Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

If all you know is blueberry cheesecake made in a springform pan with a water bath, it’s time to expand your horizons! These mini blueberry cheesecakes are made with blueberry jam in a muffin pan for individually-sized desserts. They’re easy to make, bake quickly with no water bath, and can be served right out of the fridge. I like to use my homemade blueberry jam to add lemon flavor, but store-bought blueberry preserves or jam work just as well in this recipe.

And while you can make my mini strawberry cheesecakes with either fresh fruit or jam, these blueberry cheesecakes have to be made with jam for the best results. Cream cheese mutes the delicate flavor of fresh blueberries, but the intense flavor of blueberry jam complements it. The color of the cheesecake is also distinctly deeper with jam compared to fresh berries. (If you’re curious, I share a photo of the difference in the FAQs!)

This recipe makes 12 individual blueberry cheesecakes, which I much prefer serving and eating over slices of full-sized cheesecake. Mini cheesecakes also freeze beautifully, so you can make them well in advance and defrost in the fridge overnight for low-effort desserts the next day.

A hand holds up a mini blueberry cheesecake. — I love how brightly these mini blueberry cheesecakes bake up!

Ingredients for Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

These cheesecakes were based off my simple recipe for individual strawberry cheesecakes, with a few tweaks. I added warm spice to the crust to complement the blueberry, and I found out that blueberry jam is necessary—no subbing fresh blueberries for this recipe! Read on for the purpose behind each ingredient and common substitutions where possible. The full recipe is at the bottom of the page.

Graham crackers. I used honey-flavored graham crackers, but cinnamon graham crackers would work well, along with chocolate! You can also substitute gluten-free graham crackers to make these mini cheesecakes gluten-free.
Salted butter. I love a well-salted dessert, so I use salted butter in the graham cracker crust. If you’re watching your sodium intake or don’t have salted butter, you’re welcome to use unsalted butter.
Cinnamon. The warmth from cinnamon pairs really nicely with blueberries. So does cardamom, if you want to add a twist!
Salt. Big pinches in the crust and batter enhance all the flavor in this cheesecake.
Cream cheese. This is the main component of the cheesecake, so use full-fat cream cheese in its block form, like the 8-oz block from Philadelphia—not the tubs. It’s also important that it is close to or at room temperature to prevent lumps.
Blueberry jam. I used homemade blueberry jam, but store-bought also works to give the batter a concentrated blueberry flavor. I don’t recommend using fresh blueberries, as the color and flavor are both far more muted.
Granulated sugar. Sugar adds sweetness and moisture to baked goods. You don’t need much on top of the blueberry jam, but it helps enhance the berry flavor and improves the texture considerably.
Vanilla bean paste. I have a lot of leftover vanilla bean paste, so I use that. Vanilla extract is a fine substitute if you don’t have any on hand. Don’t buy it just for this recipe!
Eggs. The eggs help to firm up the custard just enough to make the cheesecake light and silky.

Ingredients needed to make mini blueberry cheesecakes on a quartz counter. — Mini blueberry cheesecakes are made with basic cheesecake ingredients and blueberry jam for flavor.

How to Make Individually-Sized Blueberry Cheesecakes

Mini cheesecakes are one of my favorite desserts to make. They’re incredibly easy to make, bake quickly, and can be served with almost zero effort straight from the fridge. Because of that, I’ve shared a number of mini cheesecake recipes here on The Floral Apron. In that time, I’ve learned many tips for making perfect individually-sized cheesecakes, which I always share with you!

These mini blueberry cheesecakes are baked in a muffin pan in under 20 minutes, and they don’t require a water bath or any fancy equipment beyond a hand mixer, muffin pan, and an oven (though a food processor will speed up the prep significantly). I’ve outline the entire process below with step-by-step images to help ensure your success.

How to Make the Graham Cracker Crust

First, line a light-colored muffin pan with 12 paper liners. If you only have a dark pan, that’s fine; just note that the cheesecakes will bake more quickly. I recommend using traditional paper liners or silicone liners over parchment liners. This is a case where you want your baked good to stick a little to the edges. Parchment liners tend to peel away from the cheesecake if you even look at them funny, and it makes transport more fussy.

Then, add graham crackers, cinnamon, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. The food processor is the most efficient appliance for this step, but if you don’t have one, you can crush the graham crackers in a plastic bag or parchment paper with a rolling pin. Process until fine, then stream in the melted butter. Mix until the crumbs are totally coated in butter, with no dry patches.

Melted butter is poured into a food processor with graham cracker crumbs. — Once the graham crackers are finely crushed, stream in the melted butter and mix until combined.

