A delicious no bake banana split cake cheesecake that looks and tastes spectacular! You can make a large pan of this low carb dessert for parties.
Most people have memories associated with certain foods. For as long as I can remember, I have always looked forward to sweet treats in my life.
You have probably noticed that I have a lot of desserts on this blog. As you can see, you don’t have to give up sweets when you move to a low carb way of eating.
However, after years of being away from sugar, I don’t like really sweet foods so my sweet tooth has weakened and the desserts that I make now are much less sweet than what I used to enjoy on a high carb diet.
One dessert that brings back memories for me is a no bake banana split cake cheesecake. I may be dating myself, but I used to be a software engineer in our company’s IT department in the late 1990’s and worked there until the late 2000’s.
It was the job I was doing when I first discovered the benefits of a low carb diet. The secretary of that department, Karon, would bring in her famous no bake cake every month to celebrate all the birthdays of the month. I used to look forward to each month when it was time for her to put out the cake!
The no bake banana split cake cheesecake Karon brought in was more of a no bake cheesecake rather than a traditional birthday cake. Everyone loved it and it was a great way to bring smiles into the work day.
We were just one part of a much larger corporate IT group and one year, an IT Department cookbook was published with all the favorite recipes submitted by employees of the entire department which spanned several states. Karon, of course, submitted her banana split cake.
I’ve modified Karon’s original recipe a bit to bring the carbs down. This is my version of the monthly monthly birthday cake that was shared!
Karon’s cake always had a crumbly graham cracker crust. I modified it to be more of a standard cheesecake crust made with low carb almond flour instead of the crackers.
In her recipe, Karon says that the recipe calls for 8 ounces of cream cheese, but she sometimes doubles that to 16 ounces. Since cream cheese is the best and adds a lot of fat, I used the higher amount.
The original recipe used canned pineapples and canned pie filling. Karon would change up the cake each month with a different fruit filling.
She would typically use either strawberry, raspberry or blueberry pie filling. I prefer fresh fruit so I used strawberries. You could use another fresh low carb berry instead.
Karon’s no bake banana split cake cheesecake was topped with a whole container of Cool Whip. Although low carb, I’m not a fan of the ingredients in Cool Whip, so I used a stabilized whipped cream recipe in place of the non-dairy whipped cream.
Toppings can be whatever you desire. You could sprinkle some berries over the whipped cream, drizzle your favorite sauce, and add some chopped nuts.
I went with chopped walnuts and low carb chocolate syrup. This treat is really filling, so you don’t need a big piece. I provided nutrition values for cutting the cake into 20 pieces, but you can easily get many more slices.
I know bananas aren’t low carb. But, I did use only one small banana cut into small pieces to scatter about.
If you’d like to cut back on the carbs, you can certainly omit the banana and add a banana extract to the cream cheese filling. However, I think the real banana was worth those few extra carbs and I got a little extra potassium.
Low Carb No Bake Banana Split Cake Cheesecake
No Bake Banana Split Cake Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3 cups almond flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 cup low carb sweetener
- 1 cup butter melted
Filling:
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup low carb sweetener add more if needed
- 1 cup butter melted
Topping:
- 2 pints strawberries sliced
- 1 banana chopped (can be left out and banana extract added to filling)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grass-fed gelatin
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons low carb sweetener
- Nuts optional
- Chocolate Sauce optional
Instructions
- Cover bottom of 9x13-inch pan with crust ingredients and press into crust
- Mix cream cheese and confectioner's sweetener and add melted butter until smooth.
- Spread on top of crust.
- Mix strawberries and banana in medium bowl with lemon juice.
- Spread strawberries and banana mixture over cream cheese mixture.
- Make stabilized whipped cream softening gelatin in water and then pouring it into the heavy cream along with vanilla extract and sweetener at the end of beating into whipped cream. Cover top with whipped cream mixture.
- Top with chopped nuts and chocolate sauce if desired.
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Notes
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:
Valerie says
Can I make this ahead of time? If so does it need to be refrigerated until use and after leftovers
Lisa MarcAurele says
Yes! You can make this up to a couple day ahead and store it in the refrigerator until ready. You may want to leave off the toppings, though, until just before serving.
Jeanna says
I made this to share with friends. I changed fruit to strawberries and blueberries. (didnt want the carbs, even though I love bananas) I didnt use the gelatin either. It was a big hit. I also halfed the recipe not to make so much.
Lisa MarcAurele says
It does make a lot so half the recipe is perfect for smaller gatherings. Totally fine omitting the bananas to save carbs!
Bernadette says
Does the nutritional info include the chocolate sauce on top?
(I rated the recipe based on yummyness of appearance. Haven’t actually made it yet but can’t wait!)
Lisa says
The optional ingredients aren’t included.
Mary says
Made this for a friend. Added fresh blueberries along with pecans and chocolate drizzle on top.
Natalie says
Can I substitute gluten free baking flour for the almond flour?
Lisa says
It’s a no bake crust so I don’t think it would work out.
Frankie says
Great modification to a delicious dessert I grew up eating down south. Kudo’s for the low carb version!
