Keto Chocolate Cheesecake
With layers of a brownie batter base, luscious chocolate cheesecake, and a topping of chocolate ganache, this easy no-bake Keto Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe is any chocolate lover’s dream. My low carb chocolate cheesecake will be the best keto dessert you’ve ever tried.
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When I saw a video for a no-bake brownie batter cheesecake floating around on Facebook, I knew it would be the perfect partner to my Keto Cookie Dough Cheesecake! Brownie batter is just as good to eat from the bowl as cookie dough is. I had to give it a try as a cheesecake too.
And it came out perfect. It has become my favorite cheesecake recipe. This keto chocolate cheesecake is rich, decadent, and can even be made as mini cheesecakes for portion control. This easy chocolate cheesecake recipe is also gluten free, grain free, sugar free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
Want more no-bake low carb cheesecake recipes? Try this Cannoli Cheesecake. You can’t go wrong with a no-bake cheesecake that tastes just like a cannoli. Or my Keto Oreo Cheesecake Bites, which taste like cheesecake plus classic Oreo cookies.
Ingredients
Brownie Crust
- Almond Flour – You can sub in sunflower seed flour to make this cheesecake nut free.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – Raw cocoa powder works too.
- Sweetener – I use a blend of erythritol or allulose, stevia, and xylitol. I give alternatives for other keto sweeteners in the recipe card.
- Butter – I use salted butter to contrast the sweetness.
- Cream Cheese – Any brand of cream cheese is fine.
- Gelatin – You want plain unsweetened gelatin and you add it to the crust in its powdered form. It is optional but gives a little boost of protein.
- Vanilla – Any vanilla extract is fine in this recipe.
Cheesecake Filling
- Dissolved Gelatin – To get the gelatin ready for the cheesecake, you simply sprinkle it over cold water and then mix it in hot water until it is dissolved.
- Cream Cheese – I use full fat cream cheese, but low-fat cream cheese can work as well. Just make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature before mixing.
- Sweetener – If you want to grind your sweetener or use a powdered sweetener, you can. I don’t find this cheesecake gritty with granular sweetener, but using a powdered sweetener can eliminate that possibility.
- Cocoa Powder – Make sure to choose one that tastes good to you.
- Heavy Cream – Makes a no-bake cheesecake extra creamy.
- Sour Cream – I love how the tang of sour cream balances the creaminess of the cream cheese.
- Vanilla – Just a little enhances the other flavors.
- Baking Soda – Just a pinch cuts the bitterness from the cocoa powder.
Ganache Topping
- Sugar Free Chocolate Chips – Any chips will work, milk chocolate chips, semi sweet chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips.
- Heavy Cream – Heavy whipping cream, light cream, or even half and half work in ganache.
How to Make Keto Chocolate Cheesecake
1️⃣ Prepare the Crust
Pulse the ingredients for the chocolate almond flour crust in your food processor. It will look like clumps of dirt.
Pour them into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan and press down to make an even crust. You can do this with your fingers or with an upside-down measuring cup.
2️⃣ Make the Filling
Process the bloomed (dissolved) gelatin and the other ingredients for the chocolate cream cheese filling in the same food processor (no need to wash it).
👉 Tip: Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer or electric mixer and a large bowl. Mix the crust ingredients, which should look like cookie crumbs mixed with melted butter. Then press into the pan, and then beat the cream cheese until fluffy, and add the other ingredients.
Spread the chocolate cream cheese mixture on top of the prepared chocolate crust. Chill for at least one hour at this point.
3️⃣ Make the Topping
Make the ganache by heating the chocolate and cream. You can do this in a double boiler on the stove or in the microwave. If microwaving, heat until the chocolate is 50% melted and then just stir until it melts completely. Spread the chocolate ganache gently over the cheesecake filling.
4️⃣ Chill the Cheesecake
Chill the keto cheesecake in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Preferably 3-4 hours or even overnight.
Variations
- Peppermint – I love the combination of chocolate and mint around the holidays. Add a teaspoon of peppermint extract into the no bake chocolate cheesecake filling and half a teaspoon into the ganache.
- Mocha – Love coffee? Add a tablespoon of either instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder into the filling.
- Pie Plate – If you’d like to make this in a pie plate instead of a springform pan, you may. But I would suggest halving the amount of filling, or it may not fit.
- Topping – You can top this with whipped cream instead of ganache if you prefer. Just beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form and then add a powdered sugar style sweetener to taste.
