This healthy Greek yogurt cheesecake recipe is luxuriously smooth, easy to prepare, and surprisingly good for you!
High protein cheesecake recipe
With a thick and creamy custard texture, the high protein Greek yogurt cheesecake pie is nutritious and filling, no cream cheese required.
Simply whip the ingredients in a food processor, then pour the velvety cheesecake mixture into a crust and bake in the oven. Or serve it in bowls for a fancy no bake cheesecake mousse.
A soft, tangy, delicious homemade cheesecake that just so happens to be healthy at the same time? It’s like a dessert dream come true.
The best part? Each slice gives you eight grams of protein, for just 100 calories!
Also try these Black Bean Brownies
Step by step recipe video
Above, watch the Greek yogurt cheesecake recipe video
Cheesecake is for sure my favorite non chocolate dessert.
I could happily eat cheesecake for days on end and still want more.
It’s like that scene from Friends where they accidentally drop an entire cheesecake on the floor and then continue to eat it…
I would totally be that girl.
Healthy Greek yogurt cheesecake ingredients
To make the recipe, you will need Greek yogurt (dairy free if desired), lemon juice, a pinch of salt, sweetener of choice, cornstarch or arrowroot (or almond flour), cream cheese or silken tofu, and pure vanilla extract.
Greek yogurt. This can be plain or vanilla yogurt. If using vanilla flavored yogurt, simply omit the vanilla extract.
Or change the recipe flavor by choosing strawberry banana, pineapple, French vanilla, peach, or any other flavor yogurt you wish.
For a vegan yogurt cheesecake, either vegan Greek yogurt or nondairy coconut yogurt work well in the recipe. To keep it plant based, use tofu or vegan cream cheese.
Cream cheese (optional). For creamiest results, buy full fat cream cheese. Or to make the tofu version without cream cheese, I like silken firm tofu (look for shelf stable Mori Nu). If this is not available, refrigerated soft tofu will also work.
Sweetener of choice. I normally use pure maple syrup, but any all purpose granulated or liquid sweetener is fine, including regular sugar, coconut sugar, honey, agave, or granulated erythritol or xylitol for a sugar free cheesecake. If using powdered sugar, increase the amount to equal the sweetness of granulated sugar.
Cornstarch. This thickens the cheesecake and binds the recipe without eggs. You may turn it into a low carb and keto Greek yogurt cheesecake by substituting two tablespoons of almond flour for the one tablespoon of cornstarch.
The cheesecake can be gluten free, oil free, low carb, low calorie, low fat, and vegan.
Use leftover yogurt to make Healthy Banana Bread
How to make Greek yogurt cheesecake
- First gather all of your cheesecake ingredients, and prepare an optional crust of choice.
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 176° Celsius.
- Combine the cheese pie ingredients in a blender or food processor on high power, until thick and completely smooth.
- Either enjoy as mousse, or pour the filling into the prepared cheesecake crust.
- Bake on the center rack of the oven for 50 minutes. Then carefully remove from the oven when the top still appears soft and under baked. Allow the cake to cool at room temperature for about an hour.
- Transfer the cheesecake to the refrigerator and let it chill, uncovered, for six to eight hours, during which time it will firm up considerably.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Or slice and freeze leftovers in a covered container for up to three months.
Greek yogurt cheesecake mousse
Since there are no eggs in the recipe, it’s fine to skip both the crust and baking steps if you prefer to save time and calories.
I mean, it’s basically cheesecake flavored yogurt, so why not???
Serve in bowls or glasses, topped with fresh strawberries and Homemade Nutella, raspberries, cherries, or blueberries and Coconut Whipped Cream.
Or eat the cheesecake filling straight from the blender with a spoon!
If you want to eat it for breakfast, you will get no judgement from me. This is mostly because I will be right there beside you, doing the same exact thing.
Healthy crust options
If you do wish to bake the cheesecake and use a crust, feel free to use either a store bought graham cracker crust or a homemade crust.
Graham Cracker Crust: Stir 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs with 6 tablespoons of butter or plant based butter (softened but not melted) and 2 tablespoons sugar of choice in a bowl. Press very firmly into a 9 inch pie pan or a springform pan. Refrigerate for at least an hour before adding filling. No need to bake.
Keto Almond Flour Crust: Stir 2 cups of almond or pecan flour with 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 6 tablespoons of melted coconut oil or butter. Press down very firmly into a 9 inch springform or pie pan. Refrigerate for at least an hour before filling.
Traditional Crust: In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of flour (regular flour or whole wheat pastry both work), 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup of sugar or xylitol, 1/2 cup of oil or melted butter, and 2-4 tablespoons of water so it sticks together but isn’t gummy. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Press into a 9 inch pie pan. Put in the oven and immediately increase the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool, then press down. Once cooled, the crust is ready to fill.
Greek Yogurt Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt or dairy free alternative (360g)
- 1/2 cup cream cheese or silken firm tofu (120g)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract (7g)
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (7g)
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey (120g) (or 2/3 cup sugar or xylitol)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (8g) or 2 tbsp almond flour
- 1 crust of choice (a crust recipe is included above)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit (176° Celsius).
