Meet your new obsession: Strawberry Nutella Cheesecakes! A velvety smooth lemon cheesecake base, topped with a layer of Nutella ganache and fresh strawberries with a drizzle of salted caramel sauce to top it all off. Simple, bold and completely irresistible. It's a truly decadent dessert, gorgeous to look at, and it's the kind of dessert everyone remembers. Trust me... you're going to want to make these!
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Craving something sweet? I've got so many delicious dessert treats to choose from! Start with these rich and chocolaty cocoa truffles, or opt for a fruity favorite like my apple crumble cheesecake. If you're in the mood for something nostalgic, you'll love my sugar-coated peanut butter blossoms, and don't miss the crowd-pleasing milk chocolate bark with roasted almonds!
Why You'll Love These Nutella Cheesecake Bites
- Strawberry Nutella cheesecake is a simple dessert that tastes bakery-level delicious!
- Fresh strawberries with Nutella ganache topped with salted caramel sauce is an unbeatable trio.
- The mini size of the cupcakes makes these cheesecakes cute and super easy to serve!
- They look beautiful and are naturally pretty with next to zero decorating effort.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Graham Cracker Crumbs - Can be substituted for chocolate crumbs, or Oreo's crushed in a food processor can also be used!
- Cream Cheese - You must use brick-style cream cheese for this recipe. Spreadable cream cheese can not be used to make cheesecake.
- Strawberries - Any fresh berry can be substituted for the strawberries.
A full list of ingredients with exact quantities can be found on the recipe card below.
If you like to use Nutella in desserts, try these easy chocolate twist pastries, too!
Make It Your Own With These Simple Variations
- Berries - Swap the strawberries for fresh raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries!
- Make It Full Size - To make this cheesecake full size, follow the base cheesecake recipe for my apple crumble cheesecake, but instead use the Nutella ganache, strawberries and salted caramel sauce as the toppings!
- Change The Crust - Instead of plain graham cracker crumbs, use crushed Oreos, Biscoff cookies, or chocolate graham as the crust instead!
If you love layered cheesecakes, you have to check out my lemon meringue cheesecake, my apple crumble cheesecake and my chocolate ganache cherry cheesecake bars too!
How To Make Strawberry Nutella Cheesecakes
- To Make The Graham Cracker Crust: Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar in a bowl, mixing with a fork until it is a sandy-like texture. Portion it into the cupcake liners and, using a small glass, like a shot glass, flatten the crust into an even layer that runs up the sides of the liners by about half. Bake for 5 minutes.
- To Make The Cheesecake Filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the cream cheese. Beat the cream cheese on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until it is fluffy and creamy. Add all of the sugar and eggs, one at a time, beating to fully combine between each addition. Finish by adding the lemon juice and vanilla and mixing until it is creamy and no lumps remain.
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- Bake The Cheesecake: Fill each prepared cupcake liner with about ¼ cup of cheesecake filling. Bake for 22 minutes until the cheesecakes are just set. They will still feel slightly wobbly but firm to the touch. Let the cheesecakes cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before adding the ganache. While they are cooling, make the ganache and caramel sauce!
- To Make The Nutella Ganache: In a double broiler, warm the Nutella, heavy cream, and butter until melted and warm. Don't overheat or the chocolate will scorch. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, gently coating it with the Nutella mixture without stirring. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth and velvety.
- To Make Salted Caramel Sauce From Scratch: In a small saucepan, add the sugar. Melt it over medium-low heat until it turns a dark amber colour (or it reaches 220°F on a candy thermometer). Remove it from the heat and add the butter, using a whisk, stir constantly. After the butter is fully incorporated, add the heavy cream and vanilla, stirring until fully combined. Lastly, add the salt and stir to combine. Transfer the caramel sauce to a heat-proof jar, like a mason jar and let it cool to room temperature before using it.
The caramel sauce will bubble rapidly after each addition of the butter, cream and vanilla. Be careful not to burn yourself, and never taste or touch caramel sauce when it is hot, it can cause serious burns.
- Top with Nutella Ganache: Add a dollop of Nutella ganache to the tops of each cheesecake cupcake.
- Strawberries and Salted Caramel Sauce: Next, add a small handful of diced fresh strawberries to the tops of each cupcake, finishing with a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.
- Step 8: Remove the liners, arrange on a serving dish and enjoy!
Tips For The Best Results
- Use room temperature cream cheese and eggs for the smoothest and fluffiest cheesecake texture.
- Avoid overbaking the cheesecakes so they stay creamy. Overbaking cheesecake results in a crumbly texture.
- Use silicone or foil cupcake liners so the cheesecake doesn't stick and comes out of the mould clean.
- Use a candy thermometer to avoid overheating and burning the salted caramel sauce.
- If the ganache or salted caramel sauce firms up, gently rewarm it. Rewarm the ganache over a double broiler for about a minute, or warm the sealed caramel jar in a bowl of warm water until it is smooth and drizzly again.
- To clean the utensils and pot that the caramel sauce was made in, fill it with water, add all utensils and heat until the caramel sauce dissolves.
- If you do not have a double broiler, you can make one by using a heat-proof mixing bowl (stainless steel is best) and placing it over a saucepan with a bit of water at the bottom. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl.
Storage Tips
Store assembled strawberry Nutella cheesecakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
If you want to make these mini cheesecakes ahead of time, I recommend stopping at step 6 and storing them in a container in the refrigerator. Then, on the day you are ready to serve them, let them come back to room temperature and add the fresh strawberries and salted caramel sauce at that time.
