The best and easiest low carb and keto cheesecake – even people who aren’t on a keto diet LOVE this unbelievably creamy cheesecake!
Five Ingredient Keto Cheesecake
Easy To Make
Sugar Free
Just 5 Ingredients
There’s even a no-bake option!
I’ve gotten so many requests in the past few months to come up with a keto cheesecake recipe, and this one is so deliciously smooth and creamy, no one would ever believe it could possibly be low carb!
You Might Also Like: Keto Mug Cake Recipe
Low Carb Cheesecake – New York Style
This keto cheesecake can absolutely hold its own against any traditional cheesecake.
Eat it plain, or topped with strawberries or a scoop of Keto Ice Cream!
To test the final recipe and make sure it received the seal of approval even from people not on any special diet whatsoever, I sought out the toughest audience of friends who aren’t vegan, gluten free, or keto, and who don’t normally eat healthy desserts in general.
They all LOVED the cheesecake… so you know it must be really good! Their verdict was that if they hadn’t known the secret, they never would have guessed it wasn’t just like any other recipe made with traditional ingredients.
Also Try This Coconut Whipped Cream – Keto Friendly
How To Make Keto Cheesecake
Since most cheesecakes are already flourless, modifying the recipe to be keto friendly doesn’t require many adjustments at all. I started with my favorite go-to cheesecake and simply changed three things: the thickener, the sweetener, and the crust.
This keto cheesecake crust calls for almond flour as the base – if you don’t have any on hand, simply pulse raw almonds or pecans in a food processor until they turn to a flour consistency. Or you can use a different crust recipe or even make the cheesecake crustless if you prefer, and each slice will have just 200 calories and under 2 grams of net carbs.
You can use your favorite sweetener, such as erythritol or xylitol for sugar free. Regular sugar, maple syrup, and coconut sugar also all work in the recipe (it won’t be ketogenic but will still have much less sugar and fewer calories than traditional cheesecakes, while tasting just as delicious).
Baking Tips For The Best Cheesecake
The most important thing with cheesecakes is to not overbeat the batter, which could introduce air bubbles that might burst in the oven and cause cracking.
Likewise, letting the cheesecake cool gradually prevents any sudden temperature changes that could also cause the cake to crack.
No water bath is required, but I do like to put a baking pan with water underneath the cheesecake as it cooks, which adds moisture to the oven and acts as a further buffer against the infamous cheesecake cracking. If you want to skip the pan of water, or if your cheesecake does end up cracking for any reason, all is not lost: You can easily hide the cracks with a layer of fresh berries, whipped cream, or perhaps even some Healthy Nutella!
When you take the pie out of the oven, it should look underdone and jiggly in the center. The cheesecake will continue to firm up as extra moisture evaporates and it cools, and the next day you will have a perfectly textured cheesecake that is so rich and decadent, and so much better than anything you’ve ever eaten from Cheesecake Factory. If you make it, please feel free to leave a review below or post your photos!
If You Want A No Bake Option:
For a no bake cheesecake, simply replace 1/2 cup of the yogurt with coconut butter or coconut oil. Instead of baking, just chill the cheesecake until firm. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
I hope you love this cheesecake as much as we all do!!!
Adapted from this Vegan Cheesecake Recipe
Keto Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 oz cream cheese or vegan cream cheese
- 2 cups yogurt, such as coconutmilk yogurt
- 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, optional
- 2/3 cup erythritol (sugar or maple syrup also work for non-keto)
- 1/4 cup almond flour
Instructions
- Feel free to use a store-bought crust or make this crustless, or here is the crust I used: 2 cups almond or pecan flour (you can pulse nuts in a food processor to make flour), 1/4 tsp salt, 4-6 tbsp melted coconut oil OR enough water to make it slightly sticky. Combine all ingredients, pour into a lined 8 or 9-inch springform pan, press down evenly, then set aside while you make the filling. Preheat oven to 350 F. Fill any baking pan about halfway up with water, and place it on the oven’s lower rack. Bring cream cheese to room temperature, then beat all ingredients in a blender or food processor just until smooth (overbeating can cause cracking as it bakes). I do usually include the lemon for a classic cheesecake flavor, but it will still work if you don’t have any on hand and need to leave it out. Spread filling on top of prepared crust. Place on the middle rack (above the rack with the water pan). Bake 30 minutes (or 38 minutes if using an 8-inch pan), and do not open the oven at all during this time. Once time is up, still do not open the oven, but turn off the heat and let the cheesecake sit in the oven an additional 5 minutes. Then remove from the oven—it will still look underdone. Let cool on the counter 20 minutes, then refrigerate overnight, during which time it will firm up considerably. As I mention in the post, the cooling times are important so the cake cools gradually and thus does not crack. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator 3-4 days, or slice and freeze if desired. If you make it, be sure to leave a review or rate it below! View Nutrition Facts
Have you made this recipe?
