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, ½ tablespoon of cocoa powder, and ½ 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 ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup Swerve Confectioners
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Peanut Butter Layer
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons whipping cream divided
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup Swerve Confectioners
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Pudding Layer
- 1 ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¾ 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 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon glucomannan
- 3 tablespoon butter in 3 pieces
- ½ teaspoon 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.
Sue says
Hi Carolyn, I would like to know if I can substitute coconut milk for the HWC and half and half for the almond milk, (they pulled all nutmilks from the shelves in Canada, I can’t find any in any grocery stores!!), thank you for all your GREAT recipes!!!
Che says
For the chocolate pudding part in the recipe here, there’s no cocoa amount listed. I’m gonna check again. How much cocoa?
Carolyn says
Yikes, sorry! It’s 6 tablespoons. Let me go fix it…
Carolyn says
Actually, it was there… it does say 6 tablespoons.
Linda says
Oops! forgot to do the stars.
p.s. my husband says it’s the best dessert I’ve ever made
Linda says
This was SO delicious! Just the right level of “sweet”, and rich, but not TOO rich.
I’ll be making this again!
Thank you for putting out these fabulous recipes. I’ve made lots of them and have never been disappointed
Trina says
truly one of the best low carb desserts I have ever made! Thank you!!!
Evelyn says
Mercy!! This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it.
Natalie Harrington says
We made this for Christmas 2021, and it turned out incredibly well. I’ve never made pudding from scratch, and the joy when I removed that spring form pan, and everything held… magical! Thanks for this!
Carolyn says
Fantastic!
Kristy says
Can this be made and then frozen for later? If so how long would it keep in the freezer?
Carolyn says
I honestly can’t say as I never tried to freeze it.
Wendy says
I have macadamia milk on hand and was wondering if I could use it instead of the almond milk
Tara says
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!
Kristeen Downs says
What can I use in place of Liquid Stevia?
Carolyn says
More Swerve.
Saadia says
Best keto dessert ever! I used crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy and it worked out fine. Initially, I had trouble getting the stiff peaks to form while whipping the heavy whipping cream, but after watching some YouTube videos, I realized my bowl was too large. Once I moved the cream into a smaller bowl, it whipped up nicely. Also—I cheated a little and used store bought sugar free jell-o pudding for the chocolate pudding layer. The first time around I used sugar free white chocolate and added cocoa powder and extra powdered Swerve. This second time, I used sugar free chocolate pudding. I mixed the pudding mix with half almond milk and half heavy whipping cream the first time. The second time, since I was using a larger jell-o pudding box that called for 3 cups of cold milk, I used 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, and 1 cup of FairLife milk. Added extra powdered Swerve to taste. Topped my cake with crushed pecans in addition to the “cookie” topping. Simply delicious. Also, since this second time I made the cake in a 7” springform pan, I had extra chocolate pudding from the larger jell-o pudding mix, so I created two individual dirt cakes for my husband’s co-worker. Just layered each mason jar with the “cookie” crust on the bottom, peanut butter cream cheese layer, some extra cookie crumbles, chocolate pudding layer, more cookie crumbles, and chopped pecans. Sending it to hubby’s work tomorrow. Will let everyone know what the co-worker says! I’m taking the 7” cake to my sister’s for a holiday party, so I can indulge in a sugar free dessert while everyone else is eating non-keto desserts. Thank you Carolyn for a delightful keto cake recipe that I will make again and again.
Carolyn says
Excellent!
Daughter oftheKing says
perfect that’s the only word you need to know!
Lindsay says
I’m not usually a fan of keto desserts but this is the first keto dessert recipe that I’ve made that turned out amazing!
Carolyn says
So delighted to hear it!
Sandy says
I made this last night. It looks yummy. Hopefully will be as good as it looks. Will let you know when we eat it this weekend. Going to experiment freezing some since it’s only my husband and myself. Will let you know about that too! Lol. Thanks for the recipe!
Daneille says
Oh man, now THAT is pudding! Absolutely delicious, and the texture….!
I haven’t gotten to eat the fully assembled cake yet, but I just wanted to let other readers know, if they are lazy pudding makers like me (I NEVER bother with tempering eggs), it will still come out fine if you mix all the ingredients together at the start. Just be sure to cook for 2-3 minutes more once you start seeing un-burst bubbles following in the wake of your whisk (the xanthan gum makes the surface tension too heavy for bubbles to break on their own). Scrumptious!
Daneille says
Also, for people having trouble with the xanthan gum, I mixed mine into the cocoa powder before adding to the eggs/milk. This helps prevent clumping
Joi says
I’m making this for a new home construction party this weekend and am excited – and a little bit terrified of the powdered Swerve in the peanut butter layer. I have such bad luck with Swerve. Is there anything I can sub that won’t get crunchy/have that cool aftertaste? I normally sub Ideal (xylitol) But there isn’t a powdered version of Ideal and it’s super grainy. Help, pretty please? 🙂
Carolyn says
I don’t experience the cooling effect with Swerve but you do need a powdered sweetener so I think it’s your best bet.
Joi says
Thanks for the advice! I tried the PB layer tonight and the minty cooling effect is minimal; am sure it will be fabulous. (Sorely tempted to try the brownie layer from your brownie cheesecake as the base layer… 🙂 Thank you so much for all your amazing work and public service!
Ann says
Bocha Sweet is a great sub for Swerve. I can’t find it locally so I order online.
Colleen says
You can still use xylotol, just put it in a blender to create a powder
Lynn O'B says
Have you tried putting the xylitol in a blender to make your confection sugar? It is cheaper to make your own and might give you a way around Swerve if you like xylitol.
Greg Rallo says
I made this last night. WOW! Is is amazingly rich, and creamy, and yummy.
I followed the recipe exactly with only one exception. I don;t have liquid stevia extract. I omitted it altogether and still thought the pie was AMAZING!
I don’t buy swerve, but I have an erythritol/stevia blend that I buy in bulk. I just dropped it into a coffee grinder for 5 to 10 seconds and it was a fine powder. I highly recommend doign this. It blends/dissolves so much easier.
Michele says
When you say whipping cream you mean heavy whipping cream correct?
Carolyn says
Yes. But they are really both the same for these purposes.
Aileen says
My sister made this this weekend and it was soooooo good !!! Just a fabulous recipe and the pudding layer was perfect pudding! YUM!!
Carolyn says
So glad you like it!