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!
Table of contents
My friends, this no bake cheesecake is so easy and so delicious at the same time that I think it deserves a place in the hall of fame for sugar free desserts!
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 my keto cheesecake brownies.
I felt I needed to include a classic no bake 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 like I chose to caramel or sugar free chocolate (see a list of ideas at the end of the post!).
That's how this low carb cheesecake recipe was born 😉
How many carbs in sugar free cheesecake?
A slice of this no bake 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 net carbs. So in case you are wondering "is sugar free cheesecake keto?" - the answer is a resounding YES.
You see, it's actually really easy to make a low carb gluten free 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 double cream (that's heavy cream in the US), which you need for the filling, are regulars in keto desserts!
Baked vs no bake low carb cheesecake
I love classic baked New York style cheesecakes. But admittedly they require a little more attention and care, because 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. Basically, it's a minefield for a novice baker!
This no bake sugar free cheesecake, on the other hand, is a BREEZE. 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!
How to make a no bake sugar free cheesecake - step by step
1.) Get your ingredients ready! You'll need almond flour or ground almonds, coconut flour, melted butter, powdered erythritol and a pinch of salt for the base. For the filling, measure out cream cheese or mascarpone, lemon juice, vanilla extract and heavy cream / double cream.
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.
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 and smooth with the back of the spoon to get the edges nice and neat.
4.) In a clean mixing bowl, add the 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).
5.) Fold the cream through the cream cheese with a spatula to combine.
6.) Spoon the filling on top of the base and smooth the top off with a silicone spatula.
Place the sugar free cheesecake in the fridge to fully set, about 6 - 8 hours, or overnight. Alternatively, place in the freezer until set.
Tip: I left mine 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 and slicing. This made it very firm, but not frozen.
Low carb cheesecake topping
For the topping, add ¾ cup 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 erythritol for prettiness.
Serve and enjoy!!
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:
Sugar free cheesecake with 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.
Crustless easy keto cheesecake
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.
My sugar free cheesecake base top tip
To get the base nice and firm and neat, press the crust mix into the bottom of your cake tin with your fingers. Then get the back of a spoon and smooth, paying particular attention to the edges and pressing all around the rim.
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. The double cream / heavy cream is non-negotiable, as it helps keeping the filling firm.
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!
Sugar free sweetener
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 like 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.
I don't recommend using allulose for the filling.
Sugar Free No Bake Cheesecake Toppings
Purists will enjoy this cheesecake without toppings. I have added whipped cream and a mix of strawberries and raspberries plus some lemon zest. Here are some more topping ideas:
- Blueberries or blackberries
- melted sugar free chocolate
- raspberry coulis (mix mashed raspberries with a little powdered sweetener)
How to store sugar free cheesecake
The most important thing is to keep it cool! Store it covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months.
Ideally, freeze without toppings.
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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No Bake Sugar Free Cheesecake
Note: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
BASE
- ¾ cup / 75g almond flour or ground almonds
- ¼ cup / 30g coconut flour
- 1 tbsp powdered sweetener (So Nourished)
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ / 57g cup butter melted
FILLING
- 1.5 cups / 360g cream cheese or mascarpone
- ⅔ cup / 120g powdered erythritol
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup / 240ml heavy cream / double cream
- 5 - 10 drops liquid stevia optional - if you have a sweet tooth!
TOPPING (optional)
- ¾ cup / 180g heavy cream / double cream
- ½ cup / 75g strawberries halved or quartered
- ⅓ cup / 40g raspberries
Instructions
BASE
- 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.
- Grease a 7 inch non-stick loose bottom baking tin with a little melted butter.
- Press the base mix into the bottom and smooth with the back of the spoon to get the edges nice and neat.
FILLING
- In a clean mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, powdered erythritol, lemon juice and vanilla. 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).
- Fold the cream through the cream cheese with a spatula to combine.
- Spoon the filling on top of the base and smooth the top off with a silicone spatula.
- Place in the fridge to fully set, about 6 - 8 hours, or overnight. Alternatively, place in the freezer until set. I actually left mine in the fridge overnight, then popped it in the freezer for 30 minutes. This way it was nice and firm for slicing, but not frozen.
TOPPING
- Add ¾ cup heavy cream to a mixing bowl and whisk using an electric whisk until thick, but still soft, not super stiff.
- Remove the cheesecake from the tin and 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 erythritol.
Notes
Nutrition
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Attila says
This is a wonderful cake. I've now made it twice in less than two months. Thank you for the recipe!
I have a question though, maybe you can give some suggestions. When I first made the cake, the whole process was very smooth and I had no difficulties with it at all. Surprisingly smooth really, as that was the firs cake I ever made in my life.
Now this second time I had some problems with it. The base of the cake stuck to the bottom of the tin and it was really difficult to remove it. I could move it only after some struggle and large chunks broke off from the bottom of the cake. I'm fairly sure I followed the recipe the same as I did the first time, including greasing the bottom with melted butter, so I have no idea what could have possibly caused this.
Anyway, this had no impact on the taste at all which is as great as ever and most of the cake is gone by now 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger says
I’m really happy you like the cheesecake recipe! As for the base, an easy way to prevent sticking altogether is to simply line it with parchment paper 🙂
Attila says
I'll try the parchment paper next time, thanks! 🙂
Lori Manlove says
It was delicious! Do you agree that this would also be considered gluten-free?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes, all the recipes on my website are gluten free because I only use nut and seed flours.
