Easy Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes Recipe

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Mini Key lime cheesecakes that are tart, creamy, and sweet and made in a mini muffin tin for a great dessert anytime. Top with whipped cream or eat them just as is and either way, they will be delicious.

Key Lime Cheesecake

When the Key lime season rolls in, I am the first to start planning my events around it. I usually make a Key lime tart which has all the classic flavors of traditional Key lime pie.

It is tart, sweet and so creamy! The true test is if it can stand up to a nice cup of coffee 🙂 And that one delivers!

This year, I wanted to experiment and try something new. I wanted to see if adding Key lime juice to cheesecake (my other favorite dessert) would be a new way for me to enjoy Key limes. You know what, it was amazing!

I had to do a couple different trial bakes to get the perfect creamy cheesecake texture but still have enough of that Key lime flavor. I think this recipe nails it.

It is easy to make too and entertain with this summer (I share my favorite tips for that below!)

Key Lime Juice Vs Lime Juice

Since this is a Key lime cheesecake recipe, I try to always use real Key lime juice when I make it. The Key limes can be juiced fresh or, what I like to do is buy bottled Key lime juice. If you have tried my Key lime tart, you probably know this already 🙂

But there is another option too! Not regular limes that you find in most grocery stores since those are a little too sweet and not as tart, but if you can find Mexican limes or Persian limes, those will also work out great.

The Mexican limes are related to the Key limes and have that perfect tartness that you need when making any Key lime dessert. The Persian limes are a little more bitter and are a hybrid of Key Limes and Lemon.

Different crumbs to use in the crust

This mini cheesecake recipe is made with a classic graham cracker crust. I like this classic way to make cheesecake so that is what I always use.

You can use other crumbs for the crust if you prefer. Some of my other favorite crusts for cheesecake are made with chocolate wafer cookies and vanilla wafers.

What You’ll Need

Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes ingredients on the counter.

The ingredients are fairly simple. Here is a list with the full ingredient portions below:

Philadelphia cream cheese: Any cream cheese will be fine but make sure it is full fat.
Key Lime juice: Bottles or freshly squeezed. You can also use Mexican or Persian limes.
Granulated sugar
Graham cracker crumbs: You can grind these yourself in a food processor or buy the graham crackers crumbs already ground at the store.
Eggs: I use large eggs.
Vanilla extract
Sour Cream
Unsalted Butter
Kosher salt

How to Make Individual Key Lime Cheesecakes

Making these individual little Key lime cheesecakes is so simple. Here is what it looks like:

Graham crackers in the food processor for Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes crust. — Step 1: Make graham cracker crust. Pulse, graham crackers, butter and sugar in a food processor.

Making the Key lime filling for the Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes. — Step 2: Make Key lime cheesecake filling.

The first parts of this Key lime cheesecake recipe are making the Key lime filling and the crust for the mini cheesecakes. This is half of the work.

Pressing in Graham cracker crumb mixture into mini muffin pan for the Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes. — Step 3: Press graham cracker crumbs into muffin tin then bake for 4 minutes.

Adding Key Lime Filling To The Muffin Tin. — Step 4: Add the cheesecake filling to the mini muffin wells. Then off to the oven to bake.

Once you have made the crust and whipped up the filling it is all about assembling. Make sure to line the mini muffin tin with mini cupcake liners so the cheesecakes come out after baking.

Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes with whipped cream on top on a blue counter.

Recipe Tips

This recipe is pretty easy but here are my tips to ensure everything works out.

Use only room temperature cream cheese: Plan on taking the cream cheese out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you are ready to make these.
Use full-fat cream cheese: The cheesecake will not be as creamy if you use low-fat cream cheese.
Do not overbake! Once those cheesecakes no longer jiggle in the center, take them out of the oven. Check the cheesecakes a few minutes before the recipe time states since all ovens vary.

Recipe Faqs

What does key lime cheesecake taste like?

If you are wondering about what Key lime cheesecake tastes like, it is not as tart as a regular Key lime pie because of the creamy cheesecake filling. It has a light flavor of Key lime and a really creamy taste.

