You can make this easy recipe for Mini Cheesecakes in HALF the time a full-sized cheesecake takes! They’re creamy, super smooth, and perfectly portioned–great for parties! Recipe includes a how-to video.
Full-Sized Flavor in a Bite-Sized Treat
While most of us love a classic, full-sized cheesecake recipe, making one does have some drawbacks. They take a long time to bake (over an hour), sometimes require require a messy water bath (although mine does not!) and 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…like these mini cheesecakes.
Mini cheesecakes are the much simpler, muffin tin version of a regular cheesecake. They’re quick and easy, creamy, sweet and subtly tangy, and just all around delicious–just like the full-sized version! BUT they take less than half the time to make! 😲 Plus, they’re already portioned out into individual servings, so no one is on slicing duty. Win-win.
Why You’ll Love Mini Cheesecakes:
- So quick compared to a regular cheesecake: less than 20 minutes to bake and only a few hours to cool.
- Can be made on today’s graham cracker crust, or you can change things up and use a half batch of my Oreo crust instead.
- Can handle a few mini chocolate chips or broken Oreo pieces (for an Oreo cheesecake or chocolate cheesecake flair) in the batter, if you need a chocolate kick.
- Easily doubles to make 24 mini cheesecakes!
What You Need
Just a few simple ingredients come together to make these nice and easy mini cheesecakes. Here are the important ones:
- Cream cheese. As with my other cheesecake recipes, I don’t recommend using tub-style or low-fat cream cheese. Stick with the block-style, full-fat kind for best results!
- Sour cream. To me, you simply can’t make cheesecake without sour cream. It is an essential flavor element that adds a perfect richness. Full-fat Greek yogurt could also work in a pinch.
- Butter. Unlike most of my other recipes, I recommend using salted butter for today’s cheesecake crust. If you only have unsalted, that will work too; just remember to add ⅛ teaspoon of salt!
SAM’S TIP: While they’re great plain, these cheesecakes also taste wonderful topped with homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit, chocolate ganache (with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for good measure!), hot fudge sauce, blueberry sauce (or just about any fruit sauce), or homemade caramel sauce.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Mini Cheesecakes
- Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar, then add the melted butter and stir until combined.
- Press crust into 12 lined cupcake tins and set aside.
- Stir the cream cheese until smooth, then add sugar and stir again.
- Add the sour cream, vanilla, and salt and mix until well combined, then add the eggs one at a time.
- Divide the batter among your cupcake liners and bake for 17-20 minutes.
- Let the cheesecakes cool to room temperature, then remove them from the pan and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours before serving.
SAM’S TIP: Do NOT over-bake! Overbaking 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–not smooth and creamy! Watch your cheesecakes carefully, make sure your oven temperature is accurate (I keep two inexpensive oven thermometers in my oven at all times), and check your cheesecakes a few minutes before they’re supposed to be done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Just like a regular-sized cheesecake, the mini version also needs to cool slowly. Don’t bring them out of the oven and throw them right in the fridge; instead, let them cool in a warm place (preferably on top of your oven) until they reach room temperature, then chill them.
They’re done when the centers bounce back to the touch and the edges may be a light golden brown. I usually check mine at 17 minutes; remember, do NOT overbake or they could become mealy and dry!
They’ll keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. If you’d like to freeze them, follow the instructions for cooling and chilling first, and then wrap in plastic and freeze in an airtight container for several months.
I’d love to hear how you top or decorate yours; let me know in the comments below!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Graham cracker crust:
- ¾ cup (85 g) graham cracker crumbs
- 1 ½ Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter melted
Mini Cheesecakes:
- 16 oz (455 g) softened cream cheese
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ½ cup (80 g) sour cream
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten, room temperature preferred
Recommended Equipment
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.¾ cup (85 g) graham cracker crumbs, 1 ½ Tablespoons granulated sugar, 4 Tablespoons salted butter
- 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).16 oz (455 g) softened cream cheese
- Add sugar and stir again until well-combined.½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 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.½ cup (80 g) sour cream, ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 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.2 large eggs
- 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!
Notes
Doubling
This recipe can be doubled without issue or alteration.Storing
Mini cheesecakes can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. These mini cheesecakes also freeze well and can be kept frozen (in an airtight container) for several months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Marilyn
Hi
If I would like to make these mini cakes into one pan what size pan would I use?
I would like to make a small cheese cake … 6 or 7” .
Or, Do you have a recipe for small cakes?
Thanks
Sam
Hi Marilyn! I actually have a cheesecake recipe that I would recommend following. 🙂
Stacie Page
Hi. Can I make this in the mini Keebler graham cracker pie shells?
Sam Merritt
Hi Stacie! It will work. I’m not sure how many you will get out of this recipe. I do have a regular cheesecake that could be split into those shells, but that would likely make a lot. I’m not sure on the bake time. Enjoy! 🙂
Jenn
I made these yesterday and they were delicious. it was creamy, it was flavorful, it was sweet enough but not too sweet.
