These easy mini cheesecake bites are good old-fashioned cheesecake made with Philadelphia cream cheese and a buttery graham cracker crust. These mini cheesecakes taste amazing on their own or with a homemade berry sauce and they are addictive.
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 cheesecake bites recipe is so good and really easy to make.
This is one of those recipes that I have been making for years for my family. In fact, they prefer these to most other desserts. I make these for birthdays, for holidays, for friends and sometimes, I make these just for me!
The reason I love this so much is that normally baking a full-sized cheesecake, whether a classic one or cheesecake with strawberries can be a bit more time-consuming or a bit too heavy for a dessert.
These bite-sized cheesecakes are the perfect amount and you can eat just one or you can eat more depending on your mood. I even make a mini Key lime cheesecake version since I love them so much!
Why You Will Love These
- Perfect amount: Mini bites of crunchy graham cracker crust and a light cream cheese filling are perfectly balanced desserts. It really is a much better experience and so much more manageable than a traditional large slice of cheesecake.
- Easy to serve: An added bonus with this mini cheesecake recipe is you do not need any plates or utensils. It is 100 percent a finger food kind of dessert.
- Easy to make: When making these cheesecake bites, 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.
- Endless Toppings!: These cheesecakes are perfect on their own or with any berry toppings (more on that below).
What You Will Need
There are just the standard ingredients you will need to make these cheesecake bites.
- Cream cheese: I like to use full-fat cream cheese for the most flavor.
- Graham cracker crumbs: Regular honey graham crackers work best here!
- Butter: Unsalted butter
- Sugar: Regular granulated sugar
- Vanilla: Try to use a good quality vanilla extract. If you prefer to use vanilla vanilla bean pods, use the vanilla from one pod. If you are working with vanilla bean paste, a 1:1 ratio is perfect for this recipe.
- Egg: Large eggs
How To Make Mini Cheesecake Bites
Making this mini cheesecake bites recipe could not be any simpler. They are made in a mini muffin tin for the perfect little bites. If you have a special mini cheesecake pan, you can use that too. Here are what the steps look like:
- Make the graham cracker crust for the cheesecake bites: Add graham crackers to a food processor or plastic bag and mash them up until they resemble fine crumbs. Then add melted butter and sugar and mix in a large mixing bowl.
- Graham Cracker crust: Place graham cracker mixture into muffin tins and press them down. Here you add the graham crackers crumbs to the lined muffin tin and gently press the graham crackers down. Once you have done this, you bake it for a few minutes.
- Make the cheesecake filling: While the graham crackers are baking, you grab another large bowl and begin whipping together the cheesecake filling. I like to use an electric mixer but you can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
- Add cheesecake filling to the baked graham cracker crust: Grab a tablespoon and fill the mini muffin tin with the cheesecake batter. Try to make sure they are all filled evenly. This ensures the perfect amount of cheesecake in each bite.
- Refrigerate: When they are done baking and are fully cooled, you want to make sure they are refrigerated for at least four hours to set up. This is the hardest part, waiting for them to set up and chill before eating. I promise it is worth the wait!
Toppings!
Now I really feel that these mini cheesecakes are perfect just the way they are. However, you can enjoy these cheesecakes in so many different ways! I highly suggest:
- A no cook blackberry puree for blackberry cheesecakes.
- homemade blueberry sauce if you want to make blueberry cheesecake bites.
- For berry cheesecake bites, a simple blueberry strawberry sauce is perfect.
You could also just use fresh strawberries or whipped cream for the topping.
Recipe Faqs
When you are thinking about what cream cheese to use for this dessert, you want to make sure that you are using full-fat cream cheese, not low-fat or fat-free. The higher fat content helps make sure the cheesecake bites come out creamy and helps prevent cracking.
If you find that the mini cheesecake bites crack after baking, some cracks are normal because there is no water bath that is used to make them. To avoid lots of cracks from happening, check those cheesecakes a couple minutes before the recipe time says to since all ovens vary.
No. That is the simplicity and greatness of this mini cheesecake bites recipe is that you are only adding these into a mini muffin pan and no other special baking techniques are needed.
Since this recipe does not use a water bath, a little sinking of the cheesecakes on top is normal. It makes the perfect space to add a topping if you are concerned about it.
Yes. You can substitute vanilla bean paste for extract using the same amounts.
Absolutely! Feel free to use your favorite cookie crust for this recipe. Oreo cookies or vanilla wafers are substitutes.
You will know when they are done when the center does not jiggle when you give the cheesecake pan a light shake.
