Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes

Baked in a standard muffin pan, these mini strawberry cheesecakes are delicious handheld versions of a classic cheesecake. You start by making a homemade Graham Cracker crust, spoon in a luscious cheesecake filling, then top everything off with a fresh strawberry compote.

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Look at these mini cheesecakes! All the delicious flavor of a strawberry cheesecake wrapped up in these cute, handheld beauties. And the best part? Since they're already portioned out, there's no cutting required.

Everything in this recipe is made from scratch, from the Graham Cracker crust to the fresh, juicy strawberry compote on top. These cheesecakes are so decadent that it's hard to stop after eating just one.

Jump to:

• What You'll Need
• How to Make This Recipe
• Tips to Perfect This Recipe
• Common Questions About This Recipe
• How to Store & Freeze
• Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes
• Comments

What You'll Need

Here's a quick overview of some of the key ingredients and tools needed to make these mini cheesecakes. The full recipe can be found at the bottom of the post!

Ingredients

• Graham Crackers - We'll use Graham Crackers to form the base of the crust for the cheesecakes. Any brand you can find at the store should work.
• Cream cheese - Be sure to use brick-style cream cheese when making this recipe. Let the cream cheese soften to room temperature before adding it to the recipe to avoid any lumps in the cheesecake batter.
• Sour cream - I love adding sour cream to my cheesecake batter to deepen the flavor and add more moisture to the batter.
• Strawberries - Fresh or frozen strawberries work great here. You'll want to finely chop them before preparing the strawberry compote.

Equipment

• Muffin pan - This recipe yields 12 mini cheesecakes, so a 12-cup muffin pan works great here.
• Cupcake liners - I like to line my pan with cupcake liners before baking to make it easier to remove the mini cheesecakes once they're baked.
• Food processor - It's really helpful to use a food processor when making the crust for these mini cheesecakes. But if you don't have one, you can place the crackers in a Ziplock bag and smash them until fine crumbs form.
• Mixer - Personally, I like to use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment when making the cheesecake batter. However, an electric hand mixer also works great.
• Medium saucepan - To make the strawberry compote for the cheesecakes, you'll want to cook all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. The compote will bubble up as it cooks, so it's important to use a saucepan with higher sides.

How to Make This Recipe

Got everything ready? Let me show you how to make this recipe from start to finish!

Start by making the Graham Cracker crust. Pulse the Graham Crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Then, in a small bowl, stir together the Graham Cracker crumbs, melted butter, turbinado sugar, and salt. Portion out 2 teaspoons of the Graham Cracker crumb mixture into each muffin liner, pressing firmly down until the bottom of each liner is evenly covered. Bake the crust at 350°F for 7-8 minutes, or until lightly browned and just starting to set. The crust will firm up more once out of the oven. Once baked, remove the crust from the oven and let cool to room temperature. (Image 1 and Image 2)

Make the cheesecake filling. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer), cream together the room temperature cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, sour cream, and lemon juice until the mixture is homogenous. Add in the eggs one at at a time, then mix in the salt until the mixture is smooth and creamy, being careful not to overmix. (Image 3)

Portion out the cheesecakes and bake! Pour the cheesecake filling over the crust, filling each cup until it's ¾ full. Release any air bubbles by tapping the pan on a flat surface.  Bake the cheesecakes at 280°F for about 15 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecakes are set, but the middle is still jiggly. The cheesecakes will firm up considerably as they cool. Once baked, turn the oven off, but keep the oven door closed for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes are up, oven the oven door halfway, and let the cheesecake cool to room temperature for 1 hour. After the cheesecake is room temperature, wrap the muffin pan with plastic wrap, and place the pan in the fridge to cool completely for at least 5 hours. (Image 4)

Make the strawberry compote. In a medium saucepan, add the chopped strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and salt, and stir to combine. Heat mixture over high heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula. Once the mixture starts to bubble up, reduce the heat to low. Cook the mixture for 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the compote is thick and viscous. Once ready, remove the compote from the heat and transfer it to a heatproof container. Let the compote cool completely at room temperature, then transfer it to the fridge. (Image 5 and Image 6)

Finish assembling the cheesecakes and serve. Top the chilled mini cheesecakes each with a tablespoon of the strawberry compote and serve. (Image 7 and Image 8)

Common Questions About This Recipe

These are some questions I frequently hear about this recipe. If you have a question that isn't answered below, feel free to leave it in the comments.

How to Store & Freeze

To store: You can store these mini cheesecakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

To freeze: Let the cheesecakes chill completely, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap or place in an airtight container. Freeze the cheesecakes (without the strawberry compote on top) for up to 1 month, then let the cheesecakes thaw at room temperature for about 2-4 hours, or in the refrigerator overnight. Once thawed, spoon the strawberry compote on top and serve.

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