The perfect mini dessert—Mini Salted Caramel Cheesecake! It's creamy, cheesecakey goodness with gooey salted caramel sauce on top.
Love Caramel?! I have a few recipes you would enjoy: These delicious Chocolate Caramel Cookies, Caramel Hot Chocolate (reminds of Starbucks Caramel Frapachinno, and these amazing Caramel Pretzel Cookies!
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Substitutions
- Swap the caramel for chocolate sauce if you’re a chocoholic.
- Use crushed Oreos instead of graham cracker crumbs for a chocolatey base.
- Opt for gluten-free graham crackers to make this recipe gluten-free.
- For a deeper, more caramelized sweetness, substitute the white sugar with brown sugar. The molasses in brown sugar complements the caramel flavor and gives the cheesecake a richer taste. Use ½ cup of brown sugar instead of white and whisk it into the filling for a smooth finish.
Variations
- Add a layer of fresh or frozen berries on top of the crust before adding the cheesecake mixture for a fruity twist.
- For the crust, you can easily make a gluten-free version by using gluten-free crushed graham crackers. Alternatively, you can grind your own crackers in a food processor for a finer texture. This will allow you to achieve the perfect consistency when mixed with butter for the crust.
Storage
- These cheesecakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- For longer storage, you can freeze them! Just wrap each mini cheesecake individually in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe bag. They’ll last for up to 3 months. To enjoy, simply thaw in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
Top Tips
- For a more festive look, top with whipped cream and of course, caramel sauce before serving.
- Gently and firmly pack the graham crust for your mini Salted Caramel Cheesecake by using a gallon lid or anything in your kitchen that you can use.
- If you’re using a regular muffin tin instead of mini cheesecake pans, line your muffin cups with paper liners for easy removal and cleanup. This is also a great option for serving, as the cheesecakes can be handled without a mess.
Ingredients
Ingredients you will need:
- a pack and half of the cream cheese (12 oz)
- granulated sugar
- heavy whipping cream
- egg
- caramel
- graham crackers
- butter
Instructions
Once the ingredients are all ready and you have preheated your oven to 350 degrees F, let's begin!
In a medium-sized bowl, place graham crackers and melted butter and mix with a fork, then place into mini cheesecake pans:
In a large bowl add cream cheese and beat using a mixer:
Add white sugar, heavy whipping cream, egg, caramel, and mix until well incorporated:
The cheesecake mixture should look like this:
Then add the cheesecake batter to the cheesecake pans or muffin tins with cupcake liners to the rim:
Bake for 15-17 minutes, remove from the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least an hour. Serve with a drizzle of caramel sauce and coarse sea salt:
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are more cheesecakes and Thanksgiving desserts you can make:
Mini Salted Caramel Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1½ packs (12 oz) cream cheese softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 egg
- ⅛ cup caramel
- ½ cup graham crackers crushed
- 1 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium sized bowl, place graham crackers, butter and mix with fork, then place into mini cheesecake pans.
- In a large bowl add cream cheese and beat until mixed. Add white sugar, heavy whipping cream, egg, caramel and mix until well incorporated. Then add to the cheesecake pans to the rim.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, sit for an hour, and serve.
Notes
Watch The Recipe Video!
I like cheesecake, but I can only take three bites before I'm done. I wanted to try to make a salted caramel cheesecake recipe because I have become obsessed with salted caramel. In fact, every day for two weeks, I stopped by Starbucks and bought myself a Salted Caramel Frap. Anyway, I made my own caramel sauce recipe which I used to make this cheesecake which you can find here.
I have made cheesecake many times in a regular-sized pan and it turned out great. However, making salted caramel mini cheesecakes was a bit of a challenge. Some of the few challenges were cracking in the middle of the cheesecake, little cheesecakes sinking in the middle, and the cheesecake falling apart.
