This luscious keto cheesecake recipe is the sort of dessert that defies expectations. It certainly doesn’t look low carb or keto-friendly, and it doesn’t taste like it either. In fact, I challenge you to find a better coconut cheesecake anywhere!
Coconut is one of those ingredients that you either love or detest. I am a full-throated coconut lover and have the recipes to prove it. From chewy Keto Coconut Macaroons to my ever-popular Keto Coconut Cream Pie, I find no end of inspiration with that rich tropical flavor.
I first created this gorgeous coconut cheesecake back in 2014 and it stands the test of time. It’s such a wonderful recipe that I wanted to make it again and give it a few minor updates. If you love coconut desserts, this will be a dream come true.
Why you will love this recipe
- Creamy filling: I employed all of my best tricks to get a perfectly creamy, smooth cheesecake filling. Make sure you read the Tips for Success section!
- Crunchy, flavorful crust: The crust is made with macadamia nuts and shredded coconut, and it complements the creamy texture of the cheesecake.
- Tropical flavor: The coconut flavor is not overpowering, and it transports you to the tropics from the first bite.
- Sugar- and gluten-free: As with the vast majority of my recipes, this recipe contains no gluten and no added sugar.
- Low carb:
Reader’s Thoughts
“Seriously the best cake I have ever made and can’t believe it is keto. A massive hit wherever and whenever I serve it. Such a great recipe from such a talented keto baker – thanks Carolyn!!” — Cindy
Ingredients you need
- Raw macadamia nuts: You want raw macadamia nuts so they don’t get overcooked when you bake the cake
- Coconut: I use finely shredded unsweetened coconut for the crust and large flaked coconut for the topping.
- Cream Cheese: I recommend using full fat cream cheese for the best consistency. Lower fat versions often have fillers that mess with the texture and add carbs.
- Sweetener: The crust works best with an erythritol based sweetener, as any amount of allulose or xylitol will keep it from crisping up. The filling and topping are more accommodating. Please see the Tips for Success for more information.
- Coconut cream: You want the the thick, white coconut cream that comes from the top of a can of coconut milk.
- Coconut extract: This helps amp up that coconut flavor!
- Whipping cream: I top this cheesecake with homemade whipped cream and some toasted coconut.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, butter, vanilla extract, and salt.
Step by Step Directions
- Make the crust: In a food processor, process the macadamia nuts on high until they resemble coarse crumbs. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the coconut, sweetener, and salt. Add the melted butter and stir to combine.
- Bake the crust: Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and set on a large baking sheet. Press the crust mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake at 325ºF for 12 to 14 minutes, or until just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove and let cool.
- Beat the cream cheese: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium for 1 to 2 minutes, until super creamy. Beat in the sweetener, coconut milk, and extracts until well combined.
- Add the eggs: Beat in the eggs one at a time until just incorporated. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters after each addition.
- Bake the cheesecake: Place the whole set up (spring-form pan on the cookie sheet) on the center rack of the oven. On the rack below, place a large baking dish filled with water. Bake at 300ºF for 70 to 90 minutes, or until edges are set but the center still jiggles just a little when shaken. Remove and let come to room temperature.
- Chill the cheesecake: Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan and remove sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 or 4 hours.
- Prepare the topping: Beat the whipping cream, sweetener and extract until stiff peaks form. Spread over chilled cheesecake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.
Tips for Success
There’s no question that a baked cheesecake is a labor of love, but the results are well worth it. And if you follow my instructions and use all my tips, you will master this easily!
One of the most important tips is to have all of your cheesecake filling ingredients at room temperature. Cold eggs or cold coconut cream will cause the cream cheese to clump up. I always like to warm the cream cheese a little too, so it beats more smoothly.
It also helps to beat the cream cheese by itself for a minute or two before adding any other ingredients. This ensures a silky smooth cheesecake batter.
Adding the eggs last, one at a time, helps prevent you from over-beating them. It also has the added advantage of allowing you to taste the filling before you add them, so you can adjust both the sweetener and flavor to your tastes.
Placing a baking sheet under the cheesecake pan prevents any oil from leaking out between the seams. And placing a pan of water in the oven while it bakes creates more humidity and helps prevent the top from cracking.
Sweetener Options
The sweeteners you use in this recipe make a difference to the results. For a crisp crust, only erythritol based sweeteners will work.
