This rich cheesecake is the ultimate no bake low carb dessert. There’s no need to turn on the oven to get the most out of summer strawberries. Grassfed gelatin is your friend!
Is it just me or is New England strawberry season taking its sweet time arriving this year? If you don’t live in New England, you probably don’t care but honestly! I have been waxing poetic about strawberries since mid-April or so and yet a week into June and local strawberries still haven’t arrived. It’s just been too darn cold and rainy, and even today, when it feels like summer is upon us, those sweet red berries are missing in action. Local strawberry season usually starts at the end of May but I’ve checked most of my favourite U-Pick farms and the strawberries just aren’t ready yet. With more cool wet weather predicted for this week, I am beginning to wonder if they will ever be ready. Imagine a year where we skipped berry season entirely. How sad would that be? I think life might no longer be worth living.
Regardless, I shall persevere and create delicious low carb recipes for those of you in strawberry-rich locales. Why should you have to suffer without ways to use up your fresh-picked berries just because my region is lagging behind? I am nothing if not considerate like that. To that end, I took it upon myself to get some non-local berries at Trader Joe’s the other day, so that I could work on a rich, no-bake cheesecake I had been envisioning for a while. It doesn’t hurt that this creation happened to satisfy my craving for chocolate, strawberries and cheesecake all in one fell swoop. I call it Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake. I also call it insanely delicious. I am pretty sure you will too.
And the fact that it is no bake is just the icing on the cake. Or the chocolate ganache on the cake, in this instance. I started out with the intention of baking the cheesecake but I’ve been playing more and more with healthy grassfed gelatin and working it into my family’s diet where I can. And in a nod to the warm weather that is supposedly approaching, I figured I would skip the oven altogether and set the strawberry cheesecake filling with gelatin. It worked beautifully and it allowed me to set a border of sliced berries around the outside of the cake to make it look all fancy. And a thick layer of sugar-free chocolate ganache to top it all off. I am not lying when I say that this dessert was phenomenal. It was everything I hoped it would be and more, and it really wasn’t difficult to make. Now just imagine how good it would be if I had picked all the berries myself?
This rich cheesecake is the ultimate no bake low carb dessert. There's no need to turn on the oven to get the most out of summer strawberries. Grassfed gelatin is your friend!
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/4 cup almond flour (Honeyville)
- 5 tbsp cocoa powder
- 5 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 3 & 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
- 7 or 8 smallish strawberries, thinly sliced
- 3 cups chopped strawberries
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp water, divided
- 2 tbsp grassfed gelatin
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp liquid stevia extract
- 5 tbsp butter
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a 9-inch springform pan, stir together almond flour, cocoa powder and sweetener.
- Add melted butter and mix until well combined. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan. Stand sliced berries upright around edge of crust to create a border. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring strawberries and 1/4 cup water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until strawberries can be mashed with a fork, about 5 minutes. Mash or blend berries into a puree.
- In a small bowl, stir together gelatin and 2 tablespoons water. Let sit 1 minutes. Add to strawberry puree and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Let mixture cool while continuing.
- In a large bowl, beat whipping cream with vanilla until it holds soft peaks. Set aside.
- In another large bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sweetener until combined and then beat in berry puree.
- Carefully fold in whipped cream until combined. Spread mixture carefully over crust.
- Refrigerate at least 3 hours until set.
- Once set, carefully run a sharp knife around the sides of the pan to loosen (try not to disturb the berry border. Remove sides.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together, stirring until smooth.
- Stir in powdered sweetener and vanilla extract.
- Let cool 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened but still pourable.
- Pour over top of cake, allowing it to drip down sides.
- Let set 20 minutes before serving.
- For a fun garnish, dip a few fresh strawberries into the ganache and let set, then place on top of cake.
Notes
Serves 16. Each serving has 8.46 g of carbs and 2.81 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 5.65 g.
Food energy: 267kcal Saturated fatty acids: 12.75g Total fat: 23.20g Calories from fat: 208 Cholesterol: 57mg Carbohydrate, by difference: 8.46g Total dietary fiber: 2.81g Protein: 5.81g
What a showstopper Carolyn – absolutely gorgeous!
This is so fantastic! I would love this every weekend this summer and on Valentine’s Day! So beautiful!
Such a gorgeous cheesecake! Love the strawberries around the edge!
Mmm…I love your recipes and this looks *amazing*. Unfortunately, our strawberry season in SC is just about over.
Should that be 2 8oz packages of cream cheese? I haven’t seen 16 oz packages of cream cheese.
