Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes (gluten-free option)
These mini peanut butter cheesecakes are made a little healthier with natural peanut butter and honey and the crusts can be made gluten-free, whole wheat or with all-purpose flour!
Want a dairy-free version (with a paleo version)? Try my vegan no-bake peanut butter pies. They’re banana-based, but I swear… they’re so good.
Despite these cheesecakes being made with natural peanut butter, they have a regular cheesecake texture and don’t taste odd at all.
The cheesecake portion comes from my peanut butter cheesecake brownie bars. They look kind of weird but taste amazing.
I’m pretty proud of these cheesecakes (which hopefully doesn’t sound obnoxious!) as it seems like few peanut butter cheesecake recipes use natural peanut butter. At least that was true when I first made those brownie bars years ago!
Practically all the peanut butter cheesecake recipes I found use the commercial stuff with added fat and sugar. And the non-refrigerated “natural” peanut butter with added fat and sugar?
I don’t get how that’s considered natural peanut butter. I LOVE snacking on that stuff, by the way. But it’s not natural peanut butter. ;)
For more healthy peanut butter treats (or at least healthier), try these healthy peanut butter balls, chocolate peanut butter fudge or peanut butter protein balls. This 5-ingredient Buckeye Dip from A Mind “Full” Mom looks like another great option!
The crust is probably my favorite part. It’s like a totally homemade Oreo cookie crust. You can make it with whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or if you want a gluten-free version – buckwheat flour!
If you make the cheesecakes with buckwheat, then they’re also 100% whole grain.
I dare say that this homemade Oreo cookie crust is even quicker and easier than crushing store-bought cookies and adding butter and sugar. And even better, there’s no food processor bowl to clean! I hate cleaning that thing.
It’s the same crust I used in these mini Irish cream cheesecakes. I was so in love with them that I made these mini peanut butter cheesecakes and three other kinds of cheesecake on the same night.
These mini cheesecakes are so much easier than a full-sized cheesecake. I swore I’d never make a full-sized one again but then I went and made a bunch of no-bake cheesecakes, like this vegan pumpkin cheesecake, vegan paleo chocolate cheesecake and this vanilla vegan cheesecake recipe I find that those are actually much easier in a springform pan.
Substitution questions about these mini peanut butter cheesecakes?
Can I use something instead of cream cheese?
I’ve never used vegan or dairy-free cream cheese, but I guess that should work. I don’t think anything else would.
Can I use something instead of honey?
I’d normally recommend maple syrup, but honey is a bit thicker than maple, which I think is important in this recipe. Maybe brown rice syrup would work?
Can I use something instead of peanut butter?
Nut butters aren’t always interchangeable and I can’t say that they’d all work the same in this recipe. If you try something out, please let us know in the comments how it comes out!
Can I use something instead of eggs?
Not in this recipe. I link to several vegan cheesecakes in the post above if you need something egg-free. :)
If you try out these mini peanut butter cheesecakes, I’d love to hear how you like them!
Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes (gluten-free option)
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar or coconut sugar, see notes
- 1/2 cup (62 grams) flour see notes
- 1/2 cup (58 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder regular cocoa powder probably also works
- 2/3 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
- 6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter softened
For the cheesecake:
- 1 pound (16 ounces or 454 grams) cream cheese
- 1/2 cup (160 grams) honey
- 1 cup (256 grams) natural peanut butter the kind with just peanuts and salt
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk of choice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs 50 grams each out of shell, room temperature
For the chocolate topping:
- 5 tablespoons heavy cream or whipping cream
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (106 grams) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- chopped peanuts and mini chocolate chips as garnish optional
Instructions
For the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line muffin pans with 16 muffin liners. Note that this crust recipe does not work in a regular pie pan – only as mini cheesecakes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the dry crust ingredients (sugar through salt). Then stir in the melted butter until totally combined. If it’s sticky and hard to handle, let it sit for about 5 minutes. Roll into 18-gram balls, flatten with your palm, and place in each muffin liner.1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, 1/2 cup (62 grams) flour, 1/2 cup (58 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder, 2/3 teaspoon baking powder, pinch salt, 6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter
- Press down the crusts, if necessary, so that they reach the edge of the liner.
- Bake for 3 minutes, turn the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 4 minutes. They’ll be very, very soft and appear uncooked but the very top surface should appear baked and not doughy. Don’t bake them too long – if they start bubbling, they’ve baked too long, and they fry and get weird.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes while you prepare the cheesecake.
- If using whole wheat or AP flour, bake for 11-13 minutes or until the crust no longer appears wet and move on to the next step. If using buckwheat, bake for 14 minutes.
- After baking, the crust will still be soft but will firm up as it cools. Let cool for 10 minutes while you prepare the cheesecake. I turned off the oven for about 5 minutes and at that point, it was at 275 ºF (135 ºC), which is the temperature you need to bake the cheesecakes at. You can alternatively immediately turn the temperature down to 275 ºF (135 ºC) after removing the crusts.
