Easy Mini Cheesecake Bites

Name: Easy Mini Cheesecake Bites
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2/3 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 tbsp melted unsalted butter; 1 1/2 tbsp granulated white sugar (If you like a more decadent dessert you can use brown sugar instead of regular granulated sugar); 1/4 tsp kosher salt (or 1/8 tsp regular salt); 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature; 1/4 cup sour cream or mascarpone cheese; 1/4 cup granulated white sugar; 1 large egg; 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

This easy mini cheesecake bites recipe is going to be your new best friend once you give it a try. Good old-fashioned cheesecake made with Philadelphia cream cheese and graham cracker crust doesn't get the credit it deserves. I'm here to change that with this simple cheesecake bites recipe! You might want to make a double batch of these because they are that good.

mini cheesecake bites stacked — Mini Cheesecake Bites

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Total Time: 30

Why you will love these cheesecake bites
Ingredients
How to make
Toppings for cheesecake bites
Storing
How to serve
Common questions about making this mini cheesecake bites recipe:
Pairing Ideas
For more Easy Dessert recipes:

Why you will love these cheesecake bites

Now I am not sure why so many bakers have gotten away from this classic cheesecake recipe and moved on to fancier versions but this is the one and only for me. This mini cheesecake bites recipe is so good and really easy to make.

Normally baking a full cheesecake can be a bit more time-consuming or a bit too heavy for a dessert. Depending on the recipe, it can also be too much cheesecake and not enough crust.

That is where my love for these mini cheesecake bites comes in. These little cheesecakes are made in a mini muffin tin yielding 24 delicious and decadent mini bite-sized cheesecakes.

Mini bites of crunchy graham cracker crust and a light cream cheese filling are a perfectly balanced dessert. It really is a much better experience and so much more manageable than a traditional large slice of cheesecake.

An added bonus with this cheesecake bites recipe is you do not need any plates or utensils. It is 100 percent a finger food kind of dessert.

When making this mini cheesecake bites recipe, the steps are really easy too! As you are baking the crust, you can assemble the cheesecake batter.

If you are not good at multi-tasking, no worries! It still is quick and easy.

Ingredients

Cream cheese: I like to use fall-fat cream cheese for the most flavor.
Graham crackers: Regular honey graham crackers work best here!
Butter: Unsalted butter
Sugar: Regular granulated sugar
Vanilla: Try to use a good quality vanilla extract.
Egg: Large eggs

How to make

Making these mini cheesecake bites could not be any simpler. Here are what the steps look like:

Make the graham cracker crust

Here you are just going to mix the ground-up graham crackers, melted butter and sugar together in a small bowl. Very easy! Every good cheesecake needs a delicious homemade graham cracker crust 🙂

Pressing down the Cheesecake crust: Place graham cracker mixture into muffin tins and press them down.

Here you add the graham crackers crumbs to the lined muffing tins and gently press the graham crackers down. Once you have done this, you bake it for a few minutes. You will know when the graham cracker crust is ready because you will begin to smell the amazing aroma of baked graham crackers coming from the oven.

Make the cheesecake filling.

While the graham crackers are baking, you can begin whipping together the cheesecake filling. You only need sour cream, vanilla, cream cheese, and sugar for this part.

Make sure they are all at room temperature. This will ensure that the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Add cheesecake filling to the baked graham cracker crust in the muffin tin.

Once the graham crackers have baked for a few minutes in the oven, remove them to cool. When they are cool, grab a tablespoon and fill the mini muffin tin with the cheesecake batter.

Try to make sure they are all filled evenly. After you have filled the muffin tin with the cheesecake batter it is off to bake and then cool.

When the mini cheesecakes are done baking and are fully cooled, you want to make sure they are refrigerated for at least four hours to set up.

Then you can enjoy it as is or with a delicious berry sauce!

This mini cheesecake recipe is a great balance of the amazing homemade graham cracker crust and the cheesecake filling.

Toppings for cheesecake bites

These mini cheesecake bites will not fill you up too much and can be eaten as is in the picture above or topped with your favorite toppings like a simple berry sauce, blackberry puree, or homemade blueberry sauce if you want to make berry cheesecake bites. In the Fall, I love making my homemade cranberry sauce and using that as a topping along with my sugared cranberries.

