Mason Jar Cheesecake made in the instant pot are cute, creamy, delicious, portable & get's done so quickly. You can make these instant pot mini cheesecake in mason jars with a variety of your favorite toppings and make them well ahead of time.
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Instant Pot Cheesecake In Jars
Instant Pot mini cheesecake jars make a fantastic portable dessert for potlucks, picnics, parties, BBQ's, Easter, you name it.
Bonus - you can make these mason jar cheesecakes well ahead of time, store them in the fridge, and serve them later with your favorite toppings. The topping possibilities are endless!
I made a small batch of these New York style mini mason jar cheesecakes with cherry pie filling as the topping and they were gone in no time!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.
- Cream Cheese: Philadelphia cream cheese is our favorite and we always use the full fat version.
- Sour Cream: Use full fat sour cream.
- Sugar: Granulated white sugar.
- Eggs: We used organic large egg.
- Vanilla extract: You can sub it with vanilla essence.
- Graham Crackers: Use honey graham crackers or regular graham crackers.
- Butter: Unsalted or salted butter.
- Topping: Canned cherry pie filling. Use a generous amount for each mason jar.
Best Tips
- Room temperature ingredients: Always use room temperature cream cheese, egg & sour cream to make cheesecake jars. Room temp ingredients blend up smoothly so you don’t have a lumpy cake. If your cream cheese is cold just pop it in the microwave oven and het it up for 20-30 secs. Eggs: If you forget to set your eggs out ahead of time, simply place them in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes to bring them to room temperature.
- Perfect crust: Finely grind the graham crackers either in your food processor or use a rolling pin. This will give you a perfect crust that won't fall apart.
- Avoid over beating batter: Beat the cream cheese at a low speed, avoid over beating by all means. You'll have a fantastic smooth & creamy instant pot cheesecake jars. Over beating will result in a mini cheesecake that's cracked or has sunken centers.
- Adding Eggs: Add the egg at last, avoid over mixing. Mix the eggs just until combined. The longer you mix the eggs, the more air you incorporate into the batter. The air can expand and then contract during baking and cooling which can cause several cracks.
- Cover & pressure cook: Lightly secure the lids of the mason jars before pressure cooking the cheesecake jars. You can also use aluminum foil to wrap around the mouth of the mason jars.
- Cooling individual cheesecake jars: Allow the mason jar cheesecakes to completely come to room temperature before popping them in the fridge. The best way to cool the cheesecakes is to leave them in the instant pot until they reach room temperature. This will prevent drastic temperature fluctuations & prevent cracked/sunken centers. Allow the mason jar cheesecakes to cool in the fridge for 4-5 hours before serving.
How to make mason jar cheesecake in instant pot?
Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.
Step #1 Make graham cracker crust
- Graham cracker crust: Use a food processor or a simple zip lock bag and a rolling pin to finely crush the graham crackers. Break the graham crackers into small pieces, put them inside a zip lock bag, place the bag over a flat surface like a kitchen countertop and roll a rolling pin pressing down the crackers and crushing them finely as you go.
- Wet sand texture crust: Transfer the finely ground graham crackers into a bowl, add the melted butter, sugar and whisk to mix well. The crust should have a wet sand like consistency and texture.
Step #2 Set crust in jars
- Set crust in mason jars: Add about 2-3 tablespoons crust inside each mason jar and press down on all sides with the help of a small glass or your finger tips or the back of a spoon. Pressing down the ground graham cracker will help set the cheesecake crust well. Avoid over pressing.
Step #3 Make cheesecake batter
- Make the batter: Beat the room temperature cream cheese, vanilla and sugar very well. Than add the room temperature egg and just mix enough to incorporate it into the batter. Avoid over beating by all means. You can also skip adding the egg now and add it at the end to avoid over mixing! It's totally up to you.
- Batter: Add the room temperature sour cream and beat at low speed to mix it into the batter. A hand whisk is a fantastic tool to make a cheesecake, you can avoid over mixing the batter by using it.
Step #4 Pressure Cook
- Set the mason jars: Add about ¼ cups batter into each mason jar. Tap gently on the counter top to burst all air bubbles. Be patient here.
- Lid on top: Put back the mason jar lids and secure them lightly, do not close them tightly.
- Setting mason jars in instant pot: Pour 1.5 cups water into the steel insert of the instant pot. Place the metal trivet and place each mason jar carefully on top of the trivet. You could easily fit about five 4 ounces mason jars inside a 6 quart pot. You can also stack more mason jars on top if you are making a double batch.
- Pressure cook: Secure the lid and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 6 minutes followed by a natural pressure release. For best result allow the mason jars to come down to room temperature inside the instant pot. Just make sure to open the lid of the instant pot.
- Chill, decorate, serve: Once, the mason jars reach room temperature pop them inside the fridge and allow them to cool for at least 3-4 hours or over night. When ready to serve top it with your favorite toppings and enjoy! We used a simple canned Cherrie pie filling as our cheesecake jars topping.
