Personal Blueberry Cheesecakes

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+ VEGAN option!

This recipe is an oldie that I’ve revamped a bit.

My mom made a version of this no-bake blueberry cheesecake when I was growing up. As it’s served cold, it was always refreshing and was an, “easy to put together” summer dessert. Traditionally prepared in an 8×8 square pan, with 6 (mostly premade) ingredients, you couldn’t beat this crowd pleaser.

This summer, I decided it was time to make it for my family with a few upgrades. The casserole dish was swapped for classy little 4oz Ball jars; perfect for creating an individual dessert that looked elevated and also practical. I played around a bit with some edible prism powder on the fresh berries I used to adorn the cheesecakes along with some fresh mint from the herb garden. Everyone’s been glitzing up their fresh fruit dessert garnishes on IG, so I just hopped on the band wagon. The outcome speaks for itself.

I did bake this recipe up a notch by adding some cinnamon to the crust, preparing my own pie filling, adding some gourmet VAIN Vanilla in Orange Spirits, and using vegan ingredients. Why vegan? Well, I have a couple members of my crew struggling with dairy, so I decided to give some of the vegan products on the market a try. I used kitehill plain dairy free cream cheese as well as truwhip vegan plant based topping in the filling and I substituted vegan European style butter for regular butter in the crust. I have to say, these products worked really well in this particular recipe. My spouse didn’t even know the cheesecakes were vegan until I told him (after he ate it, of course).

The latest, and greatest, upgrade to my version is the homemade blueberry pie filling. While a can of pie filling will work fine, this freshly made blueberry filling is easy to put together and truly spectacular. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that the kids and I had hand picked the berries we used at the local berry patch. That absolutely makes them taste sweeter!

As a kid, I always picked the cooked blueberries out of my pie filling/topping before enjoying my piece. This annoyed both of my parents, but they never denied me a slice. Thankfully, I grew out of that…..and now I roll my eyes and sigh inwardly as I watch my kids do it. In honor of my kid self, I strained the blueberry chunks out of the pie filling for two of the individual desserts. It wasn’t any hassle. It took only a few extra minutes to scrape the filing through a mesh strainer. The kids showed their appreciation for this act of service by consuming their entire portions. Let’s call that a win.

Whether you go the traditional route, or try this new fangled vegan recipe, this dessert is an easy addition to your summer dessert lineup.

OH! You can use any type of pie filling you like for the topping. Cherry, strawberry, strawberry rhubarb, peach, blackberry, and raspberry would all be delightful. Premade, canned pie filling works great for this if you don’t have the time or energy to make fresh pie filling.

Here are some process pics:

Personal Blueberry Cheesecakes
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Personal Blueberry Cheesecakes

Recipe by meltedkcCourse: Dessert
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Chilling Time

3 hours

Ingredients

  • Crust

  • 1 envelope graham crackers (1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs)

  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 3 Tbsp granulated sugar

  • 6 Tbsp butter (VEGAN OPTIONS: vegan butter or coconut oil) melted

  • Pinch of vanilla salt or sea salt

  • Cheesecake Filling

  • 8 oz block of cream cheese (VEGAN OPTION: 8oz vegan cream cheese**) softened

  • 10 oz container whipped topping (VEGAN OPTION: plant based whipped topping***) refrigerated, not frozen

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract*

  • Blueberry Pie Filling

  • 1 C blueberries (fresh or frozen works)

  • 1 Tbsp Cornstarch

  • 3 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

  • Pinch of vanilla salt

  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract*

  • Optional Garnish

  • fresh blueberries

  • edible prism powder

  • fresh mint

Directions

  • Graham Cracker Crust
  • Preheat the oven to 325° F
  • Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until sandy. Add the cinnamon, sugar and melted butter/oil and pulse until it looks like wet sand a begins to clump together.
  • Gently press 2 Tbsp of crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of 4 oz jars or ramekins.*****
  • Set the jars on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely before adding the filling.
  • Cheesecake filling
  • Whip the softened cream cheese, vanilla and sugar together until smooth, scraping down the sides of your bowl at least once.
  • Gently add the whipped topping and mix until combined.
  • Scoop or spoon the topping into the cool crust (about 4-5 Tbsp each).
  • Refrigerate 2-3 hours before adding the blueberry pie filling.
  • Blueberry Pie Filling
  • Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.
  • Place the blueberries in a saucepan over high heat and sprinkle the sugar/cornstarch mixture over the berries and stir.
  • Add the salt and lemon juice, stirring frequently until the juices begin to simmer.
  • Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking for 6 minutes, stirring constantly while it thickens.
  • Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature.
  • Top the cheesecakes with 2 Tbsp of pie filling.
  • OPTIONAL GARNISH
  • Place fresh blueberries in a small bowl. Dust and swirl with edible prism powder. Place 2-3 berries on each portion and add a few leaves of mint.

Notes

  • *I used VAIN Vanilla extracted in orange spirits to add a bit more citrus kick!
  • **kitehill Cream Cheese Alternative Made with Almond Milk
  • ***Truwhip Vegan Whipped topping
  • ****This is enough graham crust to put in an 8 inch pie plate or an 8 inch baking dish.

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