This Carnivore Lemon Cheesecake is sweetener optional! People doing a carnivore challenge and having a special occasion will find this cheesecake to have enough natural sweetness just as it is. If you are doing Keto you can always add a couple tbsp natural monkfruit. A rich and delicious treat!
This zero carb Carnivore cheesecake can be made either in the crockpot or Instant Pot.
Can You have Desserts on the Carnivore Diet?
Generally speaking, no. People who are doing the carnivore diet do not eat dessert or sweeteners or anything that tastes sweet. They find a simple meat and water diet to be completely satisfying.
Many people who have a sweet tooth worry about what will happen on a Carnivore diet. Well, I can tell you exactly what happens!
After a couple weeks of eating only meat, your sweet tooth goes away! It really does and trust me, that is a true blessing!
But that said, there are many people out there who are doing Relaxed Carnivore or they are participating in a Carnivore Challenge and find themselves in a situation where a special occasion calls for a dessert.
Read about the different types of Carnivore diet here
This recipe will address that need and it is so close to being Carnivore, even more so if you don’t add any sweetener. I know that sounds crazy, but honestly, after weeks of eating only meat this zero carb cheesecake is going to taste damn sweet without any sweetener at all!
This recipe is based on an orange cheesecake that I found online from Zero Carb Health and I was intrigued by the slow cooker method so I had to try it. I’ve changed it a little bit plus added instructions for making the same zero carb cheese cake in your Instant Pot. But I wanted to be sure to give them credit for the idea. Be sure to check them out for some good info on doing Carnivore.
Making a Carnivore Cheesecake
For this recipe you will need the following:
- brick type cream cheese (like Philadelphia)
- eggs
- butter
- sour cream
- heavy cream
- fresh lemon zest or dried lemon peel
- vanilla extract and lemon extract
- There is no sweetener in this recipe (and I liked it like that!) but if you must then choose SoNourished Monkfruit sweetener
- A small springform pan that will fit in your crockpot like this one
- Your crockpot (or Instant Pot) and electric mixer
- You will need some sort of trivet or other way to elevate the pan in the crockpot. I used my InstantPot trivet with handles but if you don’t have a trivet, use a couple mason jar rings or even some rolled up tin foil.
Tips and Tricks for making this Lemon Cheesecake
- The Cheesecake batter ingredients all need to be at room temperature
- Put all the cheesecake batter items on the counter and set the timer for 2 hours before starting.
- The cheesecake needs to be made the day before you plan to serve it.
- Slice cheesecake with a knife run under hot water to get a nice clean cut. Clean knife between each slice.
Read this article for more information about Keto Sweeteners and which ones to choose for different Keto baking needs.
Printable Recipe card for Carnivore Friendly Lemon Cheesecake
Watch me make this cake (Different flavor) on Youtube!
Carnivore Friendly Lemon Cheesecake
You can eat this cheesecake when doing Carnivore! It is sweetener optional. Make it as is and then serve with various topping options that guests can put on while you stay on your Carnivore diet plan! Crockpot and Instant Pot instructions.
Ingredients
Cheesecake
- 2 bricks firm cream cheese (8 ounces each)
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- zest of 1 fresh lemon OR 1 tsp dried lemon rind
- optional 2 tbsp SoNourished monkfruit sweetener
Topping
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- fresh lemon zest (optional)
Instructions
Crockpot instructions:
- Line your springform pan with plastic wrap.
- Prepare batter by placing all ingredients in a mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, mix until smooth
- Pour batter in the springform pan
- Place a trivet (I used my InstantPot one!) in the bottom of the crockpot. Or use canning jar rings or rolled up tin foil, you want to elevate the pan above the water.
- Pour 1 cup water in bottom of crockpot
- Place pan on top of trivet. Cover the top of crockpot with paper towels to prevent water dripping onto your cheesecake, then place lid over that.
- Cook on high for 2 hours, then turn off crockpot and let sit for 1 hour.
- Remove the cheesecake, keep it in the pan but cover in foil or plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight.
- The next day, release the cheesecake from the pan onto a serving platter.
- Whip the heavy cream with vanilla and smooth over top of the cheesecake.
- Sprinkle with a little lemon zest (optional)
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Line the springform pan with parchment paper to cover the bottom and sides, unless you have the silicone springform pan.
- The cheesecake batter instructions are the same.
- Pour 1 1/4 cups water into the instant pot.
- Place your trivet with lifters at the bottom of the Instant pot.
- Cover the cake pan with a layer of foil. Place your foil covered cake pan on the trivet and lock the Instant Pot lid into place.
- Select the Manual button and adjust cooking time to 30 minutes.
- When cook time is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. Remove the cheesecake and allow to cool on the counter for another 15 minutes.
- Transfer cheesecake to the fridge overnight (or minimum 4 hours).