- Classic – Looking for a non-chocolate version? You can make this Keto No-Bake Cheesecake with lemon, lime, or vanilla!
Common Questions
How do I make smooth ganache?
My tip for ganache is just to mix, mix, and mix some more. As you mix it thickens and gets glossy. You are looking for a smooth, thick, glossy texture. Sometimes I make ganache with unsweetened chocolate, sweetener, and cream but this time I kept it simple and just used sugar-free chocolate chips.
How can I Make Chocolate Less Bitter?
Making the no-bake keto chocolate cheesecake filling chocolaty without being bitter was the key to this recipe. I decided to add a pinch of baking soda, and that did the trick!
Using Gelatin in No Bake Cheesecake
Over the years, I’ve finally mastered the art of blooming gelatin to use in cheesecake. At first, I was afraid to add hot water to melt the gelatin. Truth. I thought it would water down the cheesecake. So I’d add less water, not dissolve the gelatin properly, and end up with clumpy cheesecake.
Then I tried just adding the powdered gelatin. This works well for a soft set cheesecake. But if you want a nice firm no-bake cheesecake, you need gelatin. And you have to dissolve it. Go ahead and add the hot water. It will be ok. You need it.
How to Make Cheesecake in the Food Processor
This is the easiest way to make any cheesecake, but especially a low carb cheesecake when you are making all the components from scratch! You can mix up the crust and then make the filling without even washing it!
Just add the crust ingredients and process until they come together in large crumbs. Then press those into your pan and add the filling ingredients. Process again until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.
When I started working on this recipe, I used a couple of my low carb recipes for brownies as a beginning point. I left out the eggs and worked on making the batter into more of a crust texture without losing that brownie taste. I think I did a pretty good job!
Keto Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
Brownie Crust
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1 tbsp gelatin
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Cheesecake Filling
- 2 tsp cold water
- 2 tsp gelatin
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 16 oz cream cheese
- 2/3 cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Ganache Topping
- 3/4 cup sugar free chocolate chips
- 4 oz heavy cream
Instructions
Brownie Base
- Pulse the ingredients for the brownie batter crust in a food processor until large crumbs form. Press into the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan.
Cheesecake Filling
- Put the cold water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin on top of the cold water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add the hot water and stir until dissolved.
- Add the remaining filling ingredients to the food processor. Process until smooth. Add the softened gelatin. Pulse until smooth. Pour on top of the prepared crust.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before adding the ganache.
Ganache
- Heat the cream to just before the boiling point. Pour over the chocolate. Stir until it is smooth. Pour over the chilled cheesecake and spread to cover the top.
- Chill for at least 2 hours or until firm enough to unmold.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally Published July 16, 2018. Revised and Republished March 11, 2026.
I made this today and it is to die for!! Something went terribly wrong with the gelatin, though. I followed the directions, but after I let it set for 5 minutes, it was basically a big clump! I added the hot water, but I never could get it to fully dissolve. I stirred and stirred and stirred with a little wire whisk, but there were still little lumps. I went ahead and added to the filling and it seemed like the little lumps turned into huge chunks of hard gelatin balls! I spent 20 minutes fishing them out of the filling. What did I do wrong??
Blooming gelatin does have a learning curve. In the future add more hot water, little by little, until all the gelatin dissolves.
Gelatin needs to be put into cold water first and then heated to boiling and cooled down. works awesome
Hi, I asked a question just minutes ago on you homemade Gentle Sweet recipe because I am wanting to make this recipe as well as possibly use this brownie crust in another cheesecake I am modifying for Keto. The other cheesecake uses 24 oz cream cheese, 15oz sweet and condensed milk (gonna swap for homemade keto version), 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, and chocolate chips(gonna use sugar free), with a butter and cocoa/graham cracker(some similar recipes use Oreos) crust recipe. I want to use this brownie crust- am I going to ruin it by baking it? My original recipe calls to form the graham cracker crust in the springform pan, pour the batter in then bake for an hour at 300° and leave in the oven for an additional hour before cooling in the fridge. Is this doable with your brownie crust or do you have suggestions of how to do a replacement for my chocolate graham cracker crust? Thank in advance!
I think this crust would work for a baked cheesecake as well. Please let me know how it turns out 😀
I made this twice for the holidays. I used a group of ladies at a potluck for my ‘guinea pigs’ the first time, and they gave it huge thumbs up. Then I made one for my father-in-law for Christmas. He’s diabetic, so keto recipes work well for him. He enjoyed it and put some in the freezer for later. Thanks, Taryn!