DonnaLM says
Can you tell me how many carbs this would have leaving the banana out and subbing the banana extract? I can’t wait to try this for my next pot luck dinner.
Thanks for all your great recipes!!
Lisa says
You’d save about 27 grams in the whole recipe or 1.3 grams per serving.
Gary Riggs says
This is honestly the best low carb desert I’ve ever tasted!
The combination of tastes is perfect for my palate.
Definitely 5 stars and the new standard by which all other low carb deserts will be judged from this point on.
Lisa says
Thanks for the honest review Gary! It certainly is a winner with my family.
Marlene says
One cup melted butter
Lisa says
Yes. The amount is correct. Its 2 sticks.
Amy says
This was DELICIOUS!! I’m so happy that you shared this with the world!
I did have a question. I’m pretty sure it came from the Swerve but the cheesecake part u can feel the granulation from the Swerve. Do you know what I did wrong? It tastes good and the texture is good (well until u eat it) or is this how it is supposed to be? First time cooking w Swerve too
Lisa says
If too much is used, the erythritol in Swerve can crystallize. This didn’t happen to me in this recipe. The way to correct that is to reduce the amount of erythritol used and replace it with a non-erythritol sweetener.
Jan says
Some sugar substitutes will do that. Try erythritol.
Don says
This looks sooo good. Question: Does the crust hold up? Was wondering if it needed to be baked at all? Thanks.
Lisa says
No need to bake the crust. It comes right out with a spatula as it’s held together by the butter
Amy says
This looks so yummy! I’m curious as to how this holds up at room temperature. I’m thinking of making it for an Easter pitch-in but it’ll have to last at room temp for an hour and a half before we’re able to eat it. Will the whipped cream “melt” making it soggy?
Lisa says
I’ve had this dessert out at room temperature for a couple hours without issue.
Tommie says
I love the idea of being able to have desert, but I have found that the sugar substitutes give me migraines. This makes it very hard for me to fully embrace this low carb diet.
Lisa says
Have you tried other sweeteners? Stevia can sometimes cause migraines so you may want to try monk fruit.
Denise says
Lisa, I tried the monk fruit, the dessert was tasty, however; it was gritty. I had already made the crust and the filling, but when I realized that it was gritty, I dissolved the sugar in the water then the gelatin for the whipped topping. Next time I will dissolve the sugar in the melted butter before combining. Thank you for experimenting and giving us ideas….much appreciated.
Lisa says
Did you use the powdered monk fruit? That’s the kind I use, not the granular.
Denise says
The package says “classic”, it was the only monk fruit available at our Whole foods. Does yours specifically state “powdered”?
Lisa says
The one you want to use is powdered and it’s twice as sweet so you use less. The package looks like this.
Cheri says
Made this for a party i was going to. Tried a lot of the low carb desserts that don’t turn out, but this one was FANTASTIC! Will definitely be making this again!
Lisa says
Karon deserves the credit. I just adapted it to be low carb.
Michelle says
Absolutely amazing !!!!!!!! I made this for my fiancee who is on a low carb diet and has an addiction to sweets and he loves it !!!
Lisa says
Awesome! I’m so happy he liked it.
Nissa says
The recipe looks great! Can’t wait to try it 🙂 Could you please tell me something though? I’m a vegetarian and would like to omit gelatin from the recipe. How important is gelatin to this cheesecake? Is there any replacement that I could try here in place of it? Thanks!
Lisa says
Gelatin helps keep it firm. You could try agar agar
Gwen Davis says
I made this recipe tonight.
It was yummy even my mom loved it 😋
Lisa says
🙂
Sue says
I made this over the weekend for dessert for my son’s in-laws. It was delicious and an absolute hit! I’ll definitely be making it again soon. May try adding a few fresh blueberries.
Lisa says
Blueberries would be a great add!
Judith says
Bravo to you for not using the trans-fat-filled Cool Whip (look at the second ingredient after water) that everyone thinks is a zero-calorie “safe” ingredient!! It is just pure garbage. Your recipe is much better and healthier by far. Again, bravo!
Lisa says
I’m with you Judith! Although Cool Whip is low carb, it’s pretty nasty stuff.
Patricia says
Super looking recipe that everyone can enjoy, low carb or not. Quick question, is the gelatin softened in the water to use in the whipping cream? How is it incorporated? Thank you in. advance……..I can usually figure these things out but I don’t use gelatin ..
Lisa says
Oops. I may have forgot to put that in the directions. Thanks for letting me know. I just poured a thin stream into the bowl at the end of whipping the cream. That helps it stabilize and not get runny.
Kim | Mom, Can I Have That? says
This is the best idea ever! My kids would absolutely go nuts for this! Thanks for such a great recipe.
Lisa says
I’m sure they will love it Kim! It’s so easy to customize too.
Terence says
Making it for the first time how do I accually in corporate the gelatin? I’ve got the powder packets.
Lisa says
I always dissolve the gelatin first (soften in a small amount of tap water and then add a small amount of boiling water to dissolve). Then, I pour it into the mixture in a thin stream as the electric mixer is beating.