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The World’s Healthiest Cheesecake

Filed Under: 100-150, Almond Milk, Applesauce, Cakes and Cupcakes, Desserts, Eggs/Egg Whites/Egg Replacer, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Greek Yogurt, Low Carb, Recipe Makeover, Recipes, Stevia, Sugar Free, Vegan

By 89 Comments Jump to Recipe

I’m rather proud of myself.

Frankly, I am not one to be easily impressed when it comes to cheesecake. I need an especially spectacular one, and this one fits the bill perfectly.

I set out to create the world’s healthiest and easiest yet still drool-worthy cheesecake, and I like to think I succeeded. But a simple task this was not.

There were many issues to be tackled while developing this particular recipe, the first and not the least of which being the crust. A traditional pie dough recipe calling for multiple sticks butter, cups of nutrient-depleted and glutenous white flour, and required hours of measuring, kneading, and resting simply would not do. So I got creative.

This is where one of my other favorite recipes came into play. I thought a cereal-based crust would create kind od a graham cracker effect, but I decided to take it a step further. Instead of cutting the recipe into those tedious squares only to grind them up later with added fat, why not just bake the recipe into the shape of a pie crust? No reason. This is exactly what you should do.

The actual cream cheese filling? That was easier. After seeing this fabulous recipe, I knew I could make a positively scrumptious filling using my beloved Greek yogurt. I do have a feeling that dairy-free Greek yogurt would work too, for all you lovely vegans.

Crust? Check. Filling? Check. The only thing left is that springform pan. If you already have one, pat yourself on the back and go fire up your oven. If you don’t, I officially grant you permission to blow that whopping eight dollars on one. Definitely worth the investment.

Who needs the Cheesecake factory? Not you. Mwahaha…

The World’s Healthiest Cheesecake (Gluten Free, Grain Free, Low Carb, Sugar Free, Vegan Option)

Good news! You can eat this cheesecake for breakfast. You can eat two slices. Three if you want. Go crazy. You’re allowed to.

Adapted from my Homemade Low Carb Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Eat, Live, Run

Makes 1 cheesecake (8 slices, more or less)

Nutritional Comparison

Cheesecake Factory Original Cheesecake

Serving size: 1 slice

Calories: 710

Fat: 29 grams

vs.

World’s Healthiest Cheesecake

(Calculated with egg replacer)

Serving size: 1 slice (1/8 of recipe)

Calories: 75

Fat: ~1.5 grams

Ingredients

For crust:

1/4 cup chickpea flour

1 Tablespoon applesauce

1/16 teaspoon salt

1 packet stevia

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 Tablespoons of almond milk

For cheesecake:

2 cups of 2% Greek yogurt (Do not use fat free yogurt, or the cheesecake will crack in the oven. I imagine dairy free Greek yogurt for a vegan version would work, but I have not tried it yet and therefor cannot personally vouch for the results.)

6-7 packets of stevia

pinch salt

2 eggs, or 1 Tablespoon go Ener-g egg replacer+ 4 Tablespoons of water for a vegan version

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon of tapioca starch

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease an 8 inch springform pan very well and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine chickpea flour, applesauce, salt, stevia, and vanilla extract. Add almond milk, and whisk until completely smooth. Believe me, you do not want clumps of chickpea flour hanging out in your pie crust. Pour the batter into the greased springform pan, and spread it out evenly to the edge of the sheet.  Bake in the oven at 375F for about 18 minutes, or until the edges are brown and the center is just starting to crack.

While the crust is in the oven, combine the Greek yogurt, stevia, eggs, and vanilla extract in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the pinch of salt and tapioca starch and blend again. After the pie crust is done, pour the prepared filling into the hot crust, lower the oven temperature to 350F, and bake for 35 minutes. The cheesecake will be slightly jiggly still but should have a “done” look to it, and it’ll have pulled away from the sides of the pan. Just be sure to not over bake.

Let cool for a while, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours before releasing the springfrom.

I wasn’t kidding about eating three slices. Go for it.

Enjoy!

-Kelly M.

