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    Home » Cookies

    Pineapple Cheesecake Bites - Creamy, Tropical, and Easy to Make

    Published: Apr 13, 2024 · Updated: May 4, 2025 · by Barbara · This post may contain links on which I could make a small commission if an item is purchased · 7 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    These Pineapple Cheesecake Bites are smooth, creamy, and full of sunny tropical flavor. With a buttery graham cracker crust and a creamy cheesecake center swirled with crushed pineapple, they’re the perfect bite-sized treat for summer gatherings, brunches, or just a sweet afternoon pick-me-up. They chill beautifully, making them an easy make-ahead option too!

    Side view of the pineapple cheesecake bite with whip cream and pineapple on top.

    I started researching cheesecakes that had pineapple added to the filling. I came across a recipe for another pineapple dish that used a food strainer to extract most of the juice. Well, this was not something I had tried before, so what the heck? I would give it a try; it made all the difference in the world.

    Why You'll Love These Pineapple Cheesecake Bites

    • Creamy and refreshing tropical flavor
    • Easy to make with simple ingredients
    • Perfect for summer parties, picnics, and make-ahead desserts
    • Great for mini dessert tables
    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Love These Pineapple Cheesecake Bites
    • Ingredients for Cheesecake Bites
    • CRUST
    • CHEESECAKE FILLING
    • Ingredients Tips!
    • Making the Pineapple Cheesecake
    • Start with the Pineapple
    • Creating a Sturdy Crust
    • Mixing and Baking the Cheesecake Filling
    • After the Cheesecake Has Set
    • FAQ's
    • Other Summer Cookies
    • Recipe

    Ingredients for Cheesecake Bites

    I divided the ingredients into what you will need for the crust, along with a separate one for the filling and topping.

    CRUST

    Pineapple cheesecake bites showing the crust ingredients.
    Jump to Recipe for Amounts
    • Pamela's Honey Grahams Graham crackers
    • Melted butter unsalted
    • Sugar white
    • Macadamia nuts

    For the crust, I always use Pamela's Honey Grahams. These dense graham crackers hold up when I add nuts to my crust, making them easy to carry around. You can certainly try your brand and see how they work, but Pamela's was the only one I found that held together the way I wanted.

    CHEESECAKE FILLING

    Pineapple cheesecake bites filling ingredients.
    Jump to Recipe for Amounts
    • Cream Cheese
    • Sugar white
    • Eggs
    • Sour cream
    • Vanilla Extract
    • Crushed pineapple - Half of a 20 oz. can

    TOPPING

    • Cool Whip
    • Crushed pineapple - Half of a 20 oz. can

    Ingredients Tips!

    • Use full-fat cream cheese for best outcomes
    • Use Pamela's Honey Grahams for a solid carry around crust
    • Drain pineapple throughly to avoid excess moisture

    Making the Pineapple Cheesecake

    This is not a hard cheesecake to make, but it needs to be refrigerated overnight to set.

    Start with the Pineapple

    I could not find the small 8-oz. cans of crushed pineapple in the grocery stores, so I purchased the larger one for both the cheesecake filling and the topping.

    Straining the canned pineapple to get as much liquid out as possible.

    1. You want to strain the pineapple and press the crushed pineapple along the sides to extract even more juices. I do this three or four times and let it sit there while I start the crust.

    Creating a Sturdy Crust

    Grab a food processor or a blender to make this an easy crust.

    Adding the macadamia nuts to the food processor.

    2. Start by adding the macadamia nuts and pulse them until they are very small pieces.

    Macadamia nuts and graham crackers pulsed with a food processor into small crumbs.

    3. Then, turn the food processor on and drop all the graham crackers through the top. Then, I pulse the mixture until everything is small pieces.

    Mixing the graham cracker mixture with the butter and sugar.

    4. Add the crumbs to a bowl and sprinkle the sugar on top. Add the melted butter and blend it all together using a fork. You want the butter to moisten the graham crackers. It's time to get the baking pan ready.

    Sizing the amount of tin foil needed to line the baking pan.

    5. You will need handles on either side of the pan so you can pull the cheesecake out of the pan. So pull out a generous amount of tin foil on each end.

    I am lining the baking pan with tin foil and leaving extra on two sides as handles.

    6. This can be tricky but take your time. You do not want any tears in the tin foil, but you do need it to form to the pan. If it is not flat against the bottom and sides, the tin foil will rip when you add the crust and press it down flat along the bottom.

