Healthier Key Lime Cheesecakes with Greek Yogurt! These single-serve cheesecake cups are perfect for parties. Just seven ingredients and gluten free friendly.
This recipe was originally published May 2017. It has since been updated with new photos, helpful tips and a couple different options for the crust/filling ratio. More below!
2020: Reading this below cracks me up! Back when we first bought our house and painting our kitchen cabinets was taking us forever. I had just made mini cheesecake for the first time ever…
circa 2017: I just realized this was my first time making cheesecake… AND a dessert with limes… WEIRD. Well, maybe not that weird but I do love a good cheesecake and I am surprised it’s basically taken me all of my adult life to make one.
Drew was in the middle of painting the kitchen cabinet doors (yes, we’re STILL painting them…) when I asked if he wanted to try one of these key lime cheesecakes. He ate the whole thing in one bite.
- Me: So do you like them? You have to tell me what you think.
- Drew: Well yeah, every girl likes cheesecake.
- Wait… what?
I don’t know where he comes up with these things, but he sure does make me laugh.
So how do you feel about key lime cheesecake? I hope you say “YES, PLEASE.”
Healthy Key Lime Cheesecakes
Ohhh they are GOOD you guys.
And making mini cheesecake is so simple! You’ll need your basic cheesecake ingredients, but just not as much as you would need for a full cheesecake.
Mini Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Ingredients
- graham crackers – crushed/processed graham crackers into a flour consistency for the crust. Use gluten free if needed. Simple Mills makes a delicious crunchy cookie if you’re looking for a grain-free alternative.
- butter – to help make the crust
- cream cheese – obviously! We’re making cheesecake here. You can use light or full-fat. Either work.
- greek yogurt – I would use at least 2% here, so you don’t end up with too tangy of a cheesecake. You can also use a skyr yogurt. TIP: Find a key lime flavor for an added flavor boost!
- sugar – just a little bit for the right amount of sweetness in these mini cheesecakes. Many have used Swerve or something similar for a more keto friendly dessert. NOTE: If using coconut sugar, the cheesecake filling will be darker and the lime flavor may not come through as much.
- egg and egg white – to help create some structure.
- limes – use key limes if you can find them but regular limes work too!
How to Make Cheesecakes in a Muffin Pan
- You start with the crust by processing graham crackers with butter, then transfer evenly into lined muffin tins.
- While the crust are pre-baking and cooling. You prepare the filling by beating together the cream cheese, greek yogurt, sugar, eggs and lime juice plus the zest.
- Then pour the filling into the muffin tin liners, bake and chill.
THAT IS IT.
These key lime cheesecakes are a lightened up dessert that friends and family will love. The lime flavor is subtle but not overpowering. If you really wanted, you could always sub lemon if lime isn’t your thing.
Definitely had to practice a little self-control here to keep myself from eating more than one two.
Mini Cheesecake Baking Tips & Notes
ROOM TEMPERATURE INGREDIENTS – make sure all of your ingredients for the filling (greek yogurt, cream cheese, lime juice and eggs) are all room temperature. This will ensure a clump-free and smooth filling.
DON’T OVERMIX – When adding the eggs, be sure to mix on medium-low speed. The more air that gets whipped into the batter, the more likely you’ll have the middles of the cheesecake fall.
NEED IT GLUTEN-FREE? – Use your favorite gluten-free graham crackers. I also really love using crunchy grain-free cookies too. You just need to process whatever you’re using into a flour-like, fine crumb consistency.
KETO FRIENDLY – While I don’t follow a keto diet, I know lots of readers have made this for its keto friendly macros. You can use a low calorie sweetener like Swerve, in place of the granulated sugar.
9 vs 12 SERVINGS – I’ve recently played around with the ratio of crust-to-filling and if you’re looking for a little more filling per cheesecake serving, this recipe also works well to make nine cheesecakes. I’ve included more notes in the recipe card.
DON’T OVER BAKE – It’s easy to think the cheesecakes aren’t done but they’ll set upon chilling in the fridge. Bake just until the edges are set, and the middle may jiggle ever so slightly like jell-o.
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and review below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too!
How to Make…
Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes with Greek Yogurt
Healthier Key Lime Cheesecakes with Greek Yogurt! These single-serve cheesecake cups are perfect for parties. Just seven simple ingredients and gluten free friendly.
- Prep Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Scale:
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 8 crackers)
- 3 TBS butter or ghee
- 8oz cream cheese, softened (low fat or regular)
- 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt* (2% or whole milk for best flavor)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg white
- Juice of 3 small limes, about 3 TBS
- Zest of 2 small limes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300ºF. Line 12 muffin tins with foil liners. Lightly spray with grease. Set aside.
- Make the crust: In a small food processor or blender (I used my NutriBullet) process graham crackers into crumbs, then pulse together with butter until combined. Evenly divide graham cracker mixture between the 12 liners, pressing with back of tablespoon to flatten. Bake graham cracker crust for 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.
- Make cheesecake filling: In a medium mixing bowl using electric mixer, beat together softened cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in yogurt and sugar, beating again until smooth. Then add in egg, egg white, juice of limes and zest. Beat until just combined.
