Mini Blueberry and Lemon Ricotta Cheesecakes

These mini blueberry and lemon ricotta cheesecakes are absolutely delicious and make for a great dessert or party treat.

With a tender shortbread crust, zippy lemon ricotta filling, and juicy blueberry sauce on top, they are a surprisingly light treat you’ll want to bake again and again.

I made these cheesecakes with frozen blueberries, but you can use fresh ones when they’re in season in the spring and summer – they’ll taste just as amazing!

Following this recipe, you’ll get 12 adorable and elegant individual cheesecakes that are almost too pretty to eat (but yeah, you will definitely eat them!).

How To Make These Mini Blueberry and Lemon Ricotta Cheesecakes

Step‑by‑Step Guide

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

2. Line a 12‑cup muffin tin with paper liners and set it aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder.

4. Using a large-hole cheese grater, grate the cold butter into the flour mixture.

5. Pinch everything together with your fingers until the mix looks like coarse crumbs.

6. Separate the egg, adding the yolk to the crumb mixture and saving the white for later.

7. Work the yolk into the crumbs with your hands until fully incorporated, then press everything into a ball and break it apart again to remake crumbs.

8. Spoon about 1 heaping teaspoon of the crumb mixture into each muffin liner and press it down to form a base. You should still have about one-third of the crumb mixture left.

9. Bake the crusts for about 10 minutes, until they begin to lightly brown.

10. Add lemon zest to the leftover crumbs and toss everything together. Set aside.

11. In a food processor, blend the ricotta and ¼ cup sugar until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as needed.

12. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl and whisk in the flour, vanilla extract, lemon juice, the whole egg, and the reserved egg white, mixing until well combined.

13. Divide the ricotta filling evenly among the muffin cups (about 1 tablespoon in each).

14. In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with ½ teaspoon flour, then distribute a few berries into each cup, gently pressing them into the filling.

15. Sprinkle the remaining lemony crumb mixture over the tops.

16. Bake the cheesecakes for about 20 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden. The centers should still be slightly soft – not completely firm.

17. Remove the cheesecakes from the oven and let them cool in the tin.

18. Once at room temperature, transfer them to the fridge and chill for at least 3 hours.

19. In a small saucepan, combine the 1 cup of blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, and water.

20. Cook for 5–6 minutes, mashing the berries with a fork as they soften. Remove from heat and cool.

21. When ready to eat, spoon some blueberry sauce over each mini cheesecake and enjoy.

Important Recipe Notes

• Why thicker dough matters:
  Because these are mini cheesecakes, a slightly sturdier crust helps hold everything together – especially once the juicy blueberries are added.
• Don’t overbake:
  The centers should still have a little wobble when you take them out. They’ll set more as they chill.
• Frozen berries work best:
  They’re easier to stir into the batter without bleeding color, and they release less liquid than fresh berries while baking.
• Chill time is key:
  Refrigerating for at least 3 hours (or overnight) helps the texture firm up beautifully.
• Blueberry sauce texture:
  Cook down until the blueberries pop and break up, but don’t overcook – too long and you end up with jam rather than a soft sauce.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Bright and refreshing – Lemon and blueberry are a classic, sunny combo.
• Perfect party minis – Small size makes them ideal for brunches, showers, or dessert boards.
• Balanced sweetness – Not too sweet, but rich and satisfying.
• Make‑ahead friendly – Bake and chill ahead of time for easy entertaining.
• Gorgeous presentation – Topped with vibrant blueberry sauce, these will disappear fast!

📌 Mini Blueberry and Lemon Ricotta Cheesecakes (Recipe Card)

Ingredients

For the crust:

• ¼ cup sugar
• ¾ cup flour
• Dash of salt
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ cup cold butter
• 1 small egg
• 1 tbsp lemon zest

For the cheesecake layer:

• 9 oz ricotta
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp flour
• ¾ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 small egg + reserved white
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ cup frozen blueberries
• ½ tsp flour (for berries)

For the blueberry sauce:

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 ½ tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp water

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with liners.
• Mix sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder. Grate cold butter into dry mix.
• Add egg yolk, form crumbs, and press 1 tsp into each liner for crust. Bake 10 minutes.
• Add lemon zest to leftover crumbs.
• Blend ricotta and sugar until smooth. Whisk in flour, vanilla, lemon juice, egg, and reserved whites.
• Divide batter into muffin cups. Toss frozen blueberries with flour and add to each. Top with crumb mixture.
• Bake 20 minutes until lightly golden. Cool, then chill 3 hours.
• Cook blueberry sauce ingredients until berries break down. Cool.
• Top mini cheesecakes with sauce and serve.

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