This coconut cheesecake has a macadamia nut crust and is unbelievably creamy and rich. It’s a low carb dessert that’s as tasty as it is beautiful, and is sure to impress your friends! Keto and sugar-free, this is the best coconut cheesecake you will ever eat.
I first created this gorgeous coconut cheesecake back in 2014 and it stands the test of time. One of the most loved keto cheesecake recipes here on All Day I Dream About Food. If you love coconut desserts, this will be a dream come true. Also try my coconut milk pudding or my coconut cream poke cake.
I am a grown woman with an excellent education and I can be extremely well spoken when need be. Put me in a formal setting or stand me up in front of an audience and I will mind my P’s and Q’s and speak like the intelligent being that I am. Make me angry and I will get very formal and very haughty and wither you with proper sentence construction and large, intimidating words.
But the truth is that I really prefer to sprinkle my speech with colloquialisms and slang. Here I am, 41 years of age, and I throw around the term “Dude!” like it’s going out of style. Seriously, dude, I use it all the time. It peppers my informal speech constantly, as do other 80’s slang terms like “totally” and “psyched”.
And I certainly don’t limit myself to any particular decade of slang. I pick up slang and colloquialisms from any generation and use them happily if they suit my purpose. I am a very expressive person and I feel like these words help me emphasize my point sometimes. Besides, they are just fun to say. I suspect I will be 80 and still saying “Dude!” when it feels like the right thing to say.
Keto Cheesecake for National Cheesecake Day
So when I saw that my friend Roxana was organizing bloggers for National Cheesecake Day, I believe my first words were “Hellz Yeah!”. And you know it’s true: hellz yeah is the only appropriate response to an invitation to take part in a celebration for cheesecake, whether it’s low carb cheesecake or not.
Normally I pay little mind to these made up food holidays, but low carb cheesecake recipes are a very important part of my life, so I must honour the holiday appropriately. Not only must I honour it, but I must bow before it as the ultimate keto dessert.
I mean, it’s cake, but it’s made with cheese and eggs and cream. As long as you can alter the crust and replace the sweetener, it’s an easy recipe makeover. Done right, it looks, tastes and feels just like the real thing. It IS the real thing, because let’s face it, using other sweeteners and making a nut crust is not making a fake cheesecake. It’s making a real and yet a healthier low carb cheesecake recipe. Rock on, dude!
Celebrate with Coconut Cheesecake
So for a moment, let’s discuss this particular cheesecake here, this Coconut Cheesecake with Macadamia Nut Crust.
This one, my friends, is a thing of beauty, both inside and out. It’s the ambrosia of the gods. It is heaven on earth. It is, to get all colloquial on you, “Da Bomb”.
I mean, almost all cheesecake is good, but coconut cheesecake is exceptional. The texture was spot on, the filling seemed light and somewhat airy and yet was rich and creamy. The macadamia crust had a delicious crunch that offset the creamy filling. And the topping was whipped cream and toasted coconut. What’s not to love about that?
What you need to make Coconut Cheesecake
- Springform pan – these are essential for a good cheesecake, so do yourself a favor and get one!
- Cream cheese – and plenty of it!
- Coconut milk – the thick full fat coconut milk from a can
- Macadamia nuts – you want the raw ones so they don’t get overcooked when you bake the cake
- Coconut extract – to amp up that coconut flavor
- Shredded coconut – for the crust
- Flaked coconut – for the topping
- Heavy whipping cream – for the topping
Coconut Cheesecake with Macadamia Nut Crust
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup raw macadamia nuts
- 1 cup finely shredded coconut unsweetened
- 3 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil or melted butter I used macadamia nut oil
Filling:
- 1 & 1/2 lbs cream cheese 3 8-ounce packages, softened
- 3/4 to 1 cup Swerve Sweetener depending on how sweet you like it
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2/3 cup full fat coconut milk canned, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp coconut extract
Topping:
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla or coconut extract
- 1/2 cup large flaked coconut lightly toasted
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 325F and wrap the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan in foil.
- In a food processor, process macadamia nuts on high until coarsely chopped.
