This mini 4th of July cheesecake recipe is a delicious and simple patriotic dessert for the summer holidays. Dye a simple creamy cheesecake batter red, white, and blue, then pour over a sugary oreo crust. Top with sprinkles, whipped cream, and cherries for a bright and bold dessert that will wow your guests!
These red, white and blue mini cheesecakes are the perfect dessert for Memorial Day and 4th of July barbecues.
Mini cheesecakes make a fantastic dessert for their simplicity, quick cooking time, and individual portion size. They can be decorated differently, for added fun to holidays and parties.
As a 4th of July cheesecake recipe, they are dyed red, white and blue, then topped with more red, white, and blue sprinkles and toppings. They are made with a creamy and delicious cream cheese filling and a chocolate oreo crust.
They take only 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook. You can also cook them in the Instant Pot in just 7 minutes, if you'd prefer that method.
See how to cook mini cheesecakes in the Instant Pot here.
But don't save them just for 4th of July. Make sure to treat your barbecue guests with these cute creamy cheesecakes on Memorial Day and Labor Day too!
More Patriotic Desserts to Try
Ingredients
To make the filling you need:
- softened cream cheese
- white sugar
- vanilla extract
- eggs at room temperature
- lemon juice
To make the crust you need:
- crushed oreos
- white sugar
- melted butter
You'll also need red and blue food coloring, whipped cream and patriotic sprinkles.
Cooking Tips
Making these 4th of July cheesecakes is not complicated, but it does require following a few crucial suggestions.
- Make sure the cream cheese is very, very soft so it does not stay clumpy when mixed. If not soft enough, microwave it in 10 second increments.
- Beat the cream cheese first on it’s own until it’s completely smooth. I used to first mix it with the sugar but the batter becomes much more creamy and clump free if you beat the cream cheese first, separately.
- Use slightly warmed or room temperature eggs. I leave mine on the counter for hours prior to making the cheesecake or microwave them for about 20 seconds if I forget to do that. Adding cold eggs will cause the soft cream cheese to harden a bit and become clumpy.
- Add the eggs last and do not overly beat them. Eggs hold air inside batter and over-mixing can contribute to a cracked cake.
- Lightly beat eggs before adding to the batter. This will help incorporate them quicker into the batter (refer to above tip!).
- Use a water bath. Put a pan of water on the rack underneath the cheesecakes. Cheesecake loves humidity and the steam from the water helps make a crack-free cheesecake.
- Use the convection setting on the oven if you have one. The convection setting circulates the air evenly around the oven. Cooking your cheesecake on the convection setting will help prevent cracking.
- Spray the muffin liners with cooking oil. Spraying the liners will prevent the cheesecake from sticking to the wrapper. Mini cheesecake is different than a cupcake, and it can be finicky when removing from liners even if they are meant to be “stick free”.
- Cool the mini cheesecakes in the oven. Once they are done baking, turn off the oven and open the door. Leave inside for 30 minutes. Letting the cheesecakes come to room temperature slowly with an even heat distribution prevents the centers from dropping.
If your cheesecake still has cracks despite following these guidelines, try not to worry too much. You are going to top them with whipped cream, sprinkles, cherries, and whatever else you like anyway, so you can easily cover any cracks.
Step-By-Step Directions
First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees and fill a muffin pan with liners. Spray them with cooking oil. Then follow the below steps.
- Make the filling: In an electric or stand mixer, beat cream cheese on medium-high until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until smooth, 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute. Whisk eggs in a small bowl and add to batter. Beat on low, helping to incorporate with a spatula, just until they integrate into the batter, about 1 minute. Be careful not to over beat the eggs here.
- Divide the batter evenly into 3 bowls. Add a few drops of red food coloring to 1 bowl and a few drops of blue to another. Mix with a fork, adding dye until you reach your desired shade.
- Make the crust: Using a meat masher, crush the oreos. Add sugar and melted butter. Mix thoroughly.
- Add one generous spoonful of oreo crust to the muffin cups and press down to adhere. Fill 4 cups with red batter, 4 with blue batter, and 4 with the non-dyed batter.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and open. Let mini cheesecakes rest for 30 minutes (to prevent dropping centers). Chill before serving.
- When ready to serve, top the blue cheesecakes with whipped cream and red sprinkles, the red cheesecakes with whipped cream and blue sprinkles, and the white cheesecakes with patriotic sprinkles and cherries.
Serve and enjoy!
How to Store
Store mini 4th of July cheesecakes in the fridge for up to 5 days. Do not add the toppings until you are ready to serve them.
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4th of July Cheesecake with Oreo Crust
Equipment
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- red and blue food dye
Oreo Crust
- 1 ½ cups crushed oreos without cream filling
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- whipped cream
- red, white and blue sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Add a small cake or bread pan filled with 1 inch water to the bottom of oven. Line a standard size muffin tin with liners (12 total) and spray them with cooking oil.
- Make the filling: In an electric or stand mixer, beat cream cheese on medium-high until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until smooth, 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute. Whisk eggs in a small bowl and add to batter. Beat on low, helping to incorporate with a spatula, just until they integrate into the batter, about 1 minute. Divide evenly into 3 bowls. Add blue dye to one bowl and mix with a fork, adding dye until desired shade has been reached. Repeat with the red dye.
- Make the crust: With a meat masher, crush the oreos. Mix with the melted butter and sugar.
- Add one generous spoonful of oreo crust to the muffin cups and press down to adhere. Fill almost to the top with batter (4 cups of red, 4 of blue, and 4 of white).
- Bake for 25 minutes. Turn off oven and open. Let cheesecakes rest for 30 minutes (to prevent dropping centers).
- Chill before serving. Top the blue cakes with whipped cream and red sprinkles, the red cakes with whipped cream and blue sprinkles, and the white cakes with cherries and patriotic sprinkles.
Jessie
Awe! I LOVE these they will be so perfect for the 4th, I am hoping we get to have the gatherings again this year.
Biana
Love the colors of these cheesecakes! They will be perfect for the summer.
Michelle
These were a hit with my family! So fun and festive, my kids loved helping with the sprinkles!
Jo
So easy and yummy! I'm so excited to make these cheesecakes again!
Michelle
Delicious! And so pretty and festive for summer celebrations!