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Healthy Cheesecake Of Your Dreams

4.98 from 40 votes

Say hello to the ultimate smooth and luxuriously creamy healthy cheesecake recipe.

This. is. what. dreams. are. made. of.

Healthy Cheesecake Recipe

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Lighter and creamier than Cheesecake Factory – with a third of the calories and sugar!

I figured today—my birthday—is the perfect time to share one of my own personal favorite recipes. When I say this healthy cheesecake is good, you know it has to be really good… because I do not take my cheesecake lightly.

I’m exceedingly selective when it comes to good cheesecake.

So many cheesecake recipes out there are not only way too sweet (seriously, a cup and a half of sugar in a cheesecake is too much!) but also too firm. The perfect cheesecake should never be overpowered by sugar, and every creamy bite should absolutely MELT in your mouth.

2018 Edit – There’s now a Brownie Cheesecake Recipe too, because of course there had to be a chocolate version!

chocolate covered katie

I ate my birthday cheesecake in my pajamas.

For breakfast.

Happy birthday, indeed!

Vegan Cheesecake

Can we talk about the sugar for a minute?

It’s called cheese cake for a reason.

Many cheesecake recipes call for such a large quantity of sugar that the bold and savory cheese flavor is lost and sugar ends up being the only thing you taste. If I wanted to eat something that tasted like sugar, I would skip the cheesecake and eat a bowl of frosting.

(Not that eating a bowl of frosting isn’t also delicious in its own right…)

Sugar was the first thing I knew I could slash when it came to creating a healthier cheesecake recipe. I started by researching traditional cheesecake recipes to get a feel for how much sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and other basic ingredients usually go into cheesecake. And then I played around quite a bit.

A lot goes into my recipe creations!

Light and creamy healthy cheesecake recipe from @choccoveredkt… Creamier than Cheesecake factory, with a third of the sugar! Full recipe: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2015/09/07/healthy-cheesecake-recipe/

Light and creamy healthy cheesecake recipe from @choccoveredkt… Creamier than Cheesecake factory, with a third of the sugar! Full recipe: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2015/09/07/healthy-cheesecake-recipe/

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With this particular cheesecake recipe, I also knew I wanted to omit all the heavy cream called for in traditional cheesecake recipes and replace it with something much healthier.

Since cheesecake should have a subtle tang to begin with, I came up with the idea to use yogurt, and it worked perfectly!

Also left out were the eggs normally found in cheesecake recipes, which took a bit of trial to find the perfect replacement since eggs add moisture and bind recipes together.

Since there’s nothing more frustrating than having to visit multiple health food stores to locate all the ingredients in a recipe, I knew I wanted this healthy cheesecake to call only for ingredients you can find at a regular grocery store. 

We liked this even better than Cheesecake Factory cheesecake and didn't even care that it was a healthy cheesecake recipe!

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*Crust is the recipe from this post: Vegan Cheesecake Recipe

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Healthy Cheesecake Of Your Dreams

A secretly healthy cheesecake recipe that is so creamy, you'd never guess it isn't full of sugar and calories!
Total Time 30 minutes
Yield 8 -12 slices
5 from 40 votes

Ingredients

  • 24 oz cream cheese, such as trader joes vegan
  • 2 cups plain yogurt, such as coconutmilk yogurt
  • 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch - or here's a Keto Cheesecake Recipe
  • 1/2 cup sugar or maple syrup, honey, or xylitol for sugar-free
  • pinch uncut stevia OR 2 additional tbsp sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F. Fill a 9x13 pan about halfway with water and place it on your oven’s lower rack. Bring cream cheese to room temperature. Using a blender or hand blender, beat all cheesecake ingredients just until smooth. (Do not overbeat, as this would introduce air bubbles that would burst in the oven and thus cause cracking.) Smooth into a 9-inch springform pan, either lined with a crust or without. Place on the middle rack above the other pan. Bake 30 minutes, and do not open the oven during this time. When the time is up, leave the oven door closed and turn off the heat. Leave in the closed oven for an additional 5 minutes. Then remove—it will still look underdone—and let cool 20 minutes before placing the still-underdone cheesecake in the refrigerator. It’s important not to put the cheesecake right from the oven to the fridge, because you want it to cool gradually so it doesn’t crack. Chill at least 6 hours, during which time it will firm up to the proper texture. Leftovers covered in the fridge will last around 3-4 days. That is… if you don’t eat it all first!
    View Cheesecake Nutrition Facts

Have you made this recipe?

