Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes
These Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes feature an easy homemade graham cracker crust topped with a smooth and creamy key lime cheesecake filling. The perfect dessert for any time of year!
So many of you loved these mini Oreo cheesecakes I posted a while back and I have to say, I really loved them too! I’ve been working on a few more variations for mini cheesecakes because they’re so darn cute. I mean all desserts are better in mini form, right? I feel like mini cheesecakes are the perfect sized desserts to bring to parties or even just to eat by yourself.
Since March is finally here and I have all things fruit on the brain, I decided to create a mini key lime cheesecake version. Between the buttery graham cracker crust, creamy key lime cheesecake filling, and the homemade whipped cream on top it was almost impossible not to eat the whole batch.
What You’ll Need For This Recipe
These mini key lime pie cheesecakes have three components: the graham cracker crust, the key lime cheesecake filling, and the optional whipped cream on top. Here’s what you’ll need to make these mini cheesecake bites:
- Graham crackers: You can pulse full sheets of graham crackers in a food processor to make your own graham cracker crumbs, or you can purchase pre-made graham cracker crumbs.
- Butter: I recommend using unsalted butter since the amount of salt in salted butters can vary between different brands.
- Granulated sugar: Used to sweeten both the crust and the cheesecake filling.
- Cream cheese: It’s best to use bricks of cream cheese and avoid cream cheese spread, which has ingredients added to it to thin it out.
- Sour cream: Breaks up the heaviness of the cream cheese and creates a smoother, creamier filling.
- Key lime juice: You’re welcome to substitute lime juice for key lime juice, if needed.
- Key lime zest: Make sure to wash your lime before zesting it to remove any dirt or bacteria.
- Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Green food dye: You can leave the food dye out of the recipe if you like, but I love to add it so everyone can easily tell they’re key lime cheesecakes.
- Egg: Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before you add them to the cheesecake filling.
How to Make Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes
For the graham cracker crust, you’ll need some graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar. You’ll mix it all together, press it into each cavity of your pan and bake it for about 5 minutes.
I baked these in a mini cheesecake pan, here’s the same pan that I own and here’s another one that’s similar. But you can also use a standard 12-count muffin pan, just make sure to line it with cupcake liners for easy removal.
And the key lime cheesecake filling? You’ll start by beating the cream cheese until it’s nice and smooth, then mix in the sour cream and sugar. I suggest stopping to scrape down the sides of your bowl at this point and mixing it again to ensure that everything is well combined.
Next, you’ll mix in the key lime juice, zest, vanilla extract, and optional food dye. The last step is to mix in the egg on low-speed until just combined. You want to avoid over mixing the egg as this can incorporate more air into the cheesecake batter and cause them to collapse.
Then, evenly distribute the cheesecake batter between all of the cavities in your pan and return it to the oven to bake for 15 to 18 minutes. You will know they’re done when the tops are set.
FAQ’s
Can I Use Bottled Key Lime Juice?
If you’re wondering if you can use bottled key lime juice, the answer is YES! I love key lime desserts, but I despise having to juice 10 key limes for just a little bit of juice. I’ve tested this mini key lime pie cheesecake recipe with both and they taste just the same, so stick with bottled key lime juice if you want to make these easier.
Can I Prep These Mini Cheesecake Bites in Advance?
Yes! I love to make these the night before, let them cool, and then refrigerate them overnight. The next morning, I just pop them out of the pan and dessert is ready to go!
How Long Do They Last?
Baking Tips
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before getting started. This will ensure a much smoother, creamier cheesecake filling!
- I’ve only made this recipe as written, but you should be fine to substitute full-fat Greek yogurt for the sour cream.
- Likewise, I think Neufchâtel cheese would be a good substitute for the cream cheese.
- Make sure to only mix in the egg on low-speed until just combined. Over mixing the egg can incorporated too much air in the batter which can cause the cheesecakes to sink.
More Lime Desserts to Try!