*The caramel sauce will have to be warmed slightly to get it back to the proper drizzling consistency. Do this by placing the sealed container of caramel sauce in a bowl of warm water, letting it sit until the proper consistency is reached.
I do not recommend freezing these cheesecakes. Freezing cheesecake often changes the texture, and the highly concentrated sugar content of the caramel will not fully freeze.
Frequently Asked Questions
Technically, yes, to use frozen strawberries, I recommend making a quick strawberry jam, like the one I make for this strawberry baked brie. Just be sure to omit the Thai red chilli pepper.
Yes! If you do not want to use Nutella, make a standard chocolate ganache instead, like the one I use for these cherry cheesecake bars!
Yes, absolutely the recipe can be doubled! Doubling the recipe will give you 30 mini cheesecake cupcakes.
Yes, the recipe can be halved, although do not halve the caramel sauce portion of the recipe, this is the smallest amount of caramel sauce that can be made without burning it, in my experience.
Use any extra caramel sauce as a topping for fresh fruit, other desserts, or on ice cream!
More Bite-Sized Dessert Recipes
Looking for more delicious dessert recipes like this? Try these:
This recipe for mini Nutella cheesecakes is our final recipe of the 12 Days of Christmas Series - Season 3. Thank you for following along, making our recipes and most importantly, Merry Christmas! 🎄
If you made these Strawberry Nutella Cheesecakes or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating, a 💬 comment and share it on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook!
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Nutella Cheesecakes
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Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Graham Cracker Base
- 1 ½ cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup Butter melted
Cheesecake Filling
- 2 packages (8oz each) Cream Cheese room temperature
- 2 Large Eggs room temprature
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Nutella Ganache
- ½ cup Nutella
- 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
- 1 teaspoon Butter room temperature
- 2 oz Semi-Sweet Bakers Chocolate chopped
Salted Caramel Sauce
- ⅔ cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Butter room temperature
- ⅓ cup Heavy Cream
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Flaky Sea Salt
Fresh Strawberry Layer
- 1 ¼ cups (8-10 large strawberries) Fresh Strawberries diced
Instructions
Graham Cracker Base
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar, mixing with a fork until it is a sandy-like texture. Portion 2 Tablespoons per cupcake liner and, using a small glass, like a shot glass, flatten the crust into an even layer that runs up the sides of the liners by about half. Bake for 5 minutes.
Cheesecake Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and add the sugar. Run the mixer on medium speed, adding one egg at a time, continually scraping down the sides as needed. Next, add the lemon juice and vanilla, mixing until it is creamy and smooth with no lumps remaining. Fill the prepared cupcake liners with about a ¼ cup of filling each. Bake for 22 minutes. When the cheesecakes are done baking, they will still feel slightly wobbly but firm to the touch. Let them cool in the muffin tin for at least 30 minutes before adding the ganache. Prepare the Nutella ganache and caramel sauce while the cheesecakes are cooling.
Nutella Ganache
- In a double broiler*, warm the Nutella, heavy cream, and butter until melted and warmed. Don't overheat it or the chocolate will burn. Remove it from the heat and add the chopped baker's chocolate, gently coating it with the Nutella mixture without stirring. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then whisk it until it is smooth and velvety.
Caramel Sauce
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk the sugar continuously until it melts and turns a deep amber color. This takes around 5-7 minutes, or until it reaches 220°F on a candy thermometer. Sugar burns quickly, so keep a close eye on it. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until it is fully melted. Slowly add the heavy cream and vanilla, continuing to whisk. The caramel sauce will bubble rapidly, so use caution. Pour the caramel sauce into a heatproof container (like a mason jar) and let it cool completely to room temperature. Never taste or touch hot caramel sauce. Freshly made, it is extremely hot and can easily cause burns.
Assembling The Strawberry Nutella Cheesecakes
- After the mini cheesecakes have cooled, add a dollop of Nutella ganache to the top of each cheesecake. Top with a small handful of fresh strawberries and finish with a drizzle of salted caramel sauce. Chill or serve and enjoy!
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Notes
- Graham cracker crumbs can be substituted for chocolate graham crumbs, crushed Oreo's or Biscoff crumbs.
- Use brick-style cream cheese for this recipe. Spreadable cream cheese can not be used to make cheesecake.
- Any fresh berries can be used as a topping.
- To make this a full-sized cheesecake, follow these instructions.
- Use room temperature cream cheese and eggs for the smoothest texture.
- Use silicone or foil cupcake liners to avoid the cheesecake sticking.
- If the ganache or salted caramel sauce firms up, gently rewarm it. Rewarm the ganache over a double broiler for about a minute, or warm the sealed caramel jar in a bowl of warm water until it is smooth and drizzly again.
- To clean the utensils and pot that the caramel sauce was made in, fill it with water, add all utensils and heat until the caramel sauce dissolves.
- Store assembled mini cheesecake cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Click here for more make-ahead instructions.
- If you halve this recipe, do not halve the caramel sauce. In my experience and testing, this is the smallest amount of caramel sauce that can be made without it burning. Extra caramel sauce can be used as a topping for other desserts, and even ice cream!
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator and it will vary based on the ingredients that you use.
Jessica says
These strawberry nutella cheesecakes have been in my notes since 2022 when I first created them! They have finally been tested to perfection and have come to life on my site! I hope you love them as much as we do! (Our recipe testers went wild for this recipe, everyone LOVED it!)
Jeanne says
I love these. I've made them twice over the holidays as they were requested again after the first.
Saving this recipe forever!
Jessica says
Yay!