When you’re looking for a festive holiday treat that’s as beautiful as it is delicious, this easy cranberry swirl cheesecake is a decadent dessert that’s sure to please any crowd!
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Cranberries go so well with the holiday season. After all, fresh cranberries are only available in the U.S. from September through January. No wonder they feature prominently in many seasonal recipes!
The color is so beautiful – they add the perfect splash of red to any holiday dish! Plus, the carb counts are low, so you’ll want to add them to your low-carb Thanksgiving recipes and more.
💛 Why you’ll love it
This cranberry swirl cheesecake takes festive holiday cranberry dishes to a whole new level.
The rich and buttery cinnamon crust, ultra-creamy cheesecake filling, and stunning swirls of tangy cranberry sauce are guaranteed to impress friends and family alike! I just love how stunning this cake looks once it’s finished.
And no one will ever guess that it’s sugar-free, low carb, and super easy to make!
If you’ve been searching for low-carb Thanksgiving desserts or holiday treats that everyone will love, you HAVE to try this cheesecake. Just one bite, and you’ll wonder how you’ve never tried a cranberry topping for cheesecake before.
I love this cranberry keto cheesecake for a few reasons. First, it’s so creamy and delicious! Second, it’s the kind of eye-catching dish that makes people stop and stare. Third, it’s so easy to prepare.
Don’t worry, we won’t tell your friends and family. We’ll just let them be super impressed.
📋 Ingredients
There are three parts to this cheesecake – the keto-friendly crust, low-carb cranberry sauce, and cheesecake filling.
Keto-Friendly Cheesecake Crust
The crust is high in protein because I made it from a combination of pecans, butter, and cinnamon. Then, the keto sweetener gives it a touch of sweetness.
Cranberry Sauce Ingredients
Fresh cranberries are the secret to the sauce! They add fiber to it, which decreases the net carbs. You’ll also use lemon juice for a little tart taste to round it out and one-for-one sugar substitute for a touch of sweetness.
Low-Carb Cheesecake Filling
This is a pretty basic cheesecake filling recipe. All you need is cream cheese, sweetener, some eggs, and lemon juice.
Please note: Check out the recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients used to make this low-carb recipe.
💭 Tips
- You will need a food processor to make the crust. The pecans need to be pulsed into a fine powder so there aren’t large chunks in the crust.
- Pre-cook the crust so that it is ready for the cheesecake. You can store the crust in the refrigerator for up to a week. Seal it in aluminum foil to keep it fresh.
- If you want to use frozen cranberries, I suggest letting them thaw before you boil them.
🔪 Instructions
The steps to make this keto cheesecake are really quite simple. You’ll bake the mock graham cracker crust, combine a few ingredients on the stove for the cranberry sauce, then beat together the ingredients for the filling.
After that, you just assemble and bake!
Making The Crust
First, pulse pecans in a food processor before adding the butter and sweetener.
Press the crust into the bottom of a springform pan, then coat with cinnamon. Bake it and let it cool.
Preparing The Sauce
Combine the sweeteners and water in a large saucepan. Boil for one minute, then stir in cranberries, cover, and reduce heat.
Cook until most of the berries have popped before adding the lemon juice. Press the cranberry mixture through a sieve and set it aside.
Making The Cheesecake Filling
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with your chosen sweetener(s) until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs.
Next, add the lemon juice. Then, pour the filling into the cooled crust.
Spoon the cranberry sauce over the filling, and use a knife to cut through the filling to swirl. You can’t mess it up, don’t worry.
So go ahead and play with your food!
Baking The Cheesecake
Put a pan on the bottom rack of the oven and fill it with water. This will create a humid environment for the cheesecake to help it bake. Place the cheesecake on the middle rack of the oven, then bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
Once the time is up, turn the oven off and let the cheesecake stand in the oven. After 1 hour, remove the cranberry keto cheesecake from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Carefully run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen and remove the side of the pan. Allow it to cool completely.
Refrigerate overnight to allow it to fully set, and then enjoy!
🍽️ SERVING SUGGESTIONS
This is the perfect dessert to serve at a party. There are lots of keto-friendly desserts you can serve with it.
