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!
Let’s just get this straight right now. Keto cheesecake is possibly as close to heaven as you will get on this earth. Or at least as close to heaven as you will get on a ketogenic diet.
I really do have a passion for making cheesecake and I am grateful that it’s so easy to make without sugar. When I first embarked on a low carb diet, cheesecake was among the first keto dessert recipes I made. And it was so good, I kept dreaming up all sorts of different flavors. Now I’ve got everything from Keto Strawberry Cheesecake to Mini “Snickers” Cheesecakes.
So you might say that it’s one of the things that keeps me happily sticking to my healthy diet. As long as I know that there is keto cheesecake in the world, I can handle anything.
Why you must try this recipe
This keto cheesecake recipe is made in the New York style. You may well be wondering how that differs from classic cheesecake, and I’ve got one word for you: texture.
New York cheesecake is more dense and creamy than the regular kind. It’s so smooth and rich, it’s like velvet on your tongue. And it has a very simple flavor profile, without too many additions. Most people top it with a simple berry sauce.
It often includes sour cream or heavy cream, and sometimes even a little butter to give it a unique velvety texture.
The end result is so rich and delicious, it doesn’t even need a crust! That keeps it simple and even lower in carbs. So you can eat more of it!
Reader Testimonials
“I’ve been making this cheesecake for over a year now and it comes out great every time. Thanks for such a great and easy recipe. It’s so nice to have a treat and not feel guilty about it.” — Annette
“This is absolutely THE BEST cheesecake I have ever made or tasted. Nothing else nowadays comes close to these macros while being *more* delicious than the sugar-laden cheesecakes out there. My non keto inlaws loved it and didn’t know it was sugar free.” — Angela
Ingredients you need
- Full fat cream cheese: Read the labels and avoid brands with lots of fillers, which can raise the carb count. Good organic cream cheese such as Organic Valley has only 1g carbs per serving (1 oz), and the USDA listing for cream cheese indicates that it has 1.2g carbs per ounce.
- Butter: This recipe uses unsalted butter.
- Powdered sweetener: I highly recommend using Swerve Confectioners for this cheesecake. I made this for a friend recently using an allulose based sweetener, and it took almost 24 hours to set properly in the fridge. So be mindful that any changes to the original recipe may affect the outcome.
- Sour cream: The addition of sour cream gives the filling a 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.
Step-by-step directions
1. 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.
2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter for 1 to 2 minutes, until completely smooth. Then beat in the powdered sweetener until well combined.
3. Add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat until the batter is smooth. Scrape down the beaters and the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just barely combined. Pour the batter in the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan gently on the counter a few times to help release any air bubbles.
4. 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.
5. 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 oven, then carefully remove the springform pan from the water bath. Let cool to room temperature.
6. 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.
Expert tips
Bain marie: 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.
Room temperature ingredients are a must! If you add cold liquids or eggs to the cream cheese, it will clump badly. And once it becomes lumpy, it’s hard to rescue and smooth it out again.
Add the eggs last: This is one of the best pieces of advice I can give for making ANY cheesecake, keto or not. It helps you avoid over-beating the cheesecake mixture, which can cause cracking.
Don’t over-beat: Overly vigorous 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.
Jiggle it, just a little bit. You know your cheesecake is done when it’s mostly set but the center still jiggles slightly when you shake 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most cheesecake recipes have a high sugar content and shouldn’t be consumed on a keto diet. However, with a few minor changes, you can make cheesecake that is very low in carbs. And as it has a high fat content, it’s an ideal keto dessert.
This keto cheesecake recipe has only 2.9g total carbs per serving. This does not include the easy berry sauce or any other toppings or additions.
Absolutely! This cake freezes like a dream. You can freeze the entire cake or cut it into individual slices and freeze those. As always, wrap it up tightly to avoid freezer burn. It will be good for at least 2 months.
There are a number of possibilities. It could be that you over-beat the mixture, so be careful there. It may also be that you didn’t cool it properly before chilling. Once it cools to room temperature, run a sharp knife just around the inside of the pan to loosen it before you release the pan sides. Otherwise the sides will pull the cheesecake apart and cause cracks.
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 Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 ounces (680.39 g) cream cheese, softened
- 5 tbsp (71 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (182 g) powdered Swerve 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 300F 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 and butter 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
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what did you use for your berry sauce? Hope to make this in the next day or so. Do you think it will freeze well?It looks amazing!!
It’s just 1 cup raspberries, 1/4 cup water boiled together until the berries are soft. Then you can stir in sweetener to taste.
And yes, the cake alone freezes just fine.
Made this last night, amazing!!!! So good. I think I’ll make it and take along to Christmas functions it’s that good ????
Wonderful!
Made this and it’s delicious! I put a cup of ground nuts (pecans and walnuts mixed with one pack of stevia), before baking and it is great!
I have my second cheesecake in the oven right now. I used to make a good cheesecake with Splenda but I got to where I just couldnt stand the splenda after taste. This recipe is my first experience with swerve and it’s great without any aftertaste. This is a perfect cheesecake and I plan on keeping one in the fridge at all times.