Oh my gosh, you are right!!! I meant to write one or the other and wrote both…fixing it now…
This looks good enough to eat! I am curious though…..Is it made with 32 oz of cream cheese? or did you mean 2-8 oz packages of cream cheese. Just double checking. Thanks!
Never mind…. Someone else posted the same time I did. Thanks for fixing it!
Glad you guys caught that. Could have been a big oops!
This looks great! Since it’s easily available here, would using a gelatin like Knox work? Would it be the same measurement?
Knox would be fine but it wouldn’t be the same. I think two envelopes would suffice.
Would it just be softer with Knox? Or a different texture? I do keep meaning to try grassfed gelatin, but it’s so spendy. Between that and Swerve…oh well. Off this topic, do you have any experience with food grade vegetable glycerine?
It may be spendy, but that container lasts a good long time! I am really enjoying my foray into grassfed gelatin. I think the knox stuff has more jelling power for less amount. The consistency doesn’t seem different to me.
Funny you should ask about glycerin. I have used it a number of times in my ice cream and it really helps things stay soft and scoopable. My issue is that I can’t get a good read on how many effective carbs it has so I tend to leave it out of my recipes when I write them up because I can’t tell my readers how many carbs it has.
I found the nutrition facts here:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/heritage-products-vegetable-glycerin-4-fl-oz-liquid
1 tsp is 5g of carbs and it’s considered a sugar alcohol with limited affect on blood sugar.
http://www.netrition.com/now_glycerine_page.html
“Although glycerine is a carbohydrate, it has a different metabolic effect on the body. Unlike typical carbohydrates, glycerine reportedly has minimal impact on blood sugar levels. You should still count the calories (4.3 calories per gram) you are consuming from this product, since even a low carbohydrate diet needs some calorie control, but you do not need to worry about disrupting ketosis because there is no evidence that glycerine effects blood sugar, which is the way that normal carbohydrates disrupt ketosis.”
Did you use 2 envelopes of Knox and did it turn out okay? How much water did you use and did you let it sit 1 minute just like the instructions for the grass-fed gelatin say to do?
Definitely don’t use 2 packets Knox…it’s stronger than the grassfed and will firm your cake up too much. 1 to 1 1/2 packets is probably better. And yes, still sprinkle over the water and let sit.
Oh. My. I was going to make your chocolate peanut butter cake for my birthday, but I may have just changed my mind after seeing this gorgeous baby.
Yeah, 12 year old son saw this and said, “I might want that for my birthday.” Now, I’m pretty sure I gotta make it. I may have to practice it once for myself first though, heh, heh, heh.
Ha, kid-approved then!
Oh my, that looks so good!!!
Amazing! Eating some right now – haven’t put the ganache on yet, but it is so delicious and beautiful! A Winner… do have a question though:
Would you have a guess as to how much puree you have after the berries are done and have added the gelatin? Reason being, I have some berries in freezer that I prepped and pureed last season and they would work out perfectly – just need to only add the correct amount.
Thanks so much for the work you do in allowing us to recreate your recipes. They are gorgeous, healthy, and delicious. Triple Win!!
Good question, I didn’t measure it after I pureed it. I’d imagine it would be 1 1/2 to 2 cups worth?
Our strawberries are JUST starting to arrive here in New Jersey, and I’m definitely going to divert some from all my jam-making to this gorgeous cake! What is it about strawberries and chocolate that is so mesmerizing?
Instruction #4 says “Let mixture cool while continuing”…continuing to stir?
Continuing with the rest of the steps. 🙂
great recipe! i have to try it.
Would the green can (which is easy to mix in cold liquids) of gelatin work as well?
I don’t know, I’ve never tried it. I am not sure how much you would need.
Thanks, I’ll stick to the Now Brand Beef Gelatin I have, it’s similar to what you call for. And btw, LOVE< LOVE<LOVE your site! Has been a huge help to me over the last 16 months of my journey to better health through following Trim Healthy Mama. A Huge Thanks!
The green can doesn’t gel, its cold water soluble for if you want to drink it
I didn’t notice any sugar counts on the nutritional info…do you know how much sugar is in this recipe?
OOPS!!! Was re-reading the recipe and just saw “sugar free”
Sorry! 🙂
There are some natural sugars in it from the strawberries. According to my software, it comes to 3 g per serving. But no added sugars at all.
Eating some right now…mmm. This is so good. I’m delighted my son took a nice long nap today so I could make the first two layers. Added the ganache tonight and it was well worth the wait. Excited I found another great use of my Great Lakes gelatin!
