Mini Cheesecakes Recipe (Easy Party Dessert)
This mini cheesecakes recipe is perfect for your next party or special occasion! As an added bonus, they’re easy to make!
Rather than make one larger cheesecake, try these mini cheesecakes! They’re a delicious dessert idea, and great for parties. If you’re a fan of cheesecake, you definitely need to try this recipe! If you’re needing a similar dessert that bakes in a 9 x 13 pan, try this no-bake cherry delight recipe. It’s super easy and feeds a crowd.
For more mini desserts, try these no-bake strawberry cheesecakes, no-bake pumpkin cheesecake cups, peaches and cream parfaits, or white chocolate raspberry mousse cups.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
With just a few simple steps, and a little bit of baking time, you’ll have an elegant dessert. They’re adorable.
They’re delicious! And, they look like you took way more time and effort to make them.
These easy mini cheesecakes are baked in a muffin pan. You can make them with a cupcake liner or without, but I prefer to use a liner. The cheesecakes are much easier to remove from the pan when you use liners.
This recipe has two parts: the crust, and the cheesecake filling. Once they’re baked, you can add the topping of your choice (we used cherry pie filling).
They also taste delicious (and look even prettier) with whipped topping on the top of the pie filling! You could also top these with fresh fruit and fresh whipped cream, or drizzle some chocolate on top!
Supplies Needed for This Recipe
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There are a few supplies you’ll need to make this mini cheesecakes recipe. Here’s what you’ll need.
- One 12-hole muffin pan (regular size)
- Muffin pan liners
- Mixer
Ingredients
Find the full list of ingredients and the amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs: I put these in a plastic zipper bag and use a rolling pin to turn them into crumbs.
- Granulated Sugar: Just a bit of white sugar in the crust and a bit more is added to the cheesecake filling.
- Butter: The butter is melted and added to the crust ingredients.
- Cream Cheese: Full fat cream cheese will yield the best results in this recipe.
- Sour Cream: I also use full-fat sour cream to make these individual cheesecakes light and creamy.
- Eggs: You’ll need 2 room temperature eggs.
- Pie Filling: We used cherry pie filling for the cheesecakes in these photos, but you can choose any pie filling or other topping you would like to use. I highly recommend buying a high quality brand of pie filling, as (especially with cherry), the cheaper brands can taste “off.”
How to Make This Mini Cheesecakes Recipe
This recipe makes 12 mini cheesecakes.
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the muffin pan with 12 muffin liners (or, you can also grease the muffin holes, but the cheesecakes will be much more difficult to remove and may fall apart).
2. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter with a fork.
3. Divide the crust evenly among the muffin liners. Press a rounded tablespoon of the crust mixture into each muffin liner, and add more if you have extra crust mixture leftover. Make sure to press the crust firmly into the liner. Put the muffin pan in the oven, and bake the crusts for five minutes. Then remove from the oven and allow the crusts to cool.
4. With a mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until creamy. Then add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla together. Then add the eggs and beat gently until combined with the other ingredients.
5. Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly between all the muffin cups. Put the cheesecake mixture on top of the crusts, filling each muffin cup about 3/4 full or maybe a little more.
6. Bake at 325°F for about 25-35 minutes or until the cheesecakes are no longer jiggly.
7. Remove from the oven and set the muffin pan on a wire rack. Cool cheesecakes completely before removing. They will sink down a bit in the middle.
8. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until ready to serve. Add topping of your choice before serving.
More Mini Dessert Recipes
- No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Cups
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups
- White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cups
- Peaches and Cream Parfaits
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please leave a comment with a 5-star recipe rating and let me know! Thank you!
Mini Cheesecakes Recipe
Ingredients
Crust Ingredients
- 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs use about 4.5 whole graham cracker sheets
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons butter melted
Cheesecake Ingredients
- 1 1/2 8 oz pkg cream cheese (full fat) at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
Topping Ingredients
- 1 can cherry pie filling or pie filling of your choice
- 1 can Reddi-whip optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the muffin pan with 12 muffin liners (or, you can also grease the muffin holes, but the cheesecakes will be much more difficult to remove and may fall apart).
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter with a fork.
- Divide the crust evenly among the muffin liners. Press a rounded tablespoon of the crust mixture into each muffin liner, and add more if you have extra crust mixture leftover. Make sure to press the crust firmly into the liner. Put the muffin pan in the oven, and bake the crusts for five minutes. Then remove from the oven and allow the crusts to cool.
- With a mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until creamy. Then add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla together. Then add the eggs and beat gently until combined with the other ingredients.
- Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly between all the muffin cups. Put the cheesecake mixture on top of the crusts, filling each muffin cup about 3/4 full.
- Bake at 325°F for about 25-35 minutes or until the cheesecake edges are set and only very slightly jiggly in the middle.
- Set the muffin pan on a wire rack and cool cheesecakes completely before removing.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until ready to serve. Add toppings of your choice and serve.
We love to make these easy mini cheesecakes for parties!
What did I do wrong? When I got them out of the oven they really fell in the middle
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that! Cheesecakes sometimes do that. It’s usually from beating the batter too much, or from under-baking. Before removing the cheesecakes from the oven, the edges should be set and the centers shouldn’t look wet.
Can you double the recipe?
I’m sure you could!
Not only do these sound delicious, they’re so pretty!!
Thank you, Michelle!
Goodness they look sooo good! Every picture makes my mouth water. Pinned. Visiting from Friday Favorites.
Thank you, Allyson!