These no bake mini cheesecakes feature a buttery graham cracker crust and a light, airy, and creamy cheesecake filling. They are delicious topped with your favorite fresh fruit, fruit sauce, or a chocolate ganache.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- If you are a fan of traditional cheesecake, you will love these no bake cheesecakes for their creamy texture. The use of whipped cream creates a light and airy, mousse-like texture for the cheesecake filling rather than the dense texture of a traditional cheesecake.
- No bake desserts are the best in the summer! We love not having to use the oven for this recipe, these no bake cheesecake cupcakes simply set up on their own in the refrigerator.
- This no bake recipe makes individual cheesecakes with the use of a muffin pan and muffin liners.
- It is a great make-ahead dessert that you can serve right out of the fridge.
Ingredient Notes
For the mini graham cracker crusts:
- Graham cracker crumbs - you'll need 8 graham cracker sheets. We recommend pulsing them in a blender or food processor to make them into fine crumbs. You can also make the crust with Biscoff cookies if you prefer those over graham crackers and make a mini biscoff cheesecake.
- Brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter - the brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter bring an amazing flavor to the crust. The melted butter also binds the ingredients together.
For the cheesecake filling:
- Heavy whipping cream - for this recipe, you will be whipping cold heavy cream to help create a light and airy texture for these mini cheesecakes. You will need heavy whipping cream, not half and half. The whipping cream is what really helps these cheesecakes to set up!
- Reduced fat cream cheese - you can't have cheesecake without the cream cheese! We find it easiest to use a brick of cream cheese rather than scooping out cream cheese from a tub. We tested this recipe with a low-fat cream cheese and loved the results. However, a brick of full-fat cream cheese will also work well and will produce a richer flavor.
- Plain greek yogurt - while a lot of traditional cheesecake recipes use sour cream, we decided to substitute that with plain greek yogurt. We found that it is a great swap and doesn't compromise on texture or flavor.
- Powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice - these ingredients are used to perfect the sweetness and flavor. Note that these are not lemon-flavored cheesecakes, the lemon juice in this recipe simply serves to brighten the flavor of the cheesecake mixture.
Favorite toppings:
- Fresh berries, fruit sauce, chocolate ganache, caramel sauce, or lemon curd.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and measurements.
Equipment You’ll Need
- Food processor or blender (we both have this mini food processor* and have liked it a lot! You may need to pulse a few graham crackers to create more space before adding them all in.)
- Medium mixing bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Muffin pan and muffin/cupcake liners
- A Kitchenaid mixer with paddle attachment and whisk attachment OR an electric mixer/hand mixer and large mixing bowl
- A cookie scoop, ice cream scoop, or large spoon
- Rubber spatula
Step by Step Directions
For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Step 1: Add the graham crackers to a food processor or blender and pulse until they become fine crumbs. In a medium bowl, add the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Mix until well combined.
Step 2: Line a muffin pan with 12 muffin tin liners. Add a heaping tablespoon to the bottom of each muffin liner then use the back of a spoon or your fingers to firmly press and compact the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of the muffin liner. Place the muffin pan in the freezer while you create the cheesecake filling.
Step 3: Pour the heavy whipping cream into a bowl or stand mixer. Mix the cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Step 4: In a large bowl, add the cream cheese, greek yogurt, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Using a mixer, beat the mixture on medium speed until it is smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Step 5: Next, gently fold in the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture until fully combined.
Step 6: Remove the muffin pan from the freezer and evenly distribute the cheesecake batter into the muffin pans. We prefer to use a cookie scoop to make it easy. Fill each muffin cup to the top of the muffin liner with cheesecake filling. Use a spoon to smooth out the top of the cheesecakes. Place the pan in the fridge to set for at least two hours, preferably 4 hours.
Step 7: Top with chocolate ganache and fresh berries if desired.
Tips & Variations
- Pop the graham cracker crusts into the freezer while making the cheesecake mixture. This helps them firm up before adding the cheesecake mixture to them. Once you have assembled the cheesecakes, however, we recommend placing them in the refrigerator to set up, not the freezer. The crust will freeze at a much quicker rate than the cheesecake filling and become tough to bite through.
