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.
Diane M. Mitchell
Thank you so much for a tasty recipe. I appreciate so much that you use weight instead of volume for ingredients! I have made cupcake cheese cakes for years but wanted to try yours because you’re such a lovely baker with helpful insights and I trust your process. I have never worried about my tops splitting until you mentioned in your video. And I’ve always mixed my ingredients until the batter is fluffy. So this time, I didn’t mix as long as usual and my cupcake tops split. The second batch I mixed like I normally would and they did not split. I don’t know the science behind it; but that is what worked for me. Thank you again!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Diane! I appreciate you sharing your feedback, too!
Daisy
hello! this will be my first time making cheesecake and i wanted to ask if you can taste the sour cream? I love cheesecake but I’ve never really been a sour cream fan so I want to know just in case. if the flavor of the sour cream is stronger, are there any substitutes? thanks!
Sam
Hi Daisy! The sour cream adds a nice depth of flavor, but the cheesecake should not taste like you are eating sour cream. You could, alternatively, use full fat greek yogurt. 🙂
Ronni
Kinda of a random question, but do you think it’s possible to create one small cheesecake or of this recipe in the place of twelve mini’s?
Either way, I’m excited to make this. Your best cheesecake recipe is a winner in my family and they want me to make it every year around the holidays. I made your lemon cheesecake for Thanksgiving for the first time and it was absolutely incredible!
Sam
Hi Ronni! I suppose you could, but I’m not sure what size pan this would fit in or how long it would bake. Enjoy! 🙂
Wendy M Sampson
these were excellent. thank you!
Mel
Hi Sam,
I made this recipe and the cheesecakes turned out great! I topped mine with cherry pie filling. Thanks for sharing!
Sincerely,
Mel
Wendy
I doubled the recipe for 2 dozen cupcakes and I ended up with 2 dozen cupcakes plus 1 very full 4″ cheesecake! I have not tried them yet as they are still cooling and they did sink a little in the middle but I’m topping them with huckleberry sauce so it doesn’t matter! thank you for a great recipe!!
Cait
Hi,I want to make these in a silicone muffin tray instead of a regular muffin pan. Do you think this will change the cooking time?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Cait! We have not used silicone before, but we think it might take longer to bake 🙂
Sherry
Hi, if I make these on Friday for an event on Sunday, can I still put the topping (lemon curd or fruit pie filling) on Friday and refrigerate until Sunday?
Sam
Hi Sherry, I think that would be totally fine. Enjoy!
Sherry
Thank you! I made these on a Friday and they were still delicious on Sunday. Great recipe!!
Selina
Made them once before as written, but today tried the mini cupcake size. Mine also sunk a little in the center after 17 min. cook, but I think I may have overmixed, since I noticed there were still chunks of cream cheese in parts and wanted it to be smooth as possible. I’ll just mix a little less for the next batch. Thanks for all your recipes, Sam!
Selina
Sam, if I’m making the “mini” size. i.e. mini cupcake pan vs full size cupcake pan, do I just reduce the amount of contents per well? would that also reduce cooking time? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Selina! Yes you would just want to reduce how much you put in each cavity. I’m not sure what the bake time would be in a mini muffin tin, but it would certainly be shorter. 🙂
Scarlett
Perfect recipe! They’re creamy and delicious and so easy to whip up in a flash. Plus I can make everybody happy by topping a few with ganache, a few with raspberry sauce and some with lemon curd or salted caramel.
I will never bother baking a 4lb cheesecake again. Thank you!
Laura
How do you make them so straight-sided? Is it the pan or the paper?
Sam
Hi Laura! The liner keeps them the shape they are. 🙂
Neh
can we you provide a replacement for sour cream?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Full-fat, plain Greek yogurt will work 😊
Anna
Love this recipe.. Great taste. Thank you for the sharing 🫶🫶😘. Can’t wait for other great ideas
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed them, Anna! 😊
Alli
These were a big hit! I topped them with your stabilized whipped cream and the girls at work ate them all in a day.
Could you swirl in a lemon curd for something fun/extra or would it not mix well?
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this, Alli! Thank you so much for trying my recipe! I think rather than swirl the lemon curd into the cheesecake I would spoon it over the mini cheesecakes after they’ve baked and cooled, it will likely hold up best that way. I hope that helps, and here is my lemon curd recipe if you are looking for one!
Nat
I just took these out of the oven and they look perfect! Made half the recipe for just my boys and me and it was extremely easy and quick! I used Greek yogurt because I didn’t have sour cream. They took about 23 minutes at 325 to seem set. Licked the spoon and it tastes amazing! I can’t wait to enjoy them later today.
Joyce
This recipe worked on the first try. I adjusted it a bit by not adding sugar for the crust. They tasted like a restaurant cheesecake.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Joyce! 🙂
Christy
These tasted amazing but the middle of mine sunk in 😭. Any ideas on what happened or how to fix it?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Oh no! It sounds like the batter may have been over-mixed. Over-mixing incorporates too much air, which makes the cheesecake rise during baking, then collapse as it cools. Next time, make sure you mix the ingredients only as much as it takes to make the batter smooth. Another cause could be taking them out of the oven before they’re fully done, so make sure the centers are fully set before you take them out. You can always cover the cheesecakes with a topping to hide the sunken middles; we provide lots of suggestions for toppings in the post ❤️