This really is the best low carb and keto cheesecake. Even my non-keto family proclaimed "This is the best cheesecake I have ever had!" This tutorial will help you make a perfect cheesecake the first time and every time!
Keto Cheesecake
If you're looking for a delicious keto cheesecake recipe that tastes just like the real thing, this is the recipe for you. It is thick and rich just like a regular cheesecake. I've heard of people using it as a birthday cake!
If you are looking for a smaller cheesecake for keto dessert during the week, this recipe is also for you because you can cut the filling ingredients in half! I give instructions for both. You can also checkout my recipes for keto cheesecake fluff, Keto Mini Cheesecake Bites, and my keto no bake cheesecake.
There really isn't much difference between a classic cheesecake and this Keto cheesecake. The only thing we need to replace is the regular sugar to make it sugar free, and an almond flour crust to make it gluten free and perfect for the keto diet. This one clocks in at only 5 net carbs!
I really wanted to make a low carb cheesecake that was super thick and creamy, but didn't have to use a hot water bath or any weird ingredients.
Crust ingredients
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for this low carb keto cheesecake recipe, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For the printable recipe, see the recipe card below.
The buttery crust is delicious, but not the most important thing. You could even make this low carb cheesecake without the crust! For best results when making a crustless cheesecake is to grease the pan thoroughly, and/or line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. The bake time will be the same as if using a crust.
1 ½ cups almond flour or almond meal (168g) - instead of graham cracker crumbs, we need almond flour for our cheesecake crust to make it keto. You could also use sunflower seed flour if you need a nut free version.
¼ cup powdered sweetener (48g) - I use the Lakanto powdered sweetener for the crust recipe. It is an Erythritol and monk fruit sweetener blend. You could also use any version of your favorite keto sweetener that is a 1 for 1 swap for sugar.
1 teaspoon cinnamon - This gives our crust that graham cracker flavor.
6 tablespoons butter, melted (84g) - Butter helps bind everything together. I use salted so I don't have to add any additional salt to the crust. You could also use coconut oil.
Keto cheesecake filling ingredients
48 ounces full fat cream cheese, room temperature (1361g) - Yes, that would be 6 blocks of cream cheese that are 8 ounces each. Having room temperature ingredients for any cheesecake is really important so your keto cheesecake isn't lumpy. I know this seems like a lot of cream cheese, but this is for a show stopping keto cheesecake and remember, I give instructions for ½ the size down below.
2 cups powdered sweetener (384g) - we're using powdered so our cheesecake isn't gritty.
5 large eggs, room temperature - yes, even the eggs need to be room temperature.
8 ounces full fat sour cream, room temperature (227g)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
How to make the best low carb cheesecake
This section explains how to make this low carb cheesecake recipe step by step. For a full printable recipe, see the recipe card below.
The most important thing you should know when it comes to making a creamy cheesecake is that all of your ingredients should be at room temperature. I cannot stress this enough. Anything that is refrigerated should be left out for at least 4 hours. That means eggs, sour cream, and cream cheese.
Submerging your eggs in warm water will help speed up the process, as will unwrapping and chopping your cream cheese into smaller pieces.
???? Tip: This makes a thick keto cheesecake so make sure your spring form pan is 10 inches (24cm) by 3 inches (8cm).
Step 1 - Pre-heat the oven to 325F (162C) and make sure the oven rack is in the center of the oven. Combine all of the dry crust ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Now mix in the butter and stir until everything is combined. Pour the crust ingredients into the springform pan and press halfway up the sides using your fingers. I like to use a flat bottomed cup to get the crust completely even. Now we need to bake the keto cheesecake crust for 5-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Note: baking the crust is a change from my original recipe.
Step 2 (Make the filling) - We need a large bowl and were going to beat all of the softened cream cheese with a hand mixer or stand mixer (paddle attachment) until it is light and fluffy. We're going to add in the sweetener ⅓ at a time and mix until the sweetener is fully incorporated. Now we add in each egg one at a time until they are incorporated. Finally, add in the vanilla and sour cream and stir for just a few seconds more. Don't over mix as this will incorporate too much air and your cheesecake could crack. The keto cheesecake batter is done!
Step 3 - Pour the low carb cheesecake batter into the crust and even out the top. Now we need to bake it in the oven for 50 minutes. The top should no longer be glossy and the center will still be jiggly when it is ready. Turn off the oven and crack the oven door. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven, run a sharp knife between the cheesecake and the sides of the pan (do not remove the springform). Let the cheesecake cool on the counter for 1 hour.
Making sure you do not over-bake your cheesecake:
Everyone has ovens that perform differently. Your cheesecake is finished baking when the edges are set and the center is still jiggly.
Here is a less than 1 minute video showing how to know if your cheesecake is cooked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hadmpW_hASs
My low carb cheesecake has a crack...now what?
