No-bake mini peanut butter and jelly cheesecakes — peanut butter filling piped into a buttery graham crust, topped with a spoonful of jam. The peanut butter comes through strong, and it’s about as easy as a no bake cheesecake gets.

Make these cheesecake cups for a cookout, for guests, or just to have something cold waiting in the fridge through the week. You mix the filling, pipe it into liners, and let the fridge do the rest overnight.

If you like easy cheesecake recipes you can prep ahead, these mini cheesecakes fit right in: one of those simple dessert recipes that needs fridge time, not oven time. Just know they want a solid 4 hours to set, ideally overnight.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Sets easily. The filling sets pretty firm from melted white chocolate and peanut butter, so no need to worry about it coming out too soft.
The topping is yours to pick. Strawberry or raspberry jelly both work, and you can swap in a quick homemade compote if you’d rather have less sweetness and more fruit.
Not too sweet. The peanut butter and a pinch of salt cut the sweetness and balance the tang of the cream cheese, so they don’t taste like straight sugar.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Crust

Graham crackers. Crushed into fine crumbs for the base.
Unsalted butter. Binds the crumbs so the crust holds together once chilled.

Filling

Full-fat cream cheese. The base of the filling. Use the block kind, not the spreadable tub, and let it come to room temperature so it whisks smooth without lumps.
Smooth peanut butter. Carries the main flavor. Natural one-ingredient peanut butter works best here for a clean peanut taste.
White chocolate. Adds sweetness and helps set the filling firm once chilled. Use a real bar that lists cocoa butter — candy melts and chips with stabilizers won’t set the same way.
Powdered sugar. Sweetens without making the filling grainy the way granulated sugar would.
Vanilla extract. Rounds out the peanut butter and cream cheese.
Heavy cream. Lightens the dense peanut butter base.
Salt. A pinch sharpens the peanut butter and balances the sweetness. Skip it if your peanut butter is already salted.

Topping

Strawberry or raspberry jelly. Spooned on top for the jelly half of the PB&J. A thick cornstarch-set fruit compote works if you don’t have jelly on hand.

Step-by-Step: How to Make No-Bake Mini Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecakes

Crust

Make the crumb base. Stir the crushed graham crackers with the melted butter until evenly moistened and sandy. Squeeze a handful — it should hold its shape. If it crumbles apart, add a little more melted butter.
Press and chill. Divide between 9 muffin liners and press down firmly with the back of a spoon to pack the base. Chill while you make the filling.

Filling & Finish

Whip the cream. Whip the cold heavy cream to medium peaks. Refrigerate it while you work on the rest.
Beat the cream cheese. In a separate bowl, beat the room-temperature cream cheese with the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until completely smooth, about a minute. Scrape down the bowl.
Warm the peanut butter. Warm the peanut butter in a double boiler until soft and loose — hot-ish, not hot. Natural one-ingredient peanut butter won’t fully melt, but you want it warm and soft.
Whisk in the peanut butter. Add the warm peanut butter to the cream cheese and whisk until smooth.
Melt the white chocolate. In the same double boiler, melt the white chocolate. Pull it off the heat when it’s about halfway melted and let the residual heat finish it, then whisk it into the cream cheese mixture.
Taste and adjust. Taste the base and add more powdered sugar or salt if needed. It should read a touch too sweet at this stage — the whipped cream will mellow it.
Fold in the cream. Fold the whipped cream into the mixture in 2–3 additions, until smooth and uniform with no white streaks.
Fill the cups. Pipe or spoon the filling into the prepared liners, dividing evenly.
Chill. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, so the filling sets firm.
Top and serve. Spoon the jelly over each cup and serve.

Tips

Let the base cool before folding in the cream. After whisking in the warm peanut butter and white chocolate, give the mixture a few minutes to come down to barely warm. If it’s still hot, it’ll deflate the whipped cream and you’ll lose the light texture.
Keep the cream cheese at room temperature for the white chocolate step. Melted white chocolate hitting cold cream cheese can seize into tiny firm specks. A room-temp base keeps everything smooth.
Any vessel works. Cupcake liners, small jars, or little dessert cups all do the job. Just divide the filling and crust evenly so they set in the same amount of time.

No bake peanut butter and jelly cheesecake cup — Same setup, but in a small glass

Storage

Keep the cheesecakes covered in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. If you can, hold off on the jelly topping until you’re ready about to serve.