Creamy Keto Strawberry Popsicles are the best way to beat the heat. With fresh summer berries and no added sugar, they might be the only thing standing between you and the ice cream truck. And they have only 3g net carbs per pop!
Have I ever mentioned how much I love making my own sugar free popsicles? We cannot get enough of them in my house. And there are so many delicious options, like Sugar Free Fudge Pops and Keto Peanut Butter Popsicles.
I first made these Strawberry Cheesecake Popsicles way back in 2013, as a way to battle the ice cream truck that ensnared my young kids’ imaginations. They were a huge hit back then and they remain so to this day.
We make multiple batches every summer!
Why make your own popsicles?
One of the advantages to making your own popsicles at home is that it’s remarkably easy. It often takes a few short minutes to whip up the mixture. The hardest part is waiting for them to freeze properly!
Another advantage is that you can make them to suit your own tastes. You can switch up the flavors and sweeten them to your liking. And you can adapt them for various dietary restrictions as well. If you need some inspiration, I have multiple recipes for keto popsicles that you can play with.
You can also add a boost of nutrition in the form of protein powder, collagen peptides, or electrolyte powders. I am trying to increase my protein these days, so I added some whey protein isolate, and they were just as good as ever.
If you don’t own a popsicle mold, I suggest you hightail it to your nearest cookware store. At this time of year, good popsicle molds are widely available and inexpensive, so there is simply no excuse not to have one. I really like this popsicle mold on Amazon.
Once you have the mold, the rest is easy peasy. It’s an inexpensive way to make delicious treats all summer long.
Reader reviews
“I’ve made this a number of times, using different fruits. It’s so good! Grandson loves helping Nana make these treats. The only problem is telling him he has to wait for them to freeze! I appease him with whatever doesn’t fit into the molds 🙂” — Maureen
“Love these! Great substituting blackberries and adding the juice from one medium lemon. Thanks for this!” — Sean
“Came across this on pinterest a couple days ago and made today. SO GOOD! Definitely going to be a favorite treat from here on out.” — Elizabeth
Ingredient Notes
- Strawberries: I prefer fresh berries for these popsicles but you can use frozen berries too. Just make sure to thaw them completely before adding them to the blender.
- Cream cheese: Soften the cream cheese properly so it blends in well.
- Heavy cream: This gives the popsicles a texture that resembles ice cream.
- Sweetener: I like to use Swerve Confectioners but almost any powdered sweetener will work.
- Lemon: A little lemon zest and lemon juice give the popsicles a delightful tanginess.
- Protein powder: This is entirely optional and simply boosts the nutrition of these keto popsicles.
Step by Step Directions
1. Combine ¾ cup of the strawberries, the cream cheese, heavy cream, sweetener, protein powder, lemon zest, and lemon juice into a large blender. Blend until smooth, then taste and adjust sweetness as desired.
2. By hand, stir in the remaining chopped strawberries. Divide the mixture evenly among 6 popsicles molds.
3. Push wooden sticks about ⅔ of the way into each popsicle. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
4. To un-mold, heat water in the kettle and run it over the outside of the mold for 5 to 10 seconds, and then tug gently on the stick to release.
Expert Tips
Make sure your cream cheese is properly softened so that it blends up well. Cold cream cheese will leave unblended chunks in the popsicles. And be sure to chop up your strawberries before measuring them out. Whole strawberries don’t fit well into a cup and you will mis-measure the amount.
I always recommend wooden popsicles sticks when making any kind of keto popsicles. Plastic sticks often come with cheap molds but they also tend to slide out of the popsicles too easily. The rough surface of the wooden sticks helps them stay in the popsicles as you un-mold them.
Sweetener Options
This recipe is extremely forgiving so you can use any sweetener you like best. However, you should choose powdered or liquid sweeteners to avoid grittiness in the cheesecake popsicles.
How to release popsicles from the molds
I get this question frequently. Here’s the best way I’ve found to release homemade popsicles:
- Heat water in a kettle to almost a boil.
- Stand over the sink with the popsicle mold.
- Run hot water up and down the outside of the popsicle you want to release for a few seconds.
- Be sure not to allow any water into the popsicle itself.
- Gently tug the stick, twisting slightly.
- If it doesn’t release, run a little more hot water over it.
I like using my kettle so that I don’t waste water waiting for the faucet to heat up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most popsicles are not keto-friendly, even if they say they are sugar free. But making your own keto popsicles is easy, delicious, and cost effective. These Strawberry Cheesecake Popsicles are very low in carbs and completely appropriate for the keto diet.
This recipe for keto strawberry popsicles has 3.6g carbs and 0.6g fiber per serving. So each popsicle has 3g net carbs.
You can store the popsicles in the molds in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can also remove them from the molds and store in an airtight container.
More delicious keto cheesecake recipes
New York Style Keto Cheesecake
This is the best keto cheesecake recipe! So rich and creamy, it will make you swoon at the first bite. With only 3g of carbs per slice, you can dig in with gusto!
Keto Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars
These creamy keto cheesecake bars feature the decadent combination of salted caramel sauce and toasted pecans. So heavenly, you’d never know it’s healthy and sugar free!
Instant Pot Lemon Cheesecake
Keto Instant Pot Cheesecake is extra creamy and delicious! And this low carb lemon cheesecake is so smooth and rich. It’s the perfect sugar-free dessert for lemon lovers. Oven instructions included.