Now you are free to decorate the top of the cheesecake! The cheesecake will still be just as good. I used fresh sliced strawberries or any fresh berries and I sprinkled them with granulated sweetener.
Next time, make sure you do not over mix your cheesecake batter and do not over cook it.
How to freeze cheesecake
This is a large keto cheesecake but good news, it freezes very well! You can freeze individual slices or the whole cake...or half of the cake!
This is a good reference for freezing a whole cheesecake
To freeze individual slices, simply slice the pieces of cheesecake and place them on individual pieces of plastic wrap. Wrap them tight, place in a freezer bag or bowl, and store them in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Any longer than 2 weeks and they will lose quality.
Can I make the crust nut free?
If you are intolerant to nuts, you can simply make this a crustless cheesecake (instruction in the recipe card) or you can use sunflower seed flour in place of the almond flour. They are a 1 for 1 swap for each other so it will work perfectly.
How to make a smaller version of this cheesecake
You would use the same ingredients for the crust, but you would cut all of the filling ingredients in half and use 3 eggs. During the baking process, check on your cheesecake at the 30 minute mark and keep an eye on it. It will be ready when the edges are set but the center is still jiggly.
The Best Keto Cheesecake Recipe - No Water Bath!
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Tip: Hitting your 20–30g protein per meal goal helps you stay full and supports muscle.
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 ½ Cups almond flour (see my favorite on Amazon)
- ¼ Cup Powdered Sweetener (Clicke here to see my favorite on Amazon)
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 6 Tablespoons Butter, melted
For the filling
- 48 ounces full fat cream cheese,, room temperature
- 2 Cups Powdered Sweetener (Clicke here to see my favorite on Amazon)
- 5 Large Eggs, room temperature
- 8 Ounces Sour Cream, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 325F (160C). Adjust the rack to the middle of the oven. Combine the crust dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix in the butter. Pour the crust mixture into the springform pan and press halfway up the sides using your fingers. Use a flat bottomed cup to press the mixture into the bottom. Bake for 5-8 minutes. Remove and set aside while you make the creamy filling.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the room temperature cream cheese with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. If you use a stand mixer use the paddle attachment.
- Add in the sweetener a little at a time (about ⅓) and beat with the hand mixer.
- Add in the room temperature eggs one at a time and beat until well incorporated.
- Finally, add in the vanilla and room temperature sour cream and beat until just incorporated.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture into the crust and even out the top. Bake in the pre-heated oven. Check after 50 minutes. The top should no longer be glossy and the center should still be jiggly.
- Turn off the oven and crack the door. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven run a sharp paring knife between the cheesecake and the pan (this is to ensure the cake doesn't stick. Do not remove the springform). Let sit on the counter for 1 hour.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
- Remove the springform pan sides, decorate the top, and serve. Makes 12 slices.
Notes
- Make a smaller keto cheesecake - You would use the same ingredients for the crust, but you would cut all of the filling ingredients in half and use 3 eggs. During the baking process, check on your cheesecake at the 30 minute mark and keep an eye on it. It will be ready when the edges are set but the center is still jiggly.
- Nut free version: If you are intolerant to almonds, you can do a 1 for 1 swap with sunflower seed flour!
- Pan size: This keto cheesecake recipe requires a large springform pan. I have linked to one in the recipe carb above. If you use one that is too small, you will have leftover filling.
- Crustless low carb cheesecake: To make this without a crust, line the inside of the springform pan with parchment paper. You can also butter the sides and bottom really well. Then continue with the cheesecake as normal.
- Keto pumpkin cheesecake: Simply replace the sour cream with pumpkin puree and add in 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.
- Very important: The most important thing you should know when it comes to making a traditional cheesecake is that all of your ingredients should be at room temperature. Anything that is refrigerated should be left out for at least 2 hours, preferably 4. That means eggs, sour cream, and cream cheese. Submerging your eggs in warm water will help speed up the process of bringing the ingredients to room temperature, as will unwrapping and chopping your cream cheese into smaller pieces.
- Freezing: This is a large keto cheesecake but good news, it freezes very well! You can freeze individual slices or the whole cake...or half of the cake!
- This is a good reference for freezing a whole cheesecake
- To freeze individual slices, simply slice the pieces of cheesecake and place them on individual pieces of plastic wrap. Wrap them tight, place in a freezer bag or bowl, and store them in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Any longer than 2 weeks and they will lose quality.
Christine says
This is the best cheesecake (Keto or not)! Thank you Jennifer!
Catherine Matthews says
For this recipe, how many servings is the cheesecake cut into for the nutrition numbers on the recipe?
jenniferbanz says
This recipe makes 12 servings
Michele says
I wish I could give it 10 stars!! I made this for New Year’s Day to bring to a family dinner. I was nervous. It was fantastic! I let it sit out for a couple hours before slicing. So creamy. Some recipes make a dryer cheesecake but not this recipe. I’m in love!! Thank you so much Jennifer, for this outstanding recipe! ❤️
Dan says
Is it okay to use granulated erythritol instead of a powdered sweetener?
jenniferbanz says
Yes but it may be gritty. You could try making it more powdery in a food processor or high powered blender.