You can use allulose in the filling, but it may cause the cake to darken faster, especially on the top. Keep your eye on it while it bakes – you can always put some foil overtop if it seems to be browning too quickly. I like to use a mix of erythritol and allulose for both the filling and topping.
You can also use more concentrated sweeteners like pure stevia or monk fruit extract in the filling and topping. I can’t guide you as to the amounts, however, as they can vary in sweetness a great deal. You will need to do this by taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! This cake freezes like a dream. You can freeze the entire cake or cut it into individual slices and freeze those. As always, wrap it up tightly to avoid freezer burn. It will be good for at least 2 months.
Keto cheesecakes hold up well for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. For best results, make the cheesecake a day or two before serving. You can finish it with the whipped cream and coconut topping prior to serving.
This keto coconut cheesecake recipe has 4.7g of carbs and 1.3g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.4g net carbs per slice.
USA Pan Springform Pan
I absolutely love my springform pan from USA Pan. Instead of the regular buckle that most pans have, it has two clips that slide easily in and out to create a tight seal. It’s the best springform pan I’ve ever owned!
Keto Coconut Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3/4 cup (100.5 g) raw macadamia nuts
- 3/4 cup (60 g) finely shredded coconut, unsweetened
- 3 tbsp granular sweetener
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 2 tbsp melted butter, (or oil)
Filling:
- 1 1/2 lbs (680.39 g) cream cheese, very well softened
- 2/3 cup (126.67 g) granular sweetener, depending on how sweet you like it
- 1/2 cup (120 g) coconut cream, canned, room temperature
- 1 tsp (0.5 tsp) coconut extract
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 3 large (3) eggs, room temperature
Topping:
- 3/4 cup (177.44 ml) whipping cream
- 2 tbsp powdered sweetener
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla or coconut extract
- 1/2 cup (42.5 g) large flaked coconut, lightly toasted
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the parchment. Set the pan onto a large rimmed baking sheet.
- In a food processor, process the macadamia nuts on high until they resemble coarse crumbs.. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the coconut, sweetener, and salt. Add the melted butter and stir to combine.
- Press the crust mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove and let cool.
Filling
- Reduce oven temperature to 300F.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium for 1 to 2 minutes, until super creamy. Beat in the sweetener, coconut milk, and extracts until well combined. Taste and adjust the sweetener and coconut flavor as desired.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time until just incorporated. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters after each addition.
- Pour the filling over the cooled crust and spread to the edges.
- Place the whole set up (spring-form pan on the cookie sheet) on the center rack of the oven. On the rack below, place a large baking dish filled with water.
- Bake 70 to 90 minutes, or until edges are set but the center still jiggles just a little when shaken. Remove and let come to room temperature.
- Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan and remove sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 to 3 hours.
Topping
- In a large bowl, beat the whipping cream, sweetener and extract until stiff peaks form. Spread over chilled cheesecake.
- Sprinkle with toasted coconut (I simply toasted mine in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking until coconut was lightly browned).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I have made this cheesecake and loved but looking for something more portable and individualized.
Would it be possible to make this into cupcakes?
Thank you
Yes but I think it would make a LOT of them. More than 12, because the filling is significant for a full size cheesecake. I could consider halving the recipe and seeing how many that made.
Thank you, I will try that and follow up with the results.
If I choose to use regular sugar-are the amount the same throughout the recipe???
Yes that should fine.
I just wanted to mention that I have a tree nut allergy, so I subbed in pine nuts in place of the macadamia nuts and it was fantastic! Macro and texture-wise they are very similar (pine nuts have a tiny bit less fat, a few more net carbs and more protein). I can’t wait to make this again, it was so delicious!
Oh–I also omitted the butter in my pine nut crust. It was pretty oily already and turned out perfect. It held together great and had a nice bit of crunch.
Sounds delicious.
Made this on the weekend – it was delicious! I altered the sweetener a bit but even my mum who isn’t keto loved it. The only issue is my base stuck to the baking paper so as I removed each slice it fell apart. Any suggestions? I’m wondering if I didn’t cook the base enough? Or did I have to remove the base from the paper once it cooled and before I made the rest of the cheesecake?
I don’t know anyone else who’s had that issue. Maybe you need to grease the paper?
