No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes Recipe (VIDEO)
These beautiful No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes have a buttery graham cracker crust and an irresistible creamy filling. They are the perfect summer dessert to serve at home or on the go, easy to make, and perfectly sized. Top them with our Cherry Sauce for sweet perfection in every bite.
We love no-bake recipes like Banana Pudding and Chocolate Lasagna. If you are a fan of easy, no-bake desserts, you’ve got to try these No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes! Watch the video tutorial to see just how easy they are to make.
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If you like our No-Bake Cheesecake, you have got to try this No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes recipe. Similar to our traditional Mini Strawberry Cheesecake recipe, they’re made in cupcake liners or small ramekins- perfectly portioned, and no need to cut into a large cake to serve. They are perfect for entertaining because both the cheesecakes and the Cherry Sauce are simple, make-ahead recipes- just before your party, pop them onto a platter, decorate, and serve.
No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes Video
Watch Natasha make these Mini No-Bake Cheesecakes and see for yourself just how incredibly easy they are to make. We love the creamy texture and the endless possibilities for toppings. Get your ingredients ready because these are a must-make!
What are No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes?
No-bake mini cheesecakes are exactly as they say, individual-sized cheesecakes that do not require heating up the oven. Using only a few ingredients, they have an airy cream cheese and whipped cream filling and set in the refrigerator instead of baking in the oven.
I love cheesecake, especially during the summer months when fresh berries are in season to use for toppings. But on a hot day, the idea of turning on the oven can take the joy right out of that dreamy dessert. These no-bake recipes are the best of both worlds.
With the classic flavors of a traditional cheesecake, this recipe is decadent and creamy, just like my Perfect Cheesecake recipe, but this one does not require you to turn on the oven.
Ingredients for No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes
These petite treats come together so quickly and create fourteen individual-sized servings. The ingredients are simple for both the crust and the filling:
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
- Graham Crackers – You can make your own or buy them pre-crushed. Use gluten-free graham crackers to keep this recipe GF.
- Sugar – adds a bit more sweetness to the crust
- Butter – Unsalted, melted to hold the crust together
For the No-Bake Cheesecake Filling:
- Cream Cheese – 2 blocks (not tubs), room temperature, and full-fat variety or it won’t set properly.
- Sugar – We use granulated sugar for just the right amount of sweetness.
- Sour Cream – Full-fat, creates a more dense and smooth texture.
- Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed, cuts the sweetness and balances the cake.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – Be sure to use HEAVY whipping cream, which has a higher fat content than regular whipping cream, which is needed to get stiff peaks.
- Cherry Sauce
Pro Tip: Use any crisp cookie such as Vanilla Wafers, chocolate Oreo cookies (cream removed), or Biscoff shortbread for your crust.
How to Quickly Soften Cream Cheese
If your cream cheese is too cold, you could end up with lumpy cheesecake. Here are the best ways to speed-soften cream cheese:
- Dice the cream cheese: My favorite way to bring cream cheese to room temperature quickly is to cut the cream cheese into smaller cubes. You can cut the cubes right on the foil liner to save some clean-up. Set it on the counter for an hour, or until it is soft to the touch.
- Warm water method: Alternatively, you can place the wrapped block of cream cheese into a bowl of warm water and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
- Microwave (least favorite): This can be tricky with uneven heating. Remove the foil and place the cream cheese block on a microwave-safe plate and heat it in 10-15 second increments for approximately 1 minute.
Our Favorite No-Bake Crust
There are some recipes out there for no-bake cheesecake that still require baking the crust but it’s totally unnecessary here. The butter holds the crust together perfectly.
- Line Your Muffin Pan – Place 14 liners into cupcake pans. If you do not have a pan with 14 spaces, you can use ramekins for the extras.
- Make the Crust – In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Stir to combine until the crumbs are moistened.
- Press – Spoon approximately 2 Tbsp of graham cracker mixture into each liner and press evenly to form the crust. If using ramekins, sprinkle a layer of crumbs into the bottom, but do not press firm.
How to Make No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes
- Mix Cream Cheese and Sugar – Using a hand mixer, combine cream cheese and sugar on medium/high speed until fluffy and completely smooth.
- Add Sour Cream and Lemon Juice – Continue mixing for 1 minute until well incorporated.
- Make Whipped Cream – Wash your mixer attachments and in a second mixing bowl beat heavy whipping cream on medium/high speed for 3 minutes (or until whipped and stiff peaks form).
- Combine – With a spatula, fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to thoroughly combine.
- Scoop – Divide the mixture evenly between the 14 cupcake liners, scooping directly onto the graham cracker crusts. The cream cheese should be about level with the top of the liner. Use a spoon to smooth the top.
Pro Tip: Use a trigger-release ice cream scoop to portion your cream cheese mixture into the cupcake liners.