Storing
This mini cheesecake bites recipe is 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. These bite-sized cheesecakes 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, you can freeze one of the batches for later.
For More Easy Dessert Recipes
If you love these cheesecake bites, you may also like these:
Mini Cheesecake Bites Recipe
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
- 3 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
- 1 ½ tablespoon granulated white sugar If you like a more decadent dessert you can use brown sugar instead of regular granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt or ⅛ teaspoon regular salt
Cheesecake Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature This is one full block of cream cheese. You should take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator about 1 hour before you are ready to use it.
- ¼ cup sour cream You can also use mascarpone cheese instead of sour cream.
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
Making the graham cracker crust
- In a large bowl, add your ground graham crackers, melted butter, salt and sugar and mix well⅔ cup graham cracker crumbs, 3 tablespoon melted unsalted butter, 1 ½ tablespoon granulated white sugar, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Line your mini muffin tin with mini muffin liners. If you do not have liners then grease the well of the muffin tray.
- 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.
Cheesecake Filling
- In a medium bowl, add your room temperature cream cheese, egg, sour cream, vanilla 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 at room temperature, ¼ cup sour cream, ¼ cup granulated white sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- 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
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer hereTried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Laura says
Hey, do you have an adjusted recipe for regular sized cupcake tins by chance? I tried it out and failed miserably 😂
Melissa says
Hi Laura. I haven't made them in a regular muffin tin but I would suggest baking them at the 350 degree temp for 20-22 minutes or until they are set in the middle. Just keep checking them every minute or so after the 20 minute mark until you see they are set and that will be the best way to not over bake them. Hope this helps 🙂
Brooklyn Castro says
my cheesecakes had puffed up and split. I don't know what happened.
Melissa says
Hi Brooklyn. So sorry to hear that. Oven temperatures do vary and these should be baked at a 350 degree temp. It sounds like too much heat if I had to guess. For the splitting, sometimes a little happens since there is no water bath which I mention in the recipe but not to the level that you described.
Meg says
Thank you for sharing this.
Vickie says
Very easy recipe. I used brown sugar in the crust with 3 1/2 T of butter. I baked them for 14-15 minutes and they didn't jiggle so I took them out of the oven. They all fell a little in the middle but they are done and taste delicious. I was afraid I would overbake them and they would be dry if I left them in longer. Next time I will bake them a minute or two more. Thanks for the recipe!
Melissa Oleary says
So glad you enjoyed them and that brown sugar addition to the crust sounds great 🙂 Since there is no water bath, they will have a slight dip in the middle so you don't need to adjust anything the next time you make them!
Heather says
Have you ever tried these in a silicone dessert mold? If so, do they come out easily?
Melissa Oleary says
Hi Heather. I have not tried using a dessert mold so I am not sure if the mold will release the cheesecakes easily. If you do try try that, let me know how it goes 🙂
Marilyn says
Could these be made without a crust? Some family members are gluten free and can't have the Graham crackers.
Melissa Oleary says
Hi Marilyn. I haven't made these without the crust but if you want to omit the gluten, you can use almond flour plus 1 extra tbsp of butter and 2 extra tbsp of sugar for the crust. They also sell gluten free graham crackers at almost all stores now and it can be used the same way as regular graham crackers. I hope this helps 🙂
Rachel says
I just made these, and they are delicious! The crust was pretty crumbly though… I’m wondering if I did something wrong. I thought about adding a little more butter to see if that would help. Thoughts?
Melissa Oleary says
Glad you liked them! If the crust is a little dry/crumbly (which happens with different brands of graham crackers) you can add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the crust when you make them again. It should work like a charm 🙂
Andrea says
These fabulous cheesecake bites are super simple to make and I love your berry sauce for on top. I can't wait to share these with my family.
Melissa Oleary says
So glad to hear that Andrea 🙂
Janie says
These cheesecake bites are the perfect size to satisfy my sweet tooth cravings. Sometimes more than one hits the spot!
Melissa Oleary says
Totally agree! I try to eat only one or two but they are tempting 🙂
Donalyn says
This may be the best mini cheesecake recipe I have ever tried - so easy and yummy!
Melissa Oleary says
I am so glad you enjoyed them!
dana says
These were so easy to make, and they are so adorable! I love that they're a clean slate, too. You could add whatever you want on top!
Melissa Oleary says
So glad to hear that Dana 🙂 My favorite way is classic cheesecake for sure!
TAYLER ROSS says
These cheesecake bites were delicious! I topped them with strawberry sauce and everyone loved them!
Melissa Oleary says
I am so glad you enjoyed them Tayler 🙂 The strawberry sauce addition is perfect!