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Michelle says
Mine is in the oven 🙂
I saw the recipe this morning and put cream cheese on the list immediately! I have a friend’s birthday party to attend next week and some of the ladies are doing keto or low carb, so this will be a wonderful surprise. I am testing it out for myself first this week, but if it’s as good as the batter was (yes I took a few tastes) my friends are going to love me!
Janet says
Did you use plain flavored coconut milk yogurt?
tiffany y. says
we used the vanilla coconut milk yogurt and it turned out great…
Jade says
Hi katie, what can I use instead of the coconut yogurt? Very hard to find where I live!
Thanks a million 🙂
Jason Sanford says
You can use any yogurt 🙂
Jess says
I am using the 2 Good vanilla yogurt, if you’re doing keto it’s just 3g carbs.
Keto Newbie says
I brought this keto cheesecake to a party last night and IT WAS SO GOOD! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Maggie says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’m a teacher and one of the teachers I work with is following a keto diet. I wanted to make her something for her birthday because we always celebrate with a lunch potluck on birthdays, but I am clueless about keto baking.
This came up when I searched for keto cheesecake, and it turned out so perfectly (even for a keto clueless person like me) that we all kept forgetting at the lunch that it wasn’t regular cheesecake!
This was the first recipe I’ve tried from your blog, but based on its success I will be trying many more. Thank you again.
Nia says
Did your crust brown? Mine did not at all. Followed instructions completely.
Jason Sanford says
Hi Nia, if you use blanched almond flour then it will be light in color. Unblanched almond flour will make a darker crust. Both will taste pretty similar though! 🙂
Nat says
Does the crust need to be baked separately if choosing the no-bake option?
Jason Sanford says
Nope! It can either be baked or no bake too because coconut oil solidifies when chilled, so all you have to do is refrigerate it 🙂
Debi says
I made this, love the flavor, have a few suggestions.
Add 2 packets Truvia to crust (regular cheescake crusts are sweeter). I also would brown the crust slightly and let it cool.
For the filling: pre-whip the cream cheese to avoid lumps when adding the yogurt and other liquids; the 2 cup portion of yogurt is about 2 tblsp over 3 five-ounce cartons – could live without the 4th carton; add 1/8 tsp xanthan gum for better thickening.
Jules says
This sounds like an awesome tip for thickening. I am going to make it on Tuesday next week. At which point did you add the Xanthan gum please?
Lisa says
Great tips!
Lisa says
@Debi Great suggestions!
Ingrid Scott says
Hi, this looks delicious and I want to make it, but I saw in the recipe ingredient list at the end “1/4 cup 1/4 cups Almond flour.
I am wondering…..?
Thank you for clearing this up for me!
Ingrid
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Hi sorry about that! It’s a typo – should just be “1/4 cup almond flour.” Fixed now 🙂
BRANDON PORTER says
I believe there is a mix up in the almomd flour recipe portion. Am I only suppose to use 1/4 cup of almond flour for the crust? I read 3 cups in the ( ) part of instructions which I’m assuming was 3 cups of almonds to put in a food processor to make 1/4 cup of crushed almonds. This was the only I mixed up on and ended up with almost 1/4 inch crust in my 8″ spring form pan ?
Jason Sanford says
Hi! It is 3 cups in the crust because the crust goes up the sides. Did you press the crust up the sides of the pan or just put it all at the bottom? Sorry for the confusion!
Jason
BRANDON says
In the picture above it didn’t show where it went up the side so maybe that’s where I got confused and didn’t even put the almond flour in the filling and it still turned out great. What does the almond flour do for the filling?
Jason Sanford says
Oh interesting! It’s supposed to act as a thickener (instead of the cornstarch in Katie’s original cheesecake recipe) and bind ingredients. But so cool to know it’s not even needed!
Tamara says
3 cups of almond flour in crust? The instructions say two cups. Also can you use a KitchenAid mixer instead of a blender or food processor?
