This No Bake Keto Dirt Cake recipe will blow your mind! It’s a decadent no-bake dessert with chocolate pudding, peanut butter cheesecake, and a chocolate cookie crust!
Dirt cake isn’t exactly the most attractive name for a dessert, is it? It sounds like something you might have made in the sandbox in kindergarten, or something the school bully might make you eat on the playground after school.
Thankfully, it is neither of those things. Instead, it consists of a creamy, no bake layered dessert made to look as if it contains dirt. Which surely appeals to the kid in all of us.
I first made this Keto Peanut Butter Dirt Cake back in 2014 and it became an instant hit. I decided to update it after not making it in years. The only question is, why did I wait so long? This dessert is amazing!
If you love creamy layered desserts, be sure to check out Keto Sex in a Pan and Keto Lemon Lush too!
You will love this low carb no bake dessert!
I have to admit, I had never even heard of dirt cake until a reader asked me to make a low carb version. She sent me a link to a high-carb recipe she wanted me to re-create.
I took one look and I knew I had to try it. Chocolate cookies, peanut butter AND chocolate pudding? Well that just jumped to the head of the to-make list!
This recipe brings together a few of my most popular keto desserts. It takes a batch of my Keto Peanut Butter Mousse and one recipe for Keto Chocolate Pudding. The crust is the same one I use for x. And the crumbly dirt topping can be made from scratch or you can just crumble up some keto brownie bites!
Reader Reviews
“This is one of the best desserts I’ve ever made! It’s so rich and creamy and feels naughty! ha ha I LOVE it! Thanks for sharing it!!!” — Holly
“This is my 3rd time making this dessert and I just want to say, it is superb! I honestly would never know that it was sugar free had I not prepared it myself!” — Tara
“Made this last night and here twenty four hours later and only two small pieces remain! This is one incredible recipe! Turned out just perfect!!” — Chris
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: The base of the crust is made with almond flour. For a nut-free option, you can use sunflower seed flour.
- Cocoa powder: For a rich chocolate flavor, use Dutch process cocoa powder.
- Sweetener: Use powdered sweetener for both fillings, as it will provide a smoother consistency without any grittiness. I like to use a little allulose in the pudding to keep it glossy and soft.
- Whipping cream: You need this for both the peanut butter layer and the chocolate pudding layer.
- Cream cheese: Soften the cream cheese properly before beating it. You should be able to poke it lightly with a finger and leave a good dent in it.
- Peanut butter: Choose a sugar-free peanut butter to keep the carb count low. Natural peanut butter has a tendency to separate, so mix well well before mixing it with the cream cheese. Some of my readers have used almond butter instead.
- Low carb milk: I usually use unsweetened almond milk but any low carb milk will be fine. This helps give the pudding layer a lighter consistency.
- Egg yolks: You need one egg and two egg yolks for the chocolate pudding layer. Save the egg whites to make recipes like Keto Coconut Cake.
- Glucomannan: This helps thicken the chocolate pudding and helps it set. You can also use xanthan gum.
- Unsweetened chocolate: Make sure to choose chocolate that is 100% cacao, with no sweeteners at all. It is lower in carbs and also helps the fudge thicken and set properly.
- Chocolate cookie crumbs: I used some crumbled HighKey brownie bites for the topping. If you don’t have that, you can make a little extra of the crust mixture.
- Pantry staples: Butter, vanilla extract, salt
Step by Step Directions
1. Prepare the crust: In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until well combined. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
2. Prepare the peanut butter cheesecake: In a large bowl, whip half a cup of the whipping cream until it holds stiff peaks. In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese for a minute or two, until extra creamy. Add the peanut butter, sweetener, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Add the remaining two tablespoons of heavy cream and beat in to thin out the mixture.
3. Fold together: Gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until no streaks remains. Spread carefully over crust. Refrigerate while preparing pudding layer.
4. Simmer the cream: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the heavy cream and hemp milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and whisk in the sweetener.
5. Temper the eggs: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and egg yolks together until smooth. Slowly add half a cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, whisking continuously. Slowly whisk the tempered eggs back into the saucepan of hot cream mixture.
