Need a creamy, delicious, and refreshing low carb dessert? These keto no-bake lemon cheesecake bars are for you!
What happens when you combine a keto graham cracker-like crust with a decadent lemon cream cheese filling and then top it with a sweetened whipped cream? You may just have the perfect light and refreshing keto dessert! It will make your family happy and will have your friends asking for the recipe!
Act 1: The Crust!
You’ll make the crust for these no-bake keto lemon cheesecake bars using almond flour, and both brown and granulated Swerve sweeteners. Then add a touch of cinnamon and salt along with some melted butter. The result is a crust which resembles a graham cracker crust in both taste and texture, but without all the carbs! You’ll want to firmly press this crust into the bottom of you pan. You can use your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup. The firmer the crust is packed, the better it will hold together when you serve it. Also remember to freeze the crust while you’re making the whipped cream and filling.
Act 2: The whipped cream!
You will want to make the whipped cream before the filling. This is because you’ll be using your electric mixer for both, and you’ll want to chill your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 15-20 minutes before whipping your cream. If you start with the cream, you can simply rinse your beaters and go right to the cream cheese filling as your beaters don’t need to be chilled for that part. You will be using the juice and zest from one lemon. All the juice goes into the filling. One teaspoon of the zest goes into the whipped cream. The rest goes into the filling. I used a medium size lemon. It gave me about 3 tablespoons of juice and about 4 teaspoons of zest.
Act 3: The filling!
Make sure your cream cheese is softened before using. I like to beat it by itself for about a minute before adding the other ingredients. This helps to make a creamy filling. Using powdered sugar is also important as it mixes perfectly and will give you the smooth texture you want in a cheesecake bar! You’ll add half of your whipped cream into the filling. It is better to not use your mixer but to stir the whipped cream in to combine. This will give your bars a light and airy texture.
Act 4: Putting it all together!
Take your crust out of the freezer. Spoon the filling in and smooth off the top. Then spoon the remaining whipped topping over the filling and smooth it off. I like to refrigerate, covered, for 4 hours or overnight. These bars will fill your pan to the top! A tip for keeping your plastic wrap from sticking to the top of your bars is to place toothpicks in your bars. They will keep the wrap from touching the bars but still allow you to completely cover your bars. I usually cover mine with plastic wrap then with aluminum foil.
Here are some more creamy keto desserts!
Awesome Keto Peanut Butter Pie
Keto No-Bake Chocolate Cream Pie
Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse
Helpful Hints:
*Press the crust mixture firmly onto the bottom of your pan using your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup.
*If you heat your lemon for 20 seconds in the microwave, you’ll get more juice from it.
Main Kitchen Equipment and Utensils:
- 8×8 inch pan
- Electric mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
Splash of Encouragement:
***I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Psalm 91:2***
Keto No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Need a creamy, delicious, and refreshing low carb dessert? These keto no-bake lemon cheesecake bars are for you!
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1¼ cups almond flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar substitute (Swerve)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar substitute (Swerve)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
For the whipped cream:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar substitute (Swerve)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Filling:
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar substitute (Swerve)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Zest of one lemon (minus the 1 teaspoon used in the whipped cream)*
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
For the crust:
1. Prepare an 8x8 inch pan by lining bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until all ingredients are mixed together.
3. Add the melted butter and stir until combined.
4. Press crust mixture onto the bottom of prepared pan. Pack the crust firmly into an even layer using your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup.
5. Place crust in the freezer while you make the whipped cream and filling.
For the whipped cream:
1. Place a medium mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer 15-20 minutes before using.
2. Remove bowl from freezer. Add the heavy whipping cream. Beat for 1 minute.
3. Add powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
For the filling:
1. Rinse beaters. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until creamy, about 1 minute. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sour cream.
2. Beat until mixture is smooth and creamy.
3. Carefully fold in ½ of prepared whipped cream. Stir until mixture is combined.
4. Remove crust from freezer. Spoon filling onto crust and level mixture.
5. Top with remaining ½ of whipped cream. Smooth top.
6. Cover and chill in the refrigerator 4 hours or overnight before serving.
Notes
You'll use the juice and zest of 1 lemon in this recipe. Use all of the lemon juice in the filling. For the zest, use one teaspoon in the whipped cream and the remaining zest in the filling.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 372Total Fat: 37gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 65mgCarbohydrates: 6gNet Carbohydrates: 4.5gFiber: 1.5gProtein: 6g
Thanks for stopping by! Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is calculated with the assistance of a third party service. Values are approximate, can’t be guaranteed, and should be considered as estimates only. Values differ according to types and brands of foods used. When used in a recipe, erythritol has been removed from the carb count as it is a sugar alcohol. Please note net carbs are total carbs minus fiber.
Hi , because lemons are different sizes , how much lemon juice and zest in measurements do I need ?
Hi Jackie. Yes, the amount of juice and zest will vary depending on the size of the lemon you use. I used a medium lemon which yields approximately 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and approximately 1 tablespoon of lemon zest.