    7. Add the buttered graham cracker crumbs on top of the tin foil and press down to form a crust covering the entire bottom.

    The crust has been pressed along the bottom of the tin foil-lined baking pan.

    Set the pan aside and time to make the filling.

    Mixing and Baking the Cheesecake Filling

    The filling does not take very long to mix so you can turn your oven on to preheat to 325°F(165°C or 170°C).

    Weigh or measure the sugar and add it to the mixer along with both blocks of cream cheese.

    Cream cheese and sugar blended into a creamy mixture.

    8. Mix the cream cheese and sugar until it is creamy. This will depend on how cold your cream cheese is but at least 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and across the bottom to make sure all the cream cheese has been incorporated.

    Cheesecake filling mixed and adding the pineapple last to be combined.

    9. Next, add one egg at a time. I break the egg into a small bowl before adding it to the cream cheese mixture. Add the vanilla extract, sour cream, and half of the strained 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple. Mix until blended.

    Pouring the cheesecake mixture onto the pressed graham cracker crust.

    10. Add the pineapple cheesecake filling on top of the crust. Smooth the filling evenly to cover the crust.

    After the cheesecake filling was added to the pan it was lifted up and down a few times to bring air bubbles to the top.

    11. I pick up the pan about an inch off the counter and l drop the pan. This is to bring to the surface any air bubbles.

    12. Bake at 325°F(165°C or 170°C) for 40 - 42 minutes. When done, it should jiggle just a little. Set the pan on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Then, place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the pan and refrigerate overnight to set.

    After the Cheesecake Has Set

    Lifted the cheesecake up by the handles and setting it on a cutting board.

    13. Take the handles of tin foil on each side and lift the cheesecake out of the pan and place it on a cutting board. I pull the sides away from the cheese cake and put my one hand under the tin foil and the other hand pulling the tin foil from the bottom. It is not real fragile but the crust will break if it bends to far.

    Baked pineapple cheesecake sitting on a cutting board.

    14. Because of the butter in the crust the tin foil comes off easily from the bottom. Now you need to decide on the size of your squares. You can do 4 or 5 cuts down and 4 or 5 across. The choice is yours depending on how many people will be eating the cheese cake.

    Baked pineapple cheesecake bites being cut into squares.

    15. So, take a big sharp knife and cut down through the cheesecake. When serving I add whip cream on top with a spoonful of the reserved strained pineapple,

    Top view of the pineapple cheesecake bite with whip cream and pineapple on top.

    Enjoy!

    FAQ's

    What if I do not have a food processor, How else can I get the graham crumbs.

    If you still want the macadamia nuts in your crust, you will need a blender or chopper to chop them into very small pieces. If you do not have a blender, you could omit the nuts, put the graham crackers in a plastic storage bag, and use a rolling pin to crush them.

    Is this pineapple cheesecake bites gluten-free?

    Yes the graham crackers by Pamela's is a gluten-free graham cracker.

    Why did I get cracks in my cheesecake filling when baked?

    Try to avoid over-mixing the batter or overbaking the cheesecake. If it happens all the time, I would get a cheap oven thermometer from Amazon or a grocery store and test it to see what the oven's temperature is.

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    Recipe

    Side view of the pineapple cheesecake bite with whip cream and pineapple on top.
    QR Code

    Pineapple Cheesecake Bites

    Barbara Hall
    With the pineapple baked into the cheesecake and the pineapple on top of the whipped cream, it is a pineapple feast.
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Total Bake Time 40 minutes mins
    Cool 1 hour hr
    Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
    Course Cookies
    Cuisine American
    Servings 20 servings
    Calories 230 kcal

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    Ingredients
     

    CRUST

    • 7.6 ounces (7.6 ounces) Pamela's Honey Grahams Graham crackers
    • ⅓ cup (75.67 g) Melted butter unsalted
    • 1 ½ tablespoon (1.5 tablespoon) Sugar white
    • ¼ cup (33.5 g) Macadamia nuts

    CHEESECAKE FILLING

    • 16 ounces (16 ounces) Cream Cheese
    • ½ cup (100 g) Sugar white
    • 2 (2) Eggs
    • ¼ cup (57.5 g) Sour cream
    • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Vanilla Extract
    • 8 ounces (8 ounces) Crushed pineapple

    TOPPING

    • 8 ounces (8 ounces) Cool Whip
    • 8 ounces (8 ounces) Crushed pineapple

    Instructions
     

    • I take the can of crushed pineapple and add it to a strainer. I press the pineapple against the mesh, moving it around and pressing it several times to get as much juice as possible out. If there is too much juice, it will cause cracks in the cheesecake filling.