Common Questions
No-bake cheesecake typically has a lighter, smoother, and creamier texture than baked cheesecake, which tends to be denser in texture. While slightly different in texture, no-bake cheesecakes still have the classic cheesecake flavor.
No-bake cheesecakes require at least 6 hours to set in the refrigerator. If you remove them sooner, they will be more like a mousse. If they are not quite set after 6 hours, give them a little more time in the fridge to firm up. Also, avoid substituting ingredients.
Full-fat blocks of Philadelphia cream cheese are best for this recipe. Cheesecake is not the time to skimp on fat content and using air-whipped tubs of cream cheese won’t give you the right texture.
This recipe is easily doubled. If you don’t have multiple cupcake tins, you can also serve these in ramekins or small glasses.
How to Decorate and Serve
The possibilities for toppings are endless, from a dollop of whipped cream to fresh fruit. Find a few of our favorite toppings below:
- Fresh berries such as blueberries, cherries, raspberries, or strawberries, left whole or sliced
- Cherry Sauce
- Chopped nuts
- Strawberry Sauce
- Chocolate shavings
- Caramel Sauce
Serving Tip: I have found it’s best to unwrap the individual cheesecakes straight from the refrigerator and arrange them on a platter. The cheesecakes soften a bit as they stand at room temperature which makes it more challenging to remove the wrapper later.
How to Store Mini No-Bake Cheesecakes
- To Refrigerate: Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days before serving, though I don’t recommend adding your toppings until you are ready to serve the cheesecake.
- To Freeze: Cheesecake freezes really well and tastes just as good after thawing. After the cheesecakes chill in the refrigerator, wrap the cheesecakes, still in the pan, in several layers of plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- To Thaw: Unwrap and set in the refrigerator overnight.
Pro Tip: If you don’t have a cupcake carrier with a lid, you can refrigerate the mini cheesecakes uncovered for a few hours and then loosely cover them with a sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate. This will keep the plastic wrap from sticking badly to the tops.
Love No-Bake Desserts?
If you love this No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes recipe, then you won’t want to miss these other crowd-favorite no-bake dessert recipes:
- Tiramisu Recipe
- No-Bake Strawberry Blueberry Trifle
- Strawberries Romanoff
- No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
- Eton Mess
- No-Bake Chocolate Lasagna
No Bake Mini Cheesecakes Recipe (VIDEO)
Ingredients
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 12 whole crackers
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
Ingredients for No-Bake Cheesecake:
- 16 oz cream cheese, (2) 8-oz blocks, room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Cherry Topping
Instructions
- Line your muffin tin with paper liners. If you don’t have a spare muffin tin to make 14 total, you can put the extra 2 into ramekins.
- In a medium bowl, stir together graham crackers and sugar then add melted butter and stir until crumbs are evenly moistened. Divide the crumbs between your paper liners (about 2 Tablespoons in each). Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the liners to form the crust.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric hand mixer on medium/high speed for 3 minutes until fluffy and completely smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add sour cream and lemon juice and beat for another minute until well incorporated.
- Wash the mixer attachments and then in a second large mixing bowl, beat heavy whipping cream on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, or until whipped and stiff peaks form.
- Using a spatula fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until fully combined, scraping from the bottom of the bowl as you mix. Divide the cheesecake mixture evenly between your cupcake liners (a trigger-release ice cream scoop makes this easy!). Even out the tops with the back of a spoon. The cream cheese should be about level with the tops of the cupcake liners.
- Refrigerate the mini cheesecakes for at least 6 hours or overnight (set a reminder to cover with plastic wrap after a couple of hours in the refrigerator).
- Make the Cherry Sauce and set it aside to cool to room temperature then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve the cheesecakes.
- To serve, remove the wrappers from the mini cheesecakes (the cheesecakes soften as they stand so it’s easier to remove the wrappers right away). Spoon cooled cherry sauce over the mini cheesecakes and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
=) i’m so excited to make these this weekend Natasha. but i was wondering if its ok to use yoplait oui jars instead & to cover with saran wrap?
Hello, I haven’t tested that to advise. We’d love to know how it goes if you try that.
These are absolutely delicious! Like a light fluffy cheesecake. I did add an extra 1/3 cup of sugar. After making the filling I tried it and was a little disappointed with the lack of flavor, and thought it wouldn’t be good. But once they set, the combo of the cherries, crust and filling was perfection. I made this with dairy free plant based heavy cream and I’m sure you can substitute the cream cheese & sour cream for dairy free options, and make it a dairy free dessert. It turned out perfect. I did use premade mini pie crusts 2 (6packs) and had about 1 1/2 cups of left over filling.
I’m wondering will this recipe work for a regular sized premade graham crust or would it fill 2 premade crusts?
