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.
How many carbs are in the sugar free chocolate chips, I want to make sure I buy the right ones.
Here is an example:
This was incredible! I used 1/2 almond flour, 1/2 coconut flour and a whole stick of butter in the base. I also used a black cherry gelatin. The cherry flavor didn’t really come through, but I think it was a subtle hint. Paired it with Halo Top white chocolate macadamia ice cream (keto series). Added a strawberry on the side for that gourmet touch lol. I can’t wait to use this recipe as a base for other flavors… someone else mentioned MINT chocolate and that sounds amazing. I was thinking peanut butter chocolate next! Even my non-keto friends and family were floored!
I have made this twice and it is awesome. The only issue I have is that the brownie part has gelatin clumps in it. I sprinkled the gelatin powder in with the other dry ingredients and mixed them first but still have the same effect.
I use gelatin in many of my cookie and crust recipes and that doesn’t happen for me. Which brand are you using?
What would you use if someone, like myself, doesn’t currently own a food processor?
You can use a blender. But you may need to scrape the sides repeatedly.
I did everything by hand. And literally, mixing the crust by hand works best to break up clumps and thoroughly mix. But, I also used a whole stick of butter… 🙂
Great recipe but how do i heat the chocolate chips. Using a double boiler, microwave.
I just microwave them. Stir every 30 seconds. When they are mostly melted stop heating and just stir until the rest melt.
I’m wanting to make this for Christmas, but would need to make it 2 days in advance. Is it going to be as delicious as all of your other goodies?
I hope so! It is fine to make a couple days ahead.
OMG–this is soooo good! I did omit the gelatin from the brownie part, but only because I was so excited to try this recipe I completely overlooked it (I did add it in the second layer)! I used Swerve sweetener in the same amounts called for in the recipe because I find that the sugar substitutes make things too sweet in general. I also have an issue with the ‘cooling effect’ that Swerve can cause–BUT I found that if I add peppermint oil the mintyness (is that a word) masks the cooling effect. The only problem I have is that I’m serving this at our family Christmas dinner tomorrow–and it’s got a big ole hole from where I already ate a slice! LOL Thank you so much for such a great recipe!!!
We have a nut allergy in the house. Do you think this would work with sunflower seed flour or peanut flour?
Yes, either should work. If you use peanut flour you may need to add more butter. It can be dry.
When you add the gelatin to the bottom layer crust, do you just sprinkle it in?
Yes
Do you have a vegetarian substitute for the gelatin?
No, sorry! You can leave it out and freeze the cheesecake for a few hours so it’s firm enough to cut.
Agar Agar is a vegetarian gelatin substitute, but I’m not sure if it would work well in this recipe.
Je n’aime pas trop les succédanés de sucre. Est-il possible de remplacer ce que vous suggérez par du sucre régulier? Si oui, dans quelles proportions.
Ok. Google translated this to: “I do not really like sugar substitutes. Is it possible to replace what you suggest with regular sugar? If so, in what proportions.”
I do not test my recipes with regular sugar but I’m pretty sure this would be fine with it. You would need 1.5 to 2 times the amount listed.
Im curious how many servings this has please?
This has 12 servings. (It’s at the top of the recipe card).
Hey, could I use lakanto monk fruit sweetener? And how much would I put instead of your sweetener? Thanks
Yes. I’d try 1.5 the amount and taste test.
Absolutely amazing!! Thank you!!
This looks delicious!! I need to make the crust without almond flour due to allergies. Would you suggest a baking blend without almond flour or another recipe which bakes the brownie layer and then add the rest on top of it?
You can use sunflower seed flour in place of the almond flour.