Crisp, flaky mini fillo shells filled with a creamy, tart lime no-bake cheesecake, topped with a sweet fresh strawberry topping and garnished with half a strawberry and a maraschino cherry. The flavors you love in a Strawberry Margarita in a fun to eat mini dessert.

Today’s recipe for No-Bake Strawberry Margarita Cheesecake Bites is the second of three mini dessert recipes that I developed for Athens Foods. Monday I posted the Pina Colada Cheesecake Bites recipe, and next Monday I’ll post the third mini dessert recipe, Orange Sunrise Cheesecake Bites.

These No-Bake Strawberry Margarita Cheesecake Bites are super easy-to-make and inspired by one of my favorite drinks, a strawberry margarita.

The sweet strawberry topping is paired with a luscious, tart lime cheesecake served in crispy mini fillo shells, then dressed up with half of a strawberry and a maraschino cherry on a festive golden star toothpick.

The strawberries need to be blended and strained so that you remove most of the seeds. You’re topping will still have a lot of the strawberry pulp, but the pulps adds a fun, more strawberry margarita like taste to the dessert.

I used frozen sliced strawberries in the strawberry topping because they’re softer and blend much easier. You could substitute fresh strawberries, but you may have to add the lime juice to the blender to get the strawberries to start breaking down.

It worked best if I pushed the toothpick straight into the center of the cheesecake bite and into the fillo shell. However, you don’t need to skewer the fruit. If you wanted a simpler garnish, these cheesecake bites would be pretty with just a cherry on top.

These Strawberry Margarita Cheesecake Bites were my husband’s favorite of the three mini cheesecake bites. My daughter and I loved the Orange Sunrise best.  (I can’t wait to share that recipe with you next week.)

My son-in-law said he loved all three, and his favorite was which ever one he was eating at the moment. I know your family/guests will love them too!

Yield: 30 cheesecake bites

No-Bake Strawberry Margarita Cheesecake Bites

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Prep Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 boxes Athens® Mini Fillo Shells (30 shells)
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1 1/2 cups frozen diced strawberries, thawed
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 8 fresh strawberries, for garnish.

Instructions

1. Prepare Strawberry topping: Puree strawberries in a blender or food processor to create mostly strawberry juice. Press pureed strawberries through a fine mesh strainer in to a small saucepan. In a small bowl, mix together 3 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch. Stir into the strawberry juice in the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens and is clear. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
2. (Optional: Crisp up the fillo shells in a preheated 350° on a baking sheet for 3 - 5 minutes, until golden browned and crispy. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.)
3. In a small mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, lime juice, and 1 teaspoon lime zest until smooth.
4. Fill each shell with the cream cheese mixture. Top each with one to two teaspoons of strawberry topping. Garnish with a strawberry on a skewer.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Athens Foods, but all opinions expressed are always my own. Visit Athens Foods for more great Fillo Dough recipes.