Maybe? I thought the butter would be enough. I’ll try grease the paper this weekend and also cooking it more (when I removed it from the oven, half was much darker than the other side so I was worried it was almost beginning to burn but it seems that this size isn’t falling apart as much so maybe it was under cooked). Thank you!
My recipe doesn’t have any parchment paper so I am curious why you put some down. That may actually have caused the issue, not really sure.
Well that will be the issue then! I didn’t have foil so I used baking paper. Makes sense, I forgot that I changed that around. I’ll try foil on the weekend 🙂 Thank you!
Oh, I see. No you don’t like the pan with foil. You wrap the whole outside of the pan in foil so the oils don’t drip into your oven. That’s all!
I want to make this today but only have 1/2 c Swerve. Would it be okay to use 1/2 c Pyure to make up the difference.
Thank
That should work for the filling.
Thanks
The cheesecake is wonderful, I almost felt guilty eating it. How long will this keep in the fridge or
can I freeze it?
It will keep for up to a week but yes, it should freeze well too.
I’ve never bought canned coconut milk, is it the same as the box kind they sell at the grocery store?
No, and that’s why I specified canned. It’s a can of very thick coconut milk, not like the watered down carton kind. Most grocery stores carry it, some in the Asian Food aisle. http://amzn.to/2n1e4xB
I know its been years since you posted this, but I just started Keto. I made it with an almond crust based on your other recipes, and did 1 and 1/4th cup almond flower and 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut. The only other change is that I used a different sweeter, some monk fruit non-sense I like a little better than stevia. Its fantastic, thank you for posting!
So glad you liked it. And welcome to Keto!
Hi Carolyn,
Can I use Xylitol instead of swerve? If so do I use the same quantity?
Thanks
Angela
You should be able to sub it in equal amounts, although it’s less sweet so you may want to taste as you go.
I want to make a much smaller version of this and make it in individual ramekins. Do you think that will work? I only need 8 so thinking of cutting the recipe in half. I have a steam oven so will bake in there. Using your method and thinking of individual ones, how much would you cut your time back by?
So what if I accidentally put a whole cup of coconut milk in the mixture?? I can’t believe I just did this! Can I add more cream cheese? Help!
I guess more cream cheese and maybe another egg?
This looks so good and I can’t wait to try it. What is Swerve sweetener and how much sugar would I use to replace it? I don’t do any kind of sweeteners except for the odd bit of stevia. I think they are worse poison than sugar.
Just to be clear, Swerve is not an artificial sweetener like Splenda is. But as you wish…use the same amount of sugar, since Swerve measures like sugar.
So creamy, Yumm. It reminds me my childhood, when my grandma was making something very similar.
I am delighted to hear that!
Wow! This is so delicious! I used Brazilian nuts instead, and it was yummy! ( didn’t have the other )
Thank you
We made this cheesecake this week and it was/is awesome! Even though my whipping cream would not whip (a problem I sometimes experience with the cream I can buy here in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe), I still served it with a bit of sweetened cream over top and the toasted coconut flakes sprinkled on it. I definitely need to get some coconut extract, but it is really, really good. So, thanks!
So glad you liked it!
Hi Carolyn, What kind of macadamia nuts did you use and where can I get them? All I seen here is dry roasted or salted ones. Looking forward to making it…thanks for all your great recipes!
I got raw ones at Trader Joe’s. Not sure where you are and where you can get them?
I live in Long Island NY. We have Trader Joes!!! Thank you!
Our Trader Joe’s doesn’t stock them but Winco does.
Could I use a graham crust ? Or any other suggestions? Macadamia nuts here in Canada are outrageous price!
Don’t use graham! Too many carbs. But you can try almonds instead.
I made this for my birthday cake yesterday, and I wanted to thank you for publishing such a delicious recipe! I am one of those who can still taste erythritol in Swerve, so I was honestly stressed about serving this to our extended family. They all raved about it being a wonderful cheesecake, and I had very little of the cooling effect so I was totally thrilled! I used the smallest suggested amounts of Swerve in your recipe, and I probably would be fine leaving more out of the whipped topping and the crust.
The topping was such a blessing – when I pulled open the refrigerator to top and dress the cake, I found my son’s water bottle pressed deep into the plastic covering the cheesecake. Thankfully there was enough topping to fill in the space and still look like a generous layer, so many thanks there!
Yay so glad this met with approval and that the topping saved the cake!