At 1g net carb a slice, with its instant ‘graham cracker’ crust, unbelievably airy texture, fresh berry (and a strawberry jelly!) topping… this keto cheesecake truly is the very best of the best. Oh, and did I mention no aftertaste whatsoever?!
Keto Cheesecake
The very (*very*) best
Bold statement isn’t it? Still, I’m confident that with a few tips and tricks we’ll be taking a classic low carb cheesecake from good to truly superb.
The filling is everything you would expect: tangy, airy, ultra smooth… rich. Contrasting perfectly with my now famous instant ‘graham cracker’ crust (don’t skip the toasting of the almond flour here)(I repeat, do not skip!).
And while we would be good as is, I highly suggest you go all in and top it all with fresh berries and my strawberry jelly (!!). It’s just *chef’s kiss*.
The Sweetener
You can pretty much use whatever granular sweetener floats your boat. So anything from allulose (my favorite because truly no aftertaste and zero GI, just note that it will caramelize a touch on top), powdered* erythritol (some slight cooling aftertaste, but no biggie), xylitol (ensure its not corn derived to avoid tummy troubles!).
*For erythritol, as it tends to crystalize, get your blender out, make sure it’s completely dry, and process until powdered. Just make sure you wait a few moments for the dust to settle before opening the blender or food processor.
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 🐕
My Top Tips
The good news here is that whipping up cheesecake, whether keto or not, is surprisingly simple (also, no water bath needed!). But here are a few tips to ensure maximum success:
- Do not, I repeat, do not over beat: beat at medium speed and avoid over mixing, as this could incorporate too many air bubbles (= cracks!)
- Strain your final cheesecake filling: it can be a mission impossible to get all those cheesecake lumps, so straining the filling is one of those little-effort-big-difference steps.
- Use powdered sweetener: if using erythritol for best texture, note this isn’t an issue with allulose and xylitol.
- Or just use allulose (or xylitol): for best taste and texture, as for real no aftertaste.
- Don’t skip my instant ‘graham cracker’ crust: for real guys, you guys rave about it *all the time* for a reason. i.e. it’s taste is surprisingly explosive.
- Use a springform pan: to make your life a little easier!
- And no water bath needed: I have an inkling that using allulose is one of the reasons of this, but I’ve still found that placing a pan with water on the lower rack leads to the best texture.
p.s. looking for a no bake keto cheesecake? Right this way!
(The *Very* Best!) Keto Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the keto 'graham cracker' crust
For the keto cheesecake
- 5 8 oz cream cheese packages (i.e. 40 oz), at room temperature
- 1- 1 1/3 cup allulose erythritol or xylitol, to taste (I use the larger amount with allulose)**
- 5 large eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the keto strawberry jelly
- 2 cups fresh strawberries
- 1/2 cup allulose
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot starch
Instructions
For the keto 'graham cracker' crust
- Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C and line the bottom of an 8-inch spring form pan with parchment paper.
- Whip up a batch of my instant 'graham cracker' crust. Press into the prepared pan- you can either go up the edges or just do the bottom, the choice is yours. Freeze until set (you know, so the butter doesn't just seep out!), bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool completely while you prepare the filling.
For the keto cheesecake
- Add the cream cheese and sweetener to a large bowl and beat together over medium speed until fully incorporated and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth over medium speed (you don't want to go full speed here and add too much air, as your cheesecake could crack). Beat in the sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla extract and salt.
- Sieve the filling into the cooled graham cracker dish and give the pan a good couple bangs against the counter to get any air bubbles out. While I've found that you don't quite need a water bath for this guy (!!), I do like to fill up a pan with water and place it on the lower rack for best texture. Place cheesecake pan in the middle rack and bake for 50-60 minutes (I did 55), until center is almost set but you still have some jiggle in it. Turn off oven heat and allow cake to remain 20 minutes in the oven with the door ajar.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a rack, cover with wrap and refrigerate overnight to let it set completely.
- Please note that keto custard desserts baked with allulose (and sugar alcohols in general), will appear to be more jiggly than usual once baked fully. Worry not, as it'll continue to set while in the fridge. And note numero dos: allulose tends to brown more quickly than sugar (and I've noticed it varies a lot from oven to oven), so be sure to keep an eye on it after minute 20 and tent with aluminum foil in case of over browning.
For the keto strawberry jelly (optional, but *highly* suggested)
- Add the strawberries to a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a heavy bottom saucepan through a fine sieve to strain out the seeds and fiber (you know, so we get a clear jelly!).
- Add the sweetener and lemon juice, and cook over medium heat until all the sweetener has dissolved. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Make a slurry by mixing your arrowroot starch with a little water and whisk it into the jelly until the right consistency is reached. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
Notes
My Top Tips
The good news here is that whipping up cheesecake, whether keto or not, is surprisingly simple (yes, water bath included!). But here are a few tips to ensure maximum success:- Do not, I repeat, do not over beat: beat at medium speed and avoid over mixing, as this could incorporate too many air bubbles (= cracks!)
- Strain your final cheesecake filling: it can be a mission impossible to get all those cheesecake lumps, so straining the filling is one of those little-effort-big-difference steps.
- Use powdered sweetener: if using erythritol for best texture, note this isn't an issue with allulose and xylitol.
- Or just use allulose (or xylitol): for best taste and texture, as for real no aftertaste.
- Don't skip my instant 'graham cracker' crust: for real guys, you guys rave about it *all the time* for a reason. i.e. it's taste is surprisingly explosive.
- Use a springform pan: to make your life a little easier!