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Published on September 7, 2015

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been 
featured on The 
Today Show, CNN, 
Fox, The 
Huffington Post, and 
ABC's 5 O’Clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

Learn more about Katie

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129 Comments

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  1. Lauren says

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! That is a very cool photo of you! I assume that’s your place? I love your decor. Very light and airy and pretty. Hope you have a wonderful birthday and don’t do anything like work, just have fun!!!

  2. Nancy says

    Do I see a crust in these photos? You don’t indicate anywhere what you used as a crust?? It looks very nice and healthy – thanks

    • Kathryn says

      She used the Raw chocolate cookie crust recipe from the Chocolate Covered Katie cookbook, but left out the cacao. If you don’t have the cookbook, go ahead and use any crust you like 🙂

      I found this out by looking at other comments.

  3. Kathryn says

    Happy Birthday!! I’m guessing that picture is you in your apartment? It looks like such a nice place! And you look way cute! I hope you have a wonderful birthday, enjoying this cheesecake to the max. It sounds delicious.

    By the way, I love the new blog design! The mobile friendly version is awesome

  4. Wendy@TheNomadicVegan says

    Happy Birthday Katie! And thank you for the lovely present. How did you know that cheesecake has been on my mind lately? I do have one point to make: I guess it all depends on your frame of reference, but non-dairy cream cheese is definitely NOT something found in regular grocery stores where I live. Nevertheless, I will be visiting my Mom in the US later this month, and a Whole Foods is set to open in her town just days before I arrive, so this sounds like the perfect thing to add to my shopping list when I’m there.

    • Chocolate Covered Katie says

      I’ve actually always been able to find it at local grocery stores both here and in Texas, so maybe you could ask a store manager to start carrying it? You never know! They might just start! Also, if you have a Trader Joes nearby, they also carry a non-dairy cream cheese.

  5. Cori Scherer says

    Ummm I NEED to try this! I have a serious obsession with cheesecake, so if I can make this at home and cut some calories, I’m sold! Will definitely be trying this some time soon — might need to run to the store today to pick up some ingredients. Thanks for the recipe, Katie!

  6. Dave Nelson says

    Happy Birthday!
    Seems like a wonderful way to celebrate, that Cheese cake sounds Delicious, I am gonna make it this weekend (time factor). I am amazed at how much work you put into healthy desserts, so the rest of us can enjoy the fruits of your labor, Thank You!
    If i may, forgive me, but suggest something? (its also healthy). When I make my normal, not so healthy cheesecakes, i found a way to make add fruit to the cheesecakes without the sugar normally included in the topping. I am sure it would work with this also.
    I freeze my fruit (works best with blueberries), and keeping them frozen solid, I fold them into the batter immediately before I smooth it into the pan. That way, when you are delighting in the smoothness of the cheesecake, you also get a sudden burst of blueberries for an added treat, but without any added sugar.
    Just an idea to try for a variation on it 🙂
    Thank you again so much for a healthier version of Cheesecake! I can’t wait until Saturday. dave.

    • Cindi Thomas says

      Happy Birthday!!! I love cheesecake! Thanks for this wonderful cheesecake recipe. Will be trying this soon. Have a great birthday and thanks again for the wonderful post.

  7. Hope says

    This recipe looks amazingly light and creamy dreamy! I was curious about the corn starch in this recipe. I have a sensitivity to corn and I was curious if using potato or tapioca starch in it’s place would work? and if you would use the same amounts?

