Yummy Low Carb Cheesecake

Mmmmmm … cheesecake.  What’s not to like about low carb cheesecake?!

HEALTHY

With reduced fat cream cheese, fresh strawberries, Greek yogurt, almond flour/pecan crust, and less than a tablespoon of sugar in the ENTIRE cheesecake, this is as healthy as cheesecake gets!  Skip the Cheesecake Factory with all their calories, fat and carbs, and give this recipe a try.

EZ

No “water bath.”  If it cracks, it cracks; you’re going to cover it with strawberries anyway!  Also, I like to keep my recipes simple and not require the use of fancy and/or expensive kitchen doo-dads when possible.  So no springform pan, no zester, food processor optional; you’re good to go with a rolling pin, an electric mixer, and a grater.

YUMMY

Tastes sweet and creamy and FANTASTIC.  I must resort to cutting it up into serving slices and freezing them so we don’t just gobble the whole thing down in a few days 🙂

VERSATILE

You’ve probably seen a lot of low carb cheesecake recipes out there, and  many of them manage the carbs by eliminating the crust.  But for me the crust is the best part!   So to accommodate different dietary needs/preferences,  behold … three yummy options, descending from highest carbs/potassium content to lowest:

Cheesecake with crust

Cheesecake with a crumble sprinkle on top instead of crust

Naked cheesecake – no crust/crumble

So you have no excuse not to try this cheesecake!  Nutrition info for all three options is at the bottom of this page.  Bon appetit!

INGREDIENTS

Crust:
1 cup almond meal
2/3 cup crushed roasted, unsalted pecans
3 tblsp melted butter
1 tsp Truvia
1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup

Crumble topping:
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup crushed roasted, unsalted pecans
2 tblsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp Truvia
1/8 cup sugar free syrup

Filling:

8 oz neufchtafel cream cheese, softened
1/8 cup Truvia sugar blend
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup 2% Fage Greek yogurt
2 tblsp lemon juice
1 tblsp lemon zest
2 large egg whites

Strawberry topping:

1 cup sliced strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 9″ pie plate with spray oil.

Crust:
Place pecans in a baggie and use a rolling pin to crush them down into small pieces (or use a food processor to crush them). Stir crust ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl until crumbly. Press crust evenly into pie plate.

Spray crust lightly with spray oil and bake at 325 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Filling:

In a medium sized bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla and Truvia sugar blend with a blender on medium just until smooth. Beat in yogurt, lemon juice and zest just until incorporated. Add egg whites and mix on high speed just until smooth; do not over mix.

Spoon filling into pie plate (either with or without a crust) and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until filling is firm (doesn’t move or wiggle when you jiggle the pie plate).

Crumble Topping:

Crush pecans by placing them in a baggie and use a rolling pin to crush them down into small pieces (or use a food processor). Stir crumble ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl until crumbly.

After baking the filling for about 15 minutes (about ten minutes before the filling is done), open the oven and slide the rack toward you (don’t take the cheesecake out!).  Using a tablespoon, carefully sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the top of the cheesecake.

Return to oven and continue baking until filling is firm and does not jiggle.

Turn off oven, open oven door a crack, and allow cheesecake to cool for an hour (this should prevent cracks, but not guaranteed). Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack until completely cool. Place in refrigerator to cool overnight (if you can stand to wait that long. Me, I gotta eat it after dinner that night!).

When ready to serve, top with sliced strawberries.

If you plan to freeze the cheesecake, freeze without strawberries and add them once the cheesecake is defrosted.

Nutrition per serving*:

WITH CRUST
Calories, 337 Carbs, 10 Potassium, 268 Sodium, 185

WITH CRUMBLE
Calories, 194 Carbs, 7 Potassium, 166 Sodium, 142
NAKED
Calories, 124 Carbs, 5 Potassium, 124 Sodium, 116

*All nutrition info is the result of my internet/product research and should be considered approximate. You can find my favorite nutritional “go-to” sites in my blogroll.