Protein Cheesecake Bites
The Lower-Calorie, Higher-Protein, Creamy, Mini “Classic” Cheesecake Bites of your dreams! With only 117 calories per cheesecake these healthy, sweet, protein bites are perfect for satisfying your cravings (any time of the day or night) without compromising on taste, calories, or nutrition. This recipe can be easily altered to suit your dietary and macro preferences!
Ingredients
Base:
- 4 Crushed Digestive Biscuits (graham crackers)
- 10 g Butter (sub with a dairy-free butter alternative)
Filling:
- 188 g Fat-Free Smooth Cottage Cheese (sub with a non-dairy alternative)
- 62 g Reduced Fat Cream Cheese (sub with a non-dairy alternative)
- 125 g Low-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt (sub with a non-dairy alternative)
- 20 g Sweetener (sub with 2 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup - adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Egg
- 20 g Protein Powder (vanilla or unflavored)
- 1/2 tsp Cornstarch
Topping:
- 6 medium Strawberries (optional)
Instructions
Base:
- Preheat your oven to 160°C (325°F).
- Line a muffin tin with 8 cupcake liners.
- Crush the digestive biscuits into a small bowl (you can do this by hand, in a blender, or by placing them in a zip-lock bag and crushing them with a rolling pin). Transfer your crushed biscuits to a small bowl.
- Melt the butter for a few seconds, then pour it over the crushed biscuits. Mix them together until incorporated well (the texture will be crumbly).
- Transfer the crushed biscuit mixture into the cupcake liners (1 tsp at a time to ensure it’s spread evenly). Press the mixture down using the back of a spoon or your fingertips to create an even crust.
- Bake the bases for 10 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven and allow the bases to cool for at least 10 more minutes.
Filling:
- To a bowl, add cottage cheese, cream cheese, greek yogurt, sweetener, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Using a hand mixer, mix on a low speed until incorporated and no lumps remain (be careful not to over-mix).
- Add the egg, protein powder, and cornstarch to the mixture and beat again until combined (again, be mindful of overmixing).
- Spray your cupcake liners well (with a non-stick spray) before pouring the batter into them.
- Spoon the cheesecake mixture evenly into each cupcake liner over your cooled bases. (About 1 and 1/2 tablespoons into each).
- If you would like to bake the cheesecakes using a water bath, prepare it at this point.
- Place the cheesecakes into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. The centers will still be jiggly, but the edges should look firm.
- Remove the tray from the oven (keeping the mini cheesecakes in the muffin tray - allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes).
- Once cooled, refrigerate the cheesecakes for at least 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours before serving.
- Transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool for a further 10 minutes.
- Place your mini cheesecakes into the fridge for at least 1 and 1/2 hours to set.
- Remove from the fridge and serve with a topping of your choice.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy!
Notes
- It's important to spray your cupcake liners with a non-stick spray (especially if you are not using individual silicone moulds to bake the cheesecakes in). If you don't, you will have to peel the paper away from your cheesecakes very carefully and slowly because the sides will stick to the paper quite a bit. Even if you do use the silicone moulds, I still recommend spraying them as well - just as a precautionary measure (but you will definitely have a far easier time removing them)!
- It's not mandatory to bake these cheesecakes using a water bath (or a water bath variation), but personally. For ALL cheesecakes that I bake, I always place a large baking pan on the bottom rack of the oven, filled halfway with boiling water. I normally place it into the oven just before I put the cheesecake in to bake. This adds moisture to the oven while the cheesecake bakes ensuring that it bakes evenly. It can also help to prevent it from cracking!