For the cheesecake:
- Preheat the oven to 275 ºF (135 ºC) (if it’s not already). With an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and honey at medium speed until well combined. Add the peanut butter, milk, vanilla and salt and mix at low speed until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and stir just until well incorporated. Do not over mix!1 pound (16 ounces or 454 grams) cream cheese, 1/2 cup (160 grams) honey, 1 cup (256 grams) natural peanut butter, 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk of choice, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 2 large eggs
- Fill each cup almost to the top with batter and bake for 20 minutes or until the middles of the cheesecakes are set and don’t jiggle when the pan is tapped. Turn off the oven, open the oven door (at least 1 foot), and let the cheesecakes cool in the oven to prevent cracks from forming. Once completely cool (about 1½ hours), remove from the oven.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.
For the topping:
- In a small pan over medium-low heat, warm the cream just until it almost starts to simmer and then remove from the heat.5 tablespoons heavy cream
- Pour this over the chocolate chips and stir until all the chocolate chips are completely melted.1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (106 grams) chocolate chips
- Let cool for about 20-30 minutes or until room temperature.
- Pour over the chilled cheesecakes.
- Top with chopped peanuts and mini chocolate chips, if desired.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Using coconut sugar will make your cheesecakes come out darker than than in the photos here.
- You can use whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour; for a gluten-free version, use buckwheat flour.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
- The nutrition information here was calculated using 2% milk, and don’t include any of the optional toppings.
These cheesecakes look cute and very yummy!
Thanks, Medeja! :)
I would totally be proud of these mini PB cheesecakes! I’d love to have MANY of these!
Same here! I gave mine all away. Wish I hadn’t. ;)
Just made these for a dinner party tonight and I’m wondering when is best to remove the muffin liners? After they are cool? I’ve made mini cheesecakes before and the muffin liners took lots of cheesecake with them so I want to avoid that this time.
That’s funny you ask because I actually removed that line from the instructions. In the other mini cheesecakes I’ve made, it was easier to remove the liners before refrigerating. I compared removing them before and after chilling for this recipe and removing them after chilling was fine. At least with my wrappers! A little cheesecake will come off, no matter when you remove them, but not a lot (I think you can see it in the pictures). If you don’t mind removing the wrappers now, I’d do that, just to be on the safe side. I hope you’ll all enjoy them! :)
Thank you – that worked perfectly! I sampled one and they are delicious!
Awesome! I’m so happy that it worked and that you enjoyed them. :) Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Erin – YES! More grain free recipes! I’m all over this. These mini cheesecakes look so lovely! I bet you’re proud of them — I know I’d be if they were my creation!
Thanks so much, Rose! :)
You’ve paired three of my favorite things together here… I can’t get enough of peanut butter and chocolate. When you add in cheesecake my head just starts spinning and I turn into a meme: I can has?
I’m right there with you about “natural” peanut butter. I just want some peanuts and maybe some salt. Why do you have to ruin it with sugar and other weird stuff?
Haha. But that other stuff makes it taste SO good! It’s awful. ;)
These looks so delicious and I appreciate you giving the ingredient options for making them gluten free and grain free if someone’s dietary needs warrant it. Nice touch.
Thanks! I certainly try with the dietary-friendly recipes. :)
Not obnoxious at all! You did a great job and they look amazing! It’s nice to be proud of ourselves when we accomplish something!
Thanks, Nancy! I’m happy that I didn’t sound like a jerk. :)
These look like absolute perfection! Pinning most definitely.
Thanks for pinning!
Great recipe Erin! (I think I could eat the entire batch myself!)
I bet you could! But, like, over 4 days because it yields 16. :D
Mini means I’d eat MANY! These sound scrumptious.
Haha. Isn’t that the truth! Deceiving little things.
Girl what are you talking about?! Those cheesecakes look insanely delicious! And I hear ya..I love Peter Pan peanut butter but can’t bring myself to eat it anymore with all the weird ingredients in it!
Thanks! And I’m with you. The ingredients in the non-refrigerated types of peanut butter (and even some of those!) are just weird and gross. But man… so tasty. :(
These cheesecakes look perfect – you should definitely be proud. I love that you used natural peanut butter, too.
Thanks so much, Joanie! :)
These look awesome! Even better that they use natural peanut butter. Love the chocolate topping too :)
Thanks, June! By the way, I just noticed your email address. So awesome. :D
I love that you use natural peanut butter and I think they look awesome.
Thanks, Theresa!
You definitely should be proud of these cheesecakes! And “hallelujah” that these are made with natural peanut butter, rather than some of the sugar-packed brands.
Thank you! :) I actually love that type of peanut butter but it really irks me that some of them call it natural. It confuses people!
You had me at cheesecake!!!!
You can’t go wrong with cheesecake, right? ;)
These little cheesecakes are adorable!
Thanks, Kristi!
Am I crazy to say I would be satisfied just with your homemade cookie crust…oh, my goodness! Total decadence and all my favorite flavors in this mini cheesecakes. :)
Haha. I may have eaten some of the crusts plain and had to make more. ;)
You said the magic word – cheesecake!! I could never say no to these beauties!
Why would you want to?! ;)
I would be proud too! These looks so crazy delicious!!
Thanks, Stephanie!