Can mini cheesecakes be frozen?

Yes! These mini cheesecakes can freeze really well. Just let them cool and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

How to defrost mini cheesecakes?

Defrosting cheesecake is very easy. Just allow it to come to gently defrost in the fridge overnight or allow it to defrost on the counter.

How To Store

These mini cheesecakes store so well in the fridge and freezer! If you want to make them a little ahead of time, you can store them in the fridge for up to one week. Do remember, that the longer they are stored, the less crisp the crust will be. I aim for about 3 days ahead.

You can also freeze these. Just let them cool then place them side by side in a freezer-proof bag or container. You can freeze them for up to 3 months.

Entertaining With These Mini Cheesecakes

One of my favorite things about these mini Key lime cheesecakes, is they make the perfect entertaining dessert. There is no slicing involved and they are made ahead of time. But the presentation is still important when entertaining friends and family and here are some of my best tips when serving these:

Use a nice platter: This recipe makes 24 mini Key lime cheesecakes so try to find a large platter that you love for serving these on.
Add whipped cream or Cool Whip: Make a batch of homemade whipped cream, or buy good quality canned whipped cream or Cool Whip to dollop some on top of the cheesecakes right before serving.
Top with a thin slice of Key lime or Key lime zest: A beautiful topping of a Key lime slice or zest will look beautiful on top of the cheesecakes. You can add these directly on top of the cheesecake or on top of whipped cream.
Mix in other mini desserts: You can add other types of mini desserts to the mix like classic mini cheesecake bites , berry cookie cup recipe and mini carrot cake cupcakes depending on how many guests you are serving. I like to do this when I have a large group 🙂

More Easy Desserts

Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Servings: mini Key lime cheesecakes

Author: Melissa Oleary

Equipment

mini muffin tin

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

⅔ cup graham cracker crumbs You can pulse full size graham crackers in a food processor or smash them up well in a ziploc bag
2 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
1 ½ tablespoon granulated white sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt or ⅛ teaspoon regular salt

Key Lime Cheesecake Filling

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
¼ cup sour cream
½ cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup Key lime juice

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees

Making the graham cracker crust

In a large bowl, add your ground graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, salt and sugar and mix well
⅔ cup graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoon melted unsalted butter, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, 1 ½ tablespoon granulated white sugar
Line your mini muffin tin with mini muffin liners.
Now scoop one good heaping teaspoon of your crust into each of the wells.
Do this until all of the crust is used up.
With the end of a wooden spoon or something similar in shape, press the crust into the wells of the tin well until it looks pressed and firm and the crust comes up of the sides a little bit. I use a bit of a rotating motion to push the crust up the sides of the cupcake liner a little bit.
Place the crust in the pre-heated oven for 4-5 minutes. then remove and let cool.

Key lime Cheesecake Filling

In a medium bowl, add your room temperature cream cheese, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, Key lime juice and sugar and mix really well until it becomes silky smooth (about 2 minutes with a mixer or about 4 minutes with a whisk)
8 oz cream cheese, ¼ cup sour cream, ½ cup granulated white sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup Key lime juice
Take a heaping tablespoon of your cheesecake filling and place on top of the graham cracker crust. Keep doing this until all of the filling is used up. If there is any left over then evenly distribute it to all of the wells.

Baking

Bake for 16-18 minutes or until you cannot see the center jiggle when you give the pan a light shake. Oven temperatures vary so start checking those cheesecakes at around 16 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cheesecakes cool completely in the pan. (The cheesecake will not be ready to eat until it has chilled so if you grab a test one to try just remember that the consistency will change and firm up once it is cold)
Once the cheesecake have come to room temperature, place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight to completely chill and set up.
Once it is fully chilled you can remove them from the pan and enjoy them as is or add your favorite topping.

Notes

To freeze cheesecakes:

Allow the cheesecakes to cool then place them on a sheet pan or plate, making sure they are side by side, and cover with 2 layers of plastic wrap.

Freeze for up to 1 month.

To thaw:

Remove the cheesecake from the freezer and place in the fridge to thaw gently overnight.

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