Graham cracker crust in the bowl of a food processor. — Once the graham crackers are finely crushed, stream in the melted butter and mix until combined.

Pressing into the Muffin Pan

When the graham cracker crust looks evenly smooth, transfer into your prepared muffin pan. To ensure the same amount goes in each liner, I use one fairly packed Tablespoon of the mixture in each. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the liner to make a flat, packed base for the blueberry cheesecake.

For the easiest cleanup, I like to sacrifice an extra paper liner as a barrier between the crust and my pressing tool. You can use your fingers, a measuring spoon, or a tart tamper to press the crust down, but my flat-bottomed measuring cup packs the mixture firmly and quickly.

Set the prepared pan aside, then scrape out any remnants of the graham cracker crust in the food processor bowl. A few left behind are fine.

A four-part graphic showing how to press the graham cracker crust into a lined muffin pan. — Add a packed Tablespoon of the cinnamon graham cracker crust to each liner, then pack the crumbs firmly into the bottom of the liner with your fingers or a measuring cup. Repeat for the remaining 11 cheesecakes.

How to Make the Blueberry Cheesecake Filling

If you incorporate too much air into cheesecake batter, it’s more prone to cracking in the oven, due to the air expanding as it heats. To prevent adding to much air to my cheesecakes, I use a food processor to make my cheesecake batter instead of a hand or stand mixer. The food processor blade spins much more quickly, but it doesn’t add nearly as much air as the whisk or beater attachments on electric mixers. And since most cheesecake recipes also call for a cookie crust that requires a food processor, using the food processor for both elements of the bake cuts down on the dishes significantly!

If you don’t have a food processor, you can still use a hand or stand mixer with a large bowl. You just want to be conscious of how much mixing you’re doing!

For these blueberry cheesecakes, I add room temperature cream cheese (imperative for lump-free cheesecake filling!), blueberry jam, granulated sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the mixture until smooth and fully combined, scraping down the sides once. This usually takes me no more than 20 pulses total.

Blueberry jam is added to a food processor bowl with cream cheese, sugar, and salt. — Add the cream cheese, sugar, blueberry jam, vanilla, and salt to your food processor or mixing bowl. Pulse until mostly combined, then use a spatula to scrape down the sides.

A spatula scrapes down the side of a food processor bowl with blueberry cheesecake filling. — Add the cream cheese, sugar, blueberry jam, vanilla, and salt to your food processor or mixing bowl. Pulse until mostly combined, then use a spatula to scrape down the sides.

Then, add the eggs, and pulse a few times until the mixture looks mostly combined in the center. There will still be thicker clumps of the blueberry cream cheese on the sides of the bowl, so scrape those down to ensure they get incorporated. Without overmixing, pulse the mixture a few more times, until no lumps remain.

Eggs are cracked into a food processor bowl with blueberry cheesecake. — Process the blueberry cheesecake batter until it’s mostly smooth—a few air bubbles are okay! Make sure the sides and bottom are scraped down to evenly incorporate everything.

Raw blueberry cheesecake batter in a food processor bowl. — Process the blueberry cheesecake batter until it’s mostly smooth—a few air bubbles are okay! Make sure the sides and bottom are scraped down to evenly incorporate everything.

How to Fill Mini Blueberry Cheesecake Cups

Divide the blueberry cheesecake batter evenly between the 12 liners in your muffin pan. Fill each one with a similar amount of batter to help the cheesecakes bake at the same rate. Otherwise, you may end up with some really tall underbaked cheesecakes and short overbaked/cracked cheesecakes.

This recipe doesn’t fill the cupcake liners quite to the top, so I usually fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full first. Then, I double back and divide any remaining batter evenly between the 12. Tap the muffin pan against your workspace a few times to flatten the surface and pop any leftover air bubbles.

Blueberry cheesecake batter is spooned into muffin liners in a pan. — Each mini cheesecake will hold about three Tablespoons’ worth of cheesecake batter. Fill them evenly to ensure similar bake times, then tap on the counter to help settle the tops.

Two hands tap a muffin pan with blueberry cheesecakes on a counter. — Each mini cheesecake will hold about three Tablespoons’ worth of cheesecake batter. Fill them evenly to ensure similar bake times, then tap on the counter to help settle the tops.

Adding a Blueberry Jam Swirl

If you still have blueberry jam on hand, you can add a jam swirl to the tops of the muffin pan cheesecakes! I recommend using only the liquid portion of the jam to make the swirls. I trialed adding a few whole blueberries, but they got buried in the cheesecake batter and didn’t swirl nicely.

Scoop about a teaspoon of the liquid jam out of the jar, then place it in 3-4 spots on the top of a cheesecake. Drag a toothpick or knife in a circular pattern through the jam to create a swirl.

