Easy Keto Cheesecake Bars

Super creamy, thick, and Easy Keto Cheesecake Bars with an almond flour crust is perfect for almost any occasion. Gluten-free, sugar-free, and keto-friendly makes them definitely a crowd pleaser!  

My family has always teased me because I have always said “No, I don’t like that…” and then down the road, I would always change my mind and it would become a new favorite food. It’s happened with burgers, veal, goat cheese, greek olives, and now I’m here to tell you that cheesecake is one more added to the list. 

Yup, I never used to like cheesecake but now I love it! With my first attempt at making these Keto cheesecake bars this summer for some friends, they never had any clue that they didn’t contain any sugar. When I told them, they were shocked! Every single bar got eaten and they asked me for the recipe.

Since then, I’ve been experimenting with other kinds of sugar-free cheesecakes and cheesecake bars that I will be sharing with you down the road. But for today we are going the “Classic” route. 

Classic Keto cheesecake bars are just that…a classic. They are super creamy, thick, and easy to make. You will find them becoming a staple dessert in your house.

If you’ve already tried our traditional Keto Cheesecake or our Keto No Bake Cheesecake, you are going to love this recipe too!

What Are Cheesecake Bars?

Cheesecake bars are baked in a square or rectangle pan, normally with a graham cracker crust and then cheesecake filling poured on top. They are basically the same as a normal cheesecake but made into small bite-sized squares.

They are more convenient for bringing to a party, and fewer calories than a big slice of cheesecake. 

Can You Eat Cheesecake on a Keto Diet?  

One of the many beauties of cheesecake is that you can eat it on a keto or low carb diet. The biggest thing is that normal cheesecake or cheesecake bars will have a graham cracker crust. Graham crackers are not allowed on the keto diet, but I was able to fix that problem by using my own almond flour crust that is used for a few other of my bar recipes. 

Let me show you the difference in nutrition facts between a regular cheesecake square and one of my low carb cheesecake squares. 

REGULAR CHEESECAKE SQUARE – 27 NET CARBS, 19g SUGAR, 270 CALORIES

KETO/SUGAR-FREE CHEESECAKE SQUARE – 2.2 NET CARBS, 1.4g SUGAR, 171 CALORIES

What do you think?? Quite a difference right?? Not only are our cheesecake bars have fewer calories but look at the difference in carbs!  

What Ingredients are in Keto Cheesecake Bars 

A good cheesecake filling is all about the simple ingredients. You don’t need a lot of fancy ingredients but more basic ones you probably have on hand most of the time. Of course, our cheesecake bars are low carb, so we have some substitutes for some of the high-carbs ones.

CRUST:

Almond flour, egg, sweetener, salt, melted butter – All of these ingredients mixed together to form the bottom crust. Then bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. 

FILLING: 

Cream cheese – 3 – 8oz packages of cream cheese is what I used. 

Lemon juice – In most cheesecake filling recipes you need to add a small amount of lemon juice or some kind of citrus. You can use lime juice or orange juice instead. 

Eggs and vanilla – 2 eggs will help to stabilize your cheesecake while it’s baking. And a tsp of vanilla adds some flavor. I use vanilla in most of my dessert recipes. 

Sweetener – I used granulated Swerve, but if you prefer using a different kind that’s ok too.

What Type of Cheese Should I Use for This Recipe?

Cream cheese is the main ingredient and a MUST HAVE. You can’t have cheesecake without using cream cheese. The same is true in a low carb version.

But some chose to add sour cream to their cheesecake fillings, to make it more creamy. Only a small amount is usually only needed.

What Kind Of Sweetener Can I Use for Low Carb Cheesecake Bars?

Use a granulated sweetener. I chose to use granulated Swerve sweetener, but another one I highly recommend is using Monk Fruit sweetener.  

For those of you who aren’t too familiar with using low carb sugars, there are a few options that are perfectly acceptable. The ones I’ve been using are:

Swerve – both granulated and powdered

Monk Fruit – granulated 

Why Are Eggs in This Recipe?

Eggs are a key ingredient because they act as a binder to bring all the ingredients together when baked in the oven. They act as a stabilizer during the baking process. 

