This is the best keto cheesecake recipe you will try. Even people not on a low carb or keto diet love this unbelievably creamy cheesecake!
Five ingredient keto cheesecake
I’ve gotten so many requests in the past few months to come up with an easy homemade keto cheesecake recipe.
And this one is so deliciously smooth and creamy, no one would ever believe it could possibly be low carb.
But don’t just take my word for it.
This recipe currently holds over 3,000 positive reviews, from readers who have tried and love the keto cheesecake!
And the sugar free dessert is quick to whip up at home. It also includes a no bake option for those who do not wish to heat up the oven.
Also try this Keto Mug Cake Recipe
Keto cheesecake recipe video
Above, watch the step by step video
New York style low carb cheesecake
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.
This included friends who are not vegan, gluten free, or keto, and who do not 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 had not known the secret ahead of time, they never would have guessed it wasn’t just like any other recipe made with traditional ingredients.
You may also like these fluffy Keto Pancakes
Sugar free cheesecake ingredients
The recipe calls for cream cheese, yogurt, pure vanilla extract, sweetener of choice, almond flour or almond meal, and optional lemon juice.
Cream cheese – Be sure to use full fat cream cheese. For vegan keto cheesecake, choose a plant based cream cheese. I have not tried substituting low fat light cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese so cannot personally recommend those.
Yogurt – Regular, dairy free, or Greek yogurt all work. If using vanilla yogurt, omit the vanilla extract in the recipe. You can also experiment with flavored yogurts such as strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, or peach!
Pro tip: Many yogurts are surprisingly high in carbs. If you are counting carbohydrates and want this cheesecake to truly be keto, seek out a low carb yogurt. My favorite is Kite Hill Greek yogurt, which is dairy free and high protein.
No sugar sweetener – Pretty much any all purpose sweetener is fine, including erythritol or xylitol for a sugar free dessert.
Regular sugar, pure maple syrup, and coconut sugar also all work in the recipe. It will not be ketogenic but will still have much less sugar and fewer calories than traditional cheesecakes, while tasting just as delicious.
Almond flour – Fine almond flour stands in as a lower carb alternative to cornstarch, thickening the keto cheesecake filling. I also like to whip up a quick keto pie crust, employing almond flour or almond meal as the base.
Use leftover almond flour in this Almond Flour Banana Bread
Keto crust options
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 homemade keto cheesecake crust calls for almond flour as the base. If you do not have any on hand or want a flourless option, 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 contain just 200 calories and under 2 grams of net carbs.
Trending now: Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
How to make keto cheesecake
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 176° Celsius, and line the bottom of an eight or nine inch springform pan with parchment paper. Prepare your crust, if using.
- Fill any baking pan about halfway with water. Place it on the oven’s lower rack.
- Bring the cream cheese to room temperature so it will be easy to blend. Add all cheesecake ingredients to a blender or food processor, and blend just until smooth.
- Spread this cheesecake filling over the prepared crust. Place the pan on your oven’s center rack. Bake 30 minutes for a nine inch pan or 38 minutes for an eight inch pan.
- Keeping the oven door closed, turn off the heat and let the cheese pie sit in the oven for an additional five minutes. Then remove it from the oven and cool the under baked cake on the counter for around twenty minutes.
- Refrigerate overnight, uncovered or very loosely covered with paper towels so that moisture can escape. It will firm up considerably during this time.
- Store leftover cheesecake in the refrigerator for three to for days. Or slice and freeze in an airtight container for up to three months.
Baking tips for the best keto cheesecake
Do not overwhip. 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.
Avoid sudden temperature changes. Likewise, letting the cheesecake cool gradually prevents any harsh temperature changes that could also cause the cake to crack.
Add a water bath. While this step is not required, I do like to put a baking pan with water underneath the cheesecake as it cooks. It adds moisture to the oven and acts as a further buffer against the infamous cheesecake cracking.
Hide cracks with garnishes. 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 Homemade Nutella.
Under-bake the cheesecake. When you take the pie out of the oven, it should still look underdone and jiggly in the center. The cheesecake will continue to firm up considerably as it cools and extra moisture evaporates. By the next day, you will have a rich and decadent, perfectly textured keto cheesecake.
It tastes so much better than anything you’ve ever eaten from Cheesecake Factory.
If you want a no bake dessert
For a no bake cheesecake, simply replace half a cup of the yogurt in the recipe below with softened coconut butter or coconut oil.
Instead of baking the keto dessert, just chill the unbaked cheesecake until firm. Then slice and enjoy. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
I hope you love this cheesecake as much as we all do!