Ana says
I had the same issue. I didn’t quite understand the instruction hence I used the 1/4 cup of almond flour as the crust and didn’t add any into the filling. I hope it can be clarified that the ingredients listed are for the filling only as clearly I am not the only one who got confused. Anyway I used monk sweetener but actually didn’t make the adjustment so I have a pre-tty sweet filling. Still yummy though. Next time I know what to do. ?
Kimberly Tuttle says
I did the same thing! Used 1/4 cup almond flour for a THIN crust and didn’t add it to the mixture… oops! I’ll know better for next time!
Doreen says
I think that part of the mix-up is that the title says: Only 5 ingredients. But with almond flour, it’s 6 ingredients. Guess they need to fix that.
Christopher Carpenter says
Can I use regular flour instead of almond flour if I don’t care about the keto thing?
Chocolate Covered Katie says
I haven’t tried it with regular flour. I’d think it would work but don’t want to assume. You can definitely use 4 tsp cornstarch though instead of almond flour, as I’ve done that numerous times.
Christopher Carpenter says
Thanks, I have some cornstarch!
Tamara says
How many cups of almond flour does it take for the crust? It says two cups in the instructions but I saw someone said three. And can you use a KitchenAid mixer instead of a food processor or blender? I am planning on using swerve as my sweetener. Would it be the same amount? Do you think powdered would be better than granular? Thank you for the help! I’m making it for Thanksgiving!
Jason Sanford says
It’s 2 cups in the crust, plus 1/4 cup in the actual cheesecake itself. You probably can use a stand mixer, just be sure not to whip it too much so you don’t put too much air into it. Swerve is fine!
Jason
Jess says
You would use graham crackers, sugar and butter for traditional cheesecake crust.
Tom says
Actually, traditional N.Y. cheesecake crust is flour, sugar and butter for a shortcake crust.
Jessica Smith says
The recipe says erythitol but theblonk goes to a confectioners version. Are using granulated or powdered version?
Jason Sanford says
Either will work! Most sweeteners work here, and while we haven’t tried every one, we have tried both granulated and powdered sweeteners (as well as erythritol and regular sugar). Liquid sweeteners work too.
Jason
Jen says
I have liquid stevia. I wonder how much of that to use?
Nancy says
Seconding the request for equivalent liquid sweetener—stevia and monk fruit are my two preferred options.
Jason Sanford says
I’d say just use whatever it says on the package is the equivalent to 2/3 cup sugar in sweetness 🙂
Jan says
What’s the nutritional values
Jason Sanford says
Full nutrition facts are linked right under the ingredients and instructions 🙂
She provides nutrition facts for all her recipes.
Chris says
If I don’t was to use any sweetener..would that be ok?
Jason Sanford says
It sounds like it would be a savory cheesecake? Certainly I think it would still be fine, texture-wise. I just don’t know about the taste! If you try, be sure to report back for the rest of us!
Amy says
I tried both swerve confection sugar and erythritol. Both work great. I made this for my son for christmas and used peppermint flavor in the cream misture. This was so easy!!
Nina says
Love this. Thanks for the great idea. Mine is in the oven now.
Sylvia says
I made it last night and tried the first slice now and WOW. This is the first keto dessert I’ve made where I don’t taste a difference between a keto and regular version. I’ve tried almond flour cookies that were grainy, keto brownies from another blog that went straight to the bin, and a packaged low carb cookie that made me want to cry. But this keto cheesecake gave me hope. You will never understand how much happiness you have just brought me by creating this delightful recipe.
Cammie says
I can’t wait to try it! Any chance you could include instant pot instructions for this? I’ve been looking for a clean recipe to try in my IP and this looks perfect.
Jason Sanford says
An insta pot is one cooking machine Katie doesn’t have, but maybe she needs one!
Jason (media relations)
Jessica says
Made this last night for a treat for my family today. It turned out tasting great and we added a little pureed strawberries on top. My only problem is it came out a little runny. I’m not sure what exactly I did wrong but I’m guessing I didn’t mix it enough because I was terrified of over mixing.
Jason Sanford says
Hmm, how runny? Was it cut-able? What type of cream cheese, almond flour, and sweetener did you use? I love the idea to use pureed strawberries on top!
Jason
Robin says
Mine came out pretty runny in the middle. I think I should have cooked it longer.
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Hi Robin! Did you let it sit overnight? It should be very soft when you take it out of the oven, but it firms up overnight in the fridge to the perfect cheesecake texture.
