A simple recipe for the best-tasting Mini Cheesecakes you’ve ever tried! This easy recipe can be thrown together in under 30 minutes and is less fussy than making a traditional full-sized cheesecake! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Mini Cheesecakes: An Easy and Foolproof Recipe
While most of us love a great classic cheesecake recipe, making one does have some drawbacks. Traditional, non-mini versions can be a little fussy. They take a long time to bake (over an hour), some of them require a messy water bath (mine does not!) and they take a long time to cool (at least 6 hours!). You have to worry about cracks and your springform pan leaking and while I’d never say that it isn’t worth the effort, sometimes you just want something easier.
Mini cheesecakes are much simpler. Baked into cupcake or muffin tins (as opposed to a springform pan), they need less than 20 minutes in the oven and require less than half the time of their full-sized counterparts to cool. This recipe is based off of my beloved cheesecake recipe but it takes less than half the time to make.
Quick and easy, creamy, sweet with a subtle tang, and just all around delicious, these mini cheesecakes are every bit as satisfying as a full-sized one.
A Few Tips For Making Mini Cheesecakes
- I used my graham cracker crust for this recipe, but you can change things up and use an Oreo crust instead. Just cut the recipe in half for 12 mini cheesecakes.
- Want even more chocolate? Toss a few mini chocolate chips or broken Oreo pieces into the batter for chocolate chip or Oreo versions!
- This recipe makes 12 mini cheesecakes, but it can certainly be doubled to make 24.
- Do NOT over-bake your mini cheesecakes! This is the easiest way to ruin any cheesecake, if it spends too much time in the oven the texture will be dry, mealy and even crumbly. We want smooth and creamy! Watch your cheesecake carefully, make sure your oven temperature is accurate (I keep two inexpensive oven thermometers in my oven at all times) and check your cheesecakes early. I usually check mine at 17 minutes. They’re done baking when the centers bounce back to the touch and the edges may be a light golden brown.
How to Store Mini Cheesecakes
You’ll want to store these mini desserts in the refrigerator, preferably in an airtight container (so they don’t absorb any odors from your fridge). They’ll keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
If you’d like you can freeze them! Follow the instructions for cooling the cheesecake and chilling in the refrigerator (as instructed in the recipe) first, and then freeze (wrap them up or keep them in an airtight container). Mini cheesecakes will keep in the freezer for several months.
Easy Topping Options
Here are a few of my favorite toppings for mini cheesecake (and for regular cheesecakes, now that I think of it).
- Homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit
- Chocolate Ganache (with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for good measure!)
- Blueberry Sauce (or just about any fruit sauce)
- Homemade Caramel Sauce
Or you can just enjoy them plain! I love a good topping, but these mini cheesecakes are perfectly fine served as-is, no topping necessary.
Enjoy!
Other Recipes You Might Like:
Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Graham cracker crust:
- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 85g
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter melted
Mini Cheesecakes:
- 16 oz softened cream cheese 455g
- 1/2 cup sugar 100g
- 1/2 cup sour cream 80g
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten, room temperature preferred
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (160C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl stir together graham cracker crumbs and 1 ½ Tablespoons sugar. Add melted butter and stir again until ingredients are moistened and completely combined.
- Portion about 2-3 teaspoons of the crust mixture into each liner in your prepared muffin tin. Use a spoon or the (clean) bottom of a ¼ cup measuring cup to tamp down crumbs so they are evenly packed into the bottom of each liner. Set aside while you prepare your mini cheesecake filling.
Cheesecake
- Place cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl and use an electric mixer) and stir on low speed until smooth and creamy (don’t whip the cream cheese or excessively beat it, you don’t want to incorporate too much air into the batter).
- Add sugar and stir again until well-combined.
- Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir until ingredients are well-combined, pausing occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so there are no lumps.
- Gradually add eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated. Keep the mixer on low-speed and do not over-beat. Once again scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and stir on low-speed once more to ensure ingredients are completely combined.
- Evenly divide batter into muffin tin liners (I like to use an ice cream scoop with a lever release to do this, just makes it easy!).
- Transfer to 325F (160C) oven and bake for 17-20 minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn a very light golden brown and centers are set. Do not over-bake or the texture will be dry and mealy.