Crikey.. this is so, so ridiculously good, I can’t believe it!!! Honestly, I don’t see myself ever making another cheesecake again, it’s THAT GOOD! Easy to follow all the instructions, didn’t crack, and looked soooo pretty :)) I used allulose for everything but next time I might try erythritol for the crust to see if that makes it crunchier. Also, I didn’t have any arrowroot so I used 1/4 tsp of glucomannan powder for the jelly and it worked very well. I did freeze the crust for a while before baking (maybe 10 minutes), but maybe I needed to do that for longer? While blind baking and while baking the cheesecake itself, the the butter (or something?) seeped out of the bottom of the pan… Eeep. But thankfully, I had placed my spring form pan on top of a baking tray lined with aluminium foil, so after cooling, most of this liquid seemed to get sucked back into the spring form pan. I don’t really know what happened there, but it honestly didn’t matter as the whole thing is just so delicious! The strawberry is the perfect pairing, and I’m sure it will be just as lovely with blueberries, etc. Maybe even a salted caramel drizzle. Or a chocolate ganache… I think I’m going to pass out from excitement!
What temperature do I bake the actual cheesecake at? Thank you!!!
Hi!
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE making your recipes for potlucks. Literally,NO ONE knows any of your desserts are keto. No. One. I have a question: how do I make this into mini cheesecakes? I know the simple answer is just divide it up and bake, but with some other recipes, there are tweaks to cook time, temps and other nuances. If it’s just divide, bake and go, cool, but if there are any tweaks or suggestions of tweaks, please tell me. I appreciate your commitment to the craft of delicious healthy eating!
Just finished off the last slice. I don’t know how to adequately thank you for this fantastic recipe. We make keto cheesecake several times a month. This was so much better !! Fantastically smooth and creamy texture. Lovely cheesecake flavors. Toasting the flour, the allulose – the proportions – just WOW. Will definitely be making this repeatedly ❤️❤️
I’d love to try a smaller version of this… that’s a lot of cheesecake to eat all by myself. Any thoughts me on a smaller version or indivisible type servings? Help!! It looks delish!
When making the crust for this, is it necessary to toast the almond flour first, even though it will be baked prior to adding the filling? Also, is this step purely about adding more flavor to the crust?
Yes please do give it the extra toast as it really makes the flavor a million (billion?!) times better. Trust me!
Is it 1 kilo cream cheese? Did I understand it correctly?
Yes! Traditional cheesecake uses 4-5 oz packages (about a kilo) of cream cheese :-/ (I know lol!)
The best cheesecake I have ever tasted..keto or not!!! First cheesecake not to crack and was so easy. No aftertaste and the crust is like a almond cookie…so good!! This is like a dream..really. I sat and ate a slice and was really in cheesecake heaven. I had to freeze it so I would stop eating it. There are many keto cheesecake recipes out there. There is no reason to make any other than this! Do you have a recipe to make a chocolate cheesecake?
Dan that’s so awesome to hear!! I knew you guys would love this recipe, but all your reviews are beyond :)(!!!). Chocolate cheesecake coming right up 😉
The best cheesecake I have ever tasted..keto or not!!! First cheesecake not to crack and was so easy. No aftertaste and the crust is like a almond cookie…so good!! This is like a dream..really. I sat and ate a slice and was really in cheesecake heaven. I had to freeze it so I would stop eating it. There are many keto cheesecake recipes out there. There is no reason to make any other than this! Do you have a recipe to make a chocolate cheesecake?
Paola,
Another great recipe–I can’t believe how effortless this was, and it turned out perfectly, no cracks and cooked evenly all the way through. I followed your recipe exactly. Great idea to just put a separate pan filled with water in the oven when baking the cheesecake. I made this on Saturday and it was gone by yesterday.
Next up: tacos.
Mark I’m so happy to hear the cheesecake worked out so great for you too (and thank you for taking the time to report back once again!).
Btw, I’m taking taco recipe requests 😉
GOOD GOLLY MISS PAULI !!!!!! I just made this last night, and we had it tonight for the first time. OMG. This is legit cheesecake with graham crust. (hubs thought it was too cinnamony, but I thought it was perrrrrrrfect). I actually cut the recipe in half and made this in a 7″ cake pan. I did this because I only had 2 blocks of cream cheese LOL. So it really wasn’t even half – ok the crust was half but I love crust. I lined the pan with spray then parchment round for the bottom and the sides with a strip. This made it easy to pop out today when it was totally chilled. I didn’t do the fruit topping because I just like plain cheesecake. NO aftertaste (I used allulose). My 10 year old loved it too!!!! BRAVO.
thanks for sharing. I cant find the conversion table to metric?
I’m so excited about this recipe, Paola!!! One question, though, before I attempt it…How far open should the oven door be for the 20 minutes after it bakes? I’m guessing just a few inches?
Correct Desire! Just slightly ajar (I prop mine open with a kitchen towel).
Great! Thank you so much, Paola!
It’s really too bad Allulose is a super laxative. No matter what my wife and I try it in, we end up spending a significant amount of time in the bathroom. If it didn’t have this side effect it would be perfect, because it really does taste just like real sugar. But we might try this recipe with another sweetener. Looks good!
A few of you have reported this Matt 🙁 Try it with powdered erythritol, it’ll work too!
Agreed, horrible GI side effects! What about monkfruit? Would that work for the recipe?
I’m going out tonight to get the ingredients!!!
How many slices do I cut to get the 1g net carb?
Is “one batch of crust” the same as 1 serving of the crust?
How many batches would you use for a 9 or 10 inch pie plate?
Love your creativity!
Thanks Heather
I use your graham cracker crust all the time now and it really is a game changer! Thank you for all the wonderful recipes Paola, and always going the extra mile for us.
It’s my pleasure Carly! So happy you’ve enjoyed the crust!!
STRAWBERRY JELLY!!! Yessssss!
😉
That might just be the prettiest cheesecake photo I’ve ever seen Paola!
Lol thank you Tom 😉