Healthy Lemon Cheesecake Bars (sugar free, low carb, high protein, keto, gluten free)
If you like cheesecake but don’t want all the extra calories and sugar, make these Lemon Cheesecake Bars!
These Lemon Cheesecake Bars taste like the real thing, but they’re secretly good for you!
You’d never guess that they’re sugar free, low carb, high protein, gluten free, AND keto-friendly too.
Oh yes.
Every bite is like a wave of freshness throughout your entire body. This thick and creamy cheesecake is super super tasty, uber fresh, and totally lemony! You really would never be able to guess that it’s good for you.
I mean, it’s too sweet and flavorful to be nutritious… and it’s definitely too rich and creamy to be diet-friendly… right?
Wrong.
The ingredient list of this cheesecake is much healthier than any store-bought or bakery-bought kind. And that’s the thing I love about healthy food — it can taste great!
Healthy Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups Almond Flour
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 tbs Unsalted Butter or Coconut Oil (melted)
- 1 Large Egg White (reserve the yolk for the filling)
Cheesecake:
- 16 oz Fat Free Cream Cheese (room temp; use full fat for keto)
- 16 oz Plain, Nonfat Greek Yogurt (use whole for keto)
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 Large Egg Yolk (reserved from the crust)
- 1 packed tbs Lemon Zest
- 2 tsp Liquid Stevia Extract
- 30g (3 tbs) Organic Corn Starch
- ¼ tsp Ground Turmeric (optional, just for color!)
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray an 8x8" brownie pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add in the melted butter/coconut oil and egg white, and stir until completely combined. Dump the mixture into the brownie pan and pat it out. Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool while you make the filling.
For the Cheesecake:
- In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, add the cream cheese and yogurt. Whip on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whip again.
- Turn the mixer on low and add in the eggs, egg yolk, lemon zest, and stevia extract. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix until completely smooth.
- Turn the mixer on low and add the starch and turmeric. Increase the speed to high and mix until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whip again.
- Pour the mixture over the crust and bake for ~44 minutes, or until the center barely jiggles. The surface of the cheesecake will crack, but that's okay. You can cover it with whipped cream, Lemon Curd, or Blueberry Compote! Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
I’m pretty shocked — in a good way — about the nutrition facts for this recipe! For a big serving (1/9th of the entire pan, to be exact), there are only 270 calories and 0g of added sugar (the sugar content is naturally occurring in the yogurt and cream cheese), plus a whopping 18g of protein!
HOT DANG!
I’ll totally take two slices, please 😉
If you want to compare these numbers to “regular” cheesecake, you’ll be even more shocked. A slice of “regular” cheesecake will have at least 400 calories, 25g of fat, and 27g of sugar.
And if you want to take it even further, let’s stack my recipe side-by-side with the Cheesecake Factory’s Lemon Cheesecake, where a single slice has 1,170 calories, 73g of fat, and 95g of sugar. Yes, seriously!!!
I vote my cheesecake. I vote mine all the way.
Enjoy!
.
With love and good eats,
.
– Jess
.
Indulge − no strings attached!
I like the idea of making this in a square pan. It serves up so much nicer. Your presentation here is so enticing. Lovely blend of flavors, I am sure this one did not last long. Great post!
Thanks Tina! You must be psychic because we polished this off preeetty quickly 😉
These cheesecake bars look so great! I have never made cheesecake at home because I’m afraid I’ll eat the whole thing (!!!), but your recipe looks perfect for a special occasion.
Haha, I have the same fear around chocolate cake 😉
But these are actually pretty rich and filling, so you’ll be satisfied after one slice… oh, the perks of almonds and over 20g of protein!! 🙂
Lemon Cheesecake Bars its looks is great! This Lemon Cheesecake i was never making a home because of that’s trips is heart for me but i can get from the market.
charity finder
These are super healthy and they look amazing!
Pingback: Desserts With Benefits
hey jessica! this looks so amazing i would love to try it and i need to so so so so badly! but one question: can i replace the protein powder in the filling with anything at all?
I haven’t tried this recipe without the protein powder, but you can try adding 1 tsp of vanilla extract and an additional 2 tbs of arrowroot starch and 1/4 tsp of stevia extract. Because the protein powder absorbs moisture and makes a firmer filling, I would recommend omitting the tbs of lemon juice. I hope this works for you, good luck! 🙂
Where does it say use protein powder in the recipe? Thank
Hello, I’m also checking the bit where it mention the protein powder..at which point should it be added? And what flavor and measurement?
Thank you.
Anna
This is an updated recipe, so it no longer requires protein powder 🙂
If you’d like to use protein powder, I’d recommend replacing the starch with ¼ cup of vanilla protein powder. Hope you like the recipe!!