  8. Toni says

    Happy birthday! I love the redesigned site. I’d like to see a date at the top of the recipes. It’s nice to know if it is a new recipe or an oldie but goodie.

  9. Sherry says

    Happy Birthday! (And yay for Virgos. LOL.)

    I was about to ask about the crust you used (because it looks so yummy in the pictures) but I see you’ve answered it. Which is awesome because I have your cookbook so I can refer to that, yay! Can’t wait to try it.

    Thanks, as always, for the inspiration in the kitchen.

  10. Shreya says

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, QUEEN OF MY CHOCOLATEY HEART!
    (I mean it. I make a recipe of yours nearly everyday: the chocolate cake in a mug?)

    Hope you have an AHMAZING day, you tooootally deserve it. Thank you for making desserts so awesome!

  11. Anna says

    Happy Birthday Katie!! And oh my gosh this looks simply AMAZING!! I was so excited to see no tofu!! 🙂 and no waiting to soak cashews or anything, I am most definitely trying this soon! 🙂

  12. Aenia says

    5 stars
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY Katie! I hope that you had a great one; you deserve it 🙂 I agree with you about cheesecake and sugar. I love cheesecake, but am also very picky. I am sure that this recipe will taste delicious, and I need to add it to my to-make list. I also wanted to say that I love your new website and its features! It is very simple, effective, bright, colorful, and aesthetically pleasing. The rating feature and mobile friendliness are also much appreciated. And to answer your concern, I am not sick of hearing of your amazing cookbook! It is my favorite (and highly used and recommended to others). Keep up the referrals 🙂

  13. Pottedfern says

    Oh my goodness this looks sooo delicious :O I want to make it… I’m not vegan so I wonder if it would work with normal cream cheese and yogurt…

  14. Angie says

    I am going to try this recipe. I’m a diabetic who is also trying to lose weight so watching carbs and calories is important to me. I usually use the largest number of servings in figuring the calories. For example, this recipe says 8 to 12 servings but the nutritional info is for 120 g serving. So I would figure that 1/12th of the recipe is 205 calories and 16.1cabs and 1/8th would be 307calories and 24.2 carbs. Is this correct?

    • Anon says

      She must have accidentally missed your question, but she answered it in another reply to someone with the same question. She tried it with a thick vegan yogurt (I’m guessing like greek yogurt) and it worked.

  15. Melissa says

    I see you used your raw cookie dough crust for this. So it works out to use a no-bake crust but then to bake it with the actual cheesecake filling?

    Thanks!

  16. Kristina says

    Frist thing first – Happy birthday and I totally support the cheesecake for breakfast thing.
    And then – this cheesecake looks so fluffy! Oh my, I think I would eat it in one sitting, with an excuse that it’s healthy.

  17. Kris says

    5 stars
    This is my newest favorite recipe of yours and I have so many. Cheesecake is my all time favorite thing to eat for dessert. Thanks for making it a healthy choice, too.

  18. Sarah @ cookathome.info says

    This recipe came in my inbox at just the right moment – after I realized that the dessert I had originally planned to take to a potluck was a failure. Quick trip to the grocery store, added some frozen berries for something different, and it was awesome. Thanks for the great timing!

    And happy birthday!

  19. Beth says

    A few questions:

    1) What type of sweetener did you use for your recipe (since you list several)?
    2) Which yogurt did you use? If only dairy is available, would you recommend regular vs. Greek?
    3) What did you use for your (pictured) crust?

    Thank you!

    • Chocolate Covered Katie says

      I’ve tested the recipe with sugar, with xylitol, and with maple syrup… all work! 🙂
      The crust is a crust recipe in my cookbook. I didn’t link to it because I don’t want to annoy people by constantly linking to the book. And I’ve tried it with different yogurts as well. It even works with flavored yogurts!

  20. Tere says

    Hi, love your Instagram pages. Do you have recipes where j could use a NutriBullet in place of food processor or blender. I live in NYC and have a small space. Ûnly have a NutriBullet. Thanks for everything.. Tere

  21. Sarah says

    Hi I made this cheesecake yesterday and it is wonderful! Could you tell me how many servings are in this cheesecake? I looked at the nutrition facts and didn’t see.