 

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. This looks amazing, I've always thought maybe greek yogurt would be a good substitute for a cheesecake-like filling, but I'm no recipe-creator. And thank you for your explanation on your previous post, I'm glad I didn't come off as rude, what you said makes perfect sense and in hindsight I probably should have realized it.
    Reply

  3. Oh wowww! I really want to try this out! I made some healthy ice cream this week..this is next on my list of things to bake! i just need to get myself some chickpea flour!
    Reply

    • Thanks for the question, Kate! I'm not sure ground up tapioca pearls would work (although I love how creative that is!), but regular ol' cornstarch should work just fine. I hope this helps! ;)
      Reply

  5. I definitely want to try thi, but I was wondering if you think it'd be possible to use coconut flour instead of chickpea flour?
    Reply

    • Thanks for the question, Jade! Honestly I don't advice substituting flours because disaster can occur. It could work out potentially, but proceed with caution. If you do try it, can you let me know how it goes? Thanks!
      Reply

  6. This looks amazing!. Personally I'd rather use natural cane sugar..how should I convert the 6 pks of Stevia? I'm not a huge fan of the sweetness of Stevia, I don't know if the flavor affects the conversion.
    Reply

    • Thanks so much for the question, Jade! Stevia definitely takes some getting used to. The original recipe I adapted this from called for 2/3 cup of sugar, so I think that should work out. Hope this helps!
      Reply

      • I am confused about the stevia packets. Are those the small packets you use in coffee for a sweetener? It just doesn't seem to be enough sweetener to be about 2/3 cups of sugar. I am hesitant, because I've forgotten the sugar in a cheesecake recipe before, and there is NO fixing that.....
        Reply

  8. Wow! Gotta try this soon! I don't have chickpea flour, do you think almond meal or coconut flour might work? If i experiment with another flour, I'll let you know how it turns out :)
    Reply

  9. Kelly, you are an inspiration to young women everywhere, and wise beyond your years!! Keep it up, I can't wait to see what you come up with next!
    Reply

  10. This looks so delicious. Thank you for your happy words and the recipe :) But I do have a question. The cake in the pictures, was it baked with eggs or Ener-g egg replacer? And did you calculate the nutritional stats with eggs or egg replacer?
    Reply

    • You are so sweet! The cheesecake in the picture was made with Ener-g egg replacer, and the nutritional stats were calculated with egg replacer. I really should have mentioned that to begin with! I just updated the recipe to state that the stats were with egg replacer. Thanks again, and I hope this helps!
      Reply

    • Thanks for the question, Bri! I haven't tried this recipe with a flax egg, so I can't personally vouch for the results. I don't see why it wouldn't work though! If you try it, could you let me know how it goes? Thanks!
      Reply

  12. Again, I put this into a nutritional information calculator, and came up with 76 calories per slice. How did you get 65 calories!? Thank you, I would really love it if you could answer... I found that in a lot of your recipes, when I calculate the calorie count, it's always more by 10-20 calories. why?!!!!!!!? Thank you!
    Reply

    • Hi Sj! I am so sorry for the delayed response, but instead of giving you some really long (and potentially hyperbolic) answer regarding my calorie counting methods, I wrote a post on it instead. Thanks, and I hope this helps!
      Reply

  13. I know you said it would crack in the oven if we used fat free yoghurt,, but I'm just making this for myself. Can I use fat free natural yoghourt? Will anything else apart from the cracks be affected?
    Reply

    • Hi again, Sarah-Jane! I really don't feel comfortable telling you how the recipe will turn out if fat free yogurt is substituted because I have not tried it myself. I imagine the cracks and possibly the creaminess would be the only aspects effected, but again, I don't know. Sorry! If you do give it a go, could you let me know how it works? Thank you, and Happy New Year!
      Reply

      • Hello Kelly! Haha that's completely fine, thanks for replying anyway! I'll still give it a whiz, and I'll be sure to tell you how it turns out :) Have a lovely new year!
        Reply

      • Hello Kelly! Haha that's completely fine, thanks for replying anyway! I'll still give it a whiz, and I'll be sure to tell you how it turns out :) Have a lovely new year! :D
        Reply

  14. Kelly, in the ingredients for the crust you wrote 3 tablespoons of almond milk, but in the directions you seem to have replaced this with water, the measurement of which is unspecified. So...should we use water or almond milk?
    Reply

  15. Is it just me or does this look extremely yoghurt-y and liquidy? Cheesecake is normally more cake-like and yellow, less creamy but thicker...any idea how to get the typical cheesecakiness to come through without the fat?
    Reply

  16. Hi Kelly! This cheesecake looks delicious, but it looks a little liquidy and wobbly instead of solid but creamy...any comments? Thanks Kelly, can't wait to make this!
    Reply

