Sugar Free Cheesecake Recipe (Low Carb, No Bake)

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This easy no bake sugar free cheesecake has a silky-smooth, creamy filling and a buttery almond flour crust. It's a low carb cheesecake recipe the whole family is going to love - in fact, you'd never guess it's sugar free, gluten free and keto. My kids both asked for seconds!

a sugar free cheesecake topped with berries on a platter with a knie and a slice of cake cut out

My friends, this cheesecake is so easy and so delicious at the same time that it deserves a place in the Hall of Fame for sugar-free desserts. The texture is just so creamy and it has a wonderful fresh flavor.

I have quite a few sugar free cheesecake recipes on my website already. Amongst my favourites for summer are this sugar free strawberry cheesecake and this low carb lemon cheesecake. In winter I'll crave this epic keto chocolate cheesecake, my Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake and of course keto cheesecake brownies.

I felt I needed to include a classic low carb cheesecake in my repertoire. One that tastes wonderful all on its own, but can be customised with different toppings, from fruit and berries to caramel or sugar-free chocolate (see a list of ideas at the end of the post!).

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Baked VS No Bake Cheesecake
Instructions
Sugar Free Cheesecake Crust Options
Keto Cheesecake Filling
Toppings
FAQs
Storage
More Sugar Free Cheesecake Recipes
Recipe

Baked VS No Bake Cheesecake

I love a classic New York-style baked cheesecake. But admittedly they require a little more attention and care. Baked cheesecakes contain eggs to help them set. And if you don't get it right, the top can crack easily.

First of all, you have to line the outside of your pan with foil. Then you must put your pan into a larger pan half-filled with water - a water bath. Also, you must take care that you don't over-cook it. The center should be ALMOST set, but must be still jiggly.

And lastly, you should never cool it too fast. Why? Because the sudden temperature change can cause a crack in the filling at the very end. It's a minefield for a novice baker!

This no bake sugar free cheesecake, on the other hand, is a BREEZE. Instead of eggs we are using whipped cream to help it firm up. No risk of cracks or sunken middles. No bake means it's totally FAILSAFE. Easy-peasy. No waiting until the oven is hot. It's mix, cool, enjoy!

Instructions

This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

measured ingredients for sugar free cheesecake in separate bowls

STEP 1

Get your ingredients ready! You'll need almond flour or ground almonds, coconut flour, melted unsalted butter, powdered erythritol and a pinch of salt for the base.

For the filling, measure out room temperature cream cheese or mascarpone, lemon juice, vanilla extract and heavy cream / double cream.

STEP 2

Place all the dry base ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the melted butter and mix to form a flakey crumb.

almond flour cake base in a springform tin

STEP 3

Grease a 7-inch non-stick loose-bottom baking tin or a springform pan with a little melted butter.

Then, press the base mix into the bottom with your fingers. Smooth with the back of the spoon to make the edges nice and neat.

whipped cream cheese with lemon juice and powdered erythritol in a bowl

STEP 4

In a clean mixing bowl, add the full-fat cream cheese, powdered erythritol, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Mix with an electric mixer to combine, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust the sweetness to your palate with optional liquid stevia.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream until thick (but don’t over whisk so it goes super stiff).

folding whipped cream into the cream cheese mix with a spatula

STEP 5

Fold the cream through the cream cheese with a spatula to combine.

cheesecake in a springform tin before chilling

STEP 6

Spoon the filling on top of the base and smooth the top off with a silicone spatula.

Cover with plastic wrap and place the sugar free cheesecake in the fridge to fully set, about 6 - 8 hours, or overnight. Alternatively, place in the freezer until set.

Expert Tip

I left my cake in the fridge overnight because I was taking the pictures the next morning. I then popped it in the freezer for 30 minutes before adding the topping. This made it very firm, but not frozen. This simple trick makes the cake very easy to slice!

Low Carb Cheesecake Topping

For the topping, add the heavy cream to a mixing bowl and whisk using an electric whisk until thick, but still fluid, not super stiff.

Run a sharp knife along the inside of the cake tin to release the cake before you open the springform or remove the tin.

Top with whipped cream, smoothing with a spatula for pillowy ripples and top with sliced strawberries and raspberries. Option to dust with a little powdered sweetener for prettiness.