A four-part graphic showing how to add a blueberry jam swirl to mini cheesecakes. — To add a jam swirl to mini cheesecakes, add a teaspoon of jam on top of the batter in a few places, then stir it in with a toothpick.

How to Bake Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

Bake individual blueberry cheesecakes at 350°F/175°C until the edges are set and the centers are still a little jiggly. You should be able to tap the side of the pan and see the centers of the cheesecakes wobble like gelatin. I baked this batch for about 14 minutes in my Breville countertop oven, but darker pans may take 1-2 fewer minutes. If you notice the cheesecakes starting to rise in the centers, that’s a sign that they’re done!

If you prefer firmer, denser cheesecakes, you can bake these for an additional minute or two until the centers are totally solid. They will be seconds away from cracking, though!

Baked mini blueberry cheesecakes on a quartz counter. — These mini blueberry cheesecakes darken in color once baked to this pleasant purple. Take the pan out of the oven while the centers are still jiggly, as they will continue to bake in the pan for a couple minutes. Let cool for an hour before removing each one from the pan with a fork.

A fork removes a mini blueberry cheesecake from a muffin pan. — These mini blueberry cheesecakes darken in color once baked to this pleasant purple. Take the pan out of the oven while the centers are still jiggly, as they will continue to bake in the pan for a couple minutes. Let cool for an hour before removing each one from the pan with a fork.

How to Remove Mini Cheesecakes from a Muffin Pan

Remove the mini cheesecakes from the oven and cool in the pan for about an hour. Once cooled enough to handle, use a fork, knife, or offset spatula to remove each cheesecake out of the pan. Slide your utensil between the muffin pan and the paper liner, then pop the cheesecake out from the bottom and transfer to a plate or carrier.

Chill the individual cheesecakes in the fridge for at least two hours (or overnight) to allow them to set. Then, serve! These are great plain, served with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream, or topped with more blueberry jam.

Other Recipes You May Enjoy

Blueberry lovers online are big fans of my custard-based blueberry ice cream and mini blueberry pies. And if blueberries are in season, there’s a good chance that strawberries are, too! You might also like my mini strawberry cheesecakes.

For more mini cheesecake recipes that you can enjoy all year-round, try my mini vanilla cheesecakes and mini chocolate cheesecakes. You can top them with practically any jam or sauce you can think of (including blueberry jam)!

A closeup of a mini blueberry cheesecake on a cake stand. — I tend to add whipped cream to the plain blueberry cheesecakes and leave the swirled ones alone.

Dish Cleanup: A Lil Messy

I rate my recipe cleanups on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is only a handful of dishes, and 5 is everything including the kitchen sink.

This recipe has a cleanup rating of a 3. There’s the food processor bowl, the muffin pan, and various bowls and measuring cups, but nothing too excessive. I recommend rinsing the food processor bowl as soon as the cheesecakes go in the oven. The batter can dry on in just a little while and will require scrubbing!

Dishes needed to make mini blueberry cheesecakes on a quartz counter. — Personal blueberry cheesecakes don’t have much cleanup, thanks to double-dipping with the food processor!

FAQs about Blueberry Cheesecakes

You can… but I’d recommend making my small batch blueberry jam with those berries, and then using the jam in this cheesecake. Raw blueberries don’t have a deep color like blueberry jam, so the fruit flesh is very pale compared to the flecks of the blueberry skin in the filling. In the image below, you can see that the top half of the batch made with fresh blueberries isn’t the most appetizing—outside of Halloween or April Fool’s, at least!

But if you’d like to try it, substitute the jam with ½ cup (80g) fresh berries and double the amount of sugar from ¼ cup (50g) to ½ cup (100g). You may need to add 2-3 minutes to the bake time due to the extra water.

Two batches of mini blueberry cheesecakes, where the top batch has very little color and the bottom batch has the traditional blue tint.

I added a few dollops of vanilla whipped cream to the blueberry cheesecakes without extra jam swirled on top, but you could also top these with a drizzle of blueberry syrup or another spoonful of blueberry jam.

Yes, in most cases, there is a 1:1 ratio for substituting vanilla extract for vanilla bean paste. Some brands of vanilla bean paste are more concentrated than others, though, so it’s best to look at the label on your bottle of vanilla bean paste to double check!

Yes, I usually keep them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week, but mini cheesecakes freeze beautifully. Simply place them in a single layer in an airtight container (I usually use zipper top freezer bags), and freeze for up to six months. The day before serving, transfer the container to the fridge and let thaw overnight. The cheesecakes should be fully thawed in about 12-16 hours, depending on your fridge.

Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

Ingredients for Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes