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Hello! I’m Anjali. I’m a board certified health coach, author, wife, mom and food lover from the SF Bay area (now living in Seattle, WA!); with a passion for delicious food and a desire to make healthy eating easy, tasty and fun! Learn more about me here and stay for a while!

Anjali Shah

Cheesecake Bites (Healthy + Easy + Delicious!)

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You’ll want to savor every taste of these rich Cheesecake Bites! They are velvety smooth, creamy, and the best decadent low sugar dessert for all occasions.

cheesecake bites topped with fresh fruit against a marble background

No one can resist these cheesecake bites because they are so creamy and have the perfect ratio of filling to that buttery, crumbly, graham cracker crust. The best part is that these cheesecakes are great for classy dinner parties or when you want an after-dinner dessert on movie night at home. 

In addition to tasting amazing, they are actually MUCH healthier than traditional cheesecakes.

Latest Recipe Video!

A slice of the usual variety can run as high as 710 calories and 29 grams of fat! Once in a while, as an indulgence, that’s fine. But I also wanted to create a lightened up version without losing any of the flavor of the original recipe — because why should cheesecake be only a “once in a while indulgence”?

These cheesecake bites are absolutely delicious, skinny, perfectly portioned, and 107 calories per serving. You’ll never have to feel guilty about eating cheesecake ever again!

Tools and Equipment You’ll Need

Recipe Ingredients & Notes

ingredients for mini cheesecakes
  • Graham Crackers: Any graham cracker will work here! For a gluten free crust, try a gluten free graham cracker or cookie.
  • Filling: I used low fat cream cheese + low fat ricotta to keep that creamy texture while reducing the overall fat and calories in this recipe
  • Sugar: I used granulated sugar, but you can use coconut sugar as well for this recipe.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350° F, and line a muffin tin with liners. Combine crushed graham crackers and melted butter in a small bowl.

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Step 2: Tightly pack 1 tsp of the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup, and press down firmly (this will be the crust).

graham cracker crust pressed into muffin tin

Step 3: Combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, sugar, orange zest, and egg in a food processor, and blend until smooth. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer.)

Healthy, Low-Calorie, Delicious Cheesecake Bites - easy healthy recipes, tasty healthy recipes, delicious healthy recipes, vegetarian healthy recipes, quick and easy recipes for picky eaters #healthyfood #food

Step 4: Put about 2 Tbsp of the cheesecake mixture in each muffin cup (it should fill the cupcake liners about halfway).

graham cracker crust and cheese filling in muffin tins

Step 5: Bake for 25 minutes, or until the center is almost set (you can put a toothpick in the center of one mini cheesecake and see if it comes out almost completely clean to test this). Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

cheesecake bites fresh out of the oven, surrounded by fruit toppings

Step 6: Garnish with fresh berries or your favorite toppings.

cheesecake bites topped with fresh fruit in a muffin tin

What Makes These Mini Cheesecake Bites Healthy?

While these cheesecakes aren’t exactly healthy, they are so much better than classic cheesecake recipes. Here is why these mini cheesecake bites are healthier than the traditional version:

  • Low Calorie: While a typical piece or cheesecake is going to provide you with hundreds of calories, these cheesecake bites only have around 107 calories per serving. This is ideal because you can get your cheesecake fix without filling up on empty calories. 
  • Low Sugar: There are only 5 grams of sugar per serving in this recipe! That’s so much lower you could even enjoy two of these bites for less than half the sugar and calories of a regular slice of cheesecake!

Will Kids Enjoy These Cheesecake Bites?

Absolutely, kids will gobble up every last crumb of these cheesecake bites. First, they will be excited that they can have their very own cheesecake and don’t have to share it with anyone. Then they will be thrilled to taste how creamy and rich they are. Unless your kiddo just doesn’t like cheesecake, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble getting them to eat it. 

closeup of cheesecake bites topped with fresh raspberries

Recipe FAQs

How Do You Store These Cheesecakes?

These cheesecake bites will always need to be refrigerated except for when you are serving them. Store them in the fridge in an airtight container, and they will last 4-5 days. 
When hosting a dinner party where the cheesecakes may be setting out for longer than 2 hours, it’s best to keep them on ice. To do this I recommend setting them in a sturdy serving tray with deep sides. Then place the tray inside of another container that is filled with ice. You don’t want the ice to get to the cheesecakes, but keeping them on ice will make them last longer while out of the fridge.

Can You Freeze Cheesecake Bites?

Absolutely! To Freeze: Place them an an airtight, freezer-safe container that doesn’t have much room for them to slide around. They will last about 1 month in the freezer.

Recipe Variations

  • Fruit: Add your favorite fruits on top of the cheesecakes such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, slices of lemon, or anything else you enjoy. You can make several varieties with every batch of cheesecake bites. 
  • Chocolate: Drizzle melted chocolate on top to give them an elegant look. Mix your favorite chocolate chips with a little bit of coconut oil and melt. Then use a fork to lightly drizzle on top.
  • A Different Crust: Instead of graham crackers, use your favorite cookies. Any kind of shortbread or crunchy cookie should work. Just keep in mind that if you change the recipe, you will be changing the nutritional information as well. 
  • Mix-Ins: Try different jams or even nut butters swirled into the cheesecake filling. Just add 1 tsp of your favorite mix in on top of the cheesecake filling before baking, and use a toothpick or fork to incorporate it into the batter. Then pop them into the oven and bake!

Top Tips For Making Cheesecake Bites

  • Use melted butter when preparing the crust. Otherwise, the crust will crumble apart and not stay together. 
  • Blend the filling ingredients only as long as it takes to make the batter smooth. Don’t overmix — this will incorporate too much air which will make your cheesecake bites rise and then collapse as they cool.
  • Don’t overbake the cheesecakes, or they will be dried out and not as creamy and rich. 
  • If you don’t have ricotta you can use sour cream or marscapone cheese
  • Make these gluten free by substituting a gluten free graham cracker or cookie for the graham crackers in this recipe.
cheesecake bites topped with fresh fruit on a white plate

Check Out These Delicious Dessert Recipes!

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🎥 Watch How to Make It

https://youtu.be/VcD_VgRv9mk
closeup of cheesecake bites topped with fresh raspberries
Print Recipe
5 from 7 votes

Cheesecake Bites (Healthy + Easy!)

You’ll want to savor every taste of these rich Cheesecake Bites! They are velvety smooth, creamy, and the best decadent dessert for all occasions.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Chill1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 5 minutes
Course: Baking, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 106.9kcal
Author: Anjali Shah

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 1/2 cup finely crushed graham crackers about 7 graham crackers
  • 2 Tbsp butter melted

For the filling:

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F, and line a muffin tin with liners. Combine crushed graham crackers and melted butter in a small bowl.
  • Tightly pack 1 tsp of the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup, and press down firmly (this will be the crust).
  • Combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, sugar, orange zest, and egg in a food processor, and blend until smooth. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer.)
  • Put about 2 Tbsp of the cheesecake mixture in each muffin cup (it should fill the cupcake liners about halfway).
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes (up to 25 min depending on your oven) or until the center is almost set (you can put a toothpick in the center of one mini cheesecake and see if it comes out almost completely clean to test this).
  • Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
  • Garnish with fresh berries or your favorite toppings.

Notes

Recipe Variations
  • Fruit: Add your favorite fruits on top of the cheesecakes such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, slices of lemon, or anything else you enjoy. You can make several varieties with every batch of cheesecake bites. 
  • Chocolate: Drizzle melted chocolate on top to give them an elegant look. Mix your favorite chocolate chips with a little bit of coconut oil and melt. Then use a fork to lightly drizzle on top.
  • A Different Crust: Instead of graham crackers, use your favorite cookies. Any kind of shortbread or crunchy cookie should work. Just keep in mind that if you change the recipe, you will be changing the nutritional information as well. 
  • Mix-Ins: Try different jams or even nut butters swirled into the cheesecake filling. Just add 1 tsp of your favorite mix in on top of the cheesecake filling before baking, and use a toothpick or fork to incorporate it into the batter. Then pop them into the oven and bake!
Top Tips For Making Cheesecake Bites
  • Use melted butter when preparing the crust. Otherwise, the crust will crumble apart and not stay together. 
  • Blend the filling ingredients only as long as it takes to make the batter smooth. Don’t overmix — this will incorporate too much air which will make your cheesecake bites rise and then collapse as they cool.
  • Don’t overbake the cheesecakes, or they will be dried out and not as creamy and rich. 
  • If you don’t have ricotta you can use sour cream or marscapone cheese
  • Make these gluten free by substituting a gluten free graham cracker or cookie for the graham crackers in this recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1mini cheesecake | Calories: 106.9kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.6g | Protein: 3.5g | Fat: 6.6g | Saturated Fat: 3.8g | Sodium: 88.4mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 5.3g

59 responses to “Cheesecake Bites (Healthy + Easy + Delicious!)”

  1. Absolutely loved this recipe! I found a sugar free Graham cracker recipe and used that in the place of regular graham crackers for this recipe and used brown sugar monk fruit sweetener to replace the coconut sugar. The monkfruit with erythritol will just make the top of the cupcakes look a little whitish colored after cool down and I did get some cracking going on. My husband who usually hates healthy food loved these little bites. Such a yummy recipe!5 stars

    • Hi Rose! Yes they can be made in mini cupcake pans! I haven’t tried that yet – so I can’t advise on the exact cooking time – but I’d try it out and just watch them in the oven / periodically check so they don’t get overcooked!

  2. Beautiful! I love that these are made with ricotta cheese and are the perfect guilt free little bites. Thanks for this!!5 stars

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