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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Use leftover almond flour in this Almond Flour Banana Bread
Keto cheesecake recipe video
Above, watch the step by step video
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 have 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 degrees Fahrenheit, 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
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 Homemade Nutella.
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 Recipe.
Keto Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 oz cream cheese (or vegan cream cheese)
- 2 cups 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 it crustless. Here's the crust I used: 2 cups almond or pecan 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. Set aside while making the filling.To make a keto cheesecake, preheat the 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
Video
Notes
More Keto Desserts
Keto Cake – Chocolate or Vanilla
I did not see any dimensions for the baking pan. What size should we use 7″, 8″, 9″? Also, would a round springform pan be best?
Hi! The recipe says Combine all ingredients, pour into a lined 8 or 9-inch springform, press down evenly, then set aside while you make the filing.
Katie used a round pan, but I don’t see why a square wouldn’t work!
Jason
Just made the 5 ingredient ket o cheesecake. I have made others and this was the best and the easiest. Everyone loved it. Can’t wait to try other recipes
I don’t have a spring pan could I use a regular pie pan?
Hmm, as long as you don’t mind the possibility of a slice that might fall apart when you try to lift it out, it would probably work I should think.
I line my pan with parchment paper and let it over hang outside of the pan so I can easily lift it out.
I’m going to make this for my boyfriend this weekend. Can you substitute sour cream for the yogurt? I’ve seen many recipes in the past that sub yogurt for sour cream so was hoping I could do the opposite.
We haven’t tried, but most likely it would be fine. Texture-wise it should not be a problem, I just don’t know about taste. Katie has subbed banana and pumpkin for the yogurt in the past, so sour cream should be fine.
Jason
This cheesecake is so delicious! I could eat the whole thing. I entered the ingredients into my Keto carb app to save the recipe and got different numbers for nutrition facts. I’m guessing maybe not all carb counters are the same. My carb app says the cheesecake has 4 net carbs and the crust has 8 net carbs. For a 1/12 slice with crust I get 12 net carbs. I guess I am asking for clarification. Thanks.
Hi! What specific ingredients did you use? That can make a huge difference 🙂
I used Philadelphia Cream cheese, mixed Fage 2% and 5% yogurt, Whole Foods brand almond flour, real vanilla extract, fresh squeezed lemon, and erythritol.
Oh that would be it I think! The Fage looks like it has more carbs than unsweetened coconut yogurt, and the cream cheese would have more carbs than the homemade one. But nutrition counts are always an estimate of course. Katie uses the Verywellfit online calculator.
Thank you for the clarification. I sort of figured it might be the ingredients. I did not see a recipe for the cream cheese. I’ll look closer. It was very yummy!
My nutrient count was way different: 400 cal, 37.5 g fat, 10 net carb, 9.6g protein for 1/12 including crust (made with 3 c almond flour). I used Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour, Trader Joe’s Vegan Cream Cheese, Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk Yogurt. I can’t figure out how these numbers are so different as it seems all the products I chose are on the low end (I’m vegan keto, so pretty conscious of reading labels.) Just didn’t know if you had any thoughts or suggestions as one slice will bee too much for me which is a bummer. I looked at the linked cream cheese recipe which said “keto option” but didn’t see the option listed in the actual recipe. Not sure if maybe this makes the difference? Thanks!
I think must be a difference with the yogurt and cream cheese. If you use the homemade cream cheese (macadamia is keto) it’s a lot fewer carbs than vegan storebought. I also don’t see an unsweetened yogurt listed on the Silk website. Am I missing something?
Jason
I made this cheesecake and it was absolutely perfectly delicious and turned out just right! We all loved it. THANKS FOR THIS WONDERFUL RECIPE!!!
Just one question, Can you freeze this cheesecake?
Yes!