You could also just use fresh strawberries for the topping for strawberry cheesecake bites. Choose any flavor that you prefer.

There are so many delicious toppings and flavors that you can choose for these bite-sized cheesecakes. I highly recommend making a double batch of these because they will be eaten up in no time.

The berry sauce. I highly recommend trying this out because it makes such an amazing topping on these cheesecake bites!

Storing

One of the things I love about these mini cheesecake bites is that they can sit in your refrigerator during the week and you can grab one when you want a quick sweet treat. If you decide to make a double batch of these mini cheesecakes, you can freeze one of the batches for later.

When you have gone through the first batch, just place the frozen batch in the fridge overnight to thaw and you are all set to enjoy more of them.

Mini cheesecake bites with berry topping.

How to serve

These mini cheesecake bites are extremely tempting and a little bit of a guilty treat. I feel a lot less guilty eating these instead of an entire slice of cheesecake.

I also think they make a great dessert to serve to guests.

You can make it all ahead of time and when you place these out on a platter with coffee or tea, guests can grab what they need and there is no extra fussing with slicing up a cake.

Common questions about making this mini cheesecake bites recipe:

Can you make these cheesecake bites ahead of time?

Yes, these cheesecake bites are meant to be made ahead of time so they have time to cool in the fridge. They can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and still retain that great crunch in the crust.

Why does my cheesecake crack on top?

If you find that the cheesecake bites crack after baking, what is happening is the cheesecake was cooked for a little too long. When cheesecake is cooked for too long, the heat builds up in the cheesecake causing it to puff up while baking, then when it cools, that puffing up will then sink and when set, a crack in the cheesecake forms.

If this happens, you can still eat the cheesecake bites but it will be a little less aesthetically pleasing 🙂 If that bothers you, just add a topping (see recipe below for one). To prevent this from happening in the future, check those cheesecakes a couple minutes before the recipe time says to since all ovens vary.

Do I need to cook cheesecake bites in a water bath like other cheesecake recipes?

No. That is the simplicity and greatness of this mini cheesecake bites recipe is that you are only adding these into a mini muffin tin and no other special baking techniques are needed. By not using a water bath, the cheesecakes will get a lightly brown top and a slight dip on top but this is a rustic simple recipe. If you prefer to cover this, then adding some whipped cream or berries on top will do the trick. You can even add some melted chocolate if you prefer.

Should I store these with the berries on top or plain?

Ideally, you should only top these mini cheesecakes with the berries when you know you will eat them soon. Will it ruin the cheesecakes if it's in the fridge for a few days, no.

If you do decide to add a berry sauce to the cheesecakes ahead of time, you may get a little juice that runs into the cupcake liner.

Do you serve these mini cheesecake bites with or without the muffin liner?

This is totally up to you! If you do decide to take off the liners then make sure you do it slowly so you do not accidentally pull some of that delicious graham cracker crust with it.

Should these be served cold or at room temperature?

Cheesecake should always be kept chilled until ready to eat. When I entertain with these mini cheesecake bites (since they are great for a crowd), I will plate them up just after dinner and they sit out for no more than 30 minutes because honestly, that is how long they last 🙂

Can these be frozen?

Absolutely. To freeze these cheesecake bites, just chill them fully in the fridge first then transfer to a freezer-safe container making sure they are not stacked up but sitting next to each other in the container.

You can eat them from the frozen state (more like an ice cream treat) or thaw them first.

To thaw, just place the freezer container with the mini cheesecakes into the fridge overnight.

If you have read some of my other recipes, you know I am always looking for easy ways to entertain so I can spend more time with my guests.

You really don't need a party or an excuse to make these berry cheesecake bites! This mini cheesecake recipe is perfect for a party of one or 10.

I promise you will be addicted once you give them a try.

Pairing Ideas

If you are looking for ideas of what to serve with these mini cheesecake bites, here are some of our favorites:

For more Easy Dessert recipes:

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5 from 114 votes