Dan says
Thank you, only one way to find out.
Looking forward to trying this out!
Melinda Watterson Evaul says
I made this for my Birthday celebration with my family. It was a huge hit. Not too sweet, not complicated, and very rich and creamy. I had to use a gluten free and nut free crust, for the family. That was the only change. It was my first cheesecake, but it won't be my last. I'll be keeping some in the freezer!
Amanda says
Hi! So, I’ve made this cheesecake three times now, and it really is the best. My husband and family rave over it! And while this is not at all a complaint, I’m wondering what I’m doing wrong! I have two 10” springform pans as well as a 6” and using the recipe above I can fill all three pans. My husband LOVES that there is leftover filling, but why is it not fitting in one pan as the recipe states? I feel like a dunce! ????
Amanda says
So sorry! Forgot to give it 5 stars in my first comment!
Brittany says
I usually don’t leave reviews but WOW! I never make desserts, cakes, etc because I’m not a big fan of sweets but also baking makes me nervous lol. Exact measurements and all the science that can go wrong. Anywho, my husband has REALLY been wanting lowcarb cheesecake. I read through about 100 recipes and picked yours. A lot of waiting but super simple! I followed your directions exactly as written and it came out PERFECTLY! I sent pictures to everyone I know ???? and tonight they are all coming over to taste it. It’s amazing! Thank you so so much!!!
Daniel Murphy says
can i halve all the ingredients to make a smaller cheesecake for just me and my wife on thanksgiving? and would i have to change the cook time?
Sheila says
Best cheesecake ever, could I put blueberries in it?
Mandy says
I made this for my husbands keto birthday treat as his one and only gift request. It turned out amazing! The whole family said it was the best cheesecake they ever had. I didn't have powdered monk fruit sweetener so I just put the sweetener in the blender and pulsed it till smooth. Added 1.5 cups and it was plenty sweet for us, but we don't like our items to be overly sweet. The crust was crisp.
Thanks!
TC McDonald says
My husband is a diabetic and I'm following a ketogenic diet. I've been successful with my weight loss goals by cutting my carb intake. I love dessert, so I have to find ways to satisfy my cravings, especially for cake. I have a collection of low carb recipes that are my tried and true favorites. I made this cheesecake today and it is definitely being added to my "allstars". It is absolutely delicious. I made it just as written, using powdered monk fruit sweetener. I can't thank you enough for this fabulous recipe. I will definitely make this again and I look forward to trying some of your other recipes!
Linda says
I absolutely love this recipe! I wanted to make small cheesecakes to take to a gathering. Is there a way I can adjust this recipe to accommodate that please?
Shona says
Excellent cheesecake. I did not refrigerate overnight, but leftovers the next day were even better. Lovely solid baked cheesecake. This is now my favourite cheesecake recipe. Thank you!
Dustin says
Love this recipe so much!
So the first time I did it the crust was a bit soggy. So next time I blind-baked the crust for 12-15 min just until the tips of the raised edges started to brown. But I overcooked it because my crust was hot.
3 time perfect. Blind-baked the crust then cooled it for an additional hour and it's so good I can't even believe it. Thank you so much!
Sandy says
I made this cheesecake today and it was out of this world delicious! Turned out perfect and so easy to make. This is now my favorite recipe for cheesecake. I wish I could share a photo. Thank you so much!
Mary says
Thank you for this recipe! What a delight to have something turn out so professional looking and yummy. Wow!
Sandy says
I just made this for the first time. So easy and I can’t wait to taste it!
Julana says
This is my favorite cheesecake recipe! It is so easy, you don’t need a water bath, and it tastes so delicious!!!
Angela Terracina says
Hi… I’m making this today using 3 cream cheeses that are regular fat and 3 that are half. I’m also using low fat sour cream.
How come you don’t bake it in a hot water bath? I’ve never made a cheesecake without out but I’ll trust the directions…thanks!
Elizabeth says
Hi Jennifer, your cheesecake was excellent I am a pastry chef and it really was the best. One problem I had was that the next day when I went to have another piece after it had been refrigerated over night was that it was very gritty.I believe this happens because of thealcohol sugar. When I originally tasted it it had sat out for a while.after being refrigerated.Have you experienced decorating us as well?
Alice says
I loved this recipe and when I took the cheesecake into work, several co-workers wanted the recipe. They could not believe it was keto friendly! Thank you for sharing!!