- Allow cheesecakes to cool completely to room temperature and then gently remove each mini cheesecake from muffin tin. Transfer to refrigerator and chill completely (about 2-3 hours) before serving.
- If desired, top with whipped cream, strawberry sauce, blueberry sauce, or chocolate ganache!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Anna says
June 16, 2019 at 4:10 amDear Sam,
I am not from the US and had not been able to find a decent Cheesecake until now.
The ones I tried here always were tasteless and had a dry texture.
Your mini Cheesecakes are a huge difference!
They are so rich in texture and taste like I always hoped Cheesecake to taste.
I added the zest of a lemon to give them a little touch of summer and can highly recommend it!
Thanks for fulfilling my Cheesecake-fantasy!
Anna
Sam says
June 16, 2019 at 9:17 amThank you so much, Anna! I am so glad you enjoyed the mini cheesecakes. 🙂
Deana says
June 14, 2019 at 9:27 pmI made these today for my grown son who LOVES cheesecake and I will deliver them tomorrow. Of course I had to taste them to make sure they were good… Good is an understatement.. this is the creamiest, most luscious cheesecake I have ever had. I can hardly wait to see his reaction when he takes the first bite! Thank you so much for sharing your talent through your recipes!
Sam says
June 15, 2019 at 8:39 pmThank you so much, Deana! I hope your son loves them just as much. 🙂
Toni Maybee says
June 10, 2019 at 12:27 pmWhen you refer to mini muffin pans, are you saying cupcake pans or muffin pans which are larger?
Sam says
June 10, 2019 at 7:13 pmHi Toni, it shouldn’t refer to a mini muffin pan anywhere, it’s a regular muffin tin or cupcake tin (which as far as I know have no or negligible differences). Either a standard sized muffin tin or a standard sized cupcake tin will work for this recipe. I hope that helps!
Destiny Solis says
June 6, 2019 at 1:52 pmHello Sam do you think using a whole Oreo cookie for the crust of the cheesecake will work just fine, or should I just pulverize the cookies as stated?
Sam says
June 6, 2019 at 3:55 pmI’d pulverize them, I’d recommend using 1/2 of this oreo crust recipe. I hope that helps! 🙂
Destiny Solis says
June 6, 2019 at 4:31 pmIt does thank you. Can’t wait to try these out! 😊
Sam says
June 6, 2019 at 5:31 pmYou’re very welcome, hope you love them! 🙂
Corrin says
June 4, 2019 at 8:26 pmOh my gosh! These look SOOOOOOOO yummy! I’m totally making them for one of my next potluck-get togethers with my friends! 🙂
Sam says
June 4, 2019 at 8:50 pmI am so glad you enjoyed the mini cheesecakes, Corrin! I hope all of your friends love them just as much. 🙂
Mike says
June 4, 2019 at 8:22 amI woke up planning to make the funfetti cheesecake squares (again..) and saw this recipe.
Do you think if I halved that recipe I could do it as minis? It mostly seemed to equate but a few parts made me unsure. Thanks for any advice.
Sam says
June 4, 2019 at 10:31 amHi Mike! You could certainly halve the recipe and it should still work. I haven’t made these in mini cupcake tins so I am not sure how long you would need to bake them. All the ingredients should be pretty easy to cut in half with the exception of the vanilla extract. You could just use a little more than a 1/4 teaspoon. 🙂
michelle ruggiero says
June 3, 2019 at 7:03 pmGreat recipe! Have you ever added sour cream for a richer cream cheese? I plan to try with a scrape of vanilla bean and garnish with fresh local strawberries and homemade whipped cream.
Sam says
June 3, 2019 at 7:14 pmHi Michelle! This recipe uses sour cream for exactly that reason 🙂 I bet these will be AMAZING with the fresh vanilla bean and strawberries and whipped cream!
Cathy DiFabbio says
June 3, 2019 at 12:15 pmWhat are you calling “mini cheesecakes” – mini or reg. cupcake pan?
Sam says
June 3, 2019 at 12:26 pmRegular cupcake pan, the cupcakes are miniature compared to regular (8″, 9″, 10″ -sized) cheesecakes 🙂
Cathy DiFabbio says
June 4, 2019 at 4:54 pmPerfect! thank you