    CRUST

    • In a food processor, turn the button on and add the macadamia nuts. You want them to be in very small pieces. So, you may need to pulse the machine a few times. While it is still running, add the graham crackers. Then you turn it off and pulse until there are no more chunks of the graham crackers left. Add the mixture to a medium-size bowl and run your fingers through to ensure no chunks. Add the sugar plus the melted butter and stir with a fork until all the crackers are moist. Line a 9X9 pan with one sheet of tin foil. Make sure it is long and hangs over two opposite sides. You will use these as handles to pull the whole cheesecake out of the pan.
    • Take the graham cracker mix, dump it into the tin foil-lined pan, and press it out so it covers the whole bottom. Pack it down; it will be stiff because of the denseness of the honey graham crackers. So, when you cut the cheesecake, you can pick up a square piece and walk around with it just like a cookie.

    CHEESECAKE FILLING

    • Add the cream cheese and sugar in a stand or hand-held mixer and mix until the sugar is incorporated. I add an egg to a small bowl (to ensure there are no eggshell pieces) before adding it to the mixer. Blend through before adding the 2nd egg. Add the vanilla extract, sour cream, and strained pineapple to the batter. I stop the mixer, scrape the sides and across the bottom, then mix for another minute to ensure all the cream cheese is blended.
    • Pour the pineapple cheesecake filling over the packed graham cracker crust and smooth it out. I gently drop the pan to get any air bubbles out. Preheat oven to 325°F(165°C or 170°C) and bake for 40 - 42 minutes. When you pull it out of the oven, give it a gentle jiggle in the dish; it should only move slightly. Cool for at least 1 hour, then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
    • Taking the pan out of the refrigerator, you want to grab the tinfoil by the long ends and pull the whole thing out of the pan. The tinfoil comes off easily from the bottom crust. Using a sharp knife, I cut down about 4 or 5 columns, depending on how big you want your pieces. Then, cut across the columns to the size squares you would like. Arrange on a plate and add the Cool Whip and some strained pineapple. This is such a fun and refreshing cheesecake. Keep refrigerated any leftover cheesecake.

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    NUTRITION DISCLAIMER

    I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 230kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 3gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 182mgPotassium: 107mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 472IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 54mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Comments

      5 from 4 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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    1. Jen says

      March 30, 2024 at 4:22 pm

      The ingredients list sour cream in the cheesecake filling, but the instructions don’t say when to add the sour cream to the mixture.
      Otherwise, this is a great recipe!

      Reply
      • Barbara says

        March 30, 2024 at 4:44 pm

        Hi Jen, When I changed theme a while back, I had to redo all of my recipes. You are not going to believe this, but I was going to redo this recipe this coming Monday. I needed step-by-step photos and write up the post. This means also reviewing the recipe. Thank you for finding this and I have made the correction. Happy Easter! - Barbara

        Reply
    2. Colleen Fox says

      November 19, 2022 at 11:22 pm

      I used digestive cookies for the crust instead of graham crackers. Just for a change. No nuts. I also made this in paper cup cakes in tart tins. Just a little fancier for Christmas. Cut back on baking time. Worked perfectly and so delicious. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Barbara says

        November 20, 2022 at 8:15 am

        Hi Colleen, What a wonderful idea putting them into cupcake wrappers! I had not thought of that, but I might steal that idea for my Christmas dinner with my family this year. Thank you!

        Reply
      • Doreen Horan says

        December 22, 2022 at 11:59 am

        Colleen how long did you bake them for since you used cup cake tins?

        Reply
    3. Theresa says

      May 07, 2022 at 5:28 pm

      How do you addapt this recipe to a 9 by 13 dish?

      Reply
      • Barbara says

        May 07, 2022 at 5:35 pm

        Hi Theresa, I would just double it. You probably will not need all the bottom crust because it might be too thick. But even if the cream cheese filling is thicker you might just have to add a little more time. I have not made this in a 9 by 13 but that sounds like a great idea. If you make it please let me know how it turns out.

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Barbara Hall, the baker and photographer behind My Cookie Journey, a blog devoted to creating and sharing unique cookie recipes. A retired IT pro, I now spend my day's baking, styling, and snapping photos of cookies that have been featured in multiple regional magazines.

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