Mini Cheesecakes with caramel sauce are completely delicious and easy to make since the cheesecake base is just 3 ingredients! If you love the classic taste and texture of a classic Cheesecake but want the simplicity of a No-Bake Cheesecake you will love this recipe!
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Best Mini Cheesecake Recipe
We have tested scores of mini cheesecake recipes and it’s easy to say, this is THE ONE! One of my readers, Marta, shared her 3-ingredient mini cheesecake recipe with me, and I instantly fell in love with the flavor, texture, and how completely easy they were. This recipe makes 24 cupcake-sized cheesecakes.
Here, we used Marta’s cheesecake recipe, added a super-simple graham cracker crust, and drizzled sweet caramel and whipped cream over each one.
We just love mini, individual-sized desserts like Creme Brulee or Chocolate Souffle, and these mini cheesecakes are so easy and delicious that they will become one of your go-to desserts.
Mini Cheesecakes Video
Watch Natasha whip up these simple mini cheesecakes while giving you her tips on how to make them easy to make and look great for a party. Make these baby cheesecakes once and you’ll make them over and over!
Ingredients for Mini Cheesecakes:
These mini cheesecakes come together quickly and can be easily doubled to treat a whole crowd.
- Cream Cheese – room temperature so it mixes evenly. We use regular cream cheese bricks for the best texture and taste. Light or whipped won’t create the same flavor.
- Eggs – room-temperature eggs are the secret to making the batter
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – the secret ingredient, making the cheesecake perfectly sweetened and creamy smooth
- Crust – graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and cinnamon combine to make the perfect cheesecake crust. For gluten-free mini cheesecakes, substitute GF graham crackers or omit the crust.
- Topping – we used our easy Caramel Sauce (you won’t want store-bought after trying it!), using just 4 ingredients. If you want some variety, you can also try the strawberry topping in our Mini Strawberry Cheesecake recipe.
How to Make Mini Crusts
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 24-count standard-sized muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and cinnamon in a bowl until evenly moistened.
- Spoon the mixture evenly into the lined muffin tins, and press the crumbs into the base and slightly up the sides.
How to Make Mini Cheesecakes
- Whisk the cream cheese and eggs (by hand or with a hand mixer) on high speed for 5 minutes, or until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add condensed milk and mix on LOW speed for 2 minutes to avoid adding air bubbles that can cause the cheesecakes to crack when baking.
- Divide the batter evenly over the 24 crusts, filling each one about 3/4 full (or with a level ice cream scoop), and bake at 350˚F for 15 minutes. The cheesecakes should be set but still have a very slight jiggle in the center. Do not overbake.
- Cool the cupcakes in the muffin tin to room temperature before spooning Caramel Sauce over each one. Refrigerate the cooled and topped cheesecakes for 2 hours. Then, dollop homemade whipped cream (see directions below) and dust with cinnamon, if desired.
Pro Tip
Avoid overbaking. Due to their small size, mini cheesecakes cook much faster than traditional Cheesecakes, so it’s easy to overbake. Take them out of the oven when the edges are set and the center may have a very slight wobble. Also, cracking is a sign of overbaking.
How to Make Whipped Cream Topping
- Combine 1 cup cold heavy cream, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla in a large mixing bowl (preferably a chilled bowl). Beat the ingredients together with an electric mixture or hand mixer on high speed for 2 minutes or until fluffy. Using a piping bag with a star tip, pipe the whipped cream over each cupcake.
Make-Ahead
You can completely assemble, decorate, cover, and refrigerate overnight. In fact, ours tasted and looked perfect the next day. We just love make-ahead desserts!
- To Refrigerate: Cover in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 days
- Freezing: Before topping with sauce or whipped cream, flash-freeze cheesecakes by placing them on a sheet pan in the freezer. When frozen, store it in a covered container or ziptop bag in a single layer, being sure to get the air out of the container.
- To Serve: Thaw in the fridge overnight.
These mini cheesecakes are so easy to make and so incredibly creamy and delicious! Make them a day ahead to take one “to-do” off your list before hosting friends and family, because these cheesecake cupcakes are truly the perfect party dessert!
More Mini Dessert Recipes
Once you try this mini cheesecake recipe, we bet you’ll fall in love with bite-sized desserts, especially when hosting! Here are a few of our favorite mini desserts to serve at your next party.
- Pavlovas
- Mini Pumpkin Pies
- Baklava Cups
- Eton Mess
- Raspberry Mousse Cups
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Coconut Balls
Mini Cheesecakes with Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, from 12 whole crackers*
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
For the Mini Cheesecakes:
- 16 oz cream cheese, from two 8oz packages, softened
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
Topping Ingredients:
- 1 cup caramel sauce
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon to garnish, optional
Instructions
How to Make the Crust:
- Prep: Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line a 24-count muffin tin with standard cupcake liners.
- In a bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 6 Tbsp melted butter, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Stir to evenly moisten crumbs.
- Divide crumbs between 24 cupcake liners (about 1 Tbsp in each). Push crumbs into the base and slightly up the sides using a small spoon or your fingers.
How to Make Mini Cheesecakes:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together 16 oz cream cheese and 3 eggs with on high speed 5 minutes, until blended and smooth, scraping down bowl as needed. Add condensed milk and mix on low speed** until blended (2 min).
