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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Hi! Id like to try out this recipe today but use a crust base of nuts. Would you recommend baking the crust first in the pan or bake it all together? Ive never done it in a water pan before so not sure how that would effect the crust base. Thankyou, lydia.
Please look at some of my other cheesecake recipes (I have tons!) to see. Usually you do bake it for a bit first
Carolyn, what a gorgeous cheese cake ! Your directions make this seem like such an easy approach, too. I would love to make this soon!
We are just trying out keto and are looking for a good cheese cake recipe. The problem we have encountered is that we always seem to taste the sachariney sweetness to these sweeteners. Just bought Swerve today and am going to make this cheese cake using that. Any suggestions on other stweeteners that don’t leave that weird aftertaste?
What sweeteners have you already tried?
Absolutely delicious! Thank you!
Thank you so much for the very tasty cheese cake recipe. I made it last night and tried it when it came out of the oven. I didn’t have Swerve so I substitute it with 1/2 cup of powdered splenda plus 1/2 cup of erythritol (did not have the powder). Omitted the lemon zest and baked it in the oven for around 85 min. The top turned out light brown on about half of it and when I took it out of the oven, the whole cake was jittery (not only the center). Is that normal for cheesecake to be jittery everywhere on top and even the sides were not stuck to the side of the pan?
Thanks again
So much of that depends on your pan and your oven. If one side was browned, I suspect your oven has a hot spot (most do… mine has one in the back corner).
My BOSS made this cheesecake just last Friday for an office gathering. IT IS FABULOUS. I love cheesecake and have had many varieties. I also have a TERRIBLE SWEET TOOTH! This recipe was incredible. I truly could not tell that it was Keto/low carb/no sugar and neither could anyone else that ate it. I loved it so much that I asked for the recipe and am getting ready to make it for two birthdays coming up in a week.
So glad to hear it!
Thanks Carolyn,
I served it to my friend and they thought the flavor was excellent and I will remake it without the water bath as I don’t care if the top cracks,
They loved the almond flavor.
What do you use to grease the pan.
( I should mention that the texture improved after being in refrigerator over nite)
Thanks,
Sheila
You will get more cracking if you don’t use a water bath. Mine didn’t crack at all. I use just butter usually to grease a pan like that.
I made this tonight and followed the recipe with the exception of using Almond extract, (which tastes great).. You didn’t state what kind of oil to use to grease pan, so I used Crisco.
I of course had to taste once it was cool and here is my problem, it tastes good, but has a texture similar to ricotta cheese, what do you think went wrong?? It’s not creamy at all
I have never used a water bath and didn’t have a big enough roaster, so I put a pan on lower rack, I didn’t think I’d need to wrap in foil because it wasn’t sitting in water, but the steam seems to have gotten into the cheesecake, as the bottom is very moist/wet could this be my problem?
Yep, you’ve already identified it. I would probably have made the same mistake if I wasn’t using a proper water bath. But because this cheesecake doesn’t have a crust, it would be affected by that steam coming in the seams.
This sounds great, has anyone tried it with almond extract in place of the vanilla? And if so, should I leave out the lemon zest?
Almond extract would be fabulous! I think it could go either way with the lemon zest… could be good!
Love this recipe! I have made it twice – once at Thanksgiving with fresh berries on top and then again this weekend for my husband’s birthday. This second time I also made the berry sauce using 4 types of berries – strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry – in even parts. I served the sauce warm. The cheesecake is so delicious and you do not even miss the crust. The berry sauce is also delicious. My husband has been on keto for 9 months and is a huge cheesecake lover and this has been the answer to having both your cake, eating it, and staying in ketosis!!
So glad to hear it!
I wish you had a veido in how you made the cheesecake . I don’t understand the foil part? Wrap 2 pieces of aluminum foil around the outside of the pan to cover the bottom and most of the way up the sides.
Because the foil is square and the cake pan is round, you need two pieces. Place one in one direction so it covers partway up the sides, then place the other in the other direction. Just try it and you will see instantly what I mean.
Dang man. This stuff is killer. I’ve never had a sugar free cheesecake before but this stuff is legit. I’ve been doing Keto for 3 weeks now and have t really found a dessert I liked on it until now. Thanks!!
So glad to hear it!
I made this for Valentines day dessert and it came out fantastic. Followed the recipe but did use a glass pie plate as I did not have a spring-form pan. I just sprayed the pie plate with cooking spray, the pieces cut nicely and came out of the dish easily. Will definitely make this again. This really was very easy to make and this was the first time I have ever made a cheesecake.
Glad to hear it!
Help! My cheesecake is completely browned on top! I followed the recipe exactly and baked for the 90 minutes. Is there any way to fix it?
There’s no real way to fix it although you can cover it with a whipped cream topping. What kind of oven do you have? Is it convection by chance? It shouldn’t brown on top at all, as you can see from the photos.
I love making a sour cream topping for cheesecakes.. it is perfect to cover the darker or cracked surfaces… I use a container of full fat sour cream… add vanilla and sweetener to taste. Spread on cheesecake and refrigerate. I usually do this while still cooling. Pre-keto days I used to bake cheesecakes that had this recipe on top????
Can i use truvia instead of swerve?
I think it would work but Truvia is 2x as sweet as Swerve so you would need less.
Hi. I am wondering if you can help with metric meausrements, specifically how much in grams in 1 cup of powdered swerve and 3/4 cup of sour cream? Thanks
This is a great site for finding the metric of “conventional” baking ingredients. https://thegourmandiseschool.com/measurement-charts/ It states that a cup of sour cream is 240g. So 3/4 of that would be 180g? (doing the math in my head…). As for Swerve, the back of the package says 3g per teaspoon. There are 3 teaspoons per tablespoon and 16 tablespoons per cup. So 3x3x16 = 144g