Gerilyn says
I cannot adequately express how much I love this cheesecake! It's in my digital recipe file as "<3 Cheesecake <3 !!!" - I use the first "<3" to sort the recipe to the top of my list (only 8 desserts share this distinction and none have the trailing "<3!!!"). I've adapted this recipe to make 24 mini crustless cheesecakes because it's better than other recipes I've found.
Kim says
This is absolutely delicious! We used to go buy a low carb cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. NEVER AGAIN! This is far superior! Sometimes for a change up I use a Keto butter cookie recipe for the crust. Either way, I will make no other cheesecake again. Thank you for this perfect recipe!
missy says
THIS RECIPE IS ON POINT! FOLLOWED IT TO A T AND IT WAS SUCH A GREAT SATISFACTION TO HAVE A KETO RECIPE NOT REMIND YOU THAT YOUR ON KETO LOL
THANKS SO MUCH!
Teresa says
Agree totally!
Alyson says
I make this cheesecake for my sisters birthday. My mom happens to be on a gluten-free diet so this is perfect.
I use the Monk fruit substitute. It works great!! My family just raves about this cheesecake. I also make a raspberry topping for it.
Thank you!!
Shana says
Made this cheesecake for my father’s birthday. He is on a keto diet for health reasons. I ground up sunflower seed kernels in place of the almond flour as we have nut allergies. I made a raspberry keto compote for the top. He was so very happy and the cheesecake was absolutely delicious! Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Sherry says
Can this be made into individual cheesecakes in a muffin tin? If so what would the cook time and temperature
be? Thank you for the information
jenniferbanz says
I have that recipe here: https://jenniferbanz.com/keto-mini-cheesecake-bites
Janet says
Can you make a smaller Cheese Cake?? There are only 3 of us .
jenniferbanz says
I would recommend my cheesecake bars! https://jenniferbanz.com/keto-cheesecake-bars
Takenya Hunter says
Could allulose be used instead of Swerve? Do you know the ratio?
Nancy says
Looks delicious ????????????
Sara Heilwagen says
I made it this weekend and it was fantastic! I was wondering about making mini versions in cupcake tins for easier transport for gatherings and freezing for pulling out one or two at a time. How long do you think minis would take to bake?
Yolanda James says
Great recipe! I made this cheesecake for Passover, so we haven’t eaten it yet, but I can tell it’s going to be good. We have an almond allergy, so I used half and half of pecan flour and macadamia flour; everything else was as the recipe was written. I’ve been on keto for years, and I’m always looking for good recipes.
Daniel says
Amazing cake how many slices is the nutritional influenza based on?
Susan C. says
This cheesecake is AMAZING!! My youngest has lost over 100 pounds on keto and I wanted to find a great recipe for their 26 birthday that supported keto. We were blown away how good this was. Even my non-cheesecake loving husband devoured this. We just made it again because it is so good. This is and will remain my go to cheesecake recipe!! ❤️ BTW - I followed the recipe exactly to include recommended products.
Margo says
I'm curious if anyone has substituted Greek yogurt for sour cream, and if so how it turned out.
Emily says
This is the third time I’ve made this cheesecake. The first time I didn’t have enough powdered sweetener so I substituted the balance with granular monk fruit sweetener and it was perfect! The second time I tried with the full two cups of powdered sweetener and it was waaaaaay too sweet and I couldn’t eat it. This time I used one cup powdered and approximately 1/2 cup granular. My advice is to go slow with the sweetener and make it to your taste. Also, it seems counter intuitive to take it out of the oven when it’s jiggly but it will settle after taking it out of the oven and set up. If you over cook it, like I did the first time, it will crack which is a sign of being over done.
Jennifer Lynn says
I LOVE LOVE LOVE recipe =) I was wondering if there way a way to incorporate other ingredients such as caramel, chocolate, nut? Basically anything! I'd like to add all 3 if possible. Like a turtle cheesecake? I'm open to anything you suggest! I will still make your keto version, but whatever additional ingredients you suggest, if I can't make it keto that's ok. Thank you for an amazing cheesecake recipe =)
jenniferbanz says
I think something like that would be great drizzled on top
fern says
i made this it was delicious and i froze it like you said. worked perfect..i enjoyed every piece myself over time. i am ready to make another. great recipe.
K says
I have never made a cheesecake before and this turned out perfect! I followed the instructions exactly. My husband and I thought it was delicious and will definitely keep the recipe and make again. IMO, I'm not sure anyone would even know that this cheesecake is keto.
Dana Morger says
Jennifer, my niece really did everything to make this cheese cake, it is the best cheesecake I've ever had in all of my 65 years, I have always loved cheesecake, but, this one is FABULOUS!! Thank you so much for the recipe!!
Susan says
My husband has been on a strict low carb diet for awhile now. He hadn't had any desserts in weeks. I made him this cheesecake for valentine's day and he was so happy. I made it exactly as written and it turned out beautiful and tasty. Thanks so much for posting this recipe!