Sweet, creamy, and low in carbs, this New York-style Keto Cheesecake will delight your senses. It has all the rich flavor of the classic, without the sugar. And only 3g carbs per serving!
Keto New York Cheesecake is possibly as close to heaven as you will get on this earth. Bold statement, I know, but it’s how I feel every time I take a bite of this luscious dessert.
When I embarked on a low carb diet, it was among the first dessert recipes I attempted to make over. And it was so good, I kept experimenting with all sorts of different flavors. Now I’ve got everything from rich keto chocolate cheesecake to individual keto cinnamon roll cheesecakes. But this simple New York style recipe remains among my favorites.
You may well be wondering how New York cheesecake that differs from other recipes, and I’ve got one word for you: texture. It is more dense and creamy than the regular kind. So smooth and rich, it’s like velvet on your tongue. And it has a very simple, clean flavor profile, without too many additions. Many people top it with a simple berry sauce.
★★★★★
Elizabeth says: “Carolyn thank you so much for this amazing recipe! It has become my husband’s absolute favorite dessert. He requests is every holiday! I’ve made it so many times I have it memorized now. Even the non-low-carb eaters in our family love it!“
Ingredient Notes
- Cream cheese: I recommend full-fat cream cheese for the best consistency.
- Powdered sweetener: You can use any sweetener you like best for this recipe, with some caveats. For more information, please read the Sweetener Options section.
- Sour cream: The addition of sour cream gives the cheesecake an ultra-rich, velvety texture.
- Lemon zest: The lemon zest adds flavor but it’s not required for texture. Feel free to leave it out, or add lime zest or orange zest instead.
- Vanilla extract: Feel free to play with the flavors and use other extracts, such as almond.
- Eggs: Always use large eggs, and make sure they are room temperature.
How to Make New York Keto Cheesecake
- Prepare the pan: Generously grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Wrap 2 pieces of aluminum foil around the outside of the pan to cover the bottom and most of the way up the sides.
- Beat the cream cheese: Beat the cream cheese on its own for 1 to 2 minutes until super smooth, then beat in the sweetener. Add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Be sure to scrape down the beaters and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs: Add each egg separately and beat in until just barely combined.
- Transfer to the pan: Pour the batter into the pan and set the whole pan inside a large roasting pan. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan
- Bake: Bake the cheesecake for 70 to 90 minutes, until mostly set but still jiggles just a little in the center when shaken.
- Chill: Loosen the pan sides and let cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
Using a water bath, or a bain marie, creates a gentle heat the cooks the cheesecake slowly. This is a vital part of creating a rich, creamy texture. Make sure you wrap the pan tightly in foil so that water doesn’t leak in during cooking.
Add the eggs last! This goes for ANY cheesecake, keto or not. It helps you avoid over-beating the cheesecake mixture, which can cause cracking. Over-mixing whips air into cheesecake batter, causing it to rise and puff up, and then fall and crack as it cools. Beat each egg in until just combined and stop right there.
You know your cheesecake is done when it’s mostly set but the center still jiggles slightly when you shake the pan. Shake gently so that you don’t get any water into the pan.
Want to add a crust? If you really want a crust for your keto cheesecake, you can use the shortbread crust from Keto Lemon Cheesecake Bars. Press it into the pan, and pre-bake as directed in that recipe.
Sweetener Options
As previously noted, you can use your favorite sweetener in this recipe. However, I want you to be aware that it may affect the outcome to some degree. I have made this recipe with erythritol, with allulose, and with a mix of the two.
Allulose tends to make the cheesecake very soft, even after chilling. And the more allulose you use, the softer it is. It takes at least 24 hours to firm up properly and if it sits out too long, it can soften up again. As long as you are aware of these issues, feel free to use what you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Serving Suggestions
This wonderful keto cheesecake is a blank slate. You can eat it simply as it is or you can add some delicious toppings. I’ve included a simple sugar-free berry sauce in the recipe notes. But you might also like these other delicious ideas:
Keto New York Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 ounces (680.39 g) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup (142.5 g) powdered sweetener
- 3/4 cup (172.5 g) sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tsp (1.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF and generously grease a 9-inch springform pan. Cut a circle of parchment to fit the bottom the pan and grease the paper. Wrap 2 pieces of aluminum foil around the outside of the pan to cover the bottom and most of the way up the sides.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese for 1 to 2 minutes, until completely smooth. Then beat in the sweetener until well combined.
- Add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Scrape down the beaters and the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs, once at a time, beating each until just barely combined. Pour into the prepared springform pan and smooth the top.
- Set the pan inside a roasting pan large enough to prevent the sides from touching. Place the roasting pan in the oven and carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake 70 to 90 minutes, until the cheesecake is mostly set but still jiggles just a little in the center when shaken. Remove the roasting pan from the one, then carefully remove the springform pan from the water bath. Let cool to room temperature.