    • Rose says

      Yield is underneath the ingredients in her recipes… 8-12 slices for this one. She typically bases the nutrition facts on the highest yield (12 pieces in this case) and the sugar free option, omitting optional ingredients.

  22. Kathryn says

    So I’ve got this in the oven. Unbaked, it tastes yummy! It’s chunky though. I probably should have let the cream cheese come to room temp first, right? Also, is it really 2 1/2 *tablespoons* of vanilla, not teaspoons? I hope so, ’cause that’s what I put in. I can’t wait for it to be done.. in almost 7 hours! 🙂

    • Kathryn says

      So, even with the extra vanilla and the lumpiness (my fault on that one), this cheesecake was fantastic! I’m not normally a big cheesecake fan (I like it, but it’s not my favorite), so I was pushing myself out on a limb making this for just my household. It was so delicious and creamy. I put a little strawberry freezer jam on some of my servings, though it really didn’t need anything. My husband said this might be the best cheesecake he’s ever had! Thank you Katie!

      • Chocolate Covered Katie says

        So happy to know! I’d actually emailed you when I saw your initial comment about the vanilla extract. Not sure if you got my reply, but I’m really happy it turned out well anyway!

        For the rating system, something has been wrong with it for about a week, and I’m really hoping the web designers will get back to me about it soon… I’ve been trying to fix it myself, but so far to no avail.

    • Kathryn says

      I did get your reply, but I wasn’t sure if I responded to it, if it would go back to you as an email or not at all. Thank you so much for replying to me 🙂 it means a lot. I truly love your blog. I’m signed up on your email list, but I check your blog before I check my email every morning 🙂

  23. Tracy L says

    Hey…today it’s my birthday! I was looking for a healthy cheesecake recipe to celebrate with…and found this! Looking forward to trying it out! Thanks for all your great recipes!

  24. Heather says

    5 stars
    KATIE! I cannot believe this is healthy cheesecake. It tastes SOOOOOOOOO good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is it bad to eat the whole thing at once? 😉

  25. Kathleen Anderson says

    5 stars
    Could you please state on which serving the bigger or smaller that the nutrition is based on.. A serving of pie is not to me a tenth of a pie, rather an eight. The weight watchers cookbooks do the same thing… I want to know a normal portion not just what makes the numbers look good. I don’t mind I dessert being high calorie if I have planed for it.
    Love this healthy cheesecake it is wonderful

  26. Lenka says

    5 stars
    Happy birthday, Katie!! Cool birthday cheesecake, it looks really fluffy and snowy just dig in 🙂 but is it all dairy-free? I’m asking because my bf has a dairy allergy but I keep trying to make up dairy-free desserts for him so it would very cool if he could have a cheesecake 🙂

  27. Linda says

    5 stars
    Happy birthday Katie! This sounds really good but I would prefer a crust on my cheesecake. Do you have a recipe for a healthy crust?

  28. Diana says

    Would this work with a different kind of pan, say a greased metal pan or a greased glass pan? I don’t own a springform pan, but I’d love to try to make this recipe!

  29. Diana says

    I deviated slightly from the recipe (I am not vegan), but the end result was absolutely delicious.
    I used Neufchâtel cheese, Splenda, and lemon juice from a bottle. I baked the pie in a chilled crust (http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2014/06/perfect-graham-cracker-crust/) made with Smart Balance instead of unsalted butter. I followed the rest of the instructions pretty closely. My pie cracked a lot and it didn’t ever get quite as firm as I would have liked it to get, but I suspect my substitutions are responsible for that. Regardless, the flavor was absolutely delicious, and I just had some with Fat Free ReddiWip and a thawed frozen strawberry – delicious! It’s also amazing plain.

