This keto cheesecake recipe is smooth, rich, creamy, and made with just 6 ingredients! Ready in less than an hour, a secret trick guarantees a perfectly baked cheesecake every single time!
It’s no secret that I have a raging sweet tooth.
Even though I follow a ketogenic diet, desserts play a very important role.
Now, I know I shouldn’t play favorites, but a few takes the top tier. These include brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and, of course, cheesecake.
Is cheesecake ok on a keto diet?
A classic cheesecake uses many keto friendly ingredients, like eggs, cream cheese, and/or heavy cream. While sugar and thickeners (like flour) aren’t suitable for a keto diet, by making some easy swaps, you can easily enjoy a keto cheesecake recipe.
Why you’ll 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 needed!
- The cheesecake is so smooth, rich, and creamy, 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.
As someone who grew up enjoying the famous Cheesecake Factory desserts, I’m stoked I can make my own homemade version while still keeping it low carb and sugar free.
Sugar free cheesecake ingredients
For the cheesecake 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.
For the 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 erythritol 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
Start by preparing the crust. Add your cookies into 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 into a 9-inch spring-form cake pan and refrigerate it.
Next, 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.
Now, transfer the filling over the crust and 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.
Tips to make the best recipe
- Avoid over-baking the cheesecake, as it continues to cook as it is cooling down. 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.
Storing and freezing 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.
More keto cheesecake recipes to try
Frequently Asked Questions
Full fat cream cheeses, including the Philadelphia brand, are all suitable on 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.
Erythritol, monk fruit sweetener, and allulose are all 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.
Take your cheesecake up a notch by serving it with some keto ice cream, whipped cream, a drizzle of sugar free chocolate syrup or a light dusting of keto powdered sugar.
Keto Cheesecake (Award Winning Recipe!)
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 into it. Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake for an hour, 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Having recently been diagnosed with type II diabetes I’ve been on the hunt for low or zero carb desserts.Thank goodness, that search brought me to Big Man’s World and Arman. I just made this five ingredient cheesecake and I’ve got to tell you…IT’S UNBELIEVABLY GOOD!
Thanks Arman! You and your website have made living with diabetes tolerable.
Thank you, Mark- That is soo kind of you!
my mr.and i are diabetic, i hope i can try it soon..thank you mr.big man for sharing your recipes.
Loved this recipe!! A solid 5 star.
Delicious and creamy, I baked the crust for 10 mins before and it came out so well!
Should i water bath the cheesecake?
No that is not needed 🙂
Is there anything I can use instead of sour cream?
Thick full-fat yogurt
The filling to this cheese cake is so incredibly delicious. I did have to bake it longer than stated. i used highkey keto friendly cookies for the crust in place of the peanut butter cookies. Thank you for sharing!
I am excited to make this cheesecake, however, in the past my sugar choice was a fail because it tasted crystallized. I used Monkfruit. I’m a little vague about the sugar you’re using and wonder if Allulose would be a good choice?
Use allulose- it dissolves exactly like sugar would 🙂
I have a husband (Keto), a father in law and 2 sons (all non Keto) and they all love this recipe. Good recipe for the whole family!
Can I make this without a crust?
You can, but you’ll need to keep it refrigerated at all times.
Hi Arman
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I made it and it is just PERFECT. I added some blueberries jam and fresh berries… AMAZING!
I just made one batch of peanut butter (keto) cookies (12 cookies). Typically, how many cookies are needed for this recipe? Not sure how to “guesstimate” the number of cookies for 2.5 cups of cookie crumbs for the crust.
Thank you!
One batch works pretty darn accurately 🙂
Can I use Splenda ?
You are welcome to experiment and see
One batch of peanut butter cookies worked great. My wife, who’s very fussy about cheese-cake, thought that this keto version was amazing! Definite winner. Next time we’re trying without the crust (will keep refrigerated at all times)
My keto cheesecake is happily baking in my oven as I type this. I added a couple of things to your recipe. I added 2 tsp of lemon juice to crisp it up a bit, and I made keto graham cracker crumb crust using toasted almond and cinnamon flour. 95% your recipe though and I can tell just by putting it in my spring form pan, that it’s going to be super duper! Thanks!