- Add coconut, sweetener and salt and process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (it may begin to clump together because of the high oil content of the macadamias).
- Transfer mixture to prepared pan and add oil or melted butter. Stir to combine well. Press mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake 12 to 14 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 cream cheese on medium until smooth. Beat in sweetener until well combined.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl and beaters as needed. Then beat in coconut milk, vanilla extract and coconut extract until smooth.
- Brush the sides of the springform pan with a little oil or melted butter and then pour the filling over the cooled crust.
- Place springform pan on a cookie sheet and place on the center rack on the oven. On the rack below, place a large baking dish filled with water.
- Bake 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, or until edges are set and center just barely jiggles when shaken. Remove and let cool completely.
- 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.
Topping:
- In a large bowl, beat 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
Jackson says
Do you think this will work as a crustless cheesecake?
Carolyn says
I haven’t tried it that way but it should. I would line the bottom with parchment paper.
Cindy says
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!!
Roxanne says
Hi Carolyn, this cheesecake looks absolutely amazing! My question is, could I cook this in a water bath? When I make other keto cheesecake recipes, I triple wrap the pan in heavy foil then put it in a pan and fill it half way up with boiling water and it turns out fabulous, very moist! Never made one with coconut, so not sure if that’s different?
Carolyn says
You can do a water bath but for this one, you don’t need to.
Mihaela Vintila says
Hello! How can I adapt the quantities for a 8 inch pan?
Thank you!
Carolyn says
Find the area of each circle and reduce by the difference.
Ashley B. says
Made this last night. Maybe I mixed it too much and used 13oz of unsweetened coconut milk that made the filling SUPER runny….I had to bake it over 3hrs. Could possibly be my oven 🤭🤷🏼♀️
Anyway… in the end after being sad that I thought I had ruined it, I didn’t. Still tasted SO AMAZING!!
Carolyn says
Well glad to hear it worked out okay. Were you using thinner (lower fat) coconut milk? that could be part of it.
Dawnj says
Hello, this cooled enough to slice and it is THE best coconut cheesecake ever! Thank you!
TEE says
I wish I could attach the photo of my cheesecake. It turned out so beautiful and it was delish!!
Not sure if it was the brand of my extract, but the filling wasnt coconutty at all. I LOVE coconut! I will add more next time.
Carolyn says
I would think it is the brand, since mine is quite coconut-flavored. What brand did you use?
KJ says
I wanted to try this out, but am confused by “wrap the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan in foil” Why would one do that? I have never had to do it in the past with any cheesecake I’ve made. Further, when you refer to “prepared pan,” how is it to be prepared? butter? Or are you referring to the foil wrap?
Carolyn says
One would do that because macadamia nuts and coconut are very oily and the oil could leak out all over the bottom of your oven when cooking. Then you’d be asking me WHY I didn’t warn you about that! 🙂 Yes, that is the prepared pan.
dave laird says
can swap sweetner with monkfruit? also, could dairy cream replace coconut cream?
Carolyn says
If by “monk fruit” you mean Lakanto (which is mostly erythritol), then yes. I would stick with the coconut cream, however, for maximum coconut flavor.
Leah says
Has anyone tried cooking this in an instant pot? If so, what time did you use?
Kelly says
Do you use just the cream part of the coconut milk? Or should I mix up the can and use a mixture of both the liquid and the cream? I’ve made this before and it’s excellent–just can’t remember now what I did. Eeek.
Debbie says
I doubled this recipe and made two cheese cakes. I took one to a pot luck at work and everyone loved it! Definitely a keeper!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
MaryAnn says
I was wondering if it would be possible to make individual servings of this? And how I would alter the ingredients. Thanks!
Michael Wurm Jr says
These are two of my favorite flavors! Such a smart idea to put them together into a cheesecake!! Yummy!!
xo Michael
Andie Thueson says
Holy Cow, this looks simply amazing! Pinning for later <3
Emily Hill says
Oh my goodness! I’d be all over this cheesecake. I love these flavors!
Allyson Zea says
Give me ALL THE CHEESECAKE!!!! YESS!!!! This coconut cheesecake with amazing crust sounds too good to be true!