The recipe was adapted from this Vegan Cheesecake and my Protein Cheesecake.
Keto Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 oz cream cheese (or vegan cream cheese) (720g)
- 2 cups yogurt (220g)
- 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (12g)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional) (15g)
- 2/3 cup erythritol (sugar or maple syrup also work for non-keto) (80g)
- 1/4 cup almond flour (30g)
Instructions
- Feel free to use a store bought crust or make it crustless. Here's the crust I used: 2 cups almond or pecan flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 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, and press down evenly. Set aside while making the filling.
- 1. To make a keto cheesecake, first preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 176° Celsius. Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature.
- 2. Fill any baking pan about halfway up with water, and place it on the oven’s lower rack.
- 3. Beat all cheesecake ingredients in a blender or food processor just until smooth (overbeating can cause cracking as it bakes).
- 4. Spread filling on top of prepared crust, then place on the middle rack (above the rack with the water pan).
- 5. Bake 30 minutes in a 9 inch pan or 38 minutes if using an 8-inch pan, never opening the oven during this time.
- 6. Without opening the oven door, turn off the heat and let the cheesecake sit in the oven an additional 5 minutes. Then remove the still underdone cheesecake from the oven.
- 7. 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.
- 8. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to four days, or slice and freeze for longer storage.
Video
Notes
More Keto Desserts
Keto Cake – Chocolate or Vanilla
Or these Almond Flour Muffins
I should have made this without yogurt. I cannot stand yogurt and that is all I could taste.
You can sub coconut cream or pretty much anything with the same consistency as yogurt (sour cream, canned pumpkin, etc). 🙂
What are the nutrition facts with the crust recipe included? I entered in the recipe and got the following using Carb Manager.
16 small slices:
Net Carbs: 5g
Total Carbs: 15g
Fiber: 2g
Fat: 25g
Protein: 8g
Caories: 272
Ingredients Used:
24 oz Cream cheese
16 oz Light and Fit Greek Yogurt Toasted coconut vanilla
2/3 cup monkfruit sweetener
2 1/4 cups of Blanched almond flour
7 teaspoons of Coconut oil
Loved this cheesecake Is the second time I made it
I was very pleased with my result! And it was DELICIOUS!! I did one substitution, and that was I replaced the yogurt with heavy whipping cream (2 cps).
Great results!
Thanks for this great recipe!
I currently have this in the oven and since it is my 5th time making this recipe I figured it’s time to leave a review. I have brought this to multiple family holidays and all the non keto people loved this just as much as I do! I don’t change a thing but always make the crust with almond flour and coconut oil and add the lemon. Such an amazing recipe I will keep making for years to come!
I made this and I have to say that I was so impressed. I shared with family and co-workers and all wanted more. They were surprised it was Keto and healthy. I shared your site so they could see all of your wonderful recipes. Thank you for all you do for us!! My boys keep asking when I am making that cheesecake again…..hahahah…thank you Katie!! So I am making it this weekend for Easter.
This turned out absolutely perfect! Thanks so much Katie, you’re a star! ?
Oh wow yours looks good!
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So impressed! This tastes awesome! I used almond yogurt and half vegan cream cheese half regular. It tastes amazing. My mom keto friends don’t believe it.
This recipe is so wonderful and so easy to make! i skipped adding almond flour to the filling and just did 1/8tsp of xanthan gum and the consistency is perfect! I used the two good vanilla yogurt. For the crust i did the water just enough to get it sticky, almond flour and I did add swerve brown sugar to it maybe 1/3 cup and it gives the crust a great flavor.
I made the 5 ingredient cheesecake this past weekend for Easter dessert and it was delicious! Super easy to make. I did not have the yogurt on hand and used 2 C of sour cream and I think it was awesome! Thank you foe sharing such a lovely recipe with us!
Ty…I was looking for a substitute for yogurt. I will use sour cream.
I haven’t made it yet but wondering when I do should I wrap the cake during the time in the fridge ?
I never cover mine because you want the moisture to escape so it firms up 🙂
Jason
Yummy Cheesecake!!! Thanks for sharing, Katie. This is literally one of the BEST blogs I have come across, I read it every week… thanks so much for sharing this keto recipe.
Fantastic recipe! The best keto cheesecake I’ve made so far! Only needed half the sweetener, and doubled the lemon juice. Thank you so much.
Do you know the nutritional facts for this? Making this for my sister who is strictly on keto and only allows so many net carbs per day. Thank you.
She lists full nutrition facts linked under the ingredients and instructions in the recipe box. Hope that helps!
I made this exactly as it listed and it is oh so delicious!!! Thanks so much