Get ready for my famous sugar-free no-bake lemon cheesecake, one of the top low-carb dessert recipes for this entire website. This easy low-carb cheesecake pretty much sums up what we all love - easy, delicious and healthy.
If you love no-bake cheesecakes, this is a keeper at only 3g net carbs!
Why are no-bake cheesecakes so popular?
Everyone loves no bake cheesecakes because they are quick, easy and you don't need a hot kitchen on a summer's day. When it's holiday season or barbecue season, a cheesecake is the perfect healthy sugar free dessert. But when it's summer, a no bake recipe is amazing rather than a regular baked cheesecake.
Which low-carb flour should you use?
This easy homemade recipe uses almond flour and desiccated/shredded coconut. But don't worry, if you don't like these, I have handy substitutions for you.
Using almond flour or almond meal (ground almonds) and melted butter is the easiest cheesecake crust you can find. Simply mix them together and press into your dessert dish that has been lined with baking parchment.
Place the crust in the fridge and it will set in 1-2 hours. But luckily you can pour your cheesecake filling on top before the crust has set.
Many readers don't like the subtle flavour of desiccated/shredded coconut so you can simply substitute 1:1 additional almond flour instead.
Which sweeteners to use?
The very first no-bake cheesecakes I made were my no-bake berry cheesecake and lime cheesecake.
These are great recipes for beginners and who want something FAST because you simply add cream cheese to store-bought sugar-free jelly/jello packets.
The ease, simplicity, and convenience especially help those who are new to baking and new to low-carb recipes.
However, I was never happy with the artificial sweeteners in the store-bought sugar-free jelly/jello packets.
So I decided to develop this no-bake cheesecake using gelatin and my favourite no sugar sweetener, to replace the sugar-free jelly/jello packets.
This sugar free cheesecake may take a few extra minutes using gelatine and sweetener. But the end result is well worth the effort!
TOP TIP: As with ALL recipes here, ALWAYS taste your batter BEFORE cooking to ensure you have added enough sweetener to suit YOUR tastebuds. Read the Ultimate Guide To Low-Carb Sweeteners.
What equipment do you need?
All you need to make a smooth cheesecake is a stick blender, electric whisk or a food processor. If you don't have any of these kitchen gadgets, you can mix the cheesecake filling by hand. However, it may take a little longer and you may end up with lumpy cheesecake.
How to serve your lemon cheesecake
I have to say that this sugar-free no-bake lemon cheesecake is my favourite cheesecake I have ever developed.
It is so adaptable and can be served as one large family cheesecake, or it can be poured into individual ramekin dishes for instant portion control.
I generally serve it with whipped cream and thin slices of lemon.
You might even want to sprinkle some fine lemon zest over the top to give it a sparkle.
How to balance the tart and sweet flavours
Make sure you taste the mixture BEFORE pouring the cheesecake into the serving dish.
Balancing flavour is such a personal measurement, so start with the recipe and tweak it as needed.
Adjust the amount of sweetener according to YOUR tastes and depending on how sour your lemons are. Taking this extra step will help you avoid a final dessert that you're just not in love with.
More Low-Carb Dessert Recipes & Low-Carb Cake Recipes ...
How long can cheesecake be stored in the fridge?
Ideally, you want to eat it within 4-5 days. Make sure to keep it covered tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container to maintain the moisture.
This will also help prevent it from absorbing other odors in your fridge.
For a longer storage time, you can freeze your cheesecake. Make sure it is fully set before you freeze or the setting process won't work as it should.
Freezing will allow you to keep your leftover cheesecake for 2-3 months.
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More lemon recipes you may like:
📖 Recipe
No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake
Please rate this recipe
Recipe Video
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Ingredients
Cheesecake Base
- 2 teaspoon granulated sweetener of choice or more, to your taste
- 150 g (1 ½ cups) almond meal/flour
- 55 g (½ stick) butter melted
- 50 g (½ cup) desiccated/shredded coconut unsweetened
Lemon Cheesecake Filling
- 12 g (3 teaspoon) powdered gelatine
- 2 tablespoon granulated sweetener of choice or more, to your taste
- 200 ml (0.8 cup) boiling water
- 200 ml (0.8 cup) cold water
- 500 g (1.1 lb) cream cheese full fat (not the 'spreadable' variety)
- 4 tablespoon (4 tablespoon) lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Cheesecake Base
- Mix all the ingredients and press into a greased and lined pie/flan dish.
- Pop in the fridge while making the cheesecake filling.
Lemon Cheesecake Filling
- Pour the boiling water into a large jug and whisk in the gelatine powder. Whisk until all dissolved.