- 2. Combine all Greek yogurt cheesecake ingredients, except crust, in a blender or food processor until completely smooth.
- 3. Pour the filling into any prepared crust. (Alternatively, pour into glasses for no bake cheesecake mousse.)
- 4. Bake 50 minutes on the oven's center rack. The cake should still look underdone when time is up.
- 5. Allow to cool at room temperature for about an hour, then transfer to the refrigerator uncovered for eight hours or overnight. It will firm up as it chills.
- 6. Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
More healthy cheesecake recipes
Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars (reader favorite)
This is an awesome recipe! I make my own yogurt and I’m always looking for ways to incorporate into foods. Thanks for another great idea!
BUT there are so many things you can do with the liquid on the bottom (the “whey”), please don’t throw it out! In cows milk at least it is full of calcium and other good for you things! I use it instead of liquid when making bread and muffins but I also throw it in smoothies or freeze it when I don’t feel like baking.
Oo interesting. I wonder if it’s the same with the soy yogurt I use. Next time, I will be sure to save it!
I was just going to comment about the whey. You can use it to soak grains and flours in recipes (Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon) and to ferment veggies for all the probiotics.
I was going to say the same thing about the whey (the liquid leftover after you strain). It is so nutritious! You can use it like she said for the liquid in baked goods or put it in smoothies or soups.
Hi Katie,
I love your site and all your recipes! You mention topping your baked oatmeal cinnamon rolls with coconut banana butter. Did you ever post a recipe for the coconut banana butter that I missed. I’d love to try these rolls and would love that topping.
Thanks for all the super ideas.
Joanna
https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/01/18/coconut-banana-butter/
🙂
I can NOT wait to make this!!! Once I am home from college! (It is tough to bake in a 12×12 dorm room without a kitchen! Haha!) I’ve been looking for a healthy cheesecake recipe! (:
Oh gosh Katie! This looks so gorgeous and only 75 calories! Thank you so much for your recipes. I’m counting on deep dish cookie pie for my birthday next month 🙂
Looks yummy! I love it when sweet treats actually have good-for-you ingredients! Perhaps that is why I love our Kellogg’s FiberPlus bars so much – they taste great, but are also loaded with fiber and antioxidants.
and loaded with sugar…….
Its not much of a choice in India since, cream cheese and fancy berries or even fancy jams are not available here is not available here!
Basically uses light cream, jam/sugar syrup and hung yogurt (or curd as it is called in India, Hung to mean hang yogurt in a cheesecloth and strain the water from it.) and gelatin to set it on the regular biscuit and butter crust.
In India, marmalade, pineapple and mixed fruit are only common flavors of jam and others are imported and pricey.
Have anyone tried the version with the regular tofu? I don´t think I can get that silken tofu in Czech… Thanks 🙂
First recipe I have seen like this without any oil!!
Love your work girl x
Making this this weekend- it looks SO GOOD!!
I LOVE greek yogurt! 🙂 Seriously, I use it in so many recipes on my blog! 🙂 My favorite way is in my banana and chocolate breakfast pudding!
Oh and by the way, you can also make your own yogurt by using a crockpot (thanks pinterest haha) but it was so messy that I decided it was worth the extra few dollars a week to not deal with the long process and clean-up!
I like greek yogurt over savory things, like sauteed eggplant and tomato and rice, or other middle eastern inspired dishes.
If you get a chance – think you could dream up a healthy and vegan “hot chocolate on a stick” recipe, like the ones that are a block of chocolate on a popsicle stick that you stir into hot milk to make hot cocoa? They make great gifts, and I’d love a health nut version!
Thanks!
Thanks for the reminder… I actually do have a recipe! The photos are sitting on my computer somewhere. I was going to post it last Valentine’s Day but ran out of time. So hopefully I’ll be more organized this coming February!
I have heard of this before. It sounds so delicious!
Hiya Katie! This looks yummy! I almost always have your treats at breakfast, since they are mostly healthy enough. Yesterday I made a garbanzo bean recipe, I had to add some milk to blend up the beans in the blender bc my food processor broke 🙁 (very sad) when I baked them up they had the texture of a cheesecake that was sorta cakey, if that makes sense, so it got me to thinking, what about making up a creamy garbanzo bean cheesecake recipe? I was also thinking, what do you think of a recipe for an oatmeal cookie dough shake?
Everytime I read your blog I am wishing you health! If you did decide to brainstorm on those recipes, it would make my day 🙂
🙂
I tried making a bean-based shake once… it was ok. I might have to try again sometime in the future. But I love your idea for cheesecake :).
Oh to clarify they were garbanzo bean blondies
Wow! This looks great. I know it will be all healthy-flavored though so my boyfriend won’t like it. Maybe I’ll try making this with a flavored Coconut Greek Yogurt! So Delicious makes them. 🙂 Great job on your creativity Katie!! Kudos and Judos!
Hey Katie! I love all your recipes but i recently repined your health makeover pumpkin spice frappichino! Loved it! Hoping to get my name in the drawing for that beautiful cuisinart!
Thank you so much for sharing all your secrets
GO GREEN, GO VEG!