I don’t have sugar free chocolate. How should I make the ganache with heavy cream, unsweetened chocolate and sweetener?
I have a ganache using those ingredients here: https://joyfilledeats.com/raspberries-with-ganache/
You will have to double it to have enough to cover the cheesecake.
Thanks! Can’t wait to try this.
Your desserts truly bring joy! I made this in little bite sized molds (without the top layer since I didn’t have any sugar free chips). They turned out perfect…especially frozen! Thanks for making the holidays so much easier!
Does this freeze well? Would I then defrost before serving?
Yes. If you freeze in individual slices you can eat it frozen. I love it that way.
This cheesecake was the best ever! I have made a LOT of THM desserts over the last year that I’ve been doing THM, and this is by far the very best one. I only made half of the recipe because I’ve learned that it’s best to test and see if I’m going to like it before I spend a lot on ingredients as they are pricey, but now I wish I had have doubled the recipe instead! I’m curious as to what made you think to put baking soda in the mix? Nevertheless, it was amazing and I thank you for that!! I think another review stated that it deserved 6 our of five stars, and I agree!
Just lots of time watching the food network over the years. Lol. The baking soda cuts bitterness. I don’t remember when I learned that tip but it was probably from a cooking show.
Could you make this in a square glass dish instead of the springform pan? Looks amazing!
Yes, but you might not get neat pieces. It will still be delicious though!
Can I leave out the gelatin on both the Crust and the filling?
It will set pretty softly if you leave out the gelatin. You can but you won’t get nice slices.
I’m a little confused on the gelatin in the crust. Do you add water to it? Or just add the powder to the mixture?
Just add the powder. It helps firm up the crust a little. It will absorb a little of the moisture from the other ingredients.
Thank you Taryn for this deeelishious recipe!!
We made it last night and it was just amazing!
I highly recommend anyone and everyone to give this recipe a shot, you will not be let down!👌🏻🤤
I will definitely be trying more of your recipes!👏🏻👍🏻
HI,
I want to make this recipe, but I was wondering if I could substitute the:
1) Heavy cream with 5% coffee creamer
2) Sour cream with Greek yogurt
3) Cream cheese with dry, pressed cottage cheese.
I try to follow a keto diet but I would also prefer less fat.
Also, does the cream have to be whipped first, or I just pour it in to the mix?
Also, it will probably have no carbs and far less calories, if I delete the crust altogether, right? I am looking to eat it as a daily afternoon snack, as opposed to a dessert for the family.
Please let me know.
Thank you,
Debbie
1. Is this like a light cream? or half and half? Is yes, then yes.
2. Yes
3. I don’t know about this one. I’ve never used dry pressed cottage cheese.
No, you don’t whip the cream first. Yes, you can leave off the crust if you want.
I made this for the developmentally house that I work at with 3 diabetics & 3 people on diets & oh my gosh, it was absolutely fantastic. So decadence & sinfully yummy. No one could believe it was sugar free until I should them all the sugar free items I used. I altered it a bit. For the crust I used a sugar free brownie mix I made the cheesecake part as listed except i used Splenda, only thing I had on hand. I used 30 packets. Also I didn’t have sour cream so I used a 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream, but I whipped it first. As for the ganache I used a full bag of sugar free chocolate chips & 1 cup of heavy whipping cream. I was told the ganache tasted like a candy bar. I was requested by all of them & my co-workers to make it again for Thanksgiving & Christmas. Also I think it was so good that I am going to be making it again for my family for Thanksgiving, but using natural sugar items. This is a true keeper for me. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
I am wanting to make this recipe, but am a little confused re gelatine. In your text you say not to use powdered gelatine, but the only gelatine I know is leaf or powdered gelatine, could you clarify please.
I do use the powder gelatin. I use Knox brand. I just bloomed it (dissolved it) in this recipe instead of adding it as a powder right to the cream cheese. Sorry if that was confusing.
Wow this recipe is AWESOME. 6 stars out of 5. My entire non keto family thought this was one of the best desserts ever. Highly recommended.
I tried this and while it tasted very good, I didn’t have an 8″ springform pan. I think the one I have is 9 “. The cake was not as thick as the picture. I will try doubling the recipe and making again. It was very easy to make though.