I love the taste of the cheesecake, but I had a big problem and don’t know what I did wrong. My cheesecake leaked! Lots of water poured out at the bottom and I can’t see any reason for this. I used 2 cups of whole fat Greek yogurt, and that’s the only thing I can think of that would separate, but no one else seems to have experienced this. Any ideas? I’d love to try again!
Hi! I’m trying to figure out what that looks like when you say “leaked” so I can hopefully help. Do you mean water from the water bath? Or that the crust was soggy? Sorry for not understating better!
Jason
Sorry, thanks for replying. The bottom of the cake itself (no crust) leaked water at the edge of the cheesecake pan (the kind where one can remove the sides after baking…) I did have a water bath at the bottom of the oven and thought maybe the condensation went into the cake and then poured out from underneath? I feel silly that I somehow got this to happen, but I didn’t use any different ingredients except a bit of extra lemon juice where I ran out of vanilla. The water bath itself was perhaps a liter of water. Was it too much? ?
How does using cream cheese like Tofutti affect this recipe? Does it make it not Keto or affect the consistency in anyway? Also, I’ve seen several comments about the macadamia cream cheese being Keto. Does this mean that the cashew cream cheese is not?
Hi! I’m not an expert in keto, but it looks like the tofutti has a similar amount of carbs as dairy cream cheese (2g). Cashews apparently have more carbs than macadamia nuts, so a reader on the keto diet mentioned in a comment that macadamia nuts are a better option for those strictly following the diet.
Jason
Okay, thanks for clearing that up. As far as the Tofutti, does using that as opposed to the homemade cream cheese seem to affect the taste/consistency?
I’ve tried both and personally like either dairy cream cheese or the tofutti better than the homemade because it tastes more like authentic NY cheesecake to me than the homemade one. (I’m not a vegan but I am open minded and like vegan foods!)
3 cups of almond flour for the crust seems like way too much. Does the 1/4 cup of almond flour go in the filling?
Yup, 1/4 cup in the filling!
I have made almond flour cheesecake crusts before.
I use:
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Stir
Add 5 tbls melted butter ( earth or smart balance for me) OR oil of choice.
Mix together with 2 forks till the butter is all incorporated.
Press in pan and up sides ( if you want) just like graham crumbs.
Does not have to be baked ( eating it as is is nice, lol) , or can be par-baked for 5-20 minutes of you want. The longer times for no bake pies, shorter for ones that bake so it doesn’t burn.
Not sure how to adjust for keto, but someone will probably come along that does. 🙂
The cheesecake was excellent, and I made a raspberry purée, as well. I followed the directions exactly, but it wasn’t nearly as firm as I would have expected. Any idea why?
Hi! A few things might have caused it (your photo looks fantastic by the way). What brands/ingredients did you use? And is your oven calibrated? Also are you in an excessively humid climate?
Jason
This cheesecake is so amazing! I made it exactly like the recipe. Using plain coconut yogurt. For the crust, I used butter instead of coconut oil with the almond flour. Turned out incredible. Best cheesecake I’ve ever had! Thank-you, Katie!
Hi, can I use cashews (make it into creamy texture) instead of cream cheese? If so, what’s the cashew to water ratio that you would suggest?
Just use the vegan cream cheese linked in her post. It’s cashew based 🙂
When I made this cheesecake, I loved licking the bowl so much, I decided to make it as a fruit dip the next time. Now I regularly make a 2/3 recipe (no crust and no baking) and just keep it in the frig to eat by the spoonful or in a bowl with berries. It’s thick and creamy and delicious and definitely my favorite treat!
That sounds so amazing!!!
I agree!!!
Hi..I sm making this tonight for my sons birthday. I am curious. For the crust which calls for coconut oil..am I suppose it o melt the oil before incorporating into the flour
I always melt mine!
I have made this four times now and I absolutely love it. I have varied the recipe a little each time to tweak it more to my individual tastes but without the basic recipe being so easy and delicious I wouldn’t be able to do that. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Thank you so much for making it 🙂