This keto strawberry cheesecake is smooth and creamy, with a rich chocolate crust and a sugar-free chocolate ganache topping. It’s a decadent no-bake dessert, all topped off with chocolate covered strawberries for a beautiful presentation.
It’s hot out there and you don’t want to turn on your oven, but you still want to enjoy a fabulous keto strawberry cheesecake. What to do, what to do?
The solution is simple, my friends. All you need to do is whip up this creamy no bake cheesecake. It’s been one of my most popular keto desserts for a long time, and with good reason. It’s delicious and so beautiful, everyone will think you slaved over it. Shhhh, the secret is ours.
It’s a good thing strawberries are keto friendly, because they are so tempting and delicious, especially when they’re in season. Check out all of my keto strawberry recipes for ideas and inspiration.
The joy of fresh local strawberries
I am pretty certain that there is nothing as delicious as a fresh local strawberry. The year-round imported variety can’t even come close to that burst of sunshine on your tongue. I no longer allow myself to purchase strawberries out of season, because I am inevitably disappointed in their wooden taste and texture.
But as soon as our local farmer’s market opens in May, I start stalking the stalls for berries. I have been known to get there 10 minutes in advance, so I can be the first in line to grab a few pints. And if they’re looking particularly fresh, I purchase a half flat.
Then I let my family indulge themselves, while I dream up new low carb strawberry recipes. Like this no bake keto strawberry cheesecake. It’s so dreamy and rich, and the chocolate covered strawberries on top are proverbial icing on the cake!
Ingredients for keto chocolate strawberry cheesecake
This is the sort of recipe that only looks complicated to make. It’s actually quite easy. Gather your ingredients and let’s get started!
For the cheesecake:
- No bake chocolate crust – I’ve used this basic press in chocolate crust for any number of other recipe, such as Keto Peanut Butter Pie.
- Fresh strawberries – this cheesecake is best made with fresh strawberries. If absolutely necessary, you can use frozen berries for the cheesecake filling. But you really need fresh berries for the garnish.
- Grassfed gelatin – To help the no bake cheesecake set properly, we need a little gelatin. I recommend using a good grassfed gelatin like Great Lakes. You can use Knox gelatin but you will only need one envelope.
- Cream cheese – as always, make sure it’s properly softened so that you get a smooth strawberry filling.
- Heavy whipping cream – whipped to stiff peaks, this makes your cheesecake light and creamy.
- Powdered sweetener – don’t use the granular sweeteners as they will make your filling gritty.
- Vanilla extract
For the chocolate topping and garnish:
- Fresh strawberries – Thinly slice some of those beautiful fresh strawberries, to make a pretty ring around the outside of the cake. Keep 4 whole berries for the top.
- Heavy whipping cream – Bring this to a simmer for the chocolate ganache.
- Unsweetened chocolate – do not use sweetened sugar-free chocolate here, you want the 100% cacao chocolate with no sweetener whatsoever.
- Two sweeteners – I like to use powdered Swerve, along with 1 tablespoon of allulose or BochaSweet. This will keep the topping smooth and shiny as it sets.
- Vanilla extract
How to make No Bake Keto Strawberry Cheesecake
While this recipe has a number of parts, it’s not difficult to make at all. Let’s walk through it together.
- Whisk the crust ingredients until they begin to clump together. Then press them firmly into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. To smooth it out, you can use a flat bottomed glass or measuring up.
- Take some strawberry slices and set them standing up around the inside of the pan, on top of the crust. They should stick easily to the sides of the pan and create an eye-catching border around the finished cheesecake.
- Bring the berries to a boil with a little water and cook until soft. Then mash them up with a fork or a potato masher.
- Bloom the gelatin in some water and once it’s thickened, stir it into the warm berry puree until the gelatin dissolves.
- Whip the cream to stiff peaks with the vanilla.
- Beat the cream cheese with the powdered sweetener, then beat in the berry puree. Finally, fold in the whipped cream and pour the batter over the crust.
- Patience, friends! You need to let the cheesecake set a full 3 hours in the fridge.
- Bring the cream to a simmer for the keto chocolate ganache. Once everything is melted and smooth, dip 4 whole strawberries into the chocolate. Set them on a waxed paper lined plate and refrigerate until set.
- Pour the remaining ganache all over the top of the cake.