I actually wanted to give up, but I told myself it was worth it! I realized my first mistake was leaving it in the oven too long. Apparently, these MINI cheesecake bites only bake for 15-20 minutes and that is why it was cracking and sinking in the middle. The cheesecake falling apart only happened because I didn't wait for an hour for it to solidify. I also made a water bath, so that probably helped. In the end, after many attempts at making the Mini Salted Caramel Cheesecake, the first bite was totally worth it!
I partnered with my friends from YouTube Hani, Cobi, Barbara, and Sav to make a Thanksgiving Dinner. So if you don't have a menu for Thanksgiving here is some healthy, but delicious food for you and your family!
Danielle says
Could I use this recipe to make a regular sized cheese cake?
Lainey says
Hi Danielle, this recipe was made specifically for mini cheesecake pans, if you don't have any you can use muffin pans.
Corina says
How many cupcakes does this recipe make?
Lainey says
Hi Corina,
Great question, this cheesecake batter makes 12 mini cheesecakes. I have not tried making it with a cupcake pan, but it should be the same.
kay says
The recipe doesn't call for salt but the name of the recipe says "Salted Caramel" and the photos show salt on top. Am I missing something?
Lainey says
Hi Kay,
The salt is sprinkled on top of the cheese cake. The salt I used was sea salt. Thanks for catching that! 🙂
Evie says
Hi!
Could I just make this without the egg and not bake the batter and let them sit for an hour in the fridge?
Lainey says
Hi Evie,
Great question, unfortunately I have not tried it without the egg. If you do try it, let me know how it turns out for you! 😉
Jac | The Vegetarian Baker says
these look so amazing. I am wanting it now.
Lainey says
Thank you so much Jac! Your recipes are also amazing!
Anonymous says
when mixing the gram crackers and butter, the crushed crackers are still very loose. Is this normal? They don’t have a solid like consistency to them. When they bake, will the bottom fall apart or should i add more butter until i get a forming consistency?
Kyara says
I melted the butter and it worked so much better
Lainey says
Hi there! Great question, feel free to add more butter to get it more crustlike. But it should be fine when you bake it. 🙂
Margarete says
Do these freeze well? I am thinking of doing like 100 of them for a wedding dessert buffet.
Lainey says
Yes, Margarete. You can place the cheesecakes on a cardboard round and wrap them well in plastic wrap, then foil and freeze them for up to 1 month. Thank you for visiting my blog!
Nita says
Do you use snickers caramel sundae sauce for these?
Lainey says
Hi, Nita.
I didn't use it, I made a homemade sauce, but feel free to use it. I apologize for the late response. Thank you for dropping by.
Riki says
Would it work to make these in small ramekins?
Susan says
I baked these for 17 minutes and they looked set up but after I took them out they majorly fell. Any thoughts? They still taste good, but not very pretty.
Lainey says
Hello there. I believe the cheesecake filling is not sturdy enough to hold up in a small ramekin. You can try placing it in the fridge overnight, but keep in mind, I have never tried baking it in ramekins.
Natalie says
Do you need to grease the muffin tin before putting in the Graham crackers?
Gail Norton says
What do you mean when you say 1/8 cup of caramel? Is it store bought bottled caramel sauce or small squares of caramel candy melted?
Lainey says
Hello Gail. I'm sorry for the late response. I used my homemade bottled caramel sauce for this recipe. You may use a store-bought one or make your own too. Check out this link: https://simplybakings.com/caramel-sauce/
Courtney says
Can you please send me your Carmel drizzle sauce recipe?
Lainey says
Hi Courtney, thank you for dropping by! Kindly check out this link for my caramel sauce recipe:
https://simplybakings.com/caramel-sauce/
Enjoy! 🙂
Julius says
Why does this recipe have no ratings yet? This is a 5/5.
Lainey says
Thank you so much, Julius! 🙂
Lynda L Buston says
does anybody know if these can be frozen
Lou says
wondering if these can be frozen