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These fuss-free gluten-free mini cheesecakes are perfect for parties or potlucks and couldn’t be any easier to make!
I really love cheesecake. Like really love it. But you won’t find a single recipe for a full-sized cheesecake on my blog because I rarely find myself with a reason to make 16 servings of cheesecake.
If I made a cheesecake without a real purpose or some place to send it, I’d eat a copious amount, get sad and then make something else to help me get over my grief. It’s a vicious cycle. With these gluten-free mini cheesecakes, you get everything you could want from a cheesecake but with built-in portion control! Eat one or two and freeze the rest.
The other reason I don’t make full cheesecakes is that it’s just so much more fussy than making mini cheesecakes! You don’t need to worry about water baths, cracks in the filling or refrigerating the cheesecake overnight. I don’t know about you, but when I make dessert, I want it now and not to wait for what feels like an eternity. In the directions, I say to chill the cheesecakes for 2 hours before serving, but if you’re in a hurry (or just really want your cheesecake!) you can pop them in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
I’ve had some less than stellar gluten-free crusts in the past but this one is perfect! Pre-baking the crusts and letting them cool slightly prevents the crust, which is almond flour based, from getting soggy. If you don’t have almond flour, you could use another type of nut flour or meal. I’m thinking hazelnut meal would be tasty!
I added a bit of lemon zest to the crust to liven it up and don’t recommend skipping this step because the crust would taste pretty neutral otherwise. Alternatively, you could add lime or orange zest or even a little extract to the crust if you want it a little more zippy. And the filling? So rich, creamy and smooth! I used just a little less sugar than often called for but none of my taste testers missed it or even noticed.
You can decorate the mini cheesecakes simply with blueberries and raspberries like I did or use a dessert sauce, like my honey sweetened strawberry sauce. And if it’s already too hot to bake and you need some cheesecake now, try Jamie’s no-bake lemon Oreo cheesecakes (but make sure to use gluten-free ingredients, if necessary!)
Gluten-Free Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 ¼ cups blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
For the filling:
- 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
For decoration:
- berries and powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 12 muffin liners.
- Prepare the crust. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients, then stir in the butter and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Divide the mixture between the liners (18 grams or 3 1/2 teaspoons of mixture per liner) and lightly press down with the bottom of a shot glass.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until very lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes while preparing the filling.
- Using an electric hand mixer or a stan dmixer fitted with the beater attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until light and creamy. Add the vanilla and salt and beat until combined. Beat in the eggs on low, one at a time, and just until well incorporated. Do not over mix!
- Fill each liner about 2/3 full with the batter and bake for 10 minutes or until the centers of the cheesecakes don't jiggle when the pan is tapped. Open the oven door (at least 1 foot wide) and let the cheesecakes cool to room temperature - about 1 1/2 hours. For easiest removal, remove the paper liners now. They can also be removed after chilling, though a little more cheesecake may stick to the liners then.
- Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Decorate with berries and dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Notes
- If you need these to be gluten-free, make sure all your products are certified gluten-free.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have celiac, do you think I could bake these without a crust? My family prefers crustless. Thanks
I can’t guarantee it because I haven’t tried it but I think it’d likely work. I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
You are a lifesaver! I was tasked with bringing in gluten free cheesecake to work tomorrow, and I have no clue how to do anything gluten free. :p I’ve got the crusts in the oven right now and they smell great. I couldn’t find almond flour, so I ground up almonds in the blender . . . hopefully that works! THANK YOU!
I hope the crusts worked out! And how strange that they assigned gluten-free cheesecake to someone who isn’t gluten-free. It’s good you found a simple recipe like this rather than trying to bake a cake with a bunch of weird gluten-free flours. ;) I hope everyone will enjoy the cheesecakes. Thanks for your comment!
Hi, 2 packages of cream cheese, is it that 1 packages is 250g? So 2 would be 500g?
Hi there! 8 ounces is 225 grams. So you’ll need 450 grams. Do you live outside of the US? If you do, I’ve never found brick cream cheese (it looks like this outside of the US. I think the rest of the world just has the whipped kind which is meant for spreading on toast. If that’s the kind you have, this is what I do – buy two 250-gram containers. Use a tea towel to wring out excess liquid. Then you should have 450 grams of cream cheese. You don’t have to do that but your cheesecakes will come out creamier. :)
Hi! I’d love to make these, but my son has a tree nut allergy. Can I substitute “regular/all purpose” flour for the almond flour? Thanks
Hi, Christine! Almond flour and all-purpose flour are unfortunately not interchangeable, but the graham cracker crust in this recipe would work! Just make sure to halve it because that recipe yields 24 mini cheesecake and this one yields 12. I hope you’ll enjoy them!
Hi Erin! You mentioned you used a little less sugar than called for (1/2 cup) so did you use less than that?
Hi, Jennifer! I used less sugar in this recipe than other recipes with the same amount of cream cheese (which often call for 2/3 cup sugar). 1/2 cup of sugar is what I used in these. I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
Made these the other day for a friend with celiac. I have always been partial to a nice graham cracker crust……and these were delicious. The lemon zest gave such a nice flavor. I would never have been able to tell these were gluten free. So easy to make and the only problem I had was since they were so tiny I was on my 3rd before I knew it.
I’m so happy that they came out well! I also don’t have any gluten sensitivities but when gluten-free recipes are as yummy as regular recipes, I figure why not? :) Thanks so much for your feedback!
These look bigger than a standard sized cupcake. Did you use an oversized pan?
I used a regular sized muffin pan. I think it’s just the angles I took the pictures at. :)
Love how easy these are! I’d make them and I’m not even on a gluten free diet!
Same here! I don’t eat gluten-free, either, but sometimes gluten-free stuff is really good. :)
Greetings, I went to two different grocery stores to purchase the almond flour and could not find any. I wanted to try this recipe as all your recipes are just terrific. These look yummy for sure!
Hi, Maureen! Thanks for your kind words. If you can’t find almond flour, almond meal would work if you don’t mind the bits of skin in there. I hope that helps! :)
you can actually find the almond flour at a super walmart on the baking isle.
Looove the almond crusts, they sound heavenly and these mini cakes are adorable :)
Thanks so much, Medha! :)