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 5 ingredients. If you want some variety, you can also try the Butterscotch Sauce recipe or 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 or Butterscotch 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 Natasha!
I’m going to be making these for Thanksgiving but want to make them in advance, thinking either Monday or Tuesday. Do you think they’ll still be good for Thursday if made in advance?
They will be great for Thursday if you make them couple days in advance, just keep them in the refrigerator.
Hi Natasha, I am a big fan of your recipes. I have made many of them and my family and friends like them all!! I will try to make this dessert for sure. From Costa Rica..best regards!!
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me :). I’m all smiles!
I’m planning to make these Friday night for a party that I’m going to the following evening. Can I still make the whipping cream the night before and put them on the cupcakes to sit in the fridge until I leave for the party? Or do you suggest waiting until before serving them to put on the cream? Thanks so much!
It is best to have the cream fresh so I would recommend pipping that the same day.
Gotcha. Can I still make the cream the night before and leave it in the piping bag for the next day?
HI Marissa, It’s best to whip fresh cream – it will pipe the best, but I have piped the whipped cream on a day ahead and it stayed really nice overnight in the refrigerator. If you make the cream ahead, go ahead and pipe it on ahead. I don’t think it would hold up well in a piping bag. I hope you love the mini cheesecakes!
These mini cheesecakes are a huge hit at my house. I want to make them today but with peanut butter in them what would you recommend because I dont want to screw them up lol
Hi Nikki, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
This recipe sounds amazing and I am going to give it a go. I was wondering if you could use the mini cupcake tins and how long would one need to bake them?
It would probably be at least a few minutes less than this recipe. I haven’t tried it in true mini cupcake molds. I’d love to know how you like this recipe!!
Hi Natasha I want to try making them. I have all the ingredients but I don’t have muffin cups can I just do it in the muffin pan without the muffin cups?
Hi Vicki, I imagine without the cupcake liners it will be tough to remove the cheesecakes from the tin.
Hi Vicki, I think it can be done but they might be more difficult to remove from the pan – you would need to grease the pan and then run a knife around each cupcake to loosen it from the pan. Muffin cups make the process much easier.
Is there something I can use for a substitute for the sweetened condensed milk?
Hi Emily, we developed this recipe for sweetened condensed milk. You might google how to make homemade sweetened condensed milk if you are looking for a 100% homemade version. We have tried adapting our other recipe that doesn’t use sweetened condensed milk and it fell in the center. These were the best mini cheesecakes by far!
Just an FYI, I don’t like using sweetened condensed milk either, To me, it is just sugar that has a little cream to wet it. So I will try this using a heavy cream or condensed milk, and adding a sugar substitute. While it may give an Asian or island flavor, you could stretch and use a coconut cream. Just a suggestion or two. After all, cooking is experimenting with flavors. Give it a go.
I’d love to know how it turns out Tommy!
Hi Natasha! Thank you for all your beautiful recipes ! I am wondering about the size of this cupcakes… It is MINI cupcakes (1′) or it is a STANDARD size of cupcakes (2′)?
Hi Irena, these are standard sized cupcakes.
Thank You!!!!!!!
You’re welcome Irena!
Simple, tasty and wonderful
Thank you for that wonderful review, Greta!
Hi Natasha, do you think this recipe would work if made into one large cheesecake? This recipe looks less rich than others, which I like, but would prefer to make a large one for mums birthday. Thank you.
Hi Sophie, I honestly have not tested that so I can’t make a recommendation for that. If you experiment, let me know how it goes. We always use our go-to recipe for cheesecake when making a large sized cheesecake.
Hi Natasha. Thanks for sharing this recipe it was very good my kids would not stop eating them,& we liked it. Made it for Easter my family friends liked it. May God bless u. Love all your recipes.
I’m happy the recipe is a hit with your whole family! Thanks for following and sharing your wonderful review! God Bless 🙂
Hi Natasha, will the same oven temperature work for a Fan oven as well?
Hi SZA, I haven’t experimented with these in a fan oven (I am assuming you mean convection), but usually a convection oven will bake things faster since it circulates the hot air so keep an eye on them as they will likely bake faster.
Delicious! …and sooo easy! 👍🏼
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe Yas! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hi, I made the sauce last night and cheesecakes just now. My caramel got hard. Do you recommend I cook it less? I’m thinking of redoing the sauce but don’t want to make the same mistake.
Hi Vicki, did you cook it longer than stated or use different proportions of ingredients? My caramel was soft even after refrigeration. Does it change consistency when it is warmed up?
Can I freeze these?
Hi Kateryna, I haven’t tried freezing this recipe so I’m not 100% sure. I think it would be worth experimenting.
I followed your recipe to the T and also made the caramel and whipped cream topping. Very easy to follow and turned out beautifully 🙂 Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I did like the cheesecake cold straight out of the fridge vs sitting out just a preference.
You’re welcome Maria! I’m happy to hear you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your fantastic review’
Hi nattasha,
Is the caramel sauce supposed to set up? I kept them in fridge overnight and as soon as i took them out, the caramel sauce got super runny
Hi Ann, it should thicken as it cools. It sounds like maybe the proportions of liquids were too high. If that happens in the future and your sauce isn’t thickening at the time stated in the recipe, continue cooking it a few minutes to allow some of the extra liquid to cook out so the sauce can cook properly. I hope that helps!
These mini cheesecakes are absolutely delicious! I tried one warm out of the oven and wanted to just pop them all into my mouth! I can’t imagine how much better it will be with the caramel sauce😋 thank you for this simple and delicious recipe!
You’re welcome Angela! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
Hi Natasha, I never leave comments but I had to when I made these cheesecakes today. All I can say is WOW absolutely delicious!! And that caramel sauce is absolutely amazing good. I wish I could give you 10 stars!!!! Me and my toddler were both doing cartwheels in the kitchen after we ate a coyote lol. 😉 all your recipes are very delicious and amazing. You are one very talented cook and I hope one day I’ll cook as good as you do. God bless you and your family. 🙂
Hello Liliya! Lol, I’m happy to hear how much you two love the recipe! Thanks for following and sharing your encouraging, thoughtful comments! God Bless 🙂
Natasha thanks for all the delicious and easy recipes you share. This one recipe is going to be display on my table this Thanksgiving. I would love to post a pic of it… but I don’t think that’s possible. Any way…. thanks again.
Hi Carmen, I don’t really have a way to upload photos to the site in comments so the best way to post a picture is in our new facebook cooking group. I would love it if you joined and shared there! Click here to check it out 🙂
Natasha, I tried your mini-cheesecakes, however I do not understand why you would not pre-bake the graham cracker crust ahead of time, because you put the cream cheese mixture over it. Would appreciate your answer to this question. Colleen Stuart
You can choose to do that if you’d like. The cups are small enough where they bake through just right with enough crunch to the crust once they are done.
Love the recipe thanks Natasha! I’ve made it into one cheesecake and it came out fantastic,but I had to bake it for 30 minutes. I was wondering is it possible to bake it ahead and freeze it without the caramel? Or would that ruin the flavor? Thank you again for another wonderful recipe!
Hi Luba, I haven’t tried freezing this recipe so I’m not 100% sure. I think it would be worth experimenting. It’s great to know this recipe works well as a single cake. I completely missed that in your comment that you made it into one so my first reply didn’t make much sense – lol. Sorry about that.
What size pie pan did you use to make the one cheese cake ? Instead of the 24 little ones