- Divide cheesecake mix evenly between cupcake liners – about 3/4 full (or a level ice cream scoop in each one) and bake at 350˚F for 15 min. They should be set with a very slight jiggle in the center. Don't over-bake. If you notice them starting to crack in the oven, they are over-baking.
- Cool to room temp in baking dish then spoon 1/2 to 1 Tbsp caramel sauce over each one. Refrigerate 2 hrs or until fully chilled then top with whipped cream using a piping bag with large star tip. Lightly dust with cinnamon if desired. Serve with or without liners.
How to Make Whipped Cream:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup cold heavy cream, 1 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla and beat together with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes or until whipped and fluffy.
Notes
**Cooks Tip: Mixing the condensed milk on LOW speed helps knock out excess air bubbles which can cause the cheesecakes to crack.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Hi!
How many days in advance can you make the mini cheesecakes?
Hi Matilde, you make them a couple of days in advance; keep them in the refrigerator. But you are welcome to add the cream before serving also.
How do you make the caramel Sauce?
Here’s the recipe for the Caramel Sauce.
Where can we buy that cute little silver shifter you used to put the cinnamon on top?
Hi Dianna, you can find our favorite kitchen tools in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE.
Hi Natasha
Thank you for an amazing recipe
One question
Instead of cupcake size, can I try the same recipe for a large size cake pan??
Hi Priyanka, I think this recipe will work for that however, I haven’t tested it yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Hi Natasha, for some reason my cupcakes fell in the center. I watched the video twice and read the recipe twice as well. I can’t figure out why they fell like that. Any reason you can think of?
Hi Tanja, it’s hard to say without being there. It sounds like it may have been overmixed, or something was altered?
Can i use blueberry toppings?
Hi Charity! You sure can! You can use the one we made in this recipe too.
Hi Natasha 😊 I added the condensed milk early. I whisk the ingredients all at once. What should I do? Can I fix it? Thank you.
Hi Mitch, hopefully, it won’t have too much difficulty blending. I would mix until smooth. The trouble with adding it early is it makes it difficult to get the cream cheese super smooth.
hi Natasha I have a question are the mini cheesecakes and the caramel sauce gluten-free?
Hi Lidia, Please *See notes for Gluten Free Options in the recipe 🙂
made today and they’re fabulous!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Natasha, I made these and my family loves every bite of it. I love making your recipes and enjoy it all the time.Thank you so much.
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Lani. I’m all smiles
This recipe is PERFECT if you want pure delight in one bite.
If you need a nice desert thats quick to make and can be made ahead. This is the recipe for you.
I made it over and over. My kids love them, as well as everyone who tried them. Thank you Natasha.
Hi Lilia, Thank you so much for sharing that wonderful review with me!
Hi Natasha I made this today but after I refrigerated them the crust came out soft and the caramel on top was hard ☹️ But the taste was good.
I don’t know if I used to many crackers and the sugar I used was pure cane
Hi Ena, it’s hard to say what caused it without being there. Did you make sure to store them covered well?
I love this recipe so much!! Every time I make it I get so many compliments!!!
This time around I had a lot of leftovers and wanted to ask how long they can stay in the fridge, and can they be frozen? They don’t have any toppings on them.
Thanks!!!
Hi Shelly! I’m so glad you enjoyed these! I haven’t tried freezing mini cheesecakes, but I imagine these would freeze and thaw fine. I suggest thawing in the fridge and definitely add the topping before serving and not ahead of time. They will last a couple of days in the fridge.
These are addicting. I need to make a lot of them for an event – do you think it would ok to double the recipe so I don’t have to make separate batches?
Hi Angie, I haven’t tested that yet but I think that would work. If you click on the serving size in the recipe card, you can slide it up or down to scale the recipe ingredient lists. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha,
I made these mini cheesecakes for the first time this evening. The tops are bubbling and browning in spots in the oven a good bit before 15 mins. I took them out and there is no jiggle in the middle. I used foil baking cups. Could this make a difference in how they are cooking/setting?
Thank you!
I haven’t tried these in foil cups but I don’t think they would make much of a difference. Make sure you are using conventional bake mode (not convection).
I would love to make these mini cheesecakes, but not a fan of caramel.
What other sauce/toppings can i use ?
Hi May! You can make a berry topping. Similar to the blueberry topping we used on cheesecake with blueberry topping.
I used jam from the farmer’s market for the topping and they’re wonderful!!
Sounds great, Nina! 🙂
I’ve made these several times and everyone loves them! The only downside is that they are hard to transport. The caramel sauce slides off the actual cheesecake, so I have to keep it super still when transporting in a car. So delicious though!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Angelina! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I was out of graham crackers and used biscoff cookies instead for the base just added the butter and it tasted good! Thanks, Natasha!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Natasha, I just made this and it turned out perfect! Everyone’s loves it! Thank you for the recipe. I’ve been following all ur recipes. 😊
You’re welcome, Lorna! I’m so happy you enjoyed that.
Hi; where is th recipe for the caramel sauce
Hi Chris, we have it linked to the recipe, but you can also find it HERE.
Hello, while making the crust I noticed mine came out WAY more moist than what’s shown in your video. I did follow measurements… should I add more crackers to balance out ? They look more on the “greasy wet side “ TIA
Hi Denyse, did you possibly change the proportion of crackers to butter? It should be 1 1/2 cups of crumbs from 12 crackers and 6 Tbsp of butter. Too much butter for the amount of crackers would make it that way and I would add more crumbs to balance it out.