Serve and enjoy!!

a slice of sugar free cheesecake topped with strawberries on a plate

Sugar Free Cheesecake Crust Options

My low carb, gluten-free crust is so yummy that you won't miss the graham crackers you'd use in a traditional cheesecake at all. However, I always get questions on how to substitute ingredients, so I have summed up all crust variations I can think of:

Almond flour crust. If you don't want to use coconut flour, omit it and use 1 ½ cup or 150 grams of almond flour in total.

Coconut flour crust. I know some of my readers are allergic to almond flour. In this case, use ½ cup / 60g of coconut flour to make the crust. You need less coconut flour because it absorbs more liquid than almond flour.

Use other nuts. You can replace the almond flour with other nut flours! Ground pecans or walnuts would work well. If you want to steer away from nuts altogether, you could also consider using sunflower seed meal. Replace these options 1:1 with the almond flour.

Dairy-free crust. To make the crust dairy free, replace the butter with the same amount of coconut oil or ghee.

No crust. Yes, even this is an option! You actually don't need the crust at all. If you omit it, be sure to line the bottom of the cake tin with parchment paper so you can remove the base easily.

a slice of cake half removed from a sugar free cheesecake topped with strawberries and raspberries

Keto Cheesecake Filling

It's possible to use either cream cheese or mascarpone for the filling. Mascarpone will make the end result a little richer. You could also replace half of the cream cheese with sour cream.

The heavy cream is non-negotiable, as it helps keep the filling firm.

I recommend using room-temperature cream cheese as it will blend easier and there's no issue with lumps forming.

The great thing about this recipe is that you don't need to add gelatin for the cake to set. This only becomes necessary once you add additional ingredients that contain liquid, such as lemon juice or fruit.

This cheesecake is simple and simply delicious. Incidentally, the filling all on its own would also make a fabulous keto cheesecake fluff. Simply mix, fill into individual jars, cool and enjoy!

Toppings

Purists will enjoy this cheesecake without toppings. I have added whipped cream and a mix of fresh berries plus lemon zest. Here are more topping ideas:

- Blueberries or blackberries
- sugar free lemon curd
- melted sugar free chocolate
- raspberry coulis (mix mashed raspberries with a little powdered sweetener)
- keto caramel sauce
- sugar free blueberry jam

FAQs

Which Sweetener Is Best?

In most sugar free desserts it's fine to use granulated erythritol, such as in cakes or cookies. For any recipe that has a silky-smooth finish though we MUST use powdered erythritol.
The reason is that erythritol does not melt into liquids as regular sugar does. And who likes a grainy cheesecake filling, right?
You can use pure erythritol or an erythritol/stevia or erythritol / monkfruit mix or Swerve.
If you don't have powdered erythritol to hand, you can powder it yourself in a coffee grinder or in a high-speed blender.
You could also use xylitol or Splenda in this sugar free cheesecake recipe, which I know is still popular in the diabetic community. With Splenda, you MUST measure in cups and not in weight. It's lighter than erythritol and if you'd measure it in grams you would use WAY too much.
You can also use allulose or Bocha Sweet for the filling.

How Many Carbs In Sugar Free Cheesecake?

A slice of this sugar free cheesecake without topping has only 2.8 grams of net carbs. If you include the optional berries and additional whipped cream on top, this increases to 3.8 grams of net carbs.
So in case you are wondering "Is sugar-free cheesecake keto?" - the answer is a resounding YES. It's perfect for anyone on a keto diet.
You see, it's easy to make a keto cheesecake recipe. You only have to change two ingredients - the flour and the sugar - and replace them with nut flour and a sweetener such as erythritol.
The rest of the ingredients are already naturally low in carbs and sugar. Cream cheese and heavy cream, which you need for the filling, are regulars in keto desserts!

Storage

The most important thing is to keep cheesecake cool! Store it covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months.

Ideally, freeze without toppings. I like to freeze individual slices, which I wrap in clingfilm and then in aluminium foil once they are frozen. That way, they don't lose their shape.

Let the cake thaw in the fridge overnight or defrost on the kitchen counter for 4 hours. Individual slices thaw in 1-2 hours.