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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I would like to carry this onto a plane. Do you think the whole cake could be frozen? It would help to keep it cool while traveling.
There seem to be several comments about the top browning. Should one be using convection bake or regular bake? Also, when is convection bake recommenced?
Yes, the whole cake can be frozen. And it’s done in a regular oven.
I want to make this cheese cake in silicone cupcake cups for easy serving a large group of people. Any help on cooking time and if you think this will work or not would be appreciated. Thanks,ll
I have another mini cheesecake (cinnamon roll) that might give you some guidance on baking time. This won’t have a crust, though, so that might affect it too. Just use the search box and look for my mini cheesecakes.
This is a great recipe! I made them in cupcake/muffin tins with a little bit of orange extract. Delicious! I got 18 cupcakes out of the batter but I think I over beat the batter because they all fell a little in the middle. Baked for 45 minutes and they came out perfect. Next time I’m trying with Almond Extract. Thank you!
Carolyn: This cheesecake is fabulous! I am 100% keto, and I just got an “instant pot” and was wondering how you would adjust this recipe for a 7″ pan cooked in an instant pot–would like to make this for Thanksgiving! THANK YOU for all you do!
What you will need to do is find the area of a 9 inch circle vs the area of a 7 inch circle. The cut your batter down accordingly.
I made this today and it was AMAZING. You would never know there is not cane sugar. The lemon zest makes It! I baked closer to 90 minutes. I will 100% be making this for Thanksgiving!
Hello! I did Keto about 2 years ago, used this recipe for a treat that I couldn’t have DAILY and lost over 50 lbs in about 8 weeks! After some family trauma,I fell off the Keto wagon and today I am making my grocery list to start again. The FIRST place I went to is your website, so because of your recipe I shall begin again. THANK YOU!!!
Lisa, welcome back. I can understand getting de-railed but I am glad you’re committing to it again and so very glad my recipes help.
Has anyone made this version into pumpkin cheesecake? If so what measurements?
Just taking my NYSC out of the ocen shortly. I subbed the lemon rind for 2 tsp Watkin’s Caramel extract. My house smells amazing!!! Cannot wait to taste it tomorrow. It might be my breakfast ! Lol
It is very crumbly… but tastes so amazing… what have I done wrong?
If it’s crumbly something went very very wrong. I don’t know but it sounds like you made an error in some way. I wish I could help but without being in your kitchen, I don’t know what happened.
This recipe was an absolute hit at the potluck, Thank you!
So glad to hear it!
This recipe was AMAZING! Best keto cheesecake ever. My hubby made this for me for my birthday and it was way better than the one I made previously. I’m wondering if I can add canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie seasoning instead of the lemon to turn this into a pumpkin cheesecake?? Do you think it would set if I add canned pumpkin?
You probably could but I would also leave out the sour cream, as pumpkin puree adds a great deal of moisture.
This is fabulous! Made it last night (with a blackcurrant coulis) for a family dinner and it’s all gone. Thank you for all your wonderful easy to follow recipes, I have made so many of them….
Tomorrow is my daughter’s 12th birthday and she has asked me to make it again to have with fresh raspberries while waiting for your cookies & cream birthday cake recipe which looks totally divine 😉
So glad you liked it!
Can you recommend what to add if you prefer to not use any sweetener? Maybe more cream cheese or ? Thanks!
I don’t think you will need to add anything to give it structure, it should be okay. I am curious… entirely unsweetened cheesecake?
This was really, really good! Didn’t need any toppings, thank you!
Hi! I’m about to make my first cheesecake (and my first keto cheesecake…yours)!
Can I use Bocha Sweet instead of Swerve? If so, is there a conversion or just a straight 1:1 ratio?
I just ordered BochaSweet to use to make your dulce de leche and cannot wait to try that recipe too.
In a cheesecake like this, Bocha sweet should be fine. And yes, it’s a straight conversion although I find BS a little less sweet tasting once baked. But it’s hard to say since all of us experience these sweeteners differently.
Thank you! its about to go in the oven!
Can I use sugar free Jell-o mix instead of sweetener?
I don’t think it would be very good in this recipe. It would affect the consistency a lot.
Oh my, oh my! I had to adapt this to the 16 oz. of cream cheese I had on hand. Easy enough to reduce everything by a third. I added the zest of a whole lemon and the juice from a lemon. This cheesecake recipe is FAB-U-LOUS. PERIOD. END OF THE STORY. It is far superior to the low carb cheesecake offering at Cheesecake Factory. I am still swooning from the one tiny taste I had from the little sample cheesecake I made with the batter. My oh my! I can’t wait to have a real portion. I shall savor it slowly and bow and curtsy to your brilliance! I can keto forever like this.????
So glad you liked it!
This cheesecake is by far my favorite (and I have tried several)!! It truly tastes like New York Style cheesecake. I have taken this to family events where people are not on keto and they LOVED it too! Thank you so much for this recipe!
So glad to hear it!