Lily says
Wow, I should have listened to myself when it came to the vanilla. I just got vanilla slapped. It was so over powering and I love me some vanilla. It was like drinking it straight from the bottle. I’m not sure if the cheap imitation stuff is being used or the actual real stuff. But I use the real thing so maybe that’s why it is so strong, but will listen to myself next time.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Lily, I use a regular vanilla extract. Maybe yours is stronger than that? Or maybe it's just down to taste. I have had other readers tell me that they actually doubled the amount I gave and thought that was perfect.
Lindsey Park says
Absolutely deeelish!
Julie Moths says
I have never made anything keto and I’m not familiar with the different types of sugar. I am going to make this cheesecake and noticed that it calls for two types of sweeteners. What is the difference between powdered sweetener and powdered erythritol? Are they the same thing?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes. You can use powdered erythritol, powdered xylitol or an erythritol/stevia or erythritol/monk fruit blend. With the blends, make sure they are a 1:1 sugar replacement.
Brittanie Boulton says
Is there anything else I can use besides the lemon juice?
Katrin Nürnberger says
You could double the vanilla extract if lemon is not your thing.
Brittanie Boulton says
Thanks!
Brittanie Boulton says
I doubled the vanilla. this is DELICIOUS!!! Saving this recipe and making this all the time!!!
Shereen says
Just made this and it tastes great. Could you tell me if the nutritional information is for 100 g . It fursnt specify. It doesn’t seem possible that it is for the whole cheesecake as at 29.5 g fat this seems remarkably low! Thank you
Katrin Nürnberger says
The nutrition is per slice.
Fleur says
How many slices do you cut it into total? I'm making this for a diabetic, so I'm looking at 'Total Carbs' per slice, not net.
Thank you, I can't wait to make this.
Katrin Nürnberger says
I cut this into 12 slices.
Lynn says
Can I omit the erythritol and not any type of fake sugar?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Erythritol is a 1:1 sugar alternative. You can replace it with any 1:1 sweetener or even sugar. Just be aware that the carb count will change!
Becky says
Not trying to be mean or nitpicky, but do you realize ghee is clarified butter which, is to say, butter that has been melted and had the solids skimmed out. So I'm not sure it's legit for someone who is dairy free.
Katrin Nürnberger says
If you're dairy free, you can use coconut oil 🙂
Catherine Pitts says
Why did you recommend not using Allulose? I've found that it doesn't have an aftertaste or the cooling effect of erythrotol and it doesn't really-crystalize like some other sweeteners do. Seems like a perfect fit for cheesecake. I run it through the coffee grinder for a confectioners style.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Catherine, it's a precaution. When I have baked with allulose, it results in softer cakes or muffins (which is great). It helps keep ice cream and caramel softer. As it's essential this cake holds together, I did not want to risk it being any softer than it should be. It may be an idea to try this out on a quick dish like my keto cheesecake fluff.
Janet says
This looks great! But can I ask a question regarding the vanilla extract? The recipe says one tablespoon of vanilla extract. Is that a typo? Should it be one teaspoon?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Janet, I did use 1 tablespoon vanilla extract for the cheesecake. It's a lot of cream and cream cheese to flavour, and 1 teaspoon would just not be enough in my opinion 🙂
Nicole says
Super good
jo says
Adore how easy this sugar free cheesecake is. We loved it! Another winner.
Julie says
Hello Katrin,
I've tried this recipe and used it as a base for a traditional New York Cheesecake an the result was perfect !
The hardest part was waiting overnight for it to be perfectly firm before trying..!
Keep on the hard work - your recipes are great !
Katrin Nürnberger says
You're right, patience can be tough, especially when it comes to sugar free sweets!!
Klaudia says
Could you use ricotta as well ?
Katrin Nürnberger says
I have not tried it yet. If ricotta has the same fat content, it could work.
Klaudia says
I added half of the pot and It was super tastY. Thank you for another great recipe
C. says
Hi! Do you reckon it would be possible to add like rum soaked raisins into the cream cheese mixture ? Also, possible to use powdered sweetener instead of liquid Stevia? Thanks !
Katrin Nürnberger says
I think raisins would be lovely in it. And of course you can use more powdered sweetener instead of the stevia!
Sam says
this is a delicious recipe! Made it yesterday when my mum came round, she is a type 2 diabetic. Everyone loved it
Katrin Nürnberger says
So glad you all liked it!!
Vanesa says
Hi Katrun, I am so looking forward to trying this cheesecake but I have one question: can I check if you cook the base at all given it has coconut flour?
Thank you!
Vanesa
Katrin Nürnberger says
hi Vanessa, the base is not baked. You can eat coconut flour without baking, it's nothing but coconut 🙂
Lori MacNabb says
The base is not baked?
Katrin Nürnberger says
No, you don't need to bake the base 🙂
Ann Booth says
I make my cheesecakes in 2 x 6 silicone muffin moulds, good portion control , then I open freeze them and once frozen put them all in a bag , pop one out as and when I want one, easy and no bigger slice cheating
Katrin Nürnberger says
That's a great idea!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Rebecca says
Hi,
I really want to make these in muffin cases for the same reason. Could I ask, did you use regular sized moulds or did you opt for extra large ones (3.5inch diameter)? I was about to make this using regular paper cupcake cases but was a tad worried as it was no-bake, so your idea is perfect! I'm going to order some on Amazon then make them.
Thanks! 🙂