- Add the remaining cold water.
- Add the cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice and sweetener.
- Using a stick blender with the blade attachment, blend on a slow speed until smooth and lump free.
- Pour onto the prepared base.
- Refrigerate until set.
Notes
- No added sugar - any sugar in the nutritional panel comes from the coconut, almonds and lemon juice.
- Please taste the mixture before pouring into the dish. You will need to adjust the amount of sweetener according to YOUR tastes and depending on how sour your lemons are.
Approximate nutrition information is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. For the most accurate nutritional data, use the actual ingredients and brands you used in your preferred nutrition calculator.
Denise
Delicious!
Deni
Delicious and quick.
Asli
Absolutely amazing!!! I made it today for my mother's birthday!!! It is one of the best cheesecakes we have ever had 🙂 Thank you for the recipe!! A few changes I made: Add more butter to the base along with coconuts. Also add very little cinnamon to the base as my mom loves cinnamon 🙂 For the filling, I used 70% full fat cream cheese 30% light as I did not have enough full fat at home 🙂 Thus I increased the gelatin amount by 10% Absolutely love it!! I love less sweet recipes! Thus this becomes our favorite one now!!!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yay - I absolutely LOVE it when readers adapt my recipes with little tweaks here and there. I love the addition of cinnamon you made and the adaptation of what you have in your cupboard to suit the recipe. Thank you for the wonderful review 🙂
Samantha L.
I made this Saturday morning. It taste great but then, I love lemons. I added 2 tsp more (pyure) sweetner and 1/4 tsp of coconut extract to the filling. My only slight complaint is the texture is closer to jello then cream cheese. But over all, I'll make it again, just with a little less gelatin.
Nefertiti
I loved the flavor but had a similar jello consistency. I did use fat free cream cheese-could that be the reason for the texture?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes, this is exactly what will have produced a strange texture. Do not use fat-free cream cheese .... ever! Firstly what is in cream cheese if the fat has been removed? Added sugars and starches. Secondly, all my recipes are developed using full-fat cream cheese, they will NOT set and will give a strange texture as you discovered (due to all the added starches). So enjoy your full-fat cream cheese and a lovely creamy velvety cheesecake with stable blood sugars after 🙂
Emily
Planning to make this delicious looking recipe tomorrow. Can I use powdered erythritol for this recipe?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes, that will work. As always, taste after each addition to ensure you don't over/under sweeten a recipe to your sweet tooth.
Jules
Flipping great recipe! So so sooo simple. VERY cheap to make too. Lots of other low carb cheesecakes seem to require a billion dollars worth of ingredients. Well not quite, but you know what I mean.
My almond meal was quite pale, so I subbed in 50g of pecans to give a more traditional base colouring. I just blitzed them into a flour in my blender first.
I followed the suggestions made in one of the comments of adding some vanilla to the mix and a dash of cinnamon to the base. Honestly, I would have liked to add the ginger to the base that Libby suggested, but thought I would play it safe with the intended recipients of the cake.
The filling on its own is going to become a staple easy dessert here I think. Immediately after putting the lemon cheesecake in the fridge ( I made it to take to a gathering), I quickly whipped up a half batch of filling and blended up some frozen strawberries in it. I added a few drops of 'Vital Zing' Strawberry Milk Drops too to enhance the flavour. I set them in some 'shot' glasses and they are such a hit with my two youngest kids. The little desserts barely have a carb in them. Amazing.
Anna
Hi Libby,
I’m planning on making this without the crust, in individual ramekins. I was just wondering whether you think I could use liquid stevia instead of a granulated sweetener?
Thanks!
Anna
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes, liquid stevia would work, you may wish to read my Ultimate Guide To Sweeteners. Which ones I love and which ones I avoid.
Ebony
Hi,
I haven't tried this recipe yet but it looks great! I was wondering if the lemon could be substituted for a different flavour? For example, vanilla? Or does the recipe need the acidity?
Thanks!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes, you could use alternative flavours in this no-bake cheesecake. Let us know what you develop so we can give it a go too!
Zo
To my surprise, following this recipe I have been successful using powdered gelatine, that’s a first. I only had 3 lemons so clearly not enough for 4 tablespoons of zest so I topped up with a spirit based lemon essence which gave a good flavour. However, I would like to know how many lemons on average do you use?