One question I have is why the cheesecakes cracked while they were still baking
Sam
Hi Jenn! I’m glad you ultimately enjoyed the cheesecakes. The liners should really prevent these from cracking, unless the batter was over-mixed. 🙁
Roseann
Can I ale the cheesecake filling the night before
Sam
Hi Roseann! I have not tried it so I can’t say for sure how it would work. The batter does need to chill for some time before they can be enjoyed.
Judi
Hi Sam,
I want to say that I love your site. I have made many of your cookie recipes, as well as this one, and they all got rave reviews. 🙂
I do have a question about this one. Can I make these without the crumb crust?
Thanks for your help.
Sam
Hi Judi! You’ll definitely want to put them in a cupcake liner, but that should work. 🙂
Ana
I absolutely love this recipe! I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve made it.
That being said, I was curious… what is the best way to modify this recipe to make these into key lime mini cheesecakes? I’m also a big fan of your key lime cake recipe, but would selfishly love a cheesecake version!
Thank you!
Sam
Hi Ana! I’m so glad you enjoyed these so much! I do have a key lime cheesecake you could bake as minis, but I’m not sure on the bake time. 🙂
Ana
Thank you, Sam! I’ll give it a try and keep my eye on them while they bake!
Karen Byers
The flavour of the filling is fabulous. I could have licked the bowl! Simple and effective recipe. Would highly recommend.
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
It’s so hard to not lick the bowl! We’re so glad you loved it, Karen!
Margaret
These mini cheesecakes were very good! The graham cracker crust turned out a little soggy, but I still recommend this recipe.
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Margaret!☺️
Barbara Stoneback
I prebake my crusts for all cheesecake (About 4 minutes for miniature ones, 8 minutes for a full size cheesecake) before filling. Let cool slightly before filling. I think that helps to keep the crust from getting soggy.
Carsten
Can this be done with oreo cheesecakes? If so, how much oreos are in the crust and the cheesecake?
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Carsten! You can make this using a half batch of our oreo crust, and add some broken oreo cookies into the batter. We hope you love it!
Undisclosed
Which brand of cupcake liners do you use and the type ( parchment, paper). If you can share the product link would be great!
Also for the mini muffin pan which brand of liners and the type please.
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
We just use paper liners, whatever the local grocery store carries but it is usually Wiltons, for both this and the mini muffin pan.
Kale
Is it possible to do this with oreos instead of graham crackers for mini oreo cheesecake?
Sam
That should work just fine. 🙂
Robin Neuman
Your recipe looks delicious! I am wondering if you have ever made this recipe in mini muffin pans? Making a desert table for a bridal shower and thinking bite size would be nice. How long to bake? Thank you
Sam
Hi Robin! I have not made it in mini muffin tins so I can’t say for sure how long they would need to bake. I would just be sure to keep an eye on them. 🙂
Deanna
hello, this is my first time making the mini versions of cheesecakes and I had a quick question. I’m not sure if I over mixed my batter or not I mixed on low and genuinely didn’t try to overmix. however, even though the cheesecakes came out baked the appropriate amount of time and bounce back I just wondered what could have caused majority of them to crack a little bit? Granted, they still look yummy and don’t look as bad crack wise after I took them out and they weren’t as puffed up, but I’m a perfectionist and I wanted to know how to fix it for next time.
Sam
Hi Deanna! That’s so weird! Did you put them in a cupcake liner? The liner will allow them to shrink and expand so they shouldn’t crack. They shouldn’t be puffy. If they are there was too much mixing done. 🙁
Deanna
I did but they settled down once they cooled they didn’t look split once they came out if that makes sense lol they look good and they look smooth I just wish I could upload a photo to show you. however, when I try them again I will reduce my mixing time and see if there will be a difference.
Mel DiMeo
I don’t know if my oven may not be at the right temp but they puffed up very big and after 20 minutes still were not golden on the edges at all, I’ve had them baking for almost 25 minutes and they still aren’t golden
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened! The puffing may have been from over-mixing. They don’t necessarily need to brown on the edges but as long as they are a little bit firm they should be good to go. 🙂
Anne
After the bake time is over, should I turn off the oven, crack open the door, and leave the mini cheesecakes in the turned-off oven with the door cracked open for 20 minutes before taking them out to cool to room temperature? Just to slow down the cooling process a bit.
Sam
Hi Anne! You shouldn’t really have cracking issues with these. They are in a liner so they will shrink down a little bit without cracking. I would be a little worried about them over-baking if left in the oven after baking since they are much smaller.
Davetta Haywood
I absolutely love this recipe simple yet gourmet style and taste!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you like them, Davetta! Enjoy 😊