So glad you like it!
It was the first time I ever made a cheese cake and debuted it for Thanksgiving dessert. I was impressed. There was not a piece remaining except for the piece I hid to eat the next day. A couple of things though: I think some of the water sneaked in and a New York cheesecake is typically heavier and more dense. Any tips on getting it to be a little more dense. I’m making another one tonight. Many thanks!
You do need to wrap it tightly to avoid the water. More dense… hmmm. Maybe no sour cream!
Best cheesecake yet! Easy. Tasty. I have made 5 and each time i try a bit different. I added coco and pb powders in one amd a uber chocolate with melted chocolate topping amd the new york style with a choc whipped topping. Always turns out good. Thank you!
Haha nevermind, I found it! ????
How many servings do you cut this into for the carb and calorie count?
I am just wondering if I made these into bite size cups can they be frozen?
I am sure they can but I can’t guide you as to baking time because I haven’t made it that way.
I made this cheesecake yesterday. It came out beautifully! I did not have powdered Swerve so I put my granular Swerve in the food processor. The cheesecake was yummy and I made the berry sauce to go with it. I was curious about the nutritional values as the recipe only shows how much fat, total carbs, and protein. No fiber, no sugar, no sugar alcohols. How I I find out how many net carbs a slice is then?
There is no fiber in a cheesecake like this. And as I state in my nutritional disclaimer, I don’t count erythritol toward carbs since our bodies don’t treat it as a carb. So what you see there is the total carb count.
Can I make this using granulated Swerve? Would it make a difference on the cheesecake as opposed to powdered?
It just may turn out a bit grittier although I think it should be okay.
It’s a delicious cheesecake, however I think next time I will leave out the lemon zest.
Why don’t you list the nutritional information on this recipe? How many regular calories, fat, carbs, protein?
What are you seeing? Because ALL of the nutritional information is right at the bottom of the recipe.
I’m looking forward to trying this! Question: I substitute Greek yogurt in place of sour cream when I can because I personally don’t notice much difference in taste, and yogurt is so healthy. Do you think a Greek yogurt substitution would work in this recipe as well?
I really can’t say for sure but as long as it’s thick, it will probably work.
Hi!
I want to make this cheesecake today! But I don’t have sour cream, can I substitute it with yogurt?
I think so as long as it’s good thick Greek yogurt. Otherwise you’re better off waiting.
I’d like to try this as mini cheesecakes baked in a silicon mold. How long would I bake it for in 12 cup muffin mold?
No idea since I didn’t bake it that way.
I forgot to buy a lemon! Will orange zest work?
Absolutely!
Really excited to try this recipe however, I’m confused about the carbs per serving. There are 3 grams of carbs per tsp of the swerve sweetener, 48 tsp in a cup, which means the entire cheesecake has 144 grams of carbs. If there are only 12 servings then there would be 12 grams of carbs per slice, no?
Nope. Because while Swerve has “carbs”, they have zero impact on blood glucose and shouldn’t be counted. I test this on myself every day. 🙂
Oooh that’s amazing, I had no idea (new to Keto over here)!
Success! Your recipe is superb! I will definitely make this again, and again! My husband and I are so loving this heavenly and guilt-free keto cheesecake! Even with my sour cream being a third cup short (did not have enough), the outcome was still phenomenal.
Thank you so much!
Oops! Dunno how I did that but I must have been looking at another recipe. I’ll be making this next month and will be back with the results. ????
Thank you Carolyn, this was a great cheesecake. I really like the addition of butter. We’re fans of dense cheesecake–in our house, the only time the words “cheesecake” and “fluffy” go together is if the word “not” is between them ????–and in so many years of cheesecake experimentation I never thought to add butter to help add body and solidity! Such a great idea. Pretty sure I’ll be making cheesecake like this from now on. I confess, I didn’t use a water bath. No matter how carefully I’ve wrapped the pan, I have never once used a water bath and produced a cheesecake that wasn’t waterlogged. So I put a pan of water on the lower oven rack. My cake cracked, but my husband and I didn’t care. And the berry sauce…I used strawberries. Best berry sauce ever! No thickener needed! Lovely, pure flavor and texture! Just excellent. Five stars well-earned.
Hi Carolyn!
Your New York Style Keto Cheesecake recipe looks AMAZING and I’m thinking about making it for Thanksgiving next month but I’m a little confused about the measurements for some of the ingredients. I know enough about baking to know that measurements for baked goods need to be exact (as, say, compared to cooking). I’m not an intuitive baker (or really a baker at all!) How would you suggest I accurately measure 4.17 tbsp (the butter) 0.83 cup (Swerve), 0.63 cup (sour cream), 1.67 tsp (grated lemon zest)?
I’m sorry, I am really confused about this too because those are not my measurements. Were you trying to scale it up or down for a different number of servings?
Scale, you can convert and measure that way.
I just took the cake out of oven, after 1: hour and 20 minutes; my top looks a little
Golden no white. Way do think that happen?
I have it cooling to roomtepture now
That’s perfectly okay. Some ovens brown things more than others. I think it will still be amazing.