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This lemon keto cheesecake is smooth, creamy, and perfectly balanced – made with simple ingredients like cream cheese, eggs, and almond flour crust. It’s low-carb, sugar-free, and works both as a plain keto cheesecake or a fresh lemon version.
Light, rich, and reliable – this is the kind of dessert you can make for a regular weeknight or serve for holidays like Easter or Mother’s Day.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
- Works with erythritol or allulose
- Creamy, stable texture without a water bath
- Clean lemon flavor that’s not overpowering
- Low-carb and gluten-free with simple swaps
- Almond flour crust that actually tastes good (not dry or crumbly)
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour crust → Buttery, slightly crisp, and neutral
- Cream cheese → Use full-fat and fully softened (this is key for smooth texture)
- Sweetener → Powdered erythritol works, but allulose gives a smoother result (no cooling effect)
- Greek yogurt / sour cream → Adds lightness and prevents dense texture
- Lemon juice + zest → Optional, but gives freshness and cuts richness
Lemon Keto Cheesecake Recipe Instructions
- Make and pre-bake the almond flour crust
- Mix cream cheese, sweetener, and flavorings until smooth
- Add eggs gradually (don’t overmix)
- Bake low and slow until just set
- Cool slowly, then chill before slicing
Keto Cheesecake Variations
- Serve with fresh berries
- Add lemon curd (optional but elevated)
- Skip lemon → classic vanilla keto cheesecake
- Add sugar-free chocolate topping
What to Serve With
- Lemon curd (low-carb version)
- Fresh berries
- Sugar-free chocolate drizzle
Texture & Troubleshooting
- Best texture tip: stop baking when center slightly jiggles
- Cracked top? → Overbaked or cooled too fast
- Grainy texture? → Sweetener not powdered enough
- Too dense? → Overmixed after adding eggs
Storage
- Texture improves after 24 hours
- Fridge: up to 5 days
- Best served chilled
Freezing
- Thaw overnight in fridge
- Freeze slices up to 2 months
Keto Cheesecake FAQs
Yes, you can substitute with regular sugar in the same amount. The texture will remain similar, but it will no longer be low-carb.
Cracks usually happen from overbaking or cooling too quickly. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool gradually inside.
Yes. Skip the lemon juice and zest for a classic keto vanilla cheesecake.
Powdered erythritol works well, but allulose gives a smoother texture and prevents crystallization.
This can happen if the sweetener is not finely powdered or if the batter wasn’t mixed properly before baking.
No. This recipe is designed to work without one, as long as you bake at a low temperature and don’t overbake.
Other Keto Dessert Recipes:
Lemon Keto Cheesecake (Low-Carb, Sugar-Free)
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 3 tbsp powdered erythritol, or sweetener of choice
- 5 tbsp melted butter
For the cheesecake filling:
- 32 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered erythritol, adjust to taste
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tbsp lemon zest, optional
- 2 tsp lemon juice, optional
Optional lemon curd topping:
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup powdered erythritol, allulose preferred for smoother texture
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 4 tbsp butter
Video
Instructions
Make the crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment.
- Mix almond flour, sweetener, and melted butter.
- Press evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then cool.
- Reduce oven temperature to 300°F (150°C).
Make the filling
- Beat cream cheese and sweetener until smooth (2–3 minutes).
- Add vanilla, lemon juice, and zest (if using).
- Mix in yogurt or sour cream until combined.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed. (Do not overmix)
Bake
- Pour batter into crust.
- Bake for 70–80 minutes, until edges are set and center slightly jiggles.
- Turn off oven and let cheesecake cool inside for 30–40 minutes.
- Remove and cool completely, then refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Optional lemon curd
- Whisk eggs, yolks, lemon juice, zest, and sweetener.
- Cook over double boiler, stirring constantly until thickened (8–10 minutes).
- Strain, then mix in butter.
- Cool and refrigerate before using.
