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
These were insanely delicious and so easy to make! They were a huge hit at the party I brought them to! I was wondering if I were to add key lime juice to the mixture to make mini key lime cheesecakes how that would work with this recipe and how much you would suggest adding? Thank you for the great recipe!
Hi Jennifer. So glad you enjoy these. I have not tested these with lemon or key lime but I think it could work. Let us know how it turns out if you experiment.
Made them with lime juice and they turned out great! Subtle lime flavor, light and refreshing! I used the juice from 6 small limes and added in a little zest too. Also garnished the whipped cream with a touch of zest as well!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Jennifer!
Can not wait to try these. My question is can you freeze these mini cheese cakes. I would love to make a few varieties for my Sons wedding and thought if I could freeze it would give me time.
Hi Tracy, 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.
LOVE this recipe the filling is so decadent. OMG! I am so making this again! Thanks for the recipe!!!
So glad you enjoy this recipe, Emily!
Hi Natasha! I’m from Mexico and where I’m at it’s really hard to find half and half or heavy cream. Is there anything else I can use as a substitute?
Hello Karol, we usually recommend half whipping cream and half whole milk as a substitute for Half and Half.
Hi Natasha! I’ve made this recipe before and it was a hit with my family! Thank you. I do have a question though. I want to make this recipe again but switch out the crackers for oreo cookies. Do you think that would work?
Hello Diane, glad that it was a huge hit! I haven’t tested making that version yet to advise. If you do an experiment, we’d love to know how it turns out.
Hi Natasha can I make this mini cheescakes 1 or 2 days ahead for a birthday kid party?
I am so exited to make it.
Hi Fanny, 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.
Thanks so much!! I will do it this weekend for my daughter 7 birthday.
Happy Birthday to your daughter Fanny!
Can this recipe be used to make a while Cheesecake vs the minis?
Hi Aleida, you can find the full-size Cheesecake Recipe Here.
Does the whipping cream go on before serving.. Or can you put it on before you take it somewhere.. Excited to make these. Nancy
Hi Nancy, I like to make the cheesecakes ahead and refrigerate overnight then add the topping before serving.
Hi Natasha,
Sister called was making a quick trip in to visit in a few hours. I jumped Up and made these mini cheesecake bites. They were delish, My sister thinks I spent all day putting myself out to make them for her…lol
Recipe was super easy and so so good.
Hello Cynthia, that’s nice to know! Thanks a lot for sharing and I’m happy to hear that you both enjoyed these mini cheesecakes.
Hi, can the cheesecake recipe be made as a whole standard size cheesecake instead of mini size?
Hi Teresa! You sure can! We have a standard-size cake version HERE. Simply substitute the topping for what you’d like!
I made these for Thanksgivng. Added homemade apple pie filling, on top of the caramel. Ws a huge hit.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Fiona!
I’m going to try and add about a cup of pumpkin, for thanksgiving! Hopefully they turn out??
Love all of your recipes!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes, Diane!
They were absolutely amazing! And for those of you who are new to baking, this recipe is no-fail. If I can do it, you can too.
Aaw, thank you for your great comments and feedback!
Here is the one I use Cream Cheese Tarts
12 vanilla wafers (1½ in. size), I use Jackson’s vanilla wafers
1 – 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Fruit pie filling (I use cherry)
Little foil baking cups
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place 12 foil baking cups on cookie sheet; place a vanilla wafer in each. Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, milk and vanilla on low speed 30 seconds; beat on medium until smooth, about 1 minute. Place 2 tablespoons mixture in each cup; bake until set, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool. Garnish with pie filling. Store in refrigerator. Yield 1 dozen tarts
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Brenda!
Best cheesecake EVER! I get SO many compliments and requests for this recipe. The crust is incredible! Thank you Natasha!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Sarah!
Hello! I’m planning on trying this recipe for a New Years celebration dessert. But I’ve run into a dilemma; my local Kroger did not have any blocked cream cheese! Would it be possible to substitute it with regular spreadable cream cheese? Thanks.
Hi Lainey, I haven’t tested this recipe with spreadable cream cheese to advise on it working here. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
These are so simple and so delicious. Thanks for all the great recipes Natasha!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Tayana!
I made these this evening haven’t diadem them topping, making sure ok the mike topping and put on in the morning
Oh yeah goodness I can’t type with puppy asleep in lap.
What I wanted to say was I made these this evening but haven’t made topping yet, can that be done and out on cheesecakes tomorrow
Hi Michelle, I like to make the cheesecakes ahead and refrigerate overnight then add the topping before serving.
Natasha
Haven’t tried this recipe yet but would love to. The only problem I have is the whipped cream I have no luck making it. Can I use cool whip in tis place?
Thanks
Hi Darline, I honestly haven’t tested this recipe using cool whip to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Hi,
What is the next best thing to substitute for the Graham crackers? Apparently they’re not available in the UK (unless I splurge on the expensive ones!)
Hi there, I saw someone else shared this comment “I was out of graham crackers and used biscoff cookies instead for the base just added the butter and it tasted good!” I hope that helps.
I make no bake. No eggs. Cream cheese the sweet milk.vanilla..lemon.juice..
How do I only make 12?
How many egg do I need ?
How do I cut the recipe in half?
Hi Patty, that would work as this recipe makes 24. 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!
Can you make a mini oreo cheesecake and copycat recipes from crumbl cookies, nothing bundt cakes, and sweet delight cheesecakes please?
Hi Aslina, thank you for your suggestions. I’ll try to add them to the list.