Keto Strawberry Cheesecake Popsicles
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries divided
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener (or other sweetener to taste)
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ cup protein powder (optional) Can use any unflavored protein, as desired
Instructions
- Combine a three-quarter cup of the strawberries, the cream cheese, heavy cream, sweetener, protein powder, lemon zest, and lemon juice into a large blender. Blend until smooth, then taste and adjust sweetness as desired.
- By hand, stir in the remaining chopped strawberries. Divide the mixture evenly among 6 popsicles molds.
- Push wooden sticks about ⅔ of the way into each popsicle. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
- To unmold, heat water in the kettle and run it over the outside of the mold for 5 to 10 seconds, and then tug gently on the stick to release.
Karin says
Could I replace the heavy cream with double cream yogurt do you think? They sound absolutely wonderful!
Carolyn says
Sure, that would be fine.
Lulu says
Hey, also I can’t help but wonder what kind of lemon cheesecake pops these would make with no strawberries and more lemon! Or lime! Oh wow!
Lulu says
These are SO great! Thank you!
l halved the recipe because I only make 6 at a time. It made 7. So I’m pretending it’s yoghurt and I’m eating the last one with my homemade granola for breakfast!
I just chucked it all into my smoothie blender and it was so easy. Note: I doubled the lemon zest because I like lemon and it tastes wonderful. I used Splenda because my erithrytol/ stevia blend does weird things in the freezer.
I think these are a contender for the mint chocolate pops! Oooer. Brain wave: leave out the mint and put a layer of chocolate pop in between 2 strawberry layers!
Thank you again!
Javier says
Stevia Extract? Is that the regular Stevia or the Drops?
Carolyn says
Drops
Mary Anne says
They look Devine !! Where can i get the molds though??
Carolyn says
These are the ones I have. http://amzn.to/2pUwgpW
Lynn says
I just got this mold from Amazon. It is great!!! All the ingredients were on hand waiting for the Amazon delivery. So today I am going to make them. Would frozen strawberries work and should the be thawed first?
Carolyn says
Yes, frozen strawberries are fine but they do need to be thawed or your mixture will seize up in the blender.
Marla Jones says
I’m in the middle of making these….Please tell me what “cream” is and if there is anything that can be used as a substitute for it.
Thanks a million!
Carolyn says
Heavy whipping cream.
Susan Berry says
My popsicles aren’t completely frozen yet, but OMG the mixture is delicious! I’m guessing you could use pretty much whatever fruit you want in this recipe…cherries; peaches; other berries…YUM! Thank you so much for this recipe!! ♥
Carolyn says
Yup, any fruit would do!
Lori Haase says
I love this recipe so much! They turned out delicious. I didn’t have Popsicle molds so I used small zip type baggies and rolled them into a cylinder shape. Worked perfectly. I just made a batch with blueberries!
Stephanie Deal says
I have now tried 4 different Popsicle recipes and this is my husband and my absolute favorite! SO creamy and delicious and SO healthy! We love these little babies so much. Thanks.
Carolyn says
I love hearing that!!!
Jackie says
Could you use mascarpone in this recipe rather than the cream cheese?
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not.
Jackie says
Thanks! I’d bought some mascarpone thinking I’d like to try it then couldn’t find anything to make with it. I’ve made these popsicles (in ramekins) already and liked them so will be interesting to see if there is any difference.
KB says
Do you know how much Truvia I would use? I don’t have Stevia. Also, I heard another good way to ward off the ice cream truck is to tell your kids that when you hear the music it means they are OUT of ice cream 🙂
Carolyn says
No, I don’t use Truvia but I imagine that there is a substitution chart somewhere that gives its sweetness relative to sugar. My sweeteners add up to about 2/3 cup sugar.
Marcia Little says
That is funny, wish I’d have read that years ago.
Jessica says
Would coconut sugar work instead of the erythritol? These sound delish!
Carolyn says
Sure, that should work. It will give them a browner appearance, though.
Steph says
I have been wanting to try these for a while now. I made them today and they are freezing right now. Let me just tell you tho……I CANNOT WAIT!!! The mix alone, is fantastic!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Carolyn says
Yum! Enjoy them!
Crissy says
Just finished whipping these up, they’re not frozen yet but that filling is so good! Thank you for the easy recipe <3
Debbie says
Is the artificial sweeters safe for children 4-6?
Carolyn says
It’s not an artificial sweetener. Whether it’s safe you will need to do your own research but I feed it to my kids all the time (10, 8 and 5 years old).
Maria says
Made these. O M G! Also, for those who have a Kroger (Food Store) in your area, they have Carbmaster Yogurt, 6 oz. 4 net carbs, ALL kinds of flavors (Cinnamon Bun, spiced pumpkin, key lime etc) – I froze the key lime one in a mold (4 oz) and easy peazy low cal, low carb popsicle.
No Kroger anywhere near my state so I’ll be making Carolyn’s babies all summer long. Thank you Carolyn 🙂
Cecelia says
Could you use 1/2 strawberries and 1/2 blueberriesI would like to do this for the 4th of July. Thanks
Carolyn says
Yes, I think that would be lovely!
Carol says
I love your sense of humor and these popsicles sound great. My daughter just recently got some molds, I was tickled when she showed them to me. so me and the grandbaby will have popsicles.
Carolyn says
Well, it’s good to know someone gets my humour! 😉
Fran says
Could this be put into a graham cracker crust and frozen ?
Carolyn says
Probably. It certainly sounds good to me!
jennifer says
Ha! I am going to do this in a silicone muffin tray! I prefer a soon, than a stick:)