One trick is if you add an extra egg yolk to the filling it will add richness and creaminess to the filling. 

Why Is Sour Cream added in Some Cheesecakes?

This is something I didn’t know at the time I made these low carb cheesecake bars. I found it out later as I was experimenting with a regular cheesecake. 

But adding about 1 cup of sour cream to the cheesecake filling will lighten up the density of the batter and will make it extra creamy. It’s not something you have to add but it’s a nice addition. 

Technically sour cream isn’t keto, but only using a cup in your low carb cheesecake bars won’t add much more carbs to the recipe. 

What Type of Toppings Can I Put on Them?

Oh boy, that’s a good question. But it might be easier to ask what toppings can’t you put on these keto cheesecake bars? Hahaha! The simple answer is you can put almost anything on your cheesecake bars. 

Here are some ideas for toppings: 

• Low Carb Whipped Cream
• Fresh Berries such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries
• Sugar-Free Caramel or Chocolate Sauce
• Low Carb Chocolate Chips or Peanut Butter Chips 

What Kind of Crust Is Best for Sugar-Free Cheesecake Bars?

I absolutely love my crust for these cheesecake bars. It’s an almond flour-based crust, mixed with a little melted butter and a small amount of low carb sweetener. You can’t even tell that it’s low carb!

This bottom crust that I make has been a staple in a few other recipes of mine, like our Magic Cookie Bars and our Almond Joy Bars. It’s so versatile and you can use it for other dessert bar recipes as well. 

How to Make Keto Cheesecake Bars

These keto cheesecake bars are easy and quick to make. Follow my step by step instructions below: 

First things first, put the ingredients on the counter and let them come to room temperature.

The Crust 

Let’s start with making the crust. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

In a small bowl combine 1 ½ cups almond flour, 1 egg, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ cup of granulated sweetener.

Stir the ingredients together well until it forms a dough for the crust.

Line a baking dish with parchment paper, and transfer the crust into the dish.

Using your hands or a spoon spread out crust evenly.

Take a fork and poke some holes into it so the crust won’t rise and crack.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. 

Making the Filling

While the crust is baking now let’s make the filling. 

In a large bowl combine the softened cream cheese, lemon juice, eggs, vanilla, and sweetener.

Using an electric mixer, mix all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. It may take a minute or two for it to become creamy so hang in there and be patient.

Baking It

Pour the filling on top of the crust. Make sure it’s evenly spread over the crust.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the cheesecake is set. 

Take out of the oven and let it cool on the counter. Once cool, pull the parchment paper out slowly and place it on a flat surface.

Put the cheesecake into the fridge for a few hours to make sure it’s completely chilled. 

Once it’s been in the fridge for a few hours, cut into small squares and serve. 

How to Cut Cheesecake Bars Cleanly

Cutting your cheesecake bars can be a bit tricky because cheesecake is soft inside so it’s challenging. I’m sure if you’ve ever tried it you’ve noticed that the cheese streaks and it’s almost impossible to make a clean cut.

I’ve learned these couple of tips that will help you cut cheesecake cleanly: 

• Hold the knife under hot water for a few seconds before cutting, then wipe with a hand towel or paper towel. 
• Dip the knife into a glass of hot water and wipe it clean before making every cut into the bars. 

Best Tips for Sugar-Free Cheesecake Bars

Here are a few general tips when making Keto cheesecake bars:

• Line your baking pan with parchment paper, trust me it will make your life a lot easier.
• When pressing down the bottom crust, make sure to firmly press it down.
• Bring all your ingredients to room temperature, especially the cream cheese
• Don’t over bake the bars, you don’t want them to get brown on the top. They will continue to cook as they cool. 
• Use an electric mixer for your filling ingredients, it will make it the filling very smooth. 
• Adding a ½ cup of sour cream to the filling to make it extra creamy. 

Why Is it Important to Bring Cheesecake Ingredients to Room Temperature?

Cold cream cheese is basically impossible to work with. So the key to making these easy sugar-free cheesecake bars is letting your cream cheese come to room temperature. You don’t need to do any extra work for it, just let it sit on your counter about 15-20 minutes before you start.