- Classic Key Lime Pie
- Baked Key Lime Pie Donuts
- Mini Key Lime Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Pies
- Cherry Limeade Slushies
Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 6 full-sheets (90 grams) graham crackers (or 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs)
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) butter , melted
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
For the key lime cheesecake filling:
- 12 ounces brick-style cream cheese , softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) sour cream
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) key lime juice
- 1 teaspoon key lime zest (or regular lime zest)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 drop green food dye
- 1 large egg , room temperature
Instructions
To make the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray each cavity of a 12-count mini cheesecake pan well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. You may also use a regular 12-count muffin pan, I suggest lining each cavity with cupcake liners for easier removal.
- Add the graham crackers to a blender or food processor and process until you have fine crumbs. Scoop the crumbs into a mixing bowl, add the melted butter and sugar, and mix until well combined.
- Evenly distribute the mixture between all 12 cavities in the mini cheesecake pan, making sure to press each one down firmly into an even layer.
- Bake at 325°F for 5 minutes, remove from the oven, and set aside to cool. Keep oven temperature at 325°F.
To make the cheesecake filling:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the sour cream and granulated sugar and mix until well combined. Add in the key lime juice, zest, vanilla extract, and green food dye and mix until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Then, add in the egg and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Evenly distribute the cheesecake filling between all 12 cavities of the pan and return to the oven. Bake at 325°F for 15 to 18 minutes or until the tops of the cheesecakes are set.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
- Once the cheesecakes are chilled remove them from the pan, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Two questions please. I got a cheesecake pan at a thrift store, but some of the bottoms are missing. Do you think I could try making bottoms covered with aluminum foil? And how easy are these to get off the little disks – any tricks to removing them to a platter without destroying them? Thanks so much!
Hi, Vicky! I haven’t tried using foil, I’m not quite sure how well that would work since it’s not as sturdy as the metal cheesecake bottoms. The bottoms come off pretty easily, just be sure to spray them with nonstick cooking spray before you press the crust into each one.
What did you use to do the topping? Homemade whip?
I used my homemade whipped cream recipe here.
I made the cheesecakes in muffin tins with cupcake liners. Unfortunately they never set, even after over an hour in the oven. The tops were starting to burn so I took them out but the insides were still super soft. I ended up throwing them out ?
Have you checked your oven temperature with an oven thermometer? The cheesecakes will still be soft when they’re done, you just want the top to be set. They will continue to set up as they cool and once they’re chilled in the refrigerator.
Hello!
I’m thinking of using cinnamon graham crackers. Would you suggest I leave out the sugar for the crust?
You can leave the sugar out of the crust if you prefer, but the cinnamon graham crackers have a similar amount of sugar to regular ones so I would personally still add the sugar.
Can I use regular limes ?
Yes, that would be fine!
I’ve read many of the comments and it seems that there must be some scientific reason why these lovely cakes fall. I did my own testing; adjusting the time, temp, fill and even the batter itself. About 50% sunk, in various degrees under all the different circumstances. I do live in a moderately high altitude and perhaps that is part of the problem. I purchased the mini cheesecake pans from your link on Amazon. Thank you, BTW, as I did not know they existed. One issue I had that I did not read about in the comments was that the amounts of crumbs and batter were not proportionate to the 12ct mini cheesecake pan. If I used all the crumbs for 12, I had enough filling for nearly double, 20-22. If I aimed for the amount of crumbs in your photo, I had enough crumbs for 24, not 12. Additionally, to achieve the light color as in your photo, I needed to use fresh juice and the green color. The popular bottled key lime juice left them rather dingey.
I am not criticizing you or your recipe, just stating the facts of my experience. I will be using all of them for an event I am catering soon.
This was a delicious and easy dessert. I used extra lemon zest in the batter and added zest to the whipped cream since using a regular lime did not give enough of a lime flavor. Then it was Perfect!
They rose beautifully, but after cooling they sink a little making them look smaller. Why is that?
Hi, Sylvia! If you over mix the eggs, that can incorporate more air into the mixture and cause the cheesecakes to fall. You also want to avoid opening your oven door and make sure they’re fully baked before removing them from the oven. You could try letting them cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the oven with the oven turned off and the door cracked, then remove them.
Do you need to put these in water bath like a whole pan cheesecake?
I don’t find it necessary for this recipe.
I want to add food coloring to only half for a layered color look (doing a blue christmas theme for brunch. Do you think I could food coloring after mixing in the egg?
That would be fine! Just make sure to mix it in on low speed.