Cheesecake Jars - Topping Ideas
- Instant Pot Dulce De Leche.
- Strawberry sauce.
- Blueberry Sauce.
- Chocolate sauce.
- Chocolate Ganache.
- Whipped ganache.
- Whisked sour cream.
- Whipped cream.
- Fresh berries like strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry.
- Lemon curd.
How to store
Fridge: You can store these Instant pot mini cheesecake in mason jars for upto 7 days in the fridge. Secure the lids of the mason jars and than store them in the fridge.
I always recommend to add the toppings of your choice just before serving or just before carrying the cheesecake jars to picnic spots.
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Mason Jar Cheesecake
Print Recipe Pin RateServings: 5 people
Calories: 533kcal
Watch Recipe Video
Mason Jar Cheesecake made in the instant pot are cute, creamy, delicious, portable & get’s done so quickly. You can make these instant pot mini cheesecake in mason jars with a variety of your favorite toppings and make them well ahead of time.
Ingredients
For the cheesecake filling
- 16 ounces cream cheese (**Two 8 oz blocks room temperature cream cheese.)
- ¼ cup sour cream (**room temperature.)
- 1 large egg (**room temperature. Read NOTES below for tips.)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (**sub it with vanilla essence if that's what you have.)
- ⅓ cup Sugar (**granulated white sugar.)
For the cheesecake crust
- ⅔ cups graham crackers (**finely ground. I used honey graham crackers.)
- 3 tbsp Unsalted Butter (**melted.)
- 1.5 tbsp Sugar (**granulated white sugar.)
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Equipment Used
Hand Mixer
Instructions
Make cheesecake crust
- Take about 4 sheets of graham crackers and break them into small pieces. Now, you can either grind them finely in a food processor or use a simple zip lock bag & a rolling pin. This is how you can make it using a zip lock bag: Add the small pieces of graham crackers inside a zip lock bag, place the bag flat on the kitchen counter top (refer the video above for more details) and roll a rolling pin pressing down crushing all the graham crackers as you go. Repeat the process until the crackers are ground finely.
- Now, transfer the finely ground graham crackers into a clean bowl, add melted butter & 1.5 tablespoons sugar. Whisk well until you achieve a wet sand like texture and consistency. The crust is ready.
Set the crust
- Add about 2-3 tablespoons crust into each 4 ounce mason jars and press down the crust with the help of a small glass or your finger tips or the back of a spoon. Pressing down the crust will help it set well and prevent it from falling apart. However, do not apply too mush pressure. Set aside all the mason jars with crusts.
Make mason jar cheesecake batter
- Add the room temperature cream cheese, sugar & the vanilla extract into a large bowl and beat with the help of a hand mixer at low speed until the sugar is well incorporated into the cream cheese.
- Now, add the room temperature egg and beat at low speed until the egg is just mixed. DO NOT over mix. Add the room temperature sour cream and beat again at low speed to just mix it. Avoid over mixing. You can add the sour cream first and add the egg at the end. It's totally up to you. The cheesecake batter is ready.
Set cheesecake in jars
- Add ¼ cup batter into each mason jar. Tap the jars gently (several times) on the kitchen counter top to pop all air bubbles. This will take a bit of your time. Secure the lids of the mason jars lightly, avoid tightening the lids.
Pressure cook cheesecake jars
- Pour 1.5 cups water into the steel insert of the instant pot, place the metal trivet and place all the mason jars carefully on the trivet. Secure the lid of the instant pot, seal the valve and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 6 minutes. Once, the cooking cycle is over the instant pot will begin to beep, allow a complete natural pressure release. Open the lid of the instant pot carefully once the floating metal pin on top of the lid drops. Allow the mason jars to reach room temperature inside the instant pot for best results.
Chill, decorate & serve
- Once, the mason jars have reached room temperature pop them inside the fridge and allow them to rest for 3-4 hours or overnight. When you are ready to serve add your favorite toppings on top of the mason jar cheesecake and enjoy! We used a simple cherry pie filling as the topping in this recipe. Do not forget to read the Notes below. Find the step by step photos above and also a short recipe video.
Notes
Calorific details are provided by a third party application & are to be used as indicative figures only. If you are on a restricted diet please do use your own preferred nutritional calculator.
Nutrition Facts
Mason Jar Cheesecake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 533
Calories from Fat 378
% Daily Value*
Fat 42g65%
Saturated Fat 24g150%
Trans Fat 0.3g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 11g
Cholesterol 154mg51%
Sodium 383mg17%
Potassium 173mg5%
Carbohydrates 32g11%
Fiber 0.4g2%
Sugar 24g27%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 1554IU31%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 117mg12%
Iron 1mg6%
* Read our privacy policy - Calorie information is provided as a courtesy only and should be leveraged as an estimate rather than a guarantee.Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition
Calories: 533kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 154mg | Sodium: 383mg | Potassium: 173mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 1554IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 1mg
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