Keto cheesecake with pecan almond crust is a low-carb, high-fat dessert for those following a ketogenic diet. The crust is made with a mixture of ground pecans and almond flour, which provides a delicious and nutty flavor that complements the creamy cheesecake filling.
Keto cheesecake is excellent for any occasion. It makes for a great dessert for special events such as birthdays, holidays, and celebrations, including Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Picnic. It can also be topped with fresh keto-friendly fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries or whipped cream with lemon zest for extra flavor. Make a Mother's Day to remember; prepare this recipe along side with Pastelon de Berenjena (Eggplant Meat Pie), or Pan-seared Lamb Chops with Cauliflower Yellow Rice or Roasted Vegetables Medley.
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Why this recipe works
- No mixer?: I do not own a stand mixer, but I do own a hand mixer. For this recipe, however, I purposely used a rubber spatula to mix the batter. I wanted to see how difficult or inconvenient it would be to make a cheesecake if a person didn’t have either a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Having the ingredients at room temp helps tremendously, and I used a spatula to help break and soften the cheese.
- Basic Cheesecake: Learn a basic recipe, and you can create many other fancier recipes. This is a great standard recipe, tried and proven for generations. This recipe should not fail you.
- Room Temperature is Key: Having the ingredients at room temperature helps with the manipulation of them. Plan and do not do shortcuts like microwaving the butter before mixing it with the crust ingredients. Ingredients have different molecular structures at different temperatures, which is the key to this recipe.
Ingredients
Crust
- Pecans: Pecans in a crust for cheesecake can add a depth and complexity to the dessert, creating a harmonious balance of textures and flavors that will leave you wanting more.
- Almond Flour - Combining almonds with pecans to make a crust for cheesecake can create a unique and delicious flavor profile. Almonds have a slightly sweeter and more delicate flavor compared to pecans, which have a richer and nuttier taste. When these two nuts are used together in a crust for cheesecake, they can create a balance of flavors that is both nutty and sweet.
- Monk Fruit Sweetener - Monk fruit sweetener is a natural sweetener derived from the monk fruit, which is a small green fruit native to Southeast Asia. Monk fruit has zero calories, zero net carbs, and a glycemic index of zero, which means it does not raise blood sugar levels. For more information on monk fruit sweetener visit LAKANTO.
For a complete list of ingredients, please see the recipe card.
Cheesecake Batter
- Cream Cheese - Cream cheese is a popular food in ketogenic diets because it is high in fat and low in carbohydrates. One ounce (28 grams) of cream cheese contains approximately 10 grams of fat and less than 1 gram of carbohydrates, making it a great option for people following a ketogenic diet
- Eggs - If you use farm-fresh eggs that have never been refrigerated, you have nothing to worry about. If you are using eggs from the supermarket, allow them to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to an hour before making this recipe.
- Vanilla - Vanilla enhances the flavor by providing that nostalgic taste we all long for.
For a complete list of ingredients, please see the recipe card.
Variations/Substitutions
- Crumble cookie - polvorones are as dear to us as guava and cheese. Crumble the cookies or spread the cookie dough on the bottom of the springform pan to make a crispy alternative to a nut-based crust.
- Neufchâtel - Neufchâtel is a variant of cream cheese that comes from France. If you buy the readily available version in your grocer's market, you will see that it tastes almost identical to cream cheese. But it is slightly less fatty.
- Mascarpone - I find that mascarpone has a more palatable flavor than cream cheese. I normally do not buy cream cheese unless I am making cheesecake. If you have ever wondered how to try these cheeses, making your cheesecake with any of the above will create a tasty introduction.
- Guava - mix a quarter of the batter with melted guava jelly (keto-friendly version, of course) and swirl ribbons of the mixture into the cheesecake for a true Puerto Rican favorite combo of Queso y Guayaba.
- Chocolate - Mascarpone already comes in a chocolate variety great for dipping fresh strawberries. Take advantage that they already have the cocoa mixed perfectly to create a chocolate indulgence.
- Seasonal ingredients - Add Pumpkin for fall and berries for summer to make a seasonal version of this cheesecake.
Instructions
Bring ingredients to room temperature. Grease a springform baking pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
The Crust
- Ground the pecans into a meal consistency.
- Add almond flour, butter, sweetener, and cinnamon.
- Mix until you create a wet sandy consistency
- Press the mixture to the bottom of a springform pan. Bake until golden.
The Cheesecake
I used a rubber spatula to create this delicious cake, which was amazing. You must bring the cream cheese to room temperature, which makes the process quite fast.
- In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese. Beat with a rubber spatula until the cream cheese is smooth and creamy. If you have a stand mixer or hand mixer, feel free to use it if you like.
- Add the regular sweetener and vanilla extract. Combine until well incorporated.
- Add one egg at a time until well incorporated. The mixture will begin to soften and liquefy.
- Pour mixture into springform pan with crust inside. I do a few taps on the side of the mold to allow air bubbles to come out. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Once at room temperature, place cheesecake in the refrigerator and allow it to chill for at least an hour before serving, but as stated before, it tastes best when it has chilled overnight.