Would this work for a full size 9″ cheese cake as well?
It wouldn’t be enough for a full-size cheesecake. You can use my lemon cheesecake recipe here though and just swap out the lemon juice for an equal amount of key lime juice.
Are these pans the Suze of mimi muffins or regular muffins? I’m wanting a removable bottom muffin size pan
The mini cheesecake pans are kind of in between the size of a mini and regular muffin pan. When I make mini cheesecakes in a muffin pan, I prefer to use a regular one because I think mini muffin pans are too small.
I’ve made this before it was great. Tonight when making this I noticed the brick of cream cheese said 12 oz? So I bought an extra brick of cream cheese which are 8 oz, Upon tasting it this morning..it’s just not sweet enough now. I’m going to try adding some sweetened strawberries and the sweet whip cream. I hope that helps since I’m taking it to a gathering tonight. I’m questioning if that was a typo on the cream cheese ounces? Otherwise..this could be 5 star
It’s not a typo, you need 12 ounces (or 1.5 bricks) of cream cheese.
I did this recipe in Tahoe muffin tins, fabulous! I am going to attempt to make this now in one cheese cake pan.
Wish me luck ! Any advise ????
Hi, Jackie! It would probably work best in an 8 or 9-inch pan, just keep in mind that it will be a thin layer. If you want a thicker layer of cheesecake, you could double the filling.
What do you mean buy 1.5 brick cream cheese as it comes in 250 g Katie
A brick of cream cheese in the US is 8 ounces or 226 grams. It sounds like yours are a little larger, so you will need to weigh 12 ounces or 340 grams or use about 1 and 1/3 bricks.
Delicious when made exactly as written! A huge hit on Mother’s Day, thank you! They did sink a little (I did NOT overmix) so maybe some tweaking with cream cheese/sour cream proportions might be in order for me, but it certainly did not affect taste. It gave me more room to pipe on some stabilized whipped cream! I used a mini-cheesecake 12 count pan, I do think with these amounts it would be a stretch though to use regular muffin tins without increasing the total amounts by a bit. With this success (and leftover key lime juice) I think it’s on to the Classic Key Lime Pie recipe. Cheers and thanks again1
Mike, your experience with this recipe was so outstanding I just have to ask: Did you seriously use all the crumb mixture and all the cream cheese mixture in a 12ct mini cheesecake pan with removable bottoms and it all fit? I’m starting to think that I have lost my skill as a baker because I had way too much filling for the exact pan that Danielle used as linked on Amazon.
Jan,
I have made these several times and am love them, though I live at a high altitude and am still working on how to get them not to fall too much ( they always do a little). I can use all these crumbs just fine. What I have to do is use about a 1/3 to 1/2 cup less batter. Otherwise, they are overfilled and rise too much, then fall a lot more. I use the Chicago Metallic 12 cup mini cheesecake pan.
I used muffin pan was perfect size
They were so good , everybody loved them
Do these hold up ok in the heat?
They won’t hold up for very long in the heat. I’d recommend keeping them somewhere cool.
The absolute best ! I’ve made them twice and everybody loves them! Didn’t change anything on the recipe. Followed everything to the T. The only thing is that I didn’t add food coloring. Can’t wait to try other cheesecake recipes!! Great job ! I would LOVE if you could make a mango recipe!
Have you ever made these with gluten-free graham crackers? Does it require any modifications?
I haven’t, but I think it would be fine. You shouldn’t need to make any adjustments to the recipe, but if you feel like the crust mixture is dry you can add a little more butter.
Easy summer dessert.
Made your whipped cream recipe a well.
Loved it.
Hi Danielle,
I could not find key limes anywhere so bought regular limes. After reading some comments it sounds like the lime flavour isn’t as potent with regular limes. I bought a back of key lime Greek yogurt cups. Could I use that instead of the sour cream?
Hi, Stefanie! To be honest, I don’t noticed much of a difference between limes and key limes in this recipe. You can use the key lime greek yogurt in place of the sour cream though.