Cassie Thuvan Tran says
I have a bunch of friends who are obsessed with cheesecake! Love that this cheesecake recipe is super easy and simple. I think I’d be obsessed with the pie crust recipe as well!
CHARLEEN says
Hi, I would like to try the no bake version. How many cups/ gram should I replace the yogurt with coconut oil?
Thanks in advance.
Jason Sanford says
Equal amount, so half cup 🙂
Erica says
The recipe calls for 2 cups of yogurt so how does this equal to half cup of coconut oil?
Jason Sanford says
Sorry to be confusing – the no bake option in the recipe states that you replace 1/2 cup of the yogurt with 1/2 cup of coconut oil. You still also add the rest of the yogurt.
Jason
amanda says
not baking it, did you have to use anything to make the cake slide out of the pan easily? or will the coconut oil aid in that?
Jason Sanford says
As long as you use a springform, it’s fine as-is 🙂
Nathalie says
I’m going to try this together with the recipe for the vegan cream cheese. That recipe only yields 1 cup cream cheese, and the cake recipe needs 24oz… how many times do I have to double the cream cheese recipe to make enough for the cheesecake recipe? 24oz seems like a lot, but not sure how many 0z the cream cheese recipe yields?
Jason Sanford says
8oz is equal to 1 cup, so three 🙂
Eileen says
Someone brought this to a birthday party I attended and everyone loved it. I asked for the recipe and am planning to make it this weekend. The one at the party was the keto version (and no one knew) but I’ll just use regular sugar and am sure it will be just as good. I hadn’t seen your blog before but have spent the morning bookmarking recipes to try!
Jenny says
Could this recipe be cut in half and made in a pie plate. I am thinking of making it for Easter but I know only a few will eat it and don’t wants lots of leftovers!
Jason Sanford says
Yes! You can also make bars: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2016/05/16/cheesecake-bars-vegan-chocolate-chip/
Samantha Strickland says
Just curious how you came up with 1.5 net carbs. I’ve built this recipe 3 times in my Carb Manager app, and every time it comes back as 6 net carbs per serving (12 servings total).
Jason Sanford says
Net carbs are just carbs minus fiber, so 4 minus 2.5 in this case 🙂
David says
This is what I got also.
I also have it at 350 cals and 30 fat!
Jason Sanford says
Hi David, I saw your other comment on this post that said you added two eggs and a coconut flour crust. That would definitely change the calories for yours.
Todd says
I’ve made this four times now and sometimes the outer edge of the cheesecake is kind of grainy. Sometimes it’s all perfect. What am I doing wrong?
Alexandra says
Very good! I dont think it needed the crust. Thank you for sharing, delicious!!!
Debbie says
I wish I could try this recipe but I am highly sensitive to yogurt of any kind. Any suggestions for a substitution?
Jason Sanford says
Coconut cream! It’s still keto friendly and works just as well. If not keto, mashed banana will also work. Or pumpkin or mashed sweet potato (like here: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2015/09/14/pumpkin-cheesecake-bars/). If you try any of these, be sure to report back!
Jason
Arianna Johnson says
Mine is in the oven now. My recommendation would be to beat the cream cheese first alone to get it silky. I dumped all the ingredients together and beat with a hand beater bc I don’t have my blender handy. Mine came out clumpy when beating everything together bc the yogurt and cream cheese didn’t incorporate well.
Joan says
same for me … I had SO much trouble getting the ingredients to mix together. It was just too thick. I took some out and put it in a smaller blender and still had trouble with it. So I added some cream … I didn’t know what else to do to get it out of the blender! Hope it works. It’s in the oven now.
Jason Sanford says
Hi! Was your cream cheese straight from the fridge? It sounds like you just need to bring it to room temperature so the cream cheese is easily stir able before adding other ingredients. Let me know if that solves it!
Jason
Carly Rae says
I make this too but I use 1/2 almond flour and 1/2 finely chopped pecans. I also use lime In the filling to make it more like key lime cheesecake
Nancy says
I made this last night and it’s… okay. It’s definitely not smooth and creamy–it’s quite crumbly. But I also had trouble baking it. When I took it out of the oven it wasn’t underdone in the center; it was underdone EVERYWHERE. So I put it back in, because that’s not at all what I was expecting.
I used Neufchatel cheese, since that’s what I had on hand and I’ve used it successfully for cheesecake before. I also used whole milk Greek yogurt, and pulsed my own almonds into flour. I have no idea if any of that is to blame? I’d use the cornstarch option in the future, just because I could see the almond flour bits when I mixed everything together, and am sure they contribute to the not-creamy texture. But this is more than just bits of almond–it’s the consistency of the entire base.