Pingback: Desserts With Benefits
I’m making these for my fiancé’s birthday. What size brownie pan?
Caitlyn-
I believe I used a 9″ brownie pan for these cheesecake bars. And happy bday to your fiancé! Congrats 🙂
-Jess
Pingback: #GlutenFree / Healthy Lemon Cheesecake Bars - D...
This recipe is amazing!!So delicious! I made this cheesecake recipe in a 9″ spring form pan for Easter dinner last weekend. Everyone was shocked to find out it was healthy for you. Definitely a recipe that I will make again and again! Thank you for sharing, your blog rocks!! 😀 😀
Amy Dow Robinson-
YAY I’m so glad you made the cheesecake!! Good idea making it in a springform pan, I think I’ll try that next time I make this 🙂
Thanks so much for letting me know how it turned out 😀
-Jess
Do you think this recipe would work with no crust? (The crust looks amazing, but I need something lower cal.)
Thanks!
If you don’t mind crustless cheesecakes, then feel free to omit the crust! 😀
I’m the kind of person who only likes cheesecake with crust so I wouldn’t omit it 😉
Hope you like the recipe!!
-Jess
Hi Jesse. Sorry to bug. Can you please see my other comments! Trying to make this tmrw bit couldn’t find stevia extract anywhere!
Hi Jesse. Sorry to bug. Can you please see my other comments! Trying to make this tmrw bit couldn’t find stevia extract anywhere! Any tips?
Hi Corinne!
I’m not sure how to replace the stevia extract here. 1 tsp sweetens like 1 cup of sugar. In your previous comment you said you don’t have stevia extract but you have stevia… did you mean like Stevia in the Raw? If you have that, you can probably use ~1 cup.
I didn’t calculate the calories here so I’m not sure what each slice equals out to.
1 scoop of protein powder is usually 1/3 cup, so 2 scoops will be ~2/3 cup. Hope the recipe works out for you! 😀
-Jess
Hi Jess. Thanks for your reply! Yes I have stevia powdered sweetner So I should use a cup of that?
What brand of stevia is it? I only have experience with Stevia in the Raw so I don’t want to give you any wrong advice. Does the package have a conversion chart on it that recommends how much to use in order to replace sugar?
Yes it does have a conversation chart. It says 1/2 cup to replace 1 cup of sugar. I’ll try that! Thanks so much 🙂 I’ll try to find stevia extract for next time. All I could find was stevia liquid. It didn’t say extract. It says it’s for coffee and tea…
Hi Jess. I made this today and it was amazing. Can’t believe it has protein powder in it! Is there a way to make it a no bake cheesecake by chilling for a period of time or does it have to be baked?
OH GOOD I’M SO SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT!!! 😀
I haven’t tried making a no-bake version of this, but I’m afraid it won’t set without baking… it’ll probably make a Cheesecake Pudding type of consistency, but that’s still good right? 😉
Hi. I love your recipes! If I don’t hsve stevia extract can I just use stevia and if so how much? Also do you have the calories and macros for this recipe? I love that it uses protein powder I’ve been trying to find a cheesecake recipe thst does. How many cups do the 2 scoops equal to?
I think I will try with graham cracker crust as almonds are so expensive where I live. But I do love the idea!
Pingback: Healthy Lemon Cheesecake Bars | sugar free, low carb, high protein, keto | Healthy Recipes Feeds
Why the corn starch?i don’t think the corn starch is Keto. What can I use in place of the corn starch? Love your recipes and this cheesecake looks delicious. thank you so much.
There are a ton of keto friendly starch substitutions out there. If you’re keto then just google them 🙂
It’s only 3 tbs of starch that would need to be subbed, so it’s not too much. You can also try protein powder or collagen!
Thank you Jessica.
Sorry for the late reply,
I’m definitely going to make this Jess! You are so awesome! Do you sell a recipe book that is totally no added sugar?
Thanks!
Connie
Awww thank you so much! Hope you LOVE the cheesecake 🙂
I have my Naughty or Nice Cookbook, which is MOSTLY sugar free! There are some recipes with sucanat or honey (like the Chewy Caramels and Krispy Treats) <3
why are readers referring to protein powder? There is none listed
This is a REVISED recipe post. My previous recipe used protein powder 🙂
Lemon is a great cheesecake flavor because both the plain cheesecake flavor and lemon flavor are somewhat tarty and sour. Nothing fits better than that! A fruity jam is the perfect sweet balance to top a slice off. What an amazing treat!
Pingback: Healthy Lemon Shortbread Cookie Dough - Desserts with Benefits