A low carb and gluten free cranberry swirl cheesecake that’s easy to prepare and looks fabulous. It adds a pretty festive color to a holiday dessert table.
Cranberries are a symbol of the holidays. I had planned to make a cranberry cheesecake for Christmas this year, but there just wasn’t enough time in the day for me to prepare it.
The day after Christmas, we had blizzard warnings so I got all my errands done in the morning so I could weather out the storm at home. Although the snow didn’t amount to as much as was predicted, I had the time to bake this cranberry swirl cheesecake that I had been dreaming about.
The best substitute I have found for low carb graham cracker crust is made from finely ground pecans blended with butter, sweetener and cinnamon. I use a food processor to grind the pecans then mix in a stevia erythritol blend. Melted butter is added and pulsed into the pecan mix.
After pressing the mixture into a baking pan, I sprinkle the top with cinnamon. I don’t bother measuring the cinnamon because I want just enough to cover the top.
The cranberry sauce I used to swirl into the cheesecake would also be something that could be served with a Thanksgiving turkey. It’s just cranberries cooked in xylitol and water then pressed through a sieve to remove the skins. A little lemon juice is added to enhance the flavor.
Although I don’t have a traditional low carb cranberry sauce recipe, I have created one that uses blueberries. So, if you want a little change at your Thanksgiving dinner, make up a batch of the blueberry cranberry sauce.
I will admit that the plain cranberry sauce has a much prettier and festive color for the holidays. And, it’s what really makes this cranberry swirl cheesecake pop with holiday color.
I have been having trouble with erythritol crystallizing in refrigerated recipes so I have been using more xylitol. So far, the xylitol hasn’t been bothering me like other sugar alcohols do. However, it can impact blood sugar so be careful.
There wasn’t enough erythritol in this cheesecake to really cause an issue. If you like Swerve, you can use that in place of the erythritol and stevia.
I’ve been moving more to liquid concentrated sweeteners. And, I’ve found that blending liquid stevia with monk fruit gives a really nice sweet taste.
I don’t think liquid sweeteners would work will in the crust for this low carb cranberry swirl cheesecake. But, they would work in the cheesecake and cranberry sauce.
I’ve also discovered inulin sweeteners which are made from chicory root. It’s pretty much all fiber and isn’t a sugar alcohol. So, there’s very little blood sugar impact.
What’s your favorite low carb sweetener? Do you like the bulk one for one sugar replacements or the concentrated zero carb liquids?
Some of the other low carb baked cheesecakes I’ve made include a mocha one and another with cookie crumbs. The cookie crumb one tastes like cookies and cream.
You really can’t go wrong with cheesecake. It’s one of the best low carb desserts out there!
Low Carb Gluten Free Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups pecan halves
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tablespoons Steviva Blend or 2 tablespoons powdered erythritol and a dash of stevia extract powder
- cinnamon
Sauce:
- 1/3 cup powdered erythritol
- 1/2 teaspoon stevia extract powder
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 bag fresh cranberries 12 ounces
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Filling:
- 4 packages cream cheese 8 ounces each, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered erythritol
- 1/2 teaspoon stevia extract powder
- 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. 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.
- 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.
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Nutrition
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.
About Lisa
Lisa has been creating low carb recipes for herself and sharing them with others since 2010. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and find new ways to create low sugar foods that taste like high carb favorites! Her recipes have been featured on popular magazine sites including Fitness, Shape, Country Living, Women's Health, and Men's Health. Lisa lives in Southeastern Connecticut. Connect with her and Low Carb Yum at:
Amanda says
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 says
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 says
This looks good, has anyone tried it with raspberries instead of cranberries?
Lisa MarcAurele says
It will work with raspberries but you may want to use less sweetener.
Mike says
Do I have to use lemon juice in filling? Never did like lemon flavored cheesecake.
Lisa MarcAurele says
No. You can leave that out or replace it with a teaspoon or so of vanilla.
Pamela L Belcher says
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 says
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 says
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 says
Erythritol is naturally derived from vegetables or fruits.
Dina says
Can stevia baking blend be substituted for the erythritol?
Lisa says
Absolutely!
Victoria Thomson says
Does this freeze well?
Lisa says
It does!
Rachel Brill says
How many servings are the nutrition facts based on?
Lisa says
It’s 12 servings.
Cheryl says
This turned out perfect and delicious!
Thank you for all you do and post!
Lisa says
Thanks for giving it a try. I need to bake this one up again now that cranberries are coming in season.
allison G says
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 says
Thanks for giving it a try Allison! I’ve also got some frozen cranberries in the freezer that need to be eaten.
zandi says
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 says
Blueberries could also be used. They are not as tart so you may need to use less sweetener.
Tiffany says
This dessert looks amazing! Seriously beautiful.
Thanks for sharing.
fooddreamer says
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 says
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 says
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 says
Thanks for the comment Mary. That Key lime cheesecake sounds yummy!
Jillian says
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 says
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!