    • Hi Kara! I left you a response some time ago, but it looks like it didn't go through. Anyway, I think the photos may be deceiving in this case. This cheesecake is very creamy and incredibly firm; I did not have a problem with it being liquidy at all. I hope this helps!
      Reply

  17. Hi Kelly, this looks delicious! I was just wondering if I could replace the crust with the crust from here? http://www.hungryhungryhippie.com/a-vegan-cheesecake-that-will-wow-non-vegans/ Its just that we don't have chickpea flour around here.. sad, I know... :(
    Reply

    • You poor, chickpea flour-deprived thing! I have not tried that crust so therefore can't vouch out it works. However, I do love Elise, and I have a feeling her recipes are all fabulous. Here's what I would do: bake the crust as directed in its original recipe, then pour in the filling prepared as directed in my recipe, bake as directed, then chill for a few hours, or until firm. I hope this helps!
      Reply

  19. Hey Kelly! that cheesecake looks just devine! and 64 calories sounds like a pray! no kidding! my question is, in India we dont get chickpea flour. So do you suggest just grinding up some raw chickpeas?? also i make my own greek yogurt at home with skimmed milk.. for this particular cheesecake, should i use cow's milk??
    Reply

    • Thank you Ankita! Hmm. I have not made my own chickpea flour, but apparently you can make it at home (here is a link showing you how). I hope to do it soon, and then I can report back! And yes, I would use cow's milk yogurt. That is so wonderful that you make your own!
      Reply

    • Hi Ankita, I think in India you should find it called gram flour, I know in all the Indian supermarkets where I live (in London in an Indian bit of town) they call chickpea flour "gram flour". Now back to making mine, I'm experimenting with making adding puree butternut squash.
      Reply

    • In India you would get besan, which is the Hindi word for chickpea flour. Besan is a common Indian ingredient for a lot of sweet and savoury dishes and should be ubiquitous there.
      Reply

  20. I ground up oats to make oat flour for the crust and used non fat greek yoghurt. It is out of the oven and so far no cracks. I used an egg replacer, but no water. I'll let you know tomorrow how it tastes.
    Reply

    • I use nonstick cooking spray (coconut oil spray is lovely). It does contain some calories, but I don't count those calories as they are rather negligible.
      Reply

  22. My husband loves cheesecake, but we hate the sugar and calories, so I'm going to try this and surprise him with it for his birthday this week. Thank you so much!
    Reply

  23. Hi, I was wondering if I could just use egg whites instead of whole eggs in this recipe? It's just that I'd like to save some calories by not adding in the yolk. Also, could I use alpro soya plain yogurt instead of Greek yogurt? I'm lactose intolerant :'( I love your blog! Thanks c:
    Reply

    • Hi Amy! I have only tried the egg replacer (Ener-g brand), so I'm not sure if only egg whites would work. Soya yogurt should work just fine!
      Reply

  24. Making it right now! I added a little low-fat ricotta cheese and fat free sour cream. I hope it doesn't ruin it! I just wanted to experiment. I will let you all know how this turned out. Oh and when I say "added" I only added two tablespoons of each of those things, nothing too crazy. ;)
    Reply

  26. I cannot stress how AMAZING this is!!!! I used zero percent greek yogurt and it was still perfect! Not only does it look beautiful it tastes unbelievable! I put some sugarfree raspberry jam on it and it made it even more like real cheesecake. You are a genius for creating this recipe. Thank you so much!
    Reply

  28. Looks fabulous! :) And guess what? Had my total zero Greek yogurt today, but put it in the fridge for awhile cos I was full and wanted to finish the rest later. Anyway, when I came back to it about an hour later, IT TASTED SO MUCH LIKE CHEESECAKE! I had some blueberries and fiber one cereal for crunchiness in it as well, and I can totally see that all that was missing is the pie shape! So who needs actual cheese in their pies anymore? Greek yogurt does it better!
    Reply

    • Hi Isabella! There are 710 calories in a slice of traditional cheesecake, which I just stated for the sake of comparison. There are 65 calories in a slice of this recipe. Hope this helps!
      Reply

  30. Hey Kelly ! how about a low calorie microwave cheesecake for ONE ! i dont have an oven and i LOOOVE cheesecake ! Can you do this ? i will LOVE you forever ! THANKS !
    Reply