- Garnish with unsweetened whipped cream and lemon zest (optional)
Notes
- The Cheesecake batter ingredients all need to be at room temperature
- Put all the cheesecake batter items on the counter and set the timer for 2 hours before starting.
- The cheesecake needs to be made the day before you plan to serve it.
- Slice cheesecake with a knife run under hot water to get a nice clean cut. Clean knife between each slice.
- This cheesecake freezes well.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 165Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 72mgCarbohydrates: 3gNet Carbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 3g
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar.
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Seems like the Instant Pot is pressure cooking, but the Crockpot is more steaming it…wonder if a waterbath type of thing with a glass pan surrounded by water cooked in the oven at 250f or 300f for 2 hours would be similar to the crockpot? If that worked, would small ramikins or silicone muffin pan of cheesecake work too? Could you even flavor them differently? Wonder if that would be a fun way to break in your oven in you new home? Shameless hint..love watching you cook!
Can I make this in the oven?
Yes! I just made this last night & we were in a bit of a hurry. We didn’t have a springform pan so put the mixture in an 8×8, popped it in the oven for 15-17 minutes, and crossed our fingers. It came out perfect! I’ll make this again with this method as it seems to save a lot of steps!
What temp did you back in the oven?
If you don’t mind sharing what temperature you baked this at? I want to make so bad but don’t have an instant pot or crockpot!
hello there.. thank you for this lovely recipe.
I will be using a crockpot.. and I do have to ask why lining the spring form pan with plastic wrap is needed? the pan I have is non stick.. don’t like the thought of bpa fumes going into the cheesecake.. thank you
It’s really just for ease of taking it out of the pan, but tbh, it should be fine. The first couple times I made it in a non spring form pan so I guess I was still thinking about that experience!
I believe she said you line your springform pan with parchment paper, which is not made from plastic.
This looks delicious! I follow you on YouTube and haven’t seen you make this one. Thanks my friend Anita!
I should probably do this on youtube, a lot of my recipes on the website predate my youtube channel! Thanks for watching by the way!
I made this for company and we agreed that while the consistency was perfectly cheesecake, we would’ve loved some sort of sweetness to it. I did leave out the lemon zest, and while that wouldn’t have made it sweeter, it might have changed the overall flavor. The other oddity is my brand new springform pan came out of the instant pot looking completely rusted. And despite covering in tin foil, there was definitely water on the cheesecake and in the pan after cooking. If I get to a point on carnivore where I add in some fruit and honey I could see making a compote for on top and making this again. It was a fun experiment and I enjoyed the process, thanks for the recipe!
Making a carnivore cheesecake for company is definitely tricky business unless they are also carnivore! Sweeteners is a controversial topic in the carnivore community with the vast majority of them declining all sweeteners, so entirely your choice on adding them! Not sure what happened to your pan though! I love experimenting with these things so happy that you tried it out!
Plz can u give direction on how to cook it in the oven ? Would like to try this recipe so bad
I have never actually cooked this one in the oven. You could try this cheesecake, all the ingredients except for the sweetener are carnivore: https://ketogenicwoman.com/keto-crustless-cheesecake/
This is my first Carnivore treat. Very pleasantly surprised. I used zero sweetener. Made 1/4 recipe, cooked in small bread pan in water bath. The only addition was some strawberries and blueberries on top of the whipped topping. That isn’t 100% ok on my plan but low enough in carbs I felt justified. Thank you!
Good for you for trying it without sweetener! I find that heavy cream and even cream cheese has a sweetness to it that I only notice when I go through a period of time without sweeteners. Thanks for trying it!
My instant pot does not have a “manual” setting, so is it low pressure or high pressure, less, normal, or more?
Hmmm, my instant pot doesn’t allow me to select low or high, so I assume it’s normal pressure. I wish they were all the same!
I’ve been looking for a cheesecake with no Keto Crust. Thank you.
You are welcome, hope you enjoy it!
We enjoyed this tonight for dessert. I did use the instant pot. I only had a 8-inch spring form pan, so it was a little thinner. Didn’t make a difference in how good it was. I used lemon extract & the juice and zest of 1 Persian lime to up the citrus flavor. I used liquid pure sucralose drops to equal 3T, but could have stopped at 6 drops. Thanks for a delicious treat.
SO glad you enjoyed it! It’s very tweakable and I like the idea of adding lime juice!
To bake this in the instant pot, the directions say, line the pan with foil. Can the foil be wrapped around the outside of the pan? Or does it have to go on the inside?
Actually the directions say to line with parchment and cover with foil. BUT since I wrote this I discovered that Instant Pot has a silicon cheesecake pan and it doesn’t need to be lined at all, so I’ve been using that one. BUT it still needs to be covered with foil so that water doesn’t drip down from the lid onto your cheesecake. Check out the pan here: https://amzn.to/2RITGlj
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