To the poster who asked if the green can would work – it won’t. It doesn’t thicken like the red can. I keep both on hand and use green in drinks and red to make jello…and now cheesecake!
My thanks for the wonderful recipe that kept my FL kitchen a little cooler today!
Mouth watering indeed!! I love chocolate and strawberries 🙂
Oops! I made mine with 32 oz of cream cheese according to the original recipe. It still came out good, more like mousse cake rather than the cheesecake, well, will need to make it right with only 16 oz of cream cheese.
I am so sorry about that! I caught the mistake (or rather a reader did) within about 2 hours of posting the recipe but you must have jumped on it early! I wrote 2 16-oz packages when I really meant 2 8-oz packages or 16 oz total.
This looks absolutely beautiful. I love the chocolate oozing down the sides.
Just tried this and it was AMAZING. This could be a dessert that you serve to people who don’t eat gluten free or sugar free and I don’t think they would know the difference.
Thanks, I plan to make this again!
Could I substitute whole fat coconut milk for the whipping cream? I trying to cut back on dairy but can’t do without the cream cheese.
I think that should work but make sure you do proper coconut whipped cream with it by refrigerating the can overnight and then pouring off the watery stuff, then whip it for a few minutes.
Thanks for the great recipes! I made this for Father’s day using fresh raspberries from my mom’s garden. Half of my guests were LC and the rest weren’t and the cheesecake was loved by all. Very pretty presentation and tasted amazing.
I made this for Father’s Day and wanted to say thank you. It came out perfectly and my husband (who doesn’t typically like anything with cream cheese) declared it was “divine”. It was wonderful to stay on track over the weekend and still have a beautiful treat for everyone to share. Thank you. (Plus, it’s absolutely gorgeous and makes me feel like a rock star! Wahoo!)
Thanks so much, Jana!
I much prefer no-bake cheesecakes because it’s so dang hot in Texas I just won’t heat up my oven to bake for 4 months straight. Can’t wait to try this one, Carolyn. Looks so pretty, and delicious.
Thanks Peg! Hope you are well and staying cool in Texas!
Looks GORGEOUS! Silly question – if I were to halve the recipe, would I still use a 9″ springform and it would just be flatter? And would it be 8 servings, or still 16 since it would still fill a 9″ circle?
Thanks!!
I don’t know about halving it…you won’t have enough crust for a 9 inch pan, I don’t think. And yes you’d probably want bigger slices, since it would be so flat.
Oh – good point about the crust, duh! So you would definitely need a smaller springform. Thank you!!
Made this yesterday and took over to my folks’ house. Not only is it pretty to look at, but it was delicious too!!! It really did taste like a chocolate covered strawberry – yummy!!!! My parents said that I don’t even need to tell people it’s sugarless – it’s that good. Thanks!
So glad to hear it!
I just got strawberries and I am going to make this tomorrow. Just a couple of questions,
I have always made ganache with cream so I was wondering why you use the butter instead? Also I don’t have grass fed gelatin only knox (for now), would I use the same amount? Thanks 🙂
Unsweetened chocolate will usually seize if you add cream to it, so it’s not great for making conventional ganache. For the gelatin, just use two envelopes of Knox.
Thanks for that info. I know chocolate will seize with water but I didn’t know about the unsweetened. Making the cake this afternoon 🙂
Unsweetened chocolate is very temperamental. I had a couple of seized batches using cream so I switched up my method!
Mine is chilling/setting in the fridge right now! Hope it turns out–I was a little concerned at how watery the strawberry mixture was and how wet the final batter seemed to be. Hopefully the gelatin does its thing!
I took this to a 2nd round world cup match viewing party (Netherlands killed my country’s hope of advancing). It was an absolute hit. I didn’t tell anyone it was low carb; they really didn’t need to know 🙂
The only regret I have is that I left the 4 remaining slices behind for the hosts.
So glad to hear it! Well, not about the Netherlands, though…
Made this for our family BBQ today and it was a huge hit! One of the best low carb desserts I’ve made so far and I’ve really liked all of them! My husband had another slice tonight and also posted a picture on Facebook bragging about me, LOL.
Well, that’s wonderful to hear!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I made it yesterday and got everyone raving about it. It tasted heavenly!
So glad it met with approval! 🙂
For the unsweetend chocolate, what brand it best? I have used Baker’s but it seemed a little bitter. Also unsweetened cocoa (Hersheys?).