- We recommend letting the cream cheese come to room temperature before mixing or mixing it on its own first. By doing this, the cream cheese can blend smoothly into the other ingredients without leaving large clumps throughout the mixture. Make sure you use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure no large chunks of cream cheese are left behind.
- When whipping the cream, make sure you beat it long enough to get stiff peaks. When you pull the whisk out of the whipped cream, the cream should remain standing upright and shouldn't droop over.
- Use a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to make it easier to put the cheesecake mixture into each muffin tin. You can also use a piping bag and tip if you prefer. You may have a little extra cheesecake batter.
- Top the no bake cheesecake bites with chocolate ganache, fresh berries, lemon curd, or caramel sauce if desired.
FAQ
If the muffin liner doesn't easily pull away from the cheesecake filling, it is likely that it hasn't chilled for long enough. Once set up, the muffin liner should pull away easily from the cheesecakes.
If you are going to store these cheesecakes in the fridge for longer than the chilling time, we recommend either covering the muffin tin with plastic wrap or aluminum foil or removing each cheesecake (keep the liner on) and storing them in a single layer in an airtight container. Serve directly from the fridge.
Yes! These can be frozen and saved for later. We recommend letting them set up in the refrigerator for at least two hours, then transferring each mini cheesecake (with the liner still on) to a large, airtight and freezer-safe container. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
This recipe is vegetarian but is not dairy-free or vegan. It can be made gluten-free by swapping out graham crackers for gluten-free graham crackers or these Simple Mills honey and cinnamon sweet thins*.
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No Bake Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 8 full sheets of graham crackers)
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoon melted butter
For the cheesecake filling:
- 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese (brick, not tub)
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
Optional toppings:
- Fresh berries, fruit sauce, chocolate ganache, caramel sauce, or lemon curd.
Instructions
- Begin by creating the graham cracker crumbs. Add 8 sheets of graham crackers to a food processor or blender. Pulse the blender until the crumbs are finely crushed. In a medium bowl, add the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Mix until well combined.
- Line a muffin pan with 12 muffin tin liners. Evenly distribute the graham cracker mixture among the 12 muffin liners. Add a heaping tablespoon to the bottom of each liner. Use the back of a spoon or your fingers to firmly press and compact the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of the muffin liner. Be sure to firmly pack the crumbs to help the cheesecakes stay intact. Place the muffin pan in the freezer while you create the cheesecake filling.
- Pour the heavy whipping cream into a bowl or stand mixer. Mix the cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Using a mixer, beat the mixture until it is smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Next, gently fold in the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture until fully combined.
- Remove the muffin pan from the freezer and evenly distribute the cheesecake mixture into the muffin pans. We prefer to use a cookie scoop to make it easy. Use a spoon to smooth out the top of the cheesecakes.
- Place the pan in the fridge to set for at least two hours, preferably 4 hours. Top with chocolate ganache and fresh berries if desired.
Notes
- If you are going to store these cheesecakes in the fridge for longer than the chilling time, we recommend either covering the muffin tin with plastic wrap or aluminum foil or removing each cheesecake (keep the liner on) and storing them in a single layer in an airtight container.
- We also recommend that you serve the mini cheesecakes directly from the fridge. If they sit out for too long they will soften.
- These mini cheesecakes can be made gluten-free by swapping out graham crackers for gluten-free graham crackers or these Simple Mills honey and cinnamon sweet thins*.
NUTRITION
The recipe can be found on My Fitness Pal by searching "BWB No Bake Mini Cheesecakes."
The nutrition content provided for each recipe is an estimate created through the My Fitness Pal database. Please be aware that the nutritional content of each recipe may vary based on the products you use, the precision of your measurements, and the source you use to obtain nutrition data. While we try to provide accurate information, we give no guarantee regarding the accuracy of the nutritional information provided.
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Emily B
Okay these are YUMMY! I didn't have any muffin liners so I put all of the filling into a pie dish and made one big cheesecake and that worked great. The texture isn't as firm as regular cheesecake, but maybe that's because I made it into one big pan. It feels lighter than regular cheesecake which I do like, and it doesn't lack flavor! I will make this again for sure.
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Glad you liked it and that it turned out in a big cheesecake dish- good to know!