How to Make an Extra Creamy Keto Cheesecake Batter

So my cheesecake bars only have cream cheese in them, there are no other dairy products. But something I’ve learned since is that a little bit of sour cream makes cheesecake extra creamy. You don’t need a lot, only about ½ cup. 

Add it to the cream cheese, eggs, lemon juice, sweetener, and vanilla. Trust me it makes a difference, I only wish I knew about it sooner. 

What Type of Pan is Best for Cheesecake Bars?

One of the best pans for making cheesecake bars is an 8×11 ½ glass pan. It’s not a very common size, but it’s one of my mom’s original baking dishes from when she got married. I like it because it’s obviously an in-between size. 

That said, you can use any type of glass or metal baking dish. An 8×8 or 9×9 will make the bars a little bit thicker, and using a 9×13 will give you thinner bars. Either option is fine, just depends on what you like.

How to Tell When Cheesecake Bars are Done

Because cheesecake is new to me, I wasn’t sure exactly how to tell when the cheesecake bars are done. I was always under the impression that it needed to get brown on top in order for it to be done. Mine has a tiny bit of brown on the top but it’s ok, cause they were still delicious. After your timer has gone off, you should be able to slightly tap the pan and it shouldn’t giggle. Take it out.

How to Double This Recipe

It’s easy to double our cheesecake bars recipe. Just make sure to use a bigger pan than mine. I’d say a 9×13 should work just fine. Or you always could use two 8×8 pans as well. 

Different Variations of Cheesecake Bars

Oh man, you can go crazy with different variations of cheesecake bars, honestly, your options are so open. But here are a few I came up with:

• Raspberry Swirl 
• Peanut Butter
• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Key Lime
• Lemon
• Salted Caramel

And the list goes on and on and on….

Other Diets This Recipe is Good For?

Sorry, guys, these cheesecake bars are not dairy-free, and I don’t have any ideas on how to make them dairy-free. 

But the good news is that they are completely gluten-free. The crust is an almond flour crust containing no gluten at all. I hope your gluten-free friends are family enjoy them! 

Other Dessert Bar Ideas

Making dessert bars are one of my favorite way to make desserts. They feed a lot of people and typically are an easy and quick dessert.  Depending on the size of your pan, you can get somewhere between 12-16 pieces. These are 2 of my personal favorites: 

• Low Carb Magic Cookie Bars
• Sugar-Free Almond Joy Bars 

But some others that are good as well: 

• Lemon Bars
• Pecan Pie Bars
• Pumpkin Bars
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars 

Can I Make Cheesecake Bars Ahead?

Yes, these sugar-free cheesecake bars can be made ahead of time. They are best eaten in the first 2-3 days after being cooked, even though they will last about 3-5 days stored in the fridge. My suggestion with any cheesecake is either make it the night before you plan on eating it or the morning of. 

I tend to always try to make them the night before only because it’s less stressful to have it done the day of, especially if you are the one cooking a big meal that night. I love recipes that are make-ahead. It makes life so much easier. 

How to Store Cheesecake Bars

Once the bars have come out of the oven and cooled down then they will need to be stored. The best way to do that is to keep them refrigerated. They will stay fresh for about 3-5 days this way. Store them in an air-tight container for best results. 

Do Cheesecake Bars Need to Be Refrigerated?

These cheesecake bars must be stored in the refrigerator, due to the fact that they contain cream cheese. Refrigerate and let them completely chill up before cutting into them.

Can I Freeze Them?

Freezing the cheesecake bars are such a good idea. Pulling a square out of the freezer whenever you get a craving is so convenient. 

First, let your bars completely cool down. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap them in aluminum foil. Place them in a Ziploc bag and place them in the freezer. They will last about 1-2 months stored in the freezer. 

When you are ready to eat one, thaw in the fridge the night before or let them warm up on the counter. 

Low Carb Dessert Recipes:

If you’re in the mood for some other Keto-friendly Desserts, check out our:

• Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake
• Keto Peppermint Patties
• Best Keto Brownies
• Almond Joy Bars
• Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Fudge
• Keto Magic Cookie Bars

All of them are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will have your friends raving!

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