Thanks
I usually use Ghirardelli for unsweetened…it melts better and doesn’t seize as easily as bakers. For cocoa, I usually use Hershey’s Special Dark.
We just ate this and it was DELICIOUS! I’ve never made such a pretty dessert. Thanks for this recipe! My husband said it’s a keeper 😀
So glad to hear it!
I was quite stressed when I made this cheesecake since I’ve never made cheesecake before. But it was a good feeling to walk out triumphantly with the final beautiful product. The only thing was it was still soft when I cut it. In bowls it wasn’t as firm as your pic, but rather like a thick mouse. I used gelatine instead of gelatin, and making it with cold water made a thick paste instead of dissolving like a liquid. Do you think the gelatine that didn’t mix right made the cake not set right?
Yes, it sounds like the gelatine wasn’t quite the right thing for it. Was it like Knox envelopes?
I just made your No Bake Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake this weekend. I added a thin layer of strawberry gelee before the ganache.
Hands down the best low-carb, sugar-free dessert I’ve ever had!
Considering I’ve been addicted to your Peanut Butter Dirt Cake for about a year, I have a feeling I now have a new addiction!
Thanks for your recipes. They never fail and they always satisfy!
https://www.facebook.com/THMRecipeReviews/photos/a.375301215945745.1073741828.375283292614204/503399843135881/?type=1&theater
Awesome! Love the gelee too. I will share your photo with my readers on Facebook!
Can you use the Great Lakes Gelatin in the Green Can? Or just the Red Can?
The red can is what I used so I am not sure that the collagen one would work as well.
This was amazing and a great way to introduce my mom to low carb treats. I think she is convinced :). BTW I used knox gelatin, HALF the amount called for in the recipe and it set up perfectly. I assumed that stuff would be industrial strength. Also the ratios on the back of the box indicate how much liquid one packet can set up. Happily, here in California we get wonderful strawberries at the farmer’s market year-round!!
I can’t find swerve sweetener! Any alternative suggestions?
Can you find Truvia.
yes!!! Bought that today! Same measurements?
Yes, that should work. If you can grind it up a bit, it will keep the filling from getting gritty. People have good luck with a coffee grinder.
Thank you so much!!
I’m hosting a bachelorette party and would like to make this ahead of time for the party. Do you think it will freeze well? Or how long will it keep in the fridge?
Freezing it will change the consistency and may make the chocolate bloom (go grey). I’d recommend the fridge, it will be fine for 3 or 4 days.
After making this several times for my family I decided to bring it to a pot luck. This time I made it as cupcakes and it was a big hit for low carbers and regular eaters as well. The recipe fit perfectly into 24 cupcake wrappers, but I ran low on the crust so I had to make a little bit more. Thanks again for a great recipe.
Carolyn, I love your webiste, great recipes and great sense of humor! as for this recipe, would it also work with cherries instead of strawberries? Their texture is a bit firmer than that of strawberries – would more water be needed when heating them? What do you think? Thanks, Julia
Yes I would think more water but you could also puree them first to make them release their juice. It will raise the carb count a fair bit to use cherries.
Oh Carolyn, I made this and it is so yummy! I subbed Stevia in the Raw for half of the Swerve to cut down on the cooling effect of the Swerve. I also subbed raw sunflower flour for the almond flour in the crust since I have a tree nut allergy. It was the first time I’ve ever tried that and it worked wonderfully! Thank you for such a great recipe!
So glad you liked it!
I love your recipes and am so thankful for them. I made this one and just ate it. My husband and I can hardly describe how good it was. I didn’t have quite enough strawberries, so I added raspberries. I only used half the Swerve in the chocolate ganache and it was still pretty sweet. Everyone should definitely try this one.
So glad you liked it!
is there anything i can use besides almond flour cause i want to make for me and friend and she allergic to almonds
Sure, try Hazelnut Flour.
Just made this dessert for company. Delicious, as are all your recipes I have tried. Just wondering if leftovers can be frozen?
I think it would probably freeze okay.
Thank you for the amazing recipe.
Just one question, did you try using xanthan gum instead of gelatine? I saw we can substitute in baking using half of the amount asked for gelatine.
I’ll definitely try it anyway and I’ll tell you later. Wish me good luck! 😉
No, I just used gelatin but you can certainly try that.
Yeap, it didn’t quite work the same way as gelatin… Xanthan gum made the filling binding, but not hard enough to call it cheesecake 😉 Luckily, it was delicious, nevertheless! Definitely going to try again with gelatin. Thank you!
Glad it still tasted good!