See, it’s really not that hard. You dirty a number of bowls, but the end result is worth it, believe me! It’s the best keto strawberry cheesecake you will ever make.
Want to try this delicious cheesecake but don’t want all the leftovers? You’re in luck! Check out my Mini Strawberry Cheesecake for Two.
More delicious keto no bake cheesecake recipes
- Mini Keto “Snickers” Cheesecakes
- Keto Blueberry Cheesecake Pie
- No Bake Keto Chocolate Cheesecake
- Mini “Nutella” Cheesecakes
- No Bake Turtle Cheesecake
- No Bake Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
Keto Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
No Bake Crust
- 1 ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup Swerve Sweetener
- Pinch salt
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 7 or 8 smallish strawberries thinly sliced
Strawberry Cheesecake Filling
- 2 ½ cups chopped strawberries
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon water divided
- 1 tablespoon grassfed gelatin
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
Chocolate Ganache
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 ½ ounces unsweetened chocolate chopped
- 2 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tablespoon allulose or BochaSweet
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust
- Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture begins to clump together.
- Press the m ixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Stand the berry slices upright around edge of the crust to create a border. Set aside.
Strawberry Cheesecake Filling
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the chopped strawberries and 2 tablespoons of the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the berries can be mashed with a fork, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and mash into a puree.
- Place the remaining ¼ cup water in a small bowl and sprinkle the surface with the gelatin. Let sit a few minutes to thicken. Add the gelled mixture to the strawberry puree and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the whipping cream with the vanilla until it holds soft peaks. Set aside.
- In another large bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the sweetener until combined and then beat in the strawberry puree.
- Carefully fold in the whipped cream until no streaks remain. Spread the filling over the crust. Refrigerate at least 3 hours until set.
- Once set, carefully run a sharp knife around the sides of the pan to loosen (try not to disturb the berry border). Remove the sides.
Chocolate Ganache
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to just a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit a few minutes to melt.
- Add the sweeteners and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Dip a few whole strawberries into the ganache and place on a waxed paper lined dish. Refrigerate until set.
- Pour the remaining ganache over the top of the cake, spreading to the edges and letting some drip down the sides. Place the chocolate covered strawberries on the top of the cake.
- Refrigerate 20 minutes or so to set the chocolate.
Rebecca J says
Hi Carolyn,
I have made this recipe many times, and we all still love it. Thank you so much for creating it. It’s such a treat! Question for you – I’ve been trying to get away from all the sugar alcohols, even erythritol. Do you think I could substitute allulose everywhere? If I grind it up in the Vitamix, would it work for the powdered Swerve?
Carolyn says
No, you definitely cannot sub allulose for every recipe. Please read this: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/best-keto-sweeteners/
Kelly Estrada says
Another hit!
Penelope says
Thank you so much, This recipe is delicious!! Great to not have to bake, just set in fridge, and tastes divine! I adjusted the fruit so it was a mix of strawberries, plums and rhubarb to get a little more sharpness in flavor.
Thank you!!
Jennifer Leinhos says
I made this recipe yesterday, except the version for two people. I made for mini cheesecakes and everyone loved them! It is so easy and so so good. I us d a combo of low fat and vegan cream cheese as that’s what I had on hand. Thanks for another great recipe.
Patricia Keegan says
Caroline,
I made this strawberry cheesecake dessert to bring to a dinner party. It did not set up entirely. As long as it was in the fridge, it stayed in shape, but as soon as it was out of the fridge, it began to melt. It was delicious, but more like mousse than cheesecake. This is my humble opinion, but I think I needed more gelatin. If I were to add more gelatin, should I still use 1/4 c of water?
Thanks…love your recipes!
Pat
Betty says
How long will this keep in the fridge? Can I make it a few days before my dinner party?
Carolyn says
I would not make it any more than 2 days in advance, for fresher flavor.
Royce says
Absolutely delicious. Loved how it was not too rich, sweet or heavy. It was a little soft as for being fully set. We used a gelatin packet, and I think next time we will use 1 1/2 packets. This is a definite recipe we will make again, don’t think anyone would ever guess it is a low carb “keto” dessert.
Alisa Brown says
Hi! Would it be ok to sub the almond flour for coconut flour? Or I have the Thm baking blend? Thanks!
