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This keto cheesecake recipe is smooth, rich, creamy, and made with just 6 ingredients! I love that this dessert takes less than an hour all up.
Love keto desserts? Try my keto brownies, keto chocolate mousse, keto peanut butter cookies, and keto ice cream.
It may surprise you, but cheesecakes are one of the easiest desserts to “keto-fy”. A classic cheesecake uses many keto-friendly ingredients, like eggs, cream cheese, and/or heavy cream. With just a few minor tweaks, my keto cheesecake recipe looks and tastes like the real thing!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- It needs just 6 ingredients total, and that is including the crust.
- It’s made using simple and affordable ingredients. No hard-to-find flours, sweeteners, or additions are needed!
- The cheesecake is so smooth, rich, and creamy that even those who don’t follow a keto diet will be obsessed.
- It takes less than an hour to bake, which is nothing compared to other cheesecakes out there.
Ingredients needed
Crust
- Keto cookies- While for most keto pies and cheesecake recipes we use a keto graham cracker crust, we found this cheesecake worked better using crushed peanut butter cookies. If you have a peanut allergy, this works just as well with crushed almond butter cookies.
- Butter- unsalted butter measured in its melted state.
Filling
- Cream cheese- Softened and at room temperature. Also, try to use cream cheese that comes from a block instead of a tub. It contains very few additives (if any) and yields a much creamier dessert.
- Sour cream- Like the cream cheese, your sour cream should be at room temperature.
- Superfine sugar substitute- Also known as caster sugar. Superfine sugar has the consistency between standard sugar and powdered sugar, and you can easily make it yourself. Simply blend allulose until it has a finer texture.
- Eggs- Room temperature.
- Vanilla extract- A classic vanilla cheesecake should ALWAYS have a hint of vanilla.
How to make a keto cheesecake
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Make the crust. Add your cookies to a food processor and break them down until a fine consistency remains. Place the crushed cookies into a bowl and mix through the melted butter. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch spring-form cake pan and refrigerate it.
Step 2- Make the cheesecake filling. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar substitute into a high-speed blender and pulse until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, and blend once more until combined.
Step 3- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the cheesecake has set in the middle. Let the cheesecake cool completely before refrigerating it for at least four hours to firm up beautifully.
What to serve with this dessert?
Take your cheesecake up a notch by serving it with some keto ice cream, keto whipped cream, a drizzle of sugar free chocolate syrup or a light dusting of keto powdered sugar.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Avoid overbaking the cheesecake, as it continues to cook as it cools. Once it is mostly set in the middle, you can be confident it will be fully cooked once it has cooled.
- Cooling your cheesecake in the still-warm oven helps it firm up even better than when left at room temperature. Be sure to keep the oven door slightly ajar. Otherwise, you will be left with a dense dessert!
- Do not refrigerate the cheesecake until it has cooled completely. This will avoid any potential cracks on the top.
Storage instructions
To store: Low carb cheesecake should always be stored in the refrigerator, covered. It will keep well for at least one week.
To freeze: Place leftover slices of the cheesecake in a shallow container and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Be sure to thaw it completely before enjoying it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Full-fat cream cheeses, including the Philadelphia brand, are all suitable for a low-carb diet. They are high in fat and protein, with very few carbs. Avoid using reduced-fat or fat-free cream cheese, as the fat is replaced with extra carbs.
Monk fruit sweetener and allulose are fantastic keto sweeteners that can replace sugar in cheesecakes. If you are making a flavored cheesecake, using a brown sugar substitute intensifies the flavor.
Each slice of cheesecake in this recipe has just 3 grams of net carbs.
If you make this cheesecake without the cookie crust, there are just 1.5 grams of net carbs per slice.
More easy keto dessert recipes
Keto Cheesecake
Video
Ingredients
For the crust
- 2 1/2 cups keto cookie crumbs * See notes
- 5/8 cup butter melted
For the cheesecake filling
- 2 cups cream cheese softened and room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream room temperature
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup superfine sugar substitute I used erythritol ** See notes
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C/325F. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper or tin foil and set aside.
- In a high speed blender, add your keto peanut butter cookies and blend until a fine consistency. Measure out 2 1/2 cups and place it into a mixing bowl. Add the melted butter and mix together until combined.
- Transfer the cookie crust into the lined springform pan and use the back of a spoon to spread around the edges. Refrigerate the crust while you prepare the filling.
- In a high speed blender or food processor, add the cream cheese, sour cream, and superfine sugar substitute and blend until combined. Add the eggs, then the vanilla extract, and blend once more until fully incorporated.
- Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and add the cheesecake filling to it. Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the middle is mostly set.
- Turn off the oven and open the oven door slightly. Allow the cheesecake to cool in it completely, before refrigerating for at least four hours, to firm up.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published September 2021, updated and republished April 2024.
Would this recipe still work if you omit the crust? (Make it without the crust)
Yes, but I’d keep them in the pan and serve directly from there 🙂
I’m allergic to erytheriol, can I substitute monkfruit or coconut sugar
Allulose is great!!!
I tried this and was blown away at how good it is. My wife, who would not touch keto, gave it a stamp of approval.
That’s what I like to hear!
I have a question: if I double the recipe, what size pan should I use? 10”
Yes, that should be fine. You’ll have to bake it longer to compensate though.
I love this recipe. This is the second time I made it. The first time I made it I used a blender and it wasn’t incorporating the way that it should, so I had to transfer everything into a bowl, ( And I was worried because everything wasn’t thoroughly mixed, ) And I used a hand mixer. This recipe comes out perfect every time. Thank you so much Arman! No wonder your cheesecake recipe is award-winning
Aw thank you, Mila!
Excellent recipe. Was a little concerned about how it was going to actually turn out, due to no sugar, but it was absolutely amazing and delicious! 🤩 I always make my husband a regular cheesecake for his birthday, and since he needed to reduce his sugar, this was just the ticket! He was completely impressed!! Excellent! 😊
Hehe, nice one Loreen!
Had a friend on keto over for dinner and gave this a try, with some keto blueberry sauce. Was so good! Made it with an almond crust but other than that followed exactly.
Yum!!!
I made this cheesecake recipe the other day.. Just got to taste it today and it was SO good!
I did however exchange the sour cream for low carb vanilla yogurt, adding the vanilla in the recipe too..It made a nice “ledge around the top for fillings . I found a new recipe for the crust at Ketofocus.com I wanted to try.. It was delish and paired well with your cheesecake recipe.. I made your salted caramel and lemon custard for topping choices. Both were hubby approved . Thank you!
Why does recipe call for a spring form pan yet video shows it made in a glass pie plate?
Either works! 🙂
Planning on making this for my wife’s birthday this weekend. Quick question – if I did a single recipe of your keto PB cookies, would that be enough to get the 2 1/2 cups of blended cookie crumbs for the crust for the cheesecake?
Yes 🙂