- Evenly distribute cheesecake batter into liners with baked graham cracker crusts. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are set and middle only slightly moves when moving pan. If edges are golden, cheesecakes are done.
- Remove from oven and allow pan to cool to room temperature, then place in fridge to chill for 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!
Recipes Notes:
BAKE AHEAD: These Key Lime Cheesecakes could be made a day in advance as well, chilling the cheesecake cups overnight.
YOGURT OPTIONS: Feel free to buy (1) 5.3 ounce container of key lime greek yogurt in place of the 2/3 cup plain yogurt. You can also use Skyr.
9 vs 12 servings: This recipe as written will make 12 servings. But if you want a larger cheesecake-to-crust ratio, you can also make 9 servings. You’ll only need 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs + 2 1/2 tablespoons butter. Fill 9 cavities with about 1 tablespoon crumbs, bake as directed. Evenly distribute cheesecake filling and bake for about 15-18 minutes.
Prep time includes chilling the cheesecakes.
Nutrition Information:
- Serving Size: 1/12th
- Calories: 164
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 132mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 14g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 43mg
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Yvonne says
I made your recipe last weekend. It cai¿ught my attention because the recipe called for only a little sugar and because you mix cream cheese and yogurt, which makes the cake lighter.
They didn’t turn out as beautiful as yours, but they taste great.
I had trouble with the baking time, though. I had to leave them for almost an hour in the oven before they set. Is it possible that the recipe asks for a tiny amount of flour in the batter? Or maybe it just was the cream cheese I had, which had a funny texture (as if mixed with gelatine); no other one available here in Venezuela. Regardless, I will prepare them again
Yvonne says
I forgot to comment that when I baked them, I didn’t have any liners and just used a knive to loosen the cakes a bit shortly after taking them out of the oven. The mini cakes came out easily when I took them out of the refrigerator.
I decided to freeze them after tasting the first couple so that they would be fresher for a longer time and they are perfect after some minutes at room temperature.
Ashley says
Hi Yvonne, Thanks so much for your comment and providing feedback! The baking time could have been affected by the kind of cream cheese used. They shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes but if your cream cheese was a different consistency than what I had, that could be it. I’m glad you were still able to enjoy them!
annoyed says
Used regular cream cheese, 2% greek yogurt. 15 minutes in the oven, then rested and chilled. They ended up gooey. I checked other recipes (after doing this unfortunately) and they all ask for 20+ minutes cook time. This recipe is not right.
Ashley says
Hi there. Sorry you had trouble with the recipe – it could be a number of things but every oven is different so it could just be that yours needed to bake for a few minutes longer.
Christy says
I thought this would make a great lower carb recipe with a few tweaks. I used a coconut flour crust & swapped Splenda for the sugar. I also decided to make a whole pie instead of cupcakes. It came out great & will be a new go to recipe. I want to try it with lemon or key lime juice next time. Thanks for the great idea! Perfect for summer!
Ashley says
Thanks so much for your comment and sharing your substitutions, Christy! So glad you love the recipe and it worked for you 😀
Kar says
Can I use stevia instead of sugar and what amount should be used
Ashley says
I haven’t tried stevia before so it’s hard to say… I’d start with 1 tablespoon at a time (assuming it’s dry stevia sweetener) and taste test while adding!
Marie says
These are delicious! I made the recipe exactly as described and they came out great. The perfect mini dessert! Can’t wait to make these again!
Ashley says
Thanks so much for your comment, Marie! I am so happy you enjoyed them 😀
Deborah says
These were GREAT! Perfect tartness and SOOO easy. I tried to make things easier and used a Nilla wafer on the bottom, which wasn’t very good. Will definitely do the graham cracker crumbs next time. Thank you so much for the recipe!
★★★★★
Deborah says
I forgot that I did have to bake them a little longer 20-25 minutes to set. I used full-fat cream cheese from Trader Joe’s. And didn’t grease the cupcake papers, which was fine.
★★★★★
Deborah says
Sorry! 2 last comments: I used a mini-muffin tin. And just threw in 2 whole eggs. In case anyone else wondered if those changes would work.
★★★★★
Ashley says
Awesome – thanks so much for your comments and review Deobrah! It is SUPER helpful for those reading the recipe and I always appreciate the feedback. Glad you enjoyed them!
Debbie says
I doubled this recipe and baked it in a spring form pan. I had 3 containers of key lime Greek yogurt that none of the family wanted to eat. Since the yogurt was already flavored with the lime, I used only 1/2 of the lime juice a the zest of one lime. I did add a bit more sugar. I baked it for about 45 minutes and it needed another 5.
After it chilled about an hour, we couldn’t wait another 60 minutes to try it. The flavor was good and it was creamy but it had a bit of a powdery texture. The next day, after chilling overnight, it was excellent! The powdery texture was gone. It was still creamy and the lime was more flavorful.
I’m definitely saving this recipe. I can see changing it up with lemon. Maybe an orange or tangerine flavor would give it a creamsicle taste.
★★★★★
Ashley says
Thanks for your comment and feedback, Debbie! I appreciate you sharing your results! Glad you were able to make it work 🙂