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 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon oil or melted butter I used macadamia nut oil
Filling:
- 1 & ½ lbs cream cheese 3 8-ounce packages, softened
- ¾ to 1 cup Swerve Sweetener depending on how sweet you like it
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ⅔ cup full fat coconut milk canned, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
Topping:
- ¾ cup whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ½ teaspoon vanilla or coconut extract
- ½ 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
Sharon says
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
Carolyn says
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.
Sharon says
Thank you, I will try that and follow up with the results.
Sara weiss says
If I choose to use regular sugar-are the amount the same throughout the recipe???
Carolyn says
Yes that should fine.
Honeybadger says
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!
Honeybadger says
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.
Carolyn says
Sounds delicious.
Renee says
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?
Carolyn says
I don’t know anyone else who’s had that issue. Maybe you need to grease the paper?
Renee says
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!
Carolyn says
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.
Renee says
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!
Carolyn says
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!
Sharon L says
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
Carolyn says
That should work for the filling.
Sharon L says
Thanks
Sharon L says
The cheesecake is wonderful, I almost felt guilty eating it. How long will this keep in the fridge or
can I freeze it?
Carolyn says
It will keep for up to a week but yes, it should freeze well too.
Liz C says
I’ve never bought canned coconut milk, is it the same as the box kind they sell at the grocery store?
Carolyn says
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
daniel says
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!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it. And welcome to Keto!
Angela says
Hi Carolyn,
Can I use Xylitol instead of swerve? If so do I use the same quantity?
Thanks
Angela
Carolyn says
You should be able to sub it in equal amounts, although it’s less sweet so you may want to taste as you go.
Karen says
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?
Heather says
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!
Carolyn says
I guess more cream cheese and maybe another egg?
Berny says
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.
Carolyn says
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.
Visiedieni says
So creamy, Yumm. It reminds me my childhood, when my grandma was making something very similar.
Carolyn says
I am delighted to hear that!
Ann says
Wow! This is so delicious! I used Brazilian nuts instead, and it was yummy! ( didn’t have the other )
Thank you
Robin says
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!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Donna says
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!
Carolyn says
I got raw ones at Trader Joe’s. Not sure where you are and where you can get them?
Donna says
I live in Long Island NY. We have Trader Joes!!! Thank you!
Margo Pierini says
Our Trader Joe’s doesn’t stock them but Winco does.
Josie says
Could I use a graham crust ? Or any other suggestions? Macadamia nuts here in Canada are outrageous price!
Carolyn says
Don’t use graham! Too many carbs. But you can try almonds instead.
Nancy F says
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!
Carolyn says
Yay so glad this met with approval and that the topping saved the cake!
Eden Passante says
This sounds amazing! I love coconut and cheesecake, but I never thought about combining the two! Awesome idea!
Janet Bain says
This cheesecake is the most delicious one yet. We loved it the way it was but Today I remade it….had a pan of German Chocolate brownies from this website that we thought were a bit dry….decided to repurpose them as a crust for this cheesecake and added shredded unsweetened coconut and sugarfree chocolate chips to the batter. Still in the oven, but I am sure it will be the bomb!!!
just now
Carolyn says
Sounds delicious.
Janene says
Making this for the third time tonight (for my art and philosophy class tomorrow – it’s my turn) in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Your cheesecake sure gets around… ?
The first bake was magical. Truly. Last time I over-cooked it but it was because I have a steam function in my oven, and did steam AND the water. Silly. This time ’round just the steam…
Thanks for this great recipe. Yum!
Ana says
Are powdered swerve and swerve sweetener two different things? Your recipe has two different Swerve?
Carolyn says
Yes, one is granular and the other is powdered. Like icing sugar.