Notes
No water bath needed — just bake low and slow
Use powdered sweetener for smooth texture
Allulose = best texture (no crystallization)
Do not overmix after adding eggs
Cheesecake is done when center slightly jiggles
Texture Tips
Overbaking → dry or cracked cheesecake
Fast cooling → cracks
Best texture after chilling overnight
Sweetener Notes
Erythritol → works, but may crystallize slightly
Allulose → smoother and more creamy
Storage
Refrigerate up to 5 days
Serve chilled
Freezing
Freeze slices up to 2 months
Thaw overnight in fridge
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I keep making this over and over again. I have loved adding it to my list of keto food. I can’t bring myself to try another dessert recipe because I just love it so so much. Thanks for sharing. ♥️
Thank you so much for the nice comment! You made my day! So happy you like it!
Hi, Mira! This looks like just the keto lemon cheesecake recipe I’ve been searching for. I react poorly to erythritol. I’d like to try using stevia for the recipe even though I know stevia doesn’t always work out well for baking. I’m thinking of using powdered stevia for the crust, and I do have liquid stevia as well and thought that might work in the filling. I also know stevia can be a little bitter which is why I’ve been looking for a lemon cheesecake recipe because I think the lemon will hide the bitterness of the stevia, kind of like coffee does when using it to sweeten coffee drinks. Do you have any advice or thoughts for me? Thanks!
Hi Traci! Yes, Stevia would work, but I’m not quite sure about the substitution. Here is a chart from a well known Keto site which might help to convert the amounts. Stevia is a lot sweeter. https://www.ketoconnect.net/low-carb-sweeteners-conversion-chart/. Let me know how it turns.
This cheesecake is amazing!!! My absolute favorite Keto cheesecake. The family loved it, too!
Great! So glad you like it Michelle! 🙂
Can I use coconut flour instead of almond Flour?… if I can, I suppose, It will be the same quantity . Thanks for the information.
Sorry I have not tried the recipe with coconut flour. If you decide to experiment, I’d think it will require less coconut than almond flour, but not sure how much.
I made this cheesecake, but when I bake, I use a combination of sweeteners to give desserts the complexity of flavor and structure that REAL sugar gives. I used powdered isomalt, erythritol, granulated splenda, and a packet of regular splenda. I would defy anyone to guess this is a sugar free cheesecake. It is perfect!
Great! I’ll definitely try this and make a note for other readers interested. Thanks Cindy!
Hi Cindy, do you mind sharing the amounts you used for each : isomalt, erythritol and splenda so it resembles the sweetness of 1 cup erythritol? Thanks!
This looks fantastic! I may try to do half of the recipe in a 6″(?) pan… because I don’t have any events with company coming up soon. Lemon is perfect in the summer heat. Or can part of this be frozen? Maybe waxed paper between the slices? Or does cheesecake separate when frozen?
Also, could I freeze the lemon curd (to go along with the slices) for later? (Maybe alone in a Ziploc?) Or would the texture be ruined?
Also, do you think the curd would be suitable as a lemon meringue dessert base? Maybe just as a pudding in small glass dishes with some browned meringue on top? Can’t wait to make this!
Yes, half of the recipe will be perfect for a 6-inch pan. And both the cheesecake and the lemon curd can be frozen. The texture of the curd sometimes can be a little off, but I usually have no issues with it. Lemon meringue sounds amazing and this curd can work for this type of dessert. I also have non Keto lemon curd recipe if you are interested and search on my blog. Let me know if any questions.
Can you use low-fat cream cheese and yogurt?
Yes, both can be used, just keep in mind that the cheesecake will be more crumbly, not creamy.
Thank you!
The cheesecake was delicious. I found though that cutting the crust recipe in half would still basically cover the bottom and especially the edges of the pan with crust and prevent leakage during baking, and reduce the total calories by a whopping 720 and the net Carbs by 4 grams without compromising too much on the flavor and texture. Next time I will reduce the calories and carbs further by eliminating the crust completely and substituting a cooked cream cheese topping instead of the lemon topping.
The cheese cake taste great but the lemon curd is too sweet with Swerve 1/2 is too sweet.
Hi, wanted to make sure the recipe needs 32 ounces of cream cheese as stated? Seems like quite a lot. Thanks.
32 oz is correct