Tasty base. I shall now try other low carb cheesecake recipes. Thanks
Marcia
Didn’t work for me! I think I got the the conversions wrong? Super disappointed.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Use the conversion buttons below the recipe. I have done all the math for you 🙂
Zo Rollings
I don’t know how to ask a question on here so I’m tagging on here. 4 tablespoons of lemon zest is a lot of lemons... roughly, how many lemons do you use for this recipe? Thanks
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Sorry, I can't remember, but if I state how many lemons, your lemons may yield more or less juice so I would hate to guestimate how many lemons to use. Giving you the quantity in tablespoons is more accurate.
Zo
How many lemons did you use?
Samantha
5 very large lemons.
SUSAN
Made this on the weekend and everyone loved it and couldn't believe it was sugar free. Mine needed alot more sweetener as my lemons were very sour (1.5 cups powdered erythritol/monk fruit blend). Also I used Lactose free cream cheese which has less fat that regular cream cheese so added 80ml thickened cream so make it creamier. Just perfect.
Supriya Kutty
Wow, the recipe is really simple and sweet and at the time of serving its cute too...I would definitely try the best one, thank you so much for sharing such a lovely recipe
Nicole
I am on the keto diet and have been craving something sweet! I’m a lemon fan and found this recipe and thought to try it. I must say that this is phenomenal! I also tried the cheesy garlic bread from this site and I can’t believe how fantastic the food is here! It makes me think I could do keto forever! Thank you!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
YAY - just don't tell everyone we live like kings! 😉
Anne
Can you use lemon extract instead of lemon juice and zest?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Hmm, I think it would work, I'm just not sure how authentic it would taste.
Maegan Lauturner
Wouldnt have the acidity or sourness just lemon essence if you will
Shirley Malar
Can you tell me how much water to remove from 1 cup to make it .8 cup?
Sorry, but I don't have a clue as to figure that out. I've never seen it before. :o)
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Just measure 3/4 cup, it's close enough 🙂
Patty K
Shirley, glad you asked this, I had no clue either so I used 1/2 cup. Only wish I’d have read your question BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS......even Alexa didn’t know.lol! I kinda switched some stuff to make it key lime. Fingers crossed it set up?
Carly
Hiya, I'm in France and only liquid gelatine is available, would I use 12g still do you think? Thank you for your help in advance, I can't wait to make this!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
You would have to see how much 12g would set. You need enough gelatin to set 500ml liquid.
Anne-marie Mulligan
I can't stop making this cheesecake. It is amazing. I'm in Australia and use the gram measure for the gelatin and the 'gram' measure for the water as well and it has worked every single time. I have given this to friends who are not following a low carb lifestyle and they say it is now their preferred cheesecake. I love how this has a mousse like quality to it. The adjustments I make to suit my own taste are:
- add 1 tsp of ground cinnamon to the base
- add a good pinch of salt flakes to the base
- toast the shredded coconut
- mill the xylitol to icing sugar consistency to incorporate easier and add twice as much if not more in the filling
- increase the juice and zest
- add 1 Tsp of vanilla bean paste to the filling
- I ran out of cream cheese today so used 100 grams sour cream. I don't think I'd use more than that.
Thank you a thousand times for this amazing and simple recipe. Yet another easy, delicious and decadent recipe.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Hi Anne, what a wonderful recipe review, and I love your "tweaks" to the recipe. I am happy to know your carb-loving friends love it too -yay!
Hannah
Do you bake the base, or just refridgerate?
Sandra
Do you use one pack of cream cheese or two; I know it says 500g which would be two but video looks like 1 and if I use two it won’t fit into dish.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I use 2 packs = 500g. This makes a very large deep cheesecake. You can adjust the number of servings you make using the conversion buttons in the recipe card.
Bryan
You had me at "no bake" haha this looks great, I'll need to make time to make this recipe for the weekend, thank you
Katie
Are there any substitutes for almond flour (allergy reasons) that would work?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I'm working on developing a coconut flour base at the moment - stay tuned!
Pascale
Bonjour Libby,
Any luck with the coconut flour? I bought that flour yesterday because almond flour was ridiculously expensive at my local grocery store.
Merci 🙂
deborah harper
walnuts ground make a great base, my daughter is allergic to almonds so i use walnuts
Anne-marie Mulligan
Is it just almonds? I've used hazelnuts. Also, i womder of a seed combination would work? Crush oe mill to a flour / meal.
Maggie
Hi Libby
I'm looking at doing the no-bake cheese cake and wondered if you did get to developing a coconut flour base?
Libby Jenkinson
Hi Maggie, I do have a new coconut flour pie crust recipe, but it is baked. It's lovely.