If you’re looking for more ways to use this seasonal ingredient in low-carb cranberry recipes, I recommend my cranberry almond biscottis to enjoy with your morning coffee.
Or, for holiday gatherings, this cranberry blueberry sauce will go perfectly with your turkey.
No matter what recipe you try, you’ll never regret having fresh cranberries around the holidays.
🙋 FAQS
Before we get to the printable recipe card, here are some questions people often ask about how to make it.
How many carbs are in low carb cheesecake?
I prefer to cut this cheesecake into 12 slices. At that size, each slice will have 8 grams of carbohydrates with 1 gram of fiber. This puts each slice at 7 grams of net carbs with 3 grams of sugar.
Compare that to a slice of original cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, which contains 63 grams of carbs with 1 gram of fiber and 51 grams of sugar. What a difference!
Cheesecake is the kind of dessert that always impresses a crowd. This is especially true when that cheesecake has a swirl of rich cranberry sauce on top!
Can I use any type of berries in this recipe?
Yes, you can use your favorite type of berries. Just be aware that something like strawberries or raspberries is going to be sweeter than cranberries, so you will have to adjust how much sweetener you use.
Can I leave the lemon juice out of the filling?
Yes, you can leave the lemon juice out. If you do, I suggest replacing it with a teaspoon of vanilla to round out the flavors.
Truly, this dreamy dessert is one of my favorite low-carb cranberry recipes. It’s such a beautiful addition to any holiday table, plus it’s downright delicious. You can’t go wrong!
📚 Related Recipes
Looking for other sugar-free treats to make for the holidays or for the rest of the year? Be sure to check out these gluten-free keto desserts. They are some of my favorites!
- Easy Low Carb Keto Tiramisu is sugar free, gluten-free, and tastes just like the real thing! Made with almond flour lady fingers and a rich custard layer.
- Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookies With Coconut Flour are an indulgent yet perfectly guilt-free way to satisfy your sweet tooth on keto.
- Best Low Carb Chocolate Cake is a hidden gem that only requires a few ingredients, with one secret element that makes it moist and nutritious.
- Cream Cheese Dark Chocolate Keto Fudge combines cream cheese and rich chocolate for a soft, decadent treat almost exactly like traditional fudge.
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms with a chocolate center are always a big hit during the holidays!
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📖 Recipe
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake
Video
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups pecan halves
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 2 tablespoons Pyure All-Purpose See not for replacement
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Sauce:
- ⅓ cup powdered erythritol see note for replacement
- ¼ teaspoon stevia extract powder see note for replacement
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 bag fresh cranberries 12 ounces
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Filling:
- 32 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup powdered erythritol see note for replacement
- ¼ teaspoon stevia extract powder see note for replacement
- 5 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Crust:
- Grind pecans in a food processor. Pulse the processor until the largest pieces are no bigger than split peas. Add the butter and the sweetener. Blend until it’s mixed evenly.
- Press it into the bottom of a 9-in springform pan. Sprinkle cinnamon on top to cover. Press cinnamon in with back of a spoon.
- Bake at 300° for 8-12 minutes. Cool.
Sauce:
- Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat for one minute.
- Stir in berries; cover and reduce heat. Cook until most of the berries have popped, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add lemon juice.
- Press mixture through a sieve and set aside.
Filling:
- In a large bowl beat the cream cheese with the xylitol and stevia until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating just until blended. Add lemon juice. Pour into crust.
Topping off and baking:
- Spoon cranberry sauce over filling; cut through filling with a knife to swirl.
- Put a pan on the bottom rack of the oven and fill with water.
- Bake cheesecake on middle rack at 350° for 45 minutes. Turn oven off; let cheesecake stand in oven for 1 hour with door propped ajar.
- Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Carefully run a knife around sides of pan to loosen and remove side of pan. Refrigerate overnight.
Notes
- Use 3 to 4 tablespoons in the crust
- About ½ cup is needed for the cranberry sauce (adjust to taste)
- ¾ cup can be used for a sweet cheesecake use less to reduce sweetness
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Note on Nutritional Information
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. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes.
Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.
First published on December 28, 2010. Post updated on November 30, 2021, with additional recipe information and higher-quality images.
Stacey
I guess I could use strawberries instead?