Expert Tips
- The recipe tastes best the second day or hours after it has been cooled and chilled, so do plan ahead. Cheesecake is one of those recipes in which flavors bloom as it rests. Make this recipe the day before you wish to consume it or at least 8 to 10 hours before.
- Let all ingredients rest at room temperature before starting the process of making the cheesecake. Food can stay at room temperature for no more than four hours before it has to be thrown away. Allow an hour to bring ingredients to room temperature, and continue baking.
- If you enjoy cheesecakes, a springform pan is a great investment. The deep-set pan allows the cake to expand without overflowing; once cooled, the sides come off the pan.
Recipes FAQs
There are many already made cheesecakes that cater to the ketogenic diet. I, for one, love to make my own desserts. This is my rendition of a ketogenic cheesecake. This cheesecake has an absurd amount of calories, but it meets the requirements for a ketogenic diet. Serving: 1slice | Calories: 763kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 78g. The 13g of carbohydrates is reduced to 7g due to the 6g of fiber it contains. Monk fruit provides 0 calories to the mix.
I can only speak about my recipe, which holds 763kcal per slice if cut into 8th. The more slices, the fewer calories.
The general rule is that food has a two-hour window in which it can be left out and put back into refrigeration. Once a product has passed the two-hour mark, it must be used. Allowing the eggs, butter, and cream cheese to come to room temperature is a food safety nightmare, but the idea is that the food will be further cooked. Therefore, leaving your eggs and dairy at room temperature for an hour so that they are more pliable is safe.
More Mother’s Day Recipes
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Recipe
Keto Cheesecake with Pecan Almond Crust
Equipment
- 1 springform
Ingredients
For Crust
- 1 cup Pecans
- 1 Cup Almond meal
- 3 tablespoon Sweetener
- 4 Tbsp Butter at room temperature
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
For Cheesecake
- 1½ lbs Cream Cheese at room temperature
- 1 cup Sweetener
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 3 lg Eggs at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300℉.
For Crust:
- Ground the pecans into a meal consistency.1 cup Pecans
- Add the almond meal, butter, sweetener, and cinnamon.3 tablespoon Sweetener, 1 tsp Cinnamon, 4 Tbsp Butter
- Mix until you create a wet sand consistency
- Press mixture to the bottom of a springform pan. You can bake the crust, but I prefer not to. I found that when I prebake the crust, it ends up with a harder crust than I would like.
For the Cheesecake:
- In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese. Whip with a rubber spatula until the cream cheese is smooth and creamy.1½ lbs Cream Cheese
- Add the sweetener and vanilla extract. Combine until well incorporated.1 cup Sweetener
- Add one egg at a time until well incorporated. The mixture will begin to soften and liquefy.3 lg Eggs
- Pour mixture into springform pan with crust inside. I do a few taps on the side of the mold to allow air bubbles to come out. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Once at room temperature, place cheesecake in the refrigerator and allow it to chill for at least an hour before serving, but as stated before, it tastes best when it has chilled overnight.
Notes
- You can use only pecans or a mixture of pecans and almond flour. I compensated that I ran out of pecans with almond flour, but you can easily do only one nut.
- I do not know what it is about cheesecake on the second day of being made. The flavors marry and mingle well as it cools. If your cheesecake survives being stored, it should be suitable for about a week since it was baked.
- With 18.8 grams of carbs but 10.8 grams of dietary fiber, this cheesecake has a potential of 8 grams of carbs!
- Make it Puerto Rican: Guava - mix a quarter of the batter with melted guava jelly (keto-friendly version, of course) and swirl ribbons of the mixture into the cheesecake for an authentic Puerto Rican favorite combo of Queso y Guayaba.
- The springform pan is the best pan for cheesecakes. It is deep, allowing the product to expand and rise as it bakes. The springform action allows the pan's sides to come apart once the cake is cooled down, while the bottom of the pan acts like a cake board, especially if you are not giving or selling your cake.
- I do not know what it is about cheesecake on the second day of being made. The flavors marry and mingle well as it cools. It should be suitable for storage for about a week since it was baked.
Susan Tullar
Your recipe calls for 1 cup of Monk Fruit Sweetener, but then in the instructions says 1 cup of sweetener in the nut crust, then an additional 1 cup in the cheesecake. So should the ingredient list be corrected to 2 cups?
Susan Tullar
And the temperature for cooking is not in the recipe too. It is about 1/2 way down the page in the discussion. Please add it to the recipe!
Zoe Morman
My most sincere apologies. I think the missing items were due to my trying to change the recipe card format and forgetting to read through them once I made the changes. I am going through the process of updating my recipes and posts to provide more value to you. I will make sure the recipe cards are updated correctly. Thank you for your notes.
Nila Smith
after reading the recipe. I am so ready to try this. thank you monk fruit has been the most enjoyable sweetener I have tried in this keto journey. thank you for the tips. helps me avoid making mistakes.