July 11, 2026 · Keto Recipes

Keto Cheesecake Recipe | Classic New York Style, ~5g Net Carbs

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 12
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 57 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 17 minutes

A rich, creamy New York-style cheesecake with a buttery almond flour crust — and nobody will guess it's sugar-free. Five ingredients in the filling, four in the crust, about 5g net carbs per slice. The dessert that makes keto feel like cheating.

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour (for the crust)2 cups almond flour (for the crust)
1/3 cup butter, melted (for the crust)1/3 cup butter, melted (for the crust)
3 tbsp powdered keto sweetener — monk fruit/erythritol blend (for the crust)3 tbsp powdered keto sweetener — monk fruit/erythritol blend (for the crust)
1 tsp vanilla extract (for the crust)1 tsp vanilla extract (for the crust)
32 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature (four 8-oz blocks — for the filling)32 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature (four 8-oz blocks — for the filling)
1 cup powdered keto sweetener — monk fruit/erythritol blend (for the filling)1 cup powdered keto sweetener — monk fruit/erythritol blend (for the filling)
3 large eggs, room temperature (for the filling)3 large eggs, room temperature (for the filling)
1 tbsp lemon juice (for the filling)1 tbsp lemon juice (for the filling)
1 tsp vanilla extract (for the filling)1 tsp vanilla extract (for the filling)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan or line it with parchment paper.
Make the crust: mix the almond flour, melted butter, sweetener, and vanilla in a bowl until well combined, then press the crumbly mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan.
Bake the crust for 5–7 minutes, just to solidify it a bit. Set it aside to cool for a few minutes.
While the crust bakes, whip the cream cheese and powdered sweetener with a stand or hand mixer at LOW to medium speed until smooth.
Mix in the eggs ONE at a time. Then mix in the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Keep the mixer at low speed the whole way — beating air into the batter is what causes bubbles and cracks.
Pour the filling over the crust and smooth the top.
Bake for about 50 minutes, until the edges are slightly firm but the center still jiggles when you nudge the pan.
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature WITHOUT removing the springform ring.
Refrigerate in the pan for at least 4 hours (overnight is even better) before releasing the ring and serving.

Notes

Room-temperature cream cheese is non-negotiable — cold blocks whip into lumps that never smooth out. Leave it on the counter for an hour (or two) before you start.
Powdered sweetener only, not granular — granular erythritol stays gritty in a no-bake-smooth filling like this. If you only have granular, blitz it in a blender first.
Don't chase a firm center in the oven. It sets in the fridge; a wobbly middle at 50 minutes is exactly right. Overbaking is the #1 cause of cracks and dry texture.
A crack happened anyway? Whipped cream covers all sins (as our photo proves). It changes nothing about the taste.
Roughly 5g net carbs per slice (of 12), mostly from the cream cheese and almond flour — the sweetener's sugar alcohols don't count. Values are estimates; check your specific brands.
Store covered in the fridge up to 5 days, or freeze individual slices wrapped in parchment for up to 2 months.

If there's one dessert that convinces people keto isn't a punishment, it's this one. This is a full-size, honest-to-goodness New York-style cheesecake — dense, creamy, tangy — sitting on a buttery almond flour crust, at roughly 5g net carbs per slice. Nobody we've served it to has ever guessed it was sugar-free. Most asked for seconds.

It's also one of the easiest "impressive" desserts in the keto repertoire: four pantry ingredients in the crust, five in the filling, one bowl each, no water bath required.

The Two Rules of Crack-Free Cheesecake

Keep the mixer on LOW. Cheesecake batter isn't cake batter — you're not trying to whip air into it. Air bubbles expand in the oven and collapse in the fridge, and that's where cracks and craters come from. Low speed, just until smooth, eggs one at a time.
Pull it while it still jiggles. At about 50 minutes the edges should be set but the center should wobble like Jell-O when you nudge the pan. It will look underdone; it isn't. The four-hour chill is where the texture finishes — and yes, the chill is mandatory. Cutting early gets you cheesecake soup.

Why Powdered Sweetener Matters

A monk fruit/erythritol blend measures like sugar and — crucially, in powdered form — dissolves like powdered sugar. Granular sweetener never fully dissolves in a dense cream cheese filling and leaves a faint crunch. Any 1:1 powdered keto blend works here; it's the same sweetener strategy we use in our keto chocolate chip cookies.

Make It Your Own

Berry topping: a spoonful of our keto strawberry jam over each slice is the classic move — the tart berries against the rich filling is unbeatable.
Lemon lovers: add 1 tablespoon of lemon zest along with the juice for a brighter, citrus-forward cake.
Coffee pairing: cheesecake this rich wants something bold next to it — a cup of dark roast cuts straight through the cream. (We may be biased, but we know a good one.)
Whipped cream: a swirl of unsweetened (or keto-sweetened) whipped cream on top, exactly like the photo.
No oven day? Try the no-bake cheesecake parfait — the same flavors, whipped light and layered with a cinnamon almond crumble.

Stock up before you bake with the Keto Grocery Shopping List, and if you're new to this way of eating, start with 10 Steps to Start Keto.