Lisa MarcAurele
Any berries should work, but since most are sweeter than cranberries, you might want to use less sweetener.
Amanda
I made this recipe to the T and the center wasn’t cooked enough. I will stick it back in the oven tomorrow and let y’all know how it goes. I did try it and it wasn’t delicious btw
Lisa MarcAurele
Ovens can vary and you can always do a final slow cook by leaving the cheesecake in the oven at a lower temp so it doesn’t get dry. A water bath helps too by providing a humid environment while baking.
Jenny
This looks good, has anyone tried it with raspberries instead of cranberries?
Lisa MarcAurele
It will work with raspberries but you may want to use less sweetener.
Mike
Do I have to use lemon juice in filling? Never did like lemon flavored cheesecake.
Lisa MarcAurele
No. You can leave that out or replace it with a teaspoon or so of vanilla.
Pamela L Belcher
This recipe looks amazing and I am keen to give it a go, however, I wonder if you could give me the measurements for the liquid stevia with monk fruit ? Thank you for all you do!
Lisa
It depends on the brand and type of liquid sweeteners you have. I use NuNaturals and 2 teaspoons of the liquid stevia is about equal to 1 cup sugar with 5 drops equalling about a teaspoon. The monk fruit liquid is half as sweet so you need twice as much.
Ali
Is the sweetener erythritol artificial? I know stevia powder is fine but am unsure about the others. I try to keep a clean whole food diet and avoid artificial ingredients, so can this recipe be made with just stevia powder?
Lisa
Erythritol is naturally derived from vegetables or fruits.
Dina
Can stevia baking blend be substituted for the erythritol?
Lisa
Absolutely!
Victoria Thomson
Does this freeze well?
Lisa
It does!
Rachel Brill
How many servings are the nutrition facts based on?
Lisa
It’s 12 servings.
Cheryl
This turned out perfect and delicious!
Thank you for all you do and post!
Lisa
Thanks for giving it a try. I need to bake this one up again now that cranberries are coming in season.
allison G
I have been wanting to make this and I finally got around to making it. I have a load of cranberries in my freezer. Boy am I glad I made this oh my it is so so good. I have to say it came out just perfect. I love the taste of the cranberry in it. Such an easy and decadent dessert! My family devoured it!!
Lisa
Thanks for giving it a try Allison! I’ve also got some frozen cranberries in the freezer that need to be eaten.
zandi
can a different topping be used and keep the carbs low it looks so so yummy but i cant find thr cranberries or can cannec ones be used
Lisa
Blueberries could also be used. They are not as tart so you may need to use less sweetener.
Tiffany
This dessert looks amazing! Seriously beautiful.
Thanks for sharing.
fooddreamer
This is so funny, I can’t believe we posted practically the same recipe! I haven’t found any problem with erythritol crystallizing in my recipes, I wonder what’s up with that? My cheesecakes were made with erythritol except for the crust and no crystallization at all. Is it the brand, I wonder? I’ve been using ZSweet lately because I found a good deal on Amazon.
Lisa
I’ve noticed the crystallization particularly with chocolate. However, the lemon bars had a slight crystallization as well so I’m guessing erythritol doesn’t mix well with gelatin. I don’t think it would have a problem in this cheesecake since there is neither chocolate or gelatin.
Mary
Lisa, I really enjoy your website, and I appreciate how hard you work at developing, photographing and posting new recipes. I’m glad that your dessert recipes are Splenda-free–I hate that stuff!
I’ll bet this cheesecake is good. I look forward to trying it. Cheesecakes seem to lend themselves well to the low-carb treatment–so far, my best low carb desserts were a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving and a Key lime cheesecake for Christmas. Thanks again; keep up the good work!
Lisa
Thanks for the comment Mary. That Key lime cheesecake sounds yummy!
Jillian
Beautiful cheesecake! I’ve cooked with xylitol before and loved the sweetness, no bitterness. I tried making a Molten Chocolate Lava cake but wound up making the best chocolate cake I’ve had in a while! lol
Your recipes look awesome!
Lucy
Ohhh that looks soooooo good! I meant to make a l.carb cheesecake but it was just too busy! My husband is really looking forward to the Packers/Bears game this Sunday so I think I’ll make it then!