Carolyn says
No to either of those. The crust would be very crumbly and dry. You can try sunflower seed flour.
Birgit says
It’s so delicious and it’s my husbands favourite. But I do have a question. I made two, one after the other. I did double the amount of strawberries but everything else was made as a single recipe. The first one turned out perfectly which was a good thing as I brought it to a dinner party. However the second one had seemed to set before I added the ganache. It was cool when I added it to the top. I travelled to my daughter (1 1/2 hrs away) and immediately refrigerated it upon arrival. It was wrapped in foil and placed in a cooler for transportation. When serving it at dinner it was extremely soft and sunny. Do you have any thoughts about what I did wrong? I forgot to mention that I did measure the puréed strawberries so that they were the same amount. Thanks
Carolyn says
It just sounds like maybe something got mismeasured in the second one, because you were attempting to double it? Hard to say with all those different factors going on…
Ariadna says
Hi Carolyn,
I love your recipes! Had made many of them. The taste of this cheesecake is delicious, but not sure why the texture was not the same consistency of of cheesecake. It was softer more like mousse. I am eating it anyway, but was wondering what could have happened? The only thing I used was Lakanto powedered sugar and not Swerve. So could that be it? Or could the brand of Heavy cream affected it as well? Do you have any suggestions. Thanks
Carolyn says
I don’t think that would be the issue… but do keep in mind that no-bake cheesecake is set with gelatin, rather than baked with eggs. So it does have a different texture.
Lynn fiorillo says
I made these and it was easy and everybody loved it! They didn’t even realize that it wasn’t even white granular sugar! Sweve tasted the same! Thank you!
Shelly says
Good evening! I made this for lunch today. We liked it! Really good! Can I freeze leftovers? I am sorry if you already answered this. Thank you again for all your hard work. May Jesus continue to bless you and your family
Carolyn says
You should be able to!
Holli Krebs says
Hi Carolyn, I have a box of knox gelatine packets that is unopened, I have never used it. Except it has an expiration date of February 2022 on the top of the box. Should I still use it or order a new box? I know it seems obvious but does the gelatine actually go bad or become inactive? Thanks for your patience. (:
Carolyn says
I *think* you can still use it. But I can’t guarantee it! Expiration dates are pretty arbitrary anyway…
Carol Ann says
I made this cake for tonight’s dessert! It was super easy & very delicious and light. My company enjoyed it a lot too.
Arielle says
Would I be able to use frozen strawberries to make the purée? Star berries are a bit expensive and not very tasty in Manitoba right now but I was hoping to make this for Mother’s Day
Carolyn says
Yes, absolutely!
Sherry says
Hi Carolyn, I don’t have any allulose but I have erythitol or monkfruit sweetner. Can I substitute either of these in the ganache. Thank you for a great recipe. All made. Just letting it set in the fridge and then travelling to my brothers tomorrow.
I also added some lemon zest to the strawberry puree to brighten up the flavour although when mixed with the whipping cream and cream cheese tasted wonderful.
Carolyn says
Monkfruit sweetener is just really erythritol in disguise. Just stick with powdered sweetener of any kind.
Corissa says
It wasn’t even like a mouse or like cheesecake it was completely runny no need for a springform pan when everything started coming out since it was severely runny I’m just gonna make cheesecake next that you actually bake just as cheesecake should always be and I’m
A chef too
Carolyn says
If it was runny, then something went VERY wrong. Whether or not you’re a chef, just looking at the comments on this post you can see that it works out for most folks. I suspect your gelatin didn’t actually gel, or something to that effect.
Michelle says
I would love to know how to substitute the almond flour as my husband has a severe allergy.
What I can use and how much. There are so many recipes I would love to do and can’t. Seed powders are gross tasting unfortunately. Any ideas would be wonderful. I also have made a few of your desserts and have turned out very well! Thank you also for giving such detailed instructions on your recipes to prevent mistakes.
Carolyn says
Read this: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/how-to-make-your-own-sunflower-seed-flour/
Annabelle says
Beautiful tasting, but more like a mousse than a cheesecake. Will definitely make again but this time I might double the gelatine?
Daniela says
Hi! In your blogpost it says to use one envelope of knox gelatin, but in a previous comment it says to use two…
Just wondering what was the most recent recommendation? Thank you!
Carolyn says
Use 1. My updated recipe is better.