Fantastic!! Made these tonight and they were a huge hit! Even my friend who actually grew up in key west loved them, said they were the perfect ratio of tart to sweet. I made most of them with regular graham cracker crusts, and 1 with gluten free
These are in the oven cooling with the door slightly cracked and I can see they have sunk. I beat the egg with a fork and then added it in and folded it in just until incorporated, even added the teaspoon of cornstarch as one reviewer suggested. Also used my mini-cheesecake pan. Disappointed because these are for a family luau-themed party.
Sorry to hear that you had trouble with the recipe, Rita. Have you checked your oven temperature with an oven thermometer? If the cheesecakes were under baked, that could cause them to sink.
I’ve made both a regular sized key lime pie and around 60 mini key lime cheesecakes that I did in liners in a regular muffin tin. The biggest difference was mine were no bake and sugar free using sugar substitute. There were no eggs, but unflavored gelatin to set them. The pie was made for a company, Lake summer get together. One of my bosses was diabetic and could never enjoy dessert, but now I could give him one of his own. He, his wife and daughters loved it. So, when I was designated to make salad, dessert and bread and drinks for my sons bridal dinner, I came up with the mini version. The dinner was lasagna and spaghetti and meatballs which my ex and his wife bought frozen at Sams Club. I worked making my own items, except the Italian bread was store bought. I actually set up a salad bar as people are somewhat picky about what they want in their salad, plus 6 choices of dressing. No one knew the key lime cheesecakes were sugar free. I topped them with stabilized whipped cream. Everyone loved them. In fact my ex’s wife asked for the recipe. But, I’d love to try making yours as now there’s no diabetics here. Do they freeze well?
Yes, they freeze well for up to 3 months. You can thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.
Mine fell as soon as I removed them from the oven.
These tasted and looked beautiful! Sprinkled some zest on top and on the plate making it look more festive. Definitely will make again!
Amazing
I was wanting something pretty to serve on a dessert bar for a wedding reception.
I made these last night for a trial run. I made four with muffin liners and 8 without liners in a mini muffin pan that had pop outs. They are prettier without the liners, but either way they turned out great! Absolutely the best key lime cheesecake we have EVER had! You will not be disappointed! Be sure to freeze at least an hour before removing from the pans to make easier. I could not wait to try one, so before freezing, I took one out. Froze the rest and it really helped!
My cheesecakes (baked in mini cupcake pans) fell in center after taking them out of oven. I tried to mix them as little as possible. Can you give me any other advice… they are delicious!!
Hi, Michele! If you were careful not to over mix the egg, it may have been because the cheesecakes were under baked. You could try letting them bake a little longer next time, then let them cool slightly in the oven with the door cracked open.
I made this recipe and first attempt they all caved in in the center. Any suggestions on what I might have done wrong or is this to be expected. Tasted great btw!!
Hi, Susan! This could be due to few reasons like over mixing the egg or under baking the cheesecakes. If you didn’t over mix the egg, you can try adding a few extra minutes to the baking time or let them cool for a few minutes in the oven with the door slightly cracked.
These mini cheesecakes were excellent. The lime taste is so vibrant! I used stabilized whipped cream on top and sprinkled lime zest to top them off. The recipe only makes a dozen, so double up, if you need more.
Can these be frozen?
Yes, they will freeze well for 2 to 3 months. You can thaw them overnight in the fridge.
Am I supposed to have enough of filling left over for 12 more mini cheesecakes (I bought the pans that you recommended in your article)
No, it should just make 12. Did you make sure to only use 1 and 1/2 blocks of cream cheese?
Yes, and not only did I use 1 1/2 blocks of cream cheese, I also weighed the amount on a culinary scale.
If I could Danielle, I’d make these along with you, because I’m starting to question my baking skills. I’ve messaged a few other followers to see about their perfect results.
Hi, Jan. It’s really hard to say why your cheesecakes aren’t turning out without actually being there to see what you are doing. Cheesecakes can sink for a variety of reasons, but the most common are typically from over mixing the eggs or under baking them. In other comments, you’ve mentioned that you think there’s too much crust and filling. I’ve made them dozens of times in a mini cheesecake pan and always get 12. I typically use about 1 tablespoon of the crust mixture and fill each cavity to the top with filling.
Couldn’t sleep, had to try again. Found some interesting answers. I’ll let you know later. I’m whooped! But I think it will help your other followers. 🥰