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Key Lime Cheesecake – Perfectly tart and sweet mini cheesecakes. Top with whipped cream for a great dessert any time!
I love the sweet and tart flavor of key lime. Key Lime Pie is a one of my go to desserts when I am entertaining. Everyone loves it, and it is so easy to make! So I decided I needed to combine another favorite with that tart key lime flavor to make an extra delicious dessert.
Mini cheesecakes are great because you have built in portion control, and you can serve them easily to guests. They do have a special mini cheesecake pan you can buy, but I like to just use a regular muffin tin.
In the summer No Bake Oreo Cheesecake is a great easy dessert to make. But sometimes you just want the real thing. And this key lime cheesecake recipe is darn easy to make and so worth turning on the oven for. It is very similar to a classic cheesecake, just add in key lime juice and a little flour to help make up for the extra liquid.
If you are a fan of the key lime flavor, you are going to love these. They are bright, sweet, tart, creamy, rich, and just down right delicious!
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Graham Crackers
- Butter
- Sugar
- Cream Cheese
- Sour Cream
- All-Purpose Flour
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Key Lime Juice
How to Make Mini Cheesecakes
- Make the crust. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter together. Then use a tablespoon to fill each muffin liner and gently press into the pan. Bake the crusts for 5 minutes and then set aside until your filling is ready.
- Make Cheesecake. Use an electric mixer to blend cream cheese and sugar until it is smooth and super creamy. Mix in sour cream, key lime juice and vanilla. Mix until well blended.
- Add the eggs. Mix the eggs in one at a time until they are well incorporated. You do not want to mix on too high of a speed, incorporating too much air will lead to cheesecakes that sink. Mini cheesecakes tend to sink slightly in the middle anyway, you just don’t want them to completely sink. Use a spatula to mix in the flour. This helps give you the creamy texture despite all the extra liquid from the key lime juice.
- Bake. Place the cheesecakes in the oven and bake until the cheesecake is set. It takes about 25-30 minutes. If they are cracked on top, they are done.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Starting with room temperature ingredients makes for a creamy and delicious cheesecake. So set out the cream cheese and eggs before you are ready to start.
- Don’t over mix. When you are adding in the eggs, you want to really mix them in well, but not whip them for too long. You don’t want to incorporate too much air, or the cheesecakes will sink. As you can see by the pictures, they will sink a little no matter what, that is just the nature of them. But you don’t want a giant hole in the center either.
- Use cupcake liners. When I make muffins I often recommend just spraying with non-stick spray. But there are next to impossible to get out with the crust if you don’t use liners.
- Key Lime Juice. Most grocery stores carry Nellie’s brand Key Lime Juice. It is in the juice aisle where you buy the bigger bottle of traditional lemon and lime juice. You can also order on Amazon. Or if they are in season you can sometimes find key limes in the grocery store that you could squeeze your own. If you really can’t find it, regular lime juice will work.
How Long to Bake Mini Cheesecakes
They take a small fraction of the time that traditional cheesecakes do. They take closer to 25-30 minutes until the centers are set. You don’t have to let it sit in the oven with the door closed or any of the other steps in a full cheesecake either. Just take them out of the oven and let them cool. Then store in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
Next time you are looking for a different recipes to try this mini cheesecake recipe is it! Sweet, tart, and absolutely delicious.
Storge
These mini cheesecakes are best stored in the fridge, but I like to take them out and let them come closer to room temperature before serving. The tartness of the lime comes up and they are much more flavorful that way.
More Delicious Dessert Recipes
Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
For filling
- 24 oz 3 packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 2/3 cup key lime juice, (1/2-2/3 cup depending on taste)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 whole large eggs
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350º F. Line muffin cups with liners. Makes a 24 (2 12-cup muffin tins).
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar together. Put about 1 Tablespoons of crumbs into the bottom of the muffins tins. Press down. Bake for 5 minutes. Set aside.2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 4 Tablespoons butter, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- Cream together cream cheese and sugar for a couple minutes until very smooth, scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.24 oz 3 packages cream cheese, room temperature, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Add sour cream, key lime juice, and vanilla. Mix well.2/3 cup sour cream, 2/3 cup key lime juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add 1 egg at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition. Stir in flour until it is just combined.3 whole large eggs, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Scoop batter into muffin cups. Return to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until set.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 10-15 minutes and then remove from the pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This has to be the worst recipe I’ve ever made !! It didn’t seem right…since normally cheesecake is made in a spring form pan and not mixed this much but I decided to try. Unfortunately I didn’t read the other reviews !!! They cracked giant craters and puffed up and then fell and looked like total crap !! And they aren’t even done in the middle. No way I would serve these as a birthday dessert as planned. By the way there was WAYYYY too much batter. I made a whole pie In addition to 24 cupcakes that will all be trashed. The only suggestion I would have (other than not wasting your money on ingredients for this ) is 1. Only fill cups halfway full. 2. Don’t beat as much as the instructions said and use your hand and a spoon and not a mixer. There’s definately too much air.
I hope you will modify the instructions to this recipe based on all the terrible reviews or just take it down so no one else wastes an hour and $10 worth of ingredients on these.
I made these last night for morning tea today and they’ve turned out really well. I used fresh lime juice but probably only ended up using half a cup and the taste is still strong. I ended up having to cook them for 40 – 45 minutes but, like you said, everyone’s oven is different. I’m really happy with them! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much Ally – I am glad you enjoyed them!!
Are these suppose to mini? or the serving size for 24 regular size cupcakes?
Amy – they are regular cupcake size. They are “mini” because they are not a full cheesecake, they are individual servings. Enjoy!
No offense. But you should clarify they are indeed not “mini”. Seeing as that the title states “mini” cheesecakes it can be quite confusing, especially since I just made 24 “mini” cheesecakes and still have half the batter left…
I made these past night. Used fresh squeezed key lime juice as we don’t have it in bottle form in my town. They did rise and then fall in the middle but still look pretty good and taste wonderful!
Hi,
Do you bake both cupcake pans at the same time at 350 for 25-30 minutes?
Thanks;)
Yes. They fit side by side in my oven. But if they do not fit side by side in your oven, I would bake them separately. You don’t want to open the oven door to have to switch the racks around.
Anyone else have an insane amount of filling left over? I had enough to make a regular sized cheesecake on top of 24 mini ones. Perhaps the measurements should be adjusted. Other than that I have no complaints. Keep in mind they just went in the oven…
The recipe is perfect! They turned out great… Makes about 30! Followed the recipe as written and baked them 25 min.
They are absolutely the perfect bite!! Key lime is my favorite!
I love this flavor! These mini cheesecakes look like heaven!
Such a lovely dessert, indeed! Served these after dinner last night and it has quickly become a family favorite recipe! So delicious!