Hi Jenna! Thank you for sharing. I have not made this with premade graham crust, so I am not sure how many larger crusts this recipe would fill.
This is the second batch I’ve made! I use Munk fruit instead of sugar on all your recipes also bought a insta pot and I’ve made your baby back ribs quite a few times now they are the best I ever had! Your the best! I just ordered your cook book 🥰
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Thank you for ordering my cookbook, I hope you’ll love the recipes!
Hi Natasha.
I am not a “baker” but must say thank you for the easy mini, no bake cheese cake recipe. They were perfect. Light and delicious. Had a few left to freeze, 😋👍🥰
You’re very welcome! So glad you loved the recipe.
I havent made this yet, and I will add a rating when I do (and that will be soon). I think that I will try the strawberry or a raspberry topping, as cherries are not yet in season in Ontario.
I spotted Sharky hanging out and waiting for you to pour the cherry topping into a dish at 5:03. Thanks for the cute, fun game!! Nice addition for those who are baking with kids!
Great catch, Jane. I hope you’ll love it!
I made the banana bread and it was DELICIOUS! Thanks for a great, easy recipe.
You’re welcome! Glad to hear that you loved it.
I clicked on a “follow Natasha” link and now I’m getting recipes that say “Natasha’s Kitchen” but then they are by somebody else. Is this not your site? There’s a lot of them.
Hi Barbara, can you send us an email with a screenshot of that emailn or content so we can verify at hello @ natashaskitchen.com (remove the spaces from the email address)
I honestly didn’t enjoy these and neither did my family. They never hardened up enough so eating was a mess, even the next day. Felt like flavor was missing something, vanilla maybe? I would not make again, ended up tossing out. Maybe no bake is just not for us.
Hi Rachael! I’m sorry you did not like the recipe. As you can see from my video, they are not runny or too soft but they set perfectly. I wonder if the temperature of your ingredients was the problem (too warm) or if the heavy whipping cream was not whipped until stiff peaks? You can definitely add vanilla or another extract of your preference for more flavor. I also have a baked mini cheesecakes with caramel sauce recipe if you’d like to try that. You can use this cherry topping on it too if you don’t want to use the caramel sauce. I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha! Would love to try these – we don’t typically have sour cream on hand and it seems wasteful to buy a whole tub for only 2 TBS. Can the sour cream be replaced with Greek Yogurt in this recipe?
Hi Malek! Yes, Greek yogurt will work too! I hope you love the recipe.
Thank you. I made Them and came out delicious 😋. I love doing things that no need for oven .
That’s so great! Yes, especially in the summer! I’m happy you loved it, Avelina!
i usually don’t write to any comments but for this recipe I had to. I am not the greatest cook but can follow a recipe, even better when there is a video. These cupcakes are easy to put together and the flavor is wonderful. Another gold star for Natasha and look forward to many more recipes.
Great work, Natasha
Hello Linda, thank you for your great comments and review. We appreciate it!
We love your recipes and this looks delicious! What cherry pitter do you use for the cherry sauce and for your cherry pie?
Hi Sarah, my favorite Cherry Pitter can be found in my Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE.
I goofed and only put 1 brick of cream cheese in the mix but the cherry topping really made it a great dessert anyway! It was just a little soft for a cheesecake! Still a big hit!
I wonder what it would be like if I made it correctly? 😂
Hi Annie! I hope you get to try the recipe correctly. The texture is so perfect.
Hi, I would love to make 6 mini cheesecakes. How would I go about cutting the recipe down to 6 mini cheesecakes? My freezer is full of other items. Thank You! Linda
Hi Linda, I recommend clicking “Jump to recipe” at the top of the post, it will take you to our printable recipe where you’ll have the option to change the number of servings. Hover over the number of servings highlighted in red and slide it to how many servings you would like to make. I hope that helps!
Thank you Natasha! Now I can buy groceries in the right amount to make the mini cheesecake.
You’re very welcome! I hope you love this!
Natasha, is that an induction cooktop you’re using or an electric one?
Hi Roy, we used this exact Cuisinart Cast Iron Single Burner HERE. I hope this helps.
Are you looking for Ideal recipes for pudding? These recipes from No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes will make your little one love all the cakes you will make for them.
If I wanted to make this as a cake, not having the necessary tin, how would I do it? 🙂
Hi Judy, you could reference my No Bake Cheesecake Recipe here for instructions on making a larger round cheesecake. I recommend using a springform pan for the best results.
Served them with fresh berries on top and we were all in heaven! Next time I want to try them with your homemade cherry sauce. Sounds fantastic!
Wonderful! You’ll love the homemade cherry sauce.
These are really amazing dessert!! Everyone at my house loved it!
That’s wonderful to hear! So glad they were a hit.