Thanks for the recipe! I ran across this while looking for a sugar free chocolate covered strawberry recipe. One question though….while it does taste very decadent, is there anyway to make the ganache creamier? More like a milk chocolate taste? I used bakers unsweetened chocolate if that makes any difference.
Use the ganache from this recipe for a creamier and less dark topping: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2015/09/low-carb-death-by-chocolate-cheesecake.html
This is amazing! Made this recipe the other day with just the granular (not powdered) Swerve and it was amazing! Like a strawberry mousse with a brownie crust. My fiance and mom loved it and I made sure to write it down. Thank you for a great, low-carb/sugar-free recipe!
So glad you liked it!
Can I bake this cheesecake or would it need to be a different recipe?
Totally different recipe, a baked cheesecake needs eggs.
I made this and brought it into work. Everyone loved it but thought it was a bit too firm (I used 2 TBS of grass-fed gelatin). If I used half the amount, do you think it would still turn out okay? Or maybe half a packet of Knox?
Thanks! I wiped the cheesecake out in a matter of days – it made a great breakfast!
Not sure, I’ve never gotten that complaint before. So I guess cut back to 1 tbsp?
Hi! Your recipe is awesome! I just have a question: can I use coconut flour instead of Almond flour? Here in Mexico it’s rather difficult to find it… Thanks!
No, unfortunately that would not make a good crust for this cake. Can you get any sort of nut and grind it?
BY FAR the best strawberry cheesecake recipe I’ve ever tried! I wouldn’t even hesitate to call this the best low-carb cheesecake recipe out there, strawberry or traditional! I’ve already made this at least 5 times. It’s definitely worth the 3 hour setting period:) The crust is phenomenal, and the filling is unbelievable. It’s really hard to get a strawberry cheesecake to taste like actual strawberries in my experience, but that was no problem with this one. Thank you so much for this recipe:)
Wow, what a review. Thanks!
Okay, I think we are going to have two desserts for Easter. Can’t wait to try this cheesecake!!! It looks beautiful. Thank you. Carolyn you are awesome!!!
I have read through all the comments and don’t think I’ve seen the question I have, so I hope this isn’t a repeat. Can I use 1/3 less fat cream cheese or do you suggest sticking with regular full fat?
I don’t see that being an issue at all.
Can you use Stevia instead of Swerve?
Sure.
Try as I may, this can not be messed up — still good cheesecake. I had all the ingredients except Swerve and orange can gelatin(no problem), I used stevia, truvia, and vegetable glycerin for sweetener and knox for gelatin. I even had fresh cream in the freezer from my goats, which I have decided would never convert to butter (been there and can’t do that). This seems like the perfect use for that cream. Guess what turned into vanilla flavored butter? Now what? Decided to heck with it and added remaining ingredients. Served it for supper — all liked it and are looking forward to next serving. Thanks! Oh and after serving, I realized I forgot the chocolate topping. See? can’ mess it up — I tried!
Wow! Now that is an epic tale! 🙂
Shouldn’t the crust be baked before filling?
That would kind of defeat the purpose of being “no bake”.
Trust me, Frank – it’s delicious!! I’ve made it several times!
I don’t love baked cheesecake, but this was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten! Husband and kids were wowed. Thanks for making me look like a culinary genius! (Although I’ve made enough of your recipes now that they are starting to guess it’s from your blog and not another blog or cookbook if they really, really love it!)
That’s so sweet!
A big hello from the Netherlands! I love your site and have made several recipes so far with great success.
I would like to make this delicious looking cheese cake as well, but…. I really hate gelatin…. I never seem to get it smooth and it always stays clumpy…. Do you think it would work without the gelatin and just put some extra cream cheese in?
Yes, you could do this without gelatin (sounds to me like you have the non-grassfed kind, that’s where the lumpiness comes in!). Try either adding a touch more cream cheese or reducing the added cream to get the right consistency.
Hi any substitutions for the heavy cream? I have half and half but no cream. I don’t do well with it. I recall one of the sisters mentioning her husband had a similar issue
I think the half and half should be just fine.
Hi. This recipe looks absolutely delicious. What can be a substitute for almond flour? It’s hard to find that here.
Any kind of ground nut will do here.
This was delicious! My husband and I just finished our last piece and I will be making it again soon. Thank you for your hard work, making such creative recipes for us.
What can you substitute for the liquid swerve in the crust part? I have liquid stevia but don’t know how much to use…
I am confused. There is no such thing as liquid Swerve but I did include some liquid stevia in the recipe.