      • HEY KELLY ! THANKS ! i look forward to it. i am grain free and sugar free and i LOOOVE your recipes for one using the microwave. i love using egg beaters and stevia or anything that keeps the calories down low. i cant wait to see what you come up with. thanks again !
        Reply

  31. Thank you so much!!I LOVE CHEESECAKE and need a healthier version. I've tried Raw cheesecake but it just doesn't match the exact cheesecake flavor. THANK YOU i will try this!
    Reply

  32. Hi Kelly, I live in Cairo where we don't have any Greek Yogurt! Do u think it will be a terrible idea to use low fat yogurt? Or maybe if I replace it with La Vache Qui Rit cheese triangles, we have it hear and it's very light, check out the calories and nutritional info: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/la-vache-qui-rit-cheese-triangle-light-109545661 What do u think?
    Reply

    • Hi Farah! Wow, Cairo! I was just in Tel Aviv, so we weren't too far. To be honest, I'm not overly familiar with the cheese triangles so I can't speak with expertise. That being said, I think low fat yogurt should work fine. Maybe you want to strain the yogurt by layering a few layers of cheesecloth over a fine mesh sieve? Hope this helps!
      Reply

  34. Does this cheesecake actually taste like cheesecake? because i'm crazy for cheesecake and i've been looking for a healthy cheesecake for a while now and everyone I made doesn't have a cheesecake flavor. Will it just have a yogurt flavor? Hope to hear back from you. I really want to make this! :)
    Reply

  35. This looks great! :) Only, I don't have tapioca starch and I am not so sure if its good to use it on my eating regimen (Trim Healthy Mama). So, could I use Glucomannan?
    Reply

    • Yay for serendipitous blog finds!! Thanks, Sugar! Glad we could help, honey! Hope this tastes like candy, girl! You've got this recipe wanting you;-)
      Reply

  37. I have an inside voice that is telling me that this is not going to be exactly 'cheesecake-y'. Don't get me wrong! It looks delicious! Cheesecake just has a unique flavor and creaminess, relying heavily on cream cheese. But who really needs that? I mean it is delicious, but Greek Yogurt is too. It's cake, right? And it is said to be delicious, right? So therefore I am making it for its amazingness, NOT just so I can have cheesecake. If it doesn't turn out like cheesecake, what does it matter if it tastes delicious? All in all, I am making this so I can have a yummy cake not just because I absolutely love cheesecake. And Greek yogurt is SO filling that I can literally eat two bites of the creamy yogurt and the next thing I know I am full, I am not kidding. See you tomorrow in my kitchen cheesecake recipe , I will be making this.
    Reply

    • Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Sydney! While this cheesecake may not taste exactly like a hunk of a slice from the Cheesecake Factory, it does have a traditional cheesecake flavor, along with a dramatic fraction of the calories and fat from its compatriots. This World's Healthiest Cheesecake, as you have already stated, will also satisfy a growling tummy without a problem! The only thing this cheesecake needs is you;-) Please let us know how you enjoy this recipe, Sydney!
      Reply

  39. Had a really difficult time finding chickpea flour, in The city if Pittsburgh. Had to drive to four different places all across town, in order to find it after having all of the other ingredients to make this cheesecake. Would help a lot, to find a subitute for chickpea flour, since I did see in previous comments that subsituting different flours can be tricky. Would be nice to know of other options rather than wastinf gas money to drive across town to the one one Whole Food Markets in Pittsburgh, PA.
    Reply

  40. Hi kelly I love this recipe ... Can I make this with 2.8 fat Greek yogurt ? I can't find lower one where I live... And will it still be less than 100 cal for a piece ?
    Reply

    • Hi Romi! You can definitely make this with higher fat Greek yogurt, and although it will make the final product creamier, it will also increase the calorie count. You can calculate the full stats online here if you'd like. xo
      Reply

  41. I liked the filling, it was light and satisfying. The texture seemed a bit grainy at first but it set very nicely once it spent some time in the fridge. I added a pack of sugar-free white chocolate Jell-O, and left out the cornstarch. The flavour was absolutely lovely and totally worth a few extra calories per slice. I want to try the pistachio and lemon ones too. Unfortunately, the chickpea crust really didn't work for me, but I will try your ginger cookies and see if they work better.
    Reply

    • Love the idea of adding SF FF Pudding Mix! I eat my Greek yogurt that way already! I may try that or use the SF FF cheesecake flavor pudding mix. I have made this recipe before, and it was a little too tart for me. I think this idea might make my favorite snack solid. ☺
      Reply

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