Maggie van Rooyen
Hi Libby
Thank you. The coconut base was perfect for the no-bake cheese cake. Loved it
Maggie
aamy
could i use mascarpone in stead of cream cheese
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes, I believe other reader's here have used mascarpone with great success.
JHolt
SUPER tart and no flavor other than overwhelming lemon. I used Meyer lemons which has been a staple for lemon curd and other lemon cheesecakes but somehow this gelatin/lemon just didn't taste good.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I'm sorry to read this. Did you adjust the amount of sweetener to your taste? We are all on different parts of our sugar-free path and some may require more sweetener than others.
Cara Thurstans
Libby I just want to say THANK YOU for making these fab recipes and for sharing them free of charge... Greatly appreciated. I've just made this and it's setting in the fridge now. Can not wait to try it.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Cara, this is so kind. I absolutely love making these recipes and it gives me so much pleasure that you are enjoying them. 🙂
julie
could I use half the amount of cream cheese - 250 grams - . would I then need to halve the gelatine
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
If you ever want to change the quantities in my recipes, simply dial up how many servings you require, and the ingredient quantities will be calculated for you.
Stephanie Molsbee
What can be used in place of the shredded coconut, as we don't like the coconut.
Chan
I just omit coconut flour from the recipe. I don't substitute or add more almond flour. Comes out perfect.
Jennifer
just wondering what i did wrong. the cake did set. is it possible 400ml water is too much?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Check how much gelatine you added, and if it was in date or expired. 12g of gelatine will easily set the 400ml of water and the solid block of cream cheese is, well, solid so that should be firm too. Did you use soft cream cheese perhaps? It must be the solid regular cream cheese, not the spreadable type. I hope you managed to resurrect it somehow and enjoy it.
Lina
Can i follow the recipe exactly but with sugar free flavored gelatine instead to make a flavored cheesecake??
Shirley Malar
Has anybody tried this? Any hints on how to do it to make it work well?
Thanks.
Chris P
My husband and I absolutely love this recipe. Sometimes I make 1 Cup of Lemon Sugar free jelly, let it cool and pour over the tope of the cheesecake to set... delicious!!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I love that idea, I might just pinch that and do the same next time 🙂
Shirley Malar
Do you mean Lemon Sugar-free 'Jello' (and not jelly)?
Do you pour it over the cheesecake before it has set or after?
I think I would like that.
Thanks.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Jelly NZ/AUS/UK = Jello US, whereas in the US you call jelly what we would call jam.
Lori
I had some special guests for dinner tonight that are very carb conscious. So I wanted to make this for them. But I didnt have any almond flour. So I compromised....I omitted the crust all together and poured the cheesecake into solo cups. This recipe filled 5 9 oz. clear solo cups. I put whipped cream and lemon zest on them before serving. They were a hit!
Lori
That is suppose to read 5- 9 oz. clear solo cups
Dana
Ok.....I tried to read through all the comments but realized there was way too many! Lol....ok, but I did noticed that I'm not the only who had a bit of problem with the filling being way to watery....I usually always use the US measurements so when I read "4/5", I thought it meant 4-5 cups of water. :-/ I re-read it and realized 4/5 (which I've never seen before in a receipe) was not 4 to 5 cups of water but a measurement within the 2 cups. Plus I saw the video too. Well, with my "I got this" attitude, I did save it as much as I could lol. My girl and niece both love it, so I did good after all lol. It's not bad but next time I make it, I'll make sure to read the instructions more carefully 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Ahhhh, I can see how the confusion has arisen - thank you so much. I have amended the cups to show 0.8 cup = 200ml
Laura
Sorry not too sure where to ask a question do I hold you don't mind me tagging under yours.
May I ask if you can freeze it?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I think it would be too delicate to freeze. I fear the cheesecake may split.
Brewster
You are in luck – cheesecakes freeze incredibly well. To freeze, place the cooled cheesecake on a baking pan and freeze, uncovered, until firm. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, wrap it in heavy duty aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag. ... Thaw the cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight.
google (can be) your friend.
BTW Libby, thanks heaps for this recipe!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Thanks for the awesome tip Brewster!! (and I'm glad you loved it)
Linda
Still doesn't help. American measurement is 8 oz. To a cup, and we don't have a measure for 8 tenths of a cup.we are left taking our 1 cup of cream cheese, dividing into 10 pieces and using 8 of them.:)
Jaci
HI
I'm confused on the 8 measurement.
Do you mean like an 8th of a cup?
Not totally sure I have anything that has that measurement on it. About how many tablespoons would be then?
I saw someone ask about alternatives for the coconut but didn't see any answers. I'm interested too.. I don't like coconut.