6. Cook the pudding: Stir in the cocoa powder and return the mixture to medium low heat. Continue to whisk continuously until the mixture is smooth and begins to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Then sprinkle the surface with glucomannan and whisk vigorously to combine. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract, whisking until smooth. Let cool about 15 minutes and then spread evenly over peanut butter layer.
7. Chill until set: Sprinkle the top of the cake with crushed brownie bites. Refrigerate until completely set, at least 3 hours. To serve, run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan and remove sides. Run the knife under hot water to cut nice even slices.
Tips for Success
Make sure you give the pudding time to set properly, especially if you are using some allulose as the sweetener. It can take longer to set if you do but I think the results are a little better. It’s less likely to re-crystallize.
You can use any powdered sweetener in the peanut butter mousse layer, as it doesn’t rely on it for structure. Even liquid stevia works here. I think the crust works best with Swerve, but it doesn’t need to be crisp so you can use what sweeteners you like best.
If you don’t have the HighKey Brownie Bites, you can make a little bit of extra crust for the dirt topping. Simply whisk 2 tablespoons of almond flour (or sunflower seed flour for nut-free), 1 tablespoon of powdered sweetener, 1/2 tablespoon of cocoa powder, and 1/2 tablespoon of melted butter. Once it begins to clump together, sprinkle it over the cake.
This is a really rich dessert and very satisfying. Although it says it serves 16, you could easily cut it into 18 or 20 slices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dirt cake is a fun layered dessert that includes cookie crumbs, pudding, and no bake cheesecake. This Keto Dirt Cake has a creamy peanut butter layer topped with sugar free chocolate pudding and low carb brownie bites.
This keto chocolate peanut butter dirt cake recipe has 6.5g of carbs and 1.8g of fiber per serving. That comes to 4.7g net carbs per slice. But it’s a really rich dessert so you may want to cut the cake into 18 or 20 slices!
Store the cake in the fridge, covered up, for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen for several months. Wrap it up tightly to avoid freezer burn.
More keto peanut butter recipes
Keto Dirt Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup Swerve Confectioners
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp salt
Peanut Butter Layer
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons whipping cream, divided
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup Swerve Confectioners
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Pudding Layer
- 1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, or any low carb milk
- 3 tablespoons Swerve Confectioners
- 3 tablespoons granular allulose, (or more Swerve)
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp glucomannan
- 3 tbsp butter in 3 pieces
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Topping
- 2.25 ounces HighKey brownie bites, crushed, see Tips for alternatives
Instructions
Crust
- In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until well combined.
- Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
Peanut Butter Layer
- In a large bowl, whip half a cup of the whipping cream until it holds stiff peaks.
- In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese for a minute or two, until extra creamy. Add the peanut butter, sweetener, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Add the remaining two tablespoons of heavy cream and beat in to lighten.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until no streaks remain. Spread carefully over crust. Refrigerate while preparing pudding layer.
Chocolate Pudding Layer
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the heavy cream and hemp milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and whisk in the sweetener.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and egg yolks together until smooth. Slowly add half a cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, whisking continuously. Slowly whisk the tempered eggs back into the saucepan of hot cream mixture.
- Stir in the cocoa powder and return the mixture to medium low heat. Continue to whisk continuously until the mixture is smooth and begins to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Then sprinkle the surface with glucomannan and whisk vigorously to combine.
- Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract, whisking until smooth. Let cool about 15 minutes and then spread evenly over peanut butter layer.
- Sprinkle the top of the cake with crushed brownie bites. Refrigerate until completely set, at least 3 hours.
- To serve, run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan and remove sides. Run the knife under hot water to cut nice even slices.
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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We made this today for dessert tonight and it was absolutely delicious!!! Amazing! Thank you for sharing this.
I am having trouble finding liquid stevia extract. I can find the powder extrct and I can find liquid stevia. What brand do you use or can I use the powder?
Is it possible to adjust this recipe for 4 servinginstead 16 serving?
Powdered sweetener for the peanut butter layer?or does granulated sweetener work??
Granular might make it a bit gritty.