  30. Diana says

    5 stars
    Unfortunately, it looks like my earlier review didn’t post properly. Anyway, I made a few modifications to this recipe, and I thought the end result was awesome! I used Neufchâtel cheese, lemon juice from a bottle, and Splenda. I baked it in this crust http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2014/06/perfect-graham-cracker-crust/ which I had chilled for about an hour. The end result wasn’t quite as firm as I would have liked it to be, but I imagine my substitutions are responsible for those changes. The taste was excellent. It was delicious plain, but I also had some with a thawed frozen strawberry and a bit of Fat Free ReddiWip, which was also very tasty.

  31. Jen Curry says

    Looks delish, but what about the crust? Is there a recipe for that? I’d love to make for my husband’s birthday, but crust is a must. Thanks for all your delicious and healthy recipes!

  32. Kaiser Browm says

    This cheesecake is delicious! Mines equaled up to 10 grams of sugar but that was only because I used 2 tbsp of sugar because I was serving it to tons of people. Next time I’m using just stevia and only natural sugars found in the ingredients listed. Eating healthy is so delicious.

  33. Kayley says

    Hey Katie! Does the nutrition facts for this cheesecake recipe include the crust recipe you paired with it? I can’t wait to try this?

  34. AlyssaBug says

    HI! I always make cheesecake for my dad’s birthday, so this looks great. Would normal cream cheese work in place of the non dairy?

  35. Deekjames says

    Doesn’t vegan mean there are no animal derived ingredients? I’m just venturing into a vegetarian-slash-vegan diet and am trying to categorize this as either vegetarian (yes) or vegan (don’t believe so).

    Please confirm.

  36. Yovita says

    Hello.. I really want to try this out for my brother’s birthday next week, but finding vegan cream cheese here in my country is quite difficult and the price is not that affordable. Is there any cheaper subtitution for the cream cheese that won’t affect the texture? I searched for another options like tofu, sunflower seeds or chickpeas but not sure if it will work (I don’t want it to be too firm either). Thank you in advance!

  37. Mairi-a says

    The cheesecake looks interesting, but I have to say ,
    Hi, I found your blog on bloglovin and checked out for the first time ,your cheesecake recipe.I can’t tell you how disappointed I felt .I think it’s wrong to show a recipe , incomplete.
    I checked out comments, for the raw cookie crust, which ,
    by the way , looks great, only to find that it’s not
    in your recipe index, and as I don’t have your cook book,
    am feeling rather deflated,in so much as,using any other cookie crust , would not compliment the filling,as you , and your followers would wish,
    Thanks !

  38. Cass says

    I tried this and it was pretty easy and very delicious! My whole family tried this and had no idea that it was better for you than other cheesecakes! It tasted very rich and turned out beautifully. Mine cracked a bit but still so good. I made it with a cookie dough crust and it turned out amazing! I will definitely be using this again! Thank you for the incredible recipe!

    • Jason Sanford says

      There’s a link to the nutrition facts under the ingredient list and recipe directions in the post 😉

  39. Kim says

    Has anyone tried this with silk tofu instead of cream cheese ?
    I’ve subbed it in other things, just wasn’t sure if it would work in this?
    Thank you

  40. Hollie says

    Hi, is the nutritional facts with the crust? Can you actually make it with out??

    Thank you
    Hollie Xx

  41. Candixe says

    Okay so I just realized that all these AWESOME recipes I’ve been trying that taste so darn good are all from YOU!! WOW took me 2 months to realize that when I have been making your cheesecake, cream cheese and chocolate peanut butter icecream…woman, you are BLESSED!! I am a new vegan for a month and so happy I found you

  42. Shelby says

    Turned out amazing!! Thanks for an awesome healthier recipe!! I tried using a couple healthy substitutes – egg whites for the eggs, Greek yogurt cream cheese, honey instead of sugar, and coconut oil instead of butter. Consistency was still great!!

  43. Ahna says

    5 stars
    This is my favorite recipe for cheesecake! I used honey as the sweetener, and I used a graham cracker crust {not sugar free though} It was awesome!

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