These gluten free and keto cheesecake brownies are the best of both worlds! An incredibly fudgy low carb brownie is paired with tangy swirls of creamy cheesecake. The best part? Just 1.5g net carb!
Gluten Free & Keto Cheesecake Brownies
Suuuper Fudgy!
You’ve already met our suuuper fudgy keto brownies right?! They’re intensely chocolatey, fudgy, lightly chewy and good… like really good. Fact is, it’s the most popular recipe in the entire site, so that’s gotta tell you something!
Though, in all honesty, I would’ve never guessed it when I first hit publish. And don’t get me wrong, I love the recipe. I mean, it’s been my go-to brownie recipe for years now (and one of my favorite keto chocolate treats by far). But it’s sky-rocketing popularity still managed to wow me! So thank you guys for enjoying, sharing, and recommending it!
Now, amongst many of your requests, perhaps the most popular has been to adapt it into a sugar-free cheesecake brownie version. So wish granted peeps!
Got more requests? Send them along, I always love to hear (and hopefully grant!) them.
The Chocolate
Cocoa or cacao? Both work great, just know that quality really matters here. My favorite will forever be the Dutch-processed alkaline cocoa Valrhona, known to be one of (if not the) best cocoas in the world.
But feel free to use a raw cacao powder (arguably more nutritional perks here), though keep in mind that your brownies will be lighter in color and more reddish in hue. Both are well and good, as long as they’re unsweetened.
The Keto Flours
This recipe uses almond flour only (!!). Yup, that’s it!
In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great. Both are super fine grinds.
The Sweetener
You’ve got a couple options here. Xylitol (non corn to avoid tummy troubles!) and allulose (using 30% more) have become my top choice (no aftertaste, best and chewier texture), followed by Lakanto (barely any aftertaste, but thicker texture).
If using erythritol in any form, because it needs a little extra help to dissolve than xylitol (and they vary so much from brand to brand because of different fillers and so on!), you’ll want to be sure to use a powdered form. If you only have granular on hand, don’t sweat it, and simply blend it in your (very dry!) bullet or blender until powdered. Easy-peasy!
And one more thing to keep in mind, is that a few of you who have used erythritol (Swerve in particular) report back periodically that your batter ends up thick. This seems to be improved by microwaving rather than using a water bath, and using powdered rather than regular. Though there seems to be no hard rule here.
Doesn’t seem to affect the taste in the end, so just spread the batter rather than pour it in. But if you’re finding your brownies feel too thick, simply add in an extra egg or a couple tablespoons of almond milk (just don’t over-whisk or they could become more cakey).
Fun fact: it might also be my taste buds here, but I’ve noticed that stevia-based sweeteners (such as Pyure) don’t work so great when chocolate is involved as the aftertaste is accentuated. So I cannot recommend enough that you don’t use stevia-based sweeteners here.
Oh, and if just paleo or gluten free (or not restricted by sugars), simply sub 1-to-1 with coconut or regular sugar.
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup (or kitty!) around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 🐕
A Couple (Very Simple!) Rules
I’ll start with the most important one: do not over-bake the brownies! Timing might just be the most important rule when making any type of brownie, so you don’t end up with a dry and crumbly mess. Keep an eye out for them, and take them out once the center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out moist (but not drenching).
I even prefer to slightly undercook them and chill them in the fridge before cutting. That’s the secret for extra fudgy brownies.
I’ve also noticed that when using powdered erythritol rather than xylitol (my favorite), you also need to decrease the baking time by about 5 minutes as they cook faster.
You’ll also want to use eggs at room temp. Reason being that if your cocoa/butter mixture is not hot enough (and your eggs are very cold), they’ll solidify the butter and your batter will be too thick (doesn’t affect the end results, just annoying to spoon rather than pour!).
Looking for more stellar keto brownie variations?! Don’t miss out on our peanut butter brownies (they’re ace!).
Gluten Free & Keto Cheesecake Brownies
Ingredients
For cheesecake layer
- 227 g cream cheese softened
- 50-70 g allulose xylitol or erythritol (I do 1/4 cup)*
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For keto brownie layer
- 1 batch (suuuper fudgy!) keto brownies
Serving suggestions
Instructions
- See recipe video for guidance on the brownies!
- Position a rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 350°F/180°C. Line with parchment paper the bottom and sides of a 8x8-inch baking pan. Set aside.
- Make the cheesecake layer first. Add cream cheese and sweetener to a bowl and cream using an electric mixer (faster and easier) or whisk until creamy and smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until fully combined. Set aside.
- Whip up a batch of our (suuuper fudgy!) keto brownies. Please note that your batter with xylitol and allulose will be thinner than with erythritrol (where you can add an extra egg or a couple tablespoons of almond milk to loosen up a bit for cleaner swirls!- see brownie post for more deets).
- Pour 2/3 of the mixture into prepared pan, followed by the cheesecake layer. Add the remaining brownie batter in 4 dollops (see pictures in post for reference), and swirl the two batters together using a knife.
- Bake for 15-25 minutes (we do 23), or until the center is just set and still jiggly. This really does vary (a lot!!) from oven to oven (think convection etc), so give them a check from minute 15 the first time around.
- Allow to cool completely on a rack. Lift brownies using the edges of the parchment paper and cut into desired size (we do 16!). To get extra clean edges, place in the freezer for 10 minutes prior to cutting.
- Store in the fridge for 3 days and freeze for up to 3 months (they freeze great!).
These are INCREDIBLE! One of my go to sweet treats.
Just made this AND have had 2 squares already as IT IS BLOODY DELICIOUS!!!
Just like a real brownie! no aftertaste, no almond mealy texture just a delicious fudgy, chocolatey, cakey, sweet brownie! THANK YOU FOR THE TIPS AND THE RECIPE!!! xxx
I have been trying to make keto recipes and nothing has really worked accept for cheesecake but thats not hard. I was hesitant to use swerve for this due to the cooling effect but, these came out extremely good. they taste like the real thing almost. i had them in the fridge for almost a week and a half and they are still super fudgy and just all around great. i made cookies before but they didn’t taste nearly as good as this. thank you so much for this recipe.
also didnt have the cocoa you had, i used ghiradelli cocoa powder and came out awesome, so i like how versatile these can be!