Thanks for having this article out here for me to find. And big time thanks for having the American measurements too!
Meeg
Maybe you've already gotten this answer from someone, but there are 16 Tablespoons in an 8 oz. cup, so .8 of a cup would be 12.8 T.
Kate
I just made this and it is SO nice!!! Set in the fridge in an hr. My kids loved it too. I added ground ginger to the base because I love the combination of lemon and ginger. I also added a bit more sweetener to the filling and tasted as I went. Definitely making this again and sharing the recipe with my friends. ?
Anne
Wondering can I actually do this crustless and if so can you tell me the nutritional facts I am trying to limit the carbs as much as possible
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes making this without a crust would work, and lower the carbs dramatically. I often make it without the crust and pour the cheesecake filling into little ramekin dishes or individual tea cups.
Kerri
I wonder how much lemon extract I would use in this recipe? I have some lemon extract that I really need to use up!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Add to taste. Each lemon extract differs considerably in their "tartness" so I would hate to suggest an amount and ruin your cheesecake.
Lynne D McCurdy
I just found your website tonight; I'm really looking forward to trying this recipe! I make my own yogurt, and drain the whey out until it's the consistency of cream cheese. I culture my yogurt for a full 24 hours, to allow the bacteria to eat all of the lactose (SCD Yogurt).
Do you think my yogurt cheese could substitute for the cream cheese in this recipe?
I'm having way too much fun on this site; it's 2:00 am... I should be sleeping, not salivating over your recipes. 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Hey Lynne, I love that you are up at 2am browsing my website and recipes - that has to be a first here! Yes I’m sure your drained yoghurt would work as long as it has had enough of the whey removed, alternatively, add a little more gelatine to ensure it will set. I like to drain yoghurt and make Labna cheese - yummy. Enjoy working through my recipes, one at a time 🙂
Linda
This turned out really well and my hubby loved it, thank you. Made it exactly to the recipe but added 3 Tbsp lemon juice as I didn't have enough rind. The extra rind would have enhanced the delicious lemony taste. Used 3 Tbsp of Xylitol as the sweetener. Thank you for creating this recipe. Will make again and might try baking the base too but was certainly nice enough as it was.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Hey thanks Linda, what lovely review. And I'm so glad you and your hubby loved it. I love everything lemon, which is probably why I can't stop developing lemon recipes 😉
Sylvie
Your recipe is fantastic!
Perfect taste ans wonderful consistency!
Thanks a lot!!
Julie
I see so many recipes that call for using an stick blender. Could I use my stand mixer with the whisk attachment instead?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I guess you could use that, I have a big blender but can't stand all the washing up so I use my stick blender for almost everything.
Nancy
I used my stand mixer with the paddle and it worked great ?
Lisa
Hi, I just made this last night in preparation for Mothers Day, and I made a little one on the side to taste before dishing it up for my Mum. I had swapped out the sweetener in the filling and used honey instead. However it tastes a little too sour. I did taste the filling prior to putting it in the fridge and it tasted fine, but seemed to sour up after setting. Do you have any suggestions of what I can sprinkle over the top to counteract the sourness?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I always use some whipped cream with sweetener if something turns out a little sour, or not quite to my liking. This trick can save many low carb baking attempts. I wonder if it was the honey? I can't vouch for how that behaves in the recipe or possibly changes with the lemon?
Lisa
Thanks for your reply, I'll have to use that idea in future. Because I needed it yesterday I ended up coming up with my own solution, which was grated dark chocolate with some more desiccated coconut sprinkled over the top and a swirl of honey with some cream drizzled over it. My mum absolutely loved it! Thank you for your recipe, I will definitely be using it in future
Darlene
Could the cheese cake filling Ben placed in a cupcake tin with cup cake liners? I have a nut allergy so don't want the crust.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes that would be great. I often make these without the crust for a quick and easy dessert. I use little ramekin dishes, wine glasses or cupcake cases.
Timothy Figrolls
I'm so onboard with what you say about using coconut floor instead of almond! Can this recipe be made with coconut floor? May I suggest you add a tab on your website with coconut floor recipes? That would be fab!!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Fabulous idea. It would take some work but I will add it to my to-do list. Thanks for the suggestion 🙂
Brewster
Here's a coconut base I pinched.
Of course it will have to be baked for 10 - 15m at 350F, 180ishC.
CRUST
1 cup coconut cream concentrate (aka. coconut butter), softened / liquefied
½ cup shredded coconut
¼ cup coconut flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. orange extract
⅛ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp. liquid stevia