- Run a sharp knife around the edges of the cake to loosen, the release the sides of the pan. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Video
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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My new go to cheesecake recipe! It is amazing. It turned out perfect, no cracking either. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
I would love to try this recipe out but I’m kinda in a time nick… I can’t get powdered sweetener wondering If using granular or even maple syrup would work?
Granular would probably be gritty. Maple syrup would throw off the liquid content.
I love your recipes but this was a fail for me,,,,,I followed directives except for water bath. Cooked 65 min. and cake was still jiggly in center. When we ate it it was dry and crumbled . Not good at all. The fudge sauce was amazing tho! What do u think went wrong?
Hi Sandi. I hate to point this out but you didn’t follow directions if you didn’t use a waterbath.
I just made your recipe and it is absolutely the best cheesecake I’ve had – keto or not- I just put your book on hold at Barnes and Noble’s as well, can’t wait to try out all the rest of your recipes!!
Thank you for making my Keto life yummy…
Hi Carolyn, Ive really enjoyed seeing your inspiring emails come in, thank you 🙂 My question is where I live to buy powered Swerve its $43 for 340g (12oz) which makes it a really expensive cheesecake – (Amazon wont ship to us) I cam get powered Erythritol cheaper, is it the same thing, if this is good to use-do I keep to the same measurements? Would love to be able to make some sweet food options. Thanks so much in advance.
You can use powdered erythritol but you may want to add more since it’s only 70% as sweet as sugar.
I made this last night, cut the recipe to 1/3 of ingredients, since it’s just for me. I didn’t have lemon zest and I used almond extract instead of vanilla. It turned out amazing! I baked it in a small pyrex dish, and cut the baking time back to about 35 – 40 minutes. Thanks to this, I think I can stay on keto! Thank you so much.
Excellent!
This is amazing and I find all your recipes delicious. When I bake this cake, why does the top brown and how can I stop this from happening pls?
I’m sorry, I don’t know. Mine never does this. I suspect the heat toward the top of your oven is too hot. A few things to try… put the cake lower in the oven and possibly cover it with foil with the shiny side outwards.
I made this today for my husband’s birthday. I added a shortbread crust for another recipe, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly as written. My cheesecake turned out very fluffy, with almost a whipped texture. A typical NY style cheesecake is usually pretty dense, so I wonder if I did something wrong. Many of the comments said not to over mix it, so I wonder if I didn’t mix enough. It was well incorporated, but I was being careful not to over beat it. Flavor was perfect and delicious!
Not mixing it enough would result in lumpy cheesecake, mixing it too much makes it fluffy. This should definitely be dense – so it still sounds over-beaten to me. What sweetener did you use?
Fabulous cheesecake. Does tend to taste not as good after a few days in the fridge but I think that is due to the cream cheese. I make half the amount of cheesecake and bake it in a small loaf pan. Takes 90 minutes but it is easier when putting in a water bath. Best recipe ever and tastes just as good as the real deal.
This is my favorite keto dessert! My favorite cheesecake. My best keto friend.
My mom made a cheesecake when I was a kid, and it was so good I still remember the taste. I’ve tried to duplicate it but it always missed the mark. But… I bought your book, tried your recipe, and added the SF strawberry jello and a sprinkling of chopped strawberries on top. It. Was. Perfect.
Your New York style cheesecake is my go-to dessert for guests, special occasions, and even weekly visits with my daughter and son-in-law. Thank you so much for creating this memory-invoking masterpiece!
So happy to hear that!
Has anyone tried freezing the cheesecake after cooking. It’s just the 2 of us.
Made this cheesecake several times and it’s now our fav! I made it yesterday and oops it didn’t rise, it’s flat! So greased the pan well today and made it again, and the same thing! Looking through the glass and I can see it’s not rising! What is going on? Trying to get it right for my grandson’s b-day tomorrow. Hope you can help!
This is a cheesecake… you don’t want it to rise much at all. Otherwise it puffs up, deflates, and cracks. I am confused about your first comment about how it’s your fave?
This recipe was amazing! Super light and delicios!
I love your recipes! I made the New York cheesecake the other day and it was the best cheesecake I’ve ever had! I finished it today and will make another one tomorrow. I’m going to keep one in the fridge at all times. What a great treat to keep me on my Keto path. My husband didn’t believe that it was Keto.
Delighted to hear it!
Hi Carolyn, I have the cheesecake in the oven right now, however, after about 45 minutes it was overflowing. It is still very jiggly so it still needs more time in the oven. Why do you think it raised so much that it overflowed?
So I took it out of the oven and noticed that I used regular foil instead of the usual heavy duty one and water seeped in the tin. I’m guessing that was the problem. Can’t think of any other reason, I’ve been making cheesecakes for a very long time and never had this problem, especially with your recipes.
Darn, I am sorry about that!
Hi Carolyn, do you think this could be made with liquid sweetener? I am having some bad reactions to all erythritol-based sweeteners lately but am craving cheesecake. Do you think the texture will suffer too much if I just add liquid sweetener to taste? Thanks!
It may be a bit more dense but if you can’t tolerate the other options, then I say go for it.