Hello! Planning on making this for Thanksgiving for my husband who is a Type 1 Diabetic; because I’d like to use things I have on hand, I noticed that gelatin can be substituted for the xanthan gum as can ground flax and chia. Do you recommend one over the others? I have all 3… grass-fed gelatin, and ground flax as well as chia I can grind. If I do sub with one of those, do I need to mix them with water first or just add to other ingredients? And if I do need to add to water, how much water? Just a smidge to create a gel as if I was making a flax/ chia egg?
I would definitely not do the chia or flax. For grassfed gelatin, I would do about 1 1/2 teaspoons and I would mix it with a few tbsp of water before adding. Then whisk it in at the time you would whisk in the xanthan and make sure to whisk very well.
hello! can you use other brands of Erythritol or do you need to use Swerve in particular (because of the oligosaccharides)? thanks in advance
Other brands should work.
How many carbs per slice of cake
All of the nutritional info is right at the bottom of the recipe.
can replace the almond stuff to coconut flour and milk .. well due i have allegies to tree nuts.. .. yep all tree nuts like almonds, walnuts.. any nuts i cannot eat at all.. but any tip can replace those almonds?
thank you so much <3
Sunflower seed flour.
Just a quick comment–in the list of ingredients for the Peanut Butter layer it just calls for ‘Swerve Sweetener.’ But in the instructions for the pb layer, it says powdered sweetener. Just thought you might want to change the ingredient list for that layer to specify that it is powdered/confectioner’s for that layer and not granulated. I made this for Easter (along with your lemon cream cake) and both were hits!
I really want to try this but I think 16 servings is too many for a first try for a new LCHF and a learning Cook. I want to half the recipe and put it individual or 2 serving containers so I can freeze some if my Smalls are not crazy about it. With a big cake I would be a mess trying to keep myself from eating it all. Could I successfully do this in cupcake tins or do you have a better idea for portioning?
Cupcake tins would be fine but line them with parchment paper liners so the filling doesn’t stick to the pan.
This is just divine. Every layer is delicious on its own, but put together? Perfection. I’m also really happy that a serving is truly satisfying. This one is one to savor, especially with a good cup of dark roast coffee. Thank you so much!
This looks awesome. DEF going to make it. I have a baking blend that I’ve made. Could I use it instead of just almond flour? I guess I’d have to play with the ratio of wet ingredients to dry. Any suggestions?
Without knowing what’s in your baking blend, I can’t really help too much!
It’s similar to the trim healthy mama brand. If I were to use that product, would you know the substitution ratio? (I think I’ve read in your blog of you using that brand?)
I have used it…not often but yes, I’ve used it. So I think for this recipe, use the same amount but then use a bit more melted butter because it’s drier than almond flour.
I made this for Christmas dinner, after a fantastic low carb barbecue meal. Everyone was amazed that something so delicious and creamy (really, the textures in this dessert are incredible) could be low carb. The peanut butter flavour came through beautifully and the cacao (subbed for cocoa) layer was not too sweet or strong, but a perfect balance. To top (and bottom) it off, the dirt crumbs had a lovely slight crunch to offset the smooth creaminess of the top layers. My guests scored it a hearty 10/10 and I wouldn’t hesitate to make it again! Yum!!
My daughter made this for my 70th Birthday party. It was so delicious I almost cried! All the other guests at the party couldn’t believe it was sugar free and low carb. It is very rich and a little goes a long way. This will make everyone very happy!
Thanks, Paula…and happy Belated Birthday!
For the liquid stevia, do you still use NuNaturals since the formula change?
Yes.
Not sure if you are still responding to this post but I’ve seen many of your dessert recipes calling for liquid stevia extract. What exactly does this do for the recipe that it’s needed in addition to sugar/sweetener? And is it possible to just dissolve stevia in some water as a substitute?
I just use it because it’s easier. If you have the powdered kind, you can sub that but it’s typically stronger so you don’t want as much. Maybe half the amount of the liquid version.
Great, thanks for answering so quickly! Can’t wait to try this!
Made this for a coworkers birthday the end of May and it was fantastic! Everyone loved it. The birthday girl took the remainder (we didn’t leave much) home to her little kiddies and they gobbled it up.
I was surprised at how quickly it goes together and will be making this again, starting with this July 4th weekend. It should be a perfect ending to a day of grilling. Thank you for the recipe Carolyn!