Jason Sanford says
Hi! Unfortunately Neufchatel cheese is not the same thing as cream cheese and would give a different outcome for sure. It is 23% lower in fat and also has more moisture, which would most likely explain why yours needed extra baking and then was overbaked and crumbly.
Jasoon
Nancy says
Okay. I made it again with cream cheese, and the texture is definitely better. I followed the recipe exactly, even though the result after baking looked pretty much identical to the first time–it was not just underdone in the center, it was underdone to the edges. The whole thing wobbled. But I let it cool and put it in the fridge anyway.
Now that I’m trying it, I really don’t think it’s fully baked. The texture right at the very edge (to maybe 1″ in) is not the same as in the middle. Since there are no eggs in it, I’m not worried about it being safe to eat, but I am baffled by this problem twice in a row, even making the appropriate adjustments. I find the recipe as written unclear on exactly WHAT should look underdone–at one point it says “the center,” but later it just says that it will look underdone. I’m pretty sure “the center” doesn’t mean almost the whole thing? But I don’t know for sure. Having made this twice with similar results, I’m wondering how to adjust baking time so the finished product is actually…finished.
Jason Sanford says
Hi! I guess maybe it’s simply an issue of climate or oven temperatures. Is your oven calibrated? As long as you know it comes out too soft for you, maybe yours just needs more baking time!
Nancy says
Maybe, but I’m still unclear on just what’s meant to look underdone. Knowing that would help a lot. Or else I should give up and go with the no-bake version.
Jan says
When said two cups yogurt is that any yogurt? Like Greek plain? Coconut milk plain?
Jason Sanford says
Yes, both work well here!
Linda says
If I want to give it a stronger lemon flavour can i add more without wrecking the recipe
Jason Sanford says
You can! Just scale back other liquid somewhere. Or I’d recommend adding lemon zest instead of juice, because adding lemon zest will add more lemon flavor than juice usually in recipes.
Jason
Linda says
I have guests that are dairy intolerant, nut allergy, no eggs and no gluten
is it too hard to make it edible for all people
Jason Sanford says
Hi what about using Tofutti? And coconutmilk yogurt?
Athena says
Made it this past weekend. At first it seemed too undone, I still went with it and put it in the fridge over night. But the next day it still seemed too squishy. So I brought it to room temperature and back in the oven. Looked much better. Even with the crack. (It wasn’t there at the first go around)
When we finally tasted it, it started getting great reviews. It’s a keeper!
Jason Sanford says
Love the picture!
Tillie says
It was amazing. I had a “secret ingredient” movie night recently using this and some of your other recipes and it was all gobbled up by many surprised guests.
Have been hearing about a honey applesauce banana bread. Do you have anything like that up your sleeve? Love your site.
Jason Sanford says
Ha! I love the idea of a secret ingredient night. For banana bread, what about this one? https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2017/01/16/healthy-banana-bread/
Jason
CDHPL says
Looking nice cakes thanks
David says
I don’t think the nutrition facts jive – I did each individual ingrediate (with a coconut flour baked crust – add 2 eggs)
350 cals
30 grams of fat
6 carbs
7 protein
Josie Hernandez says
Is this accurate?
Barbara says
Hi! I’d like to try the no- bake version, but was wondering, do I bake the crust first then add filling? Thanks!
Jason Sanford says
No need to bake the crust, it can also be no-bake 🙂
Jennifer says
Just curious, has anyone tried arrowroot or tapioca flour in the filling instead of almond flour? Is this a bad idea to switch these out? Thanks!
Jason Sanford says
It sounds like a fun experiment! I bet it would work. Be sure to report back if you try!
Jason
Jonathon Goodnight says
Trying to figure out what yogurt you yourself used. The coconut based yogurts I found are way high in sugar, regular plain yogurt has at least 6g of sugar also.
Jason Sanford says
Hey! Try unsweetened coconut yogurt such as sodelicious brand.
Oli says
Is there any chance I could use sugar free syrup as my sweetener in place of the erythritol? How much would I use, & how dramatically would it change the carb count overall?
Jason Sanford says
I don’t see why you couldn’t use it! We haven’t tried and so can’t say how much to use, but please be sure to report back if you experiment! 🙂
Jason (media relations)
Michelle says
Sugar free syrup is loaded with chemicals. I would go with the natural sweeteners such as erythritol.