!!! Making it perfect for parties and celebrations. I made 5 dozen of them last week for a family event and let me just say being able to make them in advance was a life saver!
More Mini Cheesecake Recipes:
If you try this ricotta cheesecake recipe with graham cracker crust, let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your kitchen creations makes my day.
Mini Ricotta Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 cup Graham Crackers, pulsed into crumbs
- 3 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 3 and 1/2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
For the Ricotta Cheesecake Filling:
- 12 ounces Full-Fat Cream Cheese, very soft (use brick-style cream cheese for best results)
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 large Eggs plus 1 Egg Yolk, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
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 the body of a blender or food processor, combine graham crackers, sugar, and salt; pulse until the crackers have been completely transformed into fine crumbs. Add melted butter; stir well to 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 Ricotta 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 Ricotta cheese 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. 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 15 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.
These are delicious, the flavor is very deep, like a creme brûlée and they are very creamy. Mine came out too soft, they stuck to the liner because they were too soft and I baked them according to directions even leaving them in off oven a little longer. So good though, I will make them again, just bake a little longer. Great recipe!
Hi JM! So glad you enjoyed them. You can definitely add a few more minutes to the bake time, and spray the liners with nonstick baking spray to help get the liners off cleanly.
Can you freeze them after you bake them?
Yes! Cool them completely and then you can freeze for up to 2 months.
These were delicious and very easy to make.
These are so easy to make. And delicious. Family loved them. I just used a little less of the graham crackers because I prefer the ratio i.e. less of that , more of the cheesecake filling. Yum!
What happens if you use reduced fat? Would they still work, just not as creamy?
Thank you soo much for this AMAZING recipe!! It turned out absolutely perfect!! Exactly what I was looking for; light, fluffy and flavorful. Thank you thank you thank you
What about using mascarpone cream cheese instead of riccota ?
How many cups of already crushed graham crackers would I use for this recipe? Sorry to post again but I had a typo in the email address that I submitted previously.
Just one cup of crushed graham crackers 🙂
How many cups of already crushed graham crackers would I use for this recipe?
Hey! They seemed a bit too liquid after only 15 minuets baking …. is that how it’s supposed to be?
Mine were also still raw at the cooking time. I left them in the oven for another 10 minutes and they came out perfect!
Question: muffin tin, is that a mini or standard muffin tin. Thanks, M
Hi! It’s a standard size muffin tin 🙂
I want to make these in my mini muffin pan for a party. Ever tried this? I guess I should lessen the time a little?