These 4 ounce low carb and gluten free no bake key lime cheesecake in a jar desserts are perfect for any summer party. They taste just like a key lime pie.
In the summer, I’ve always favored no bake chilled desserts over baking cakes and cookies. I also love the mini shot glass desserts that have become popular in recent years.
I’ve seen several recipes for making mini cheesecakes in small clear cups so I thought I’d try making some. I don’t have any small dessert shot glasses so I made this no bake key lime cheesecake in a jar.
The jars I used are 4 ounce mason jars designed to hold homemade baby food. These were the best sized containers I could find while out shopping. But, I’ll probably order some disposable plastic cups like they use in restaurants so I can take these to a party and not have to worry about taking the glass jars home.
I brought these no bake key lime cheesecake in a jar desserts to my nephew’s confirmation celebration last weekend. Although I’m the only low carb eater in the family, the desserts were enjoyed by all.
This was the first time I’ve bought a bag of fresh key limes. I just don’t remember seeing them in the produce section before. However, I just may not have been looking for them as I don’t buy fresh lemons and limes that often.
For this recipe, I used 5 key limes. You really only need 4 as that amount should provide enough juice for the filling. I used an extra key lime to garnish the tops with small lime slices.
I folded in some stabilized whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to give it a light and creamy texture. The added gelatin in the whipped cream makes it stiffer and helps to keep the cream from separating.
Almond flour with a bit of cinnamon and sweetener is a great substitute for graham cracker crumbs. Adding some melted butter will get the mixture to hold together and form a crust when chilled.
It was easier to pipe the filling into the jars rather than spooning it in. This is especially the case if using narrower dessert shot glasses. No need to make it fancy as a dollop of stabilized whipped cream will go on top.
The tops of the cheesecake are finished off by piping on some of the stabilized whipped cream. As you can see in the photo, it’s rather plain so you’ll want to garnish with a bit of color.
Using some additional lime zest and small slices from an additional key lime really makes the no bake key lime cheesecake in a jar desserts pop by adding a splash of color. These cute little desserts are a welcome addition to any summer party and they taste just like a key lime pie.
I’m not really sure why it took me so long to make these sweet little mini cheesecakes. The portion size is perfect with only 1.7g net carbs in each 4 ounce jar serving. I’ll be on the lookout for some small glass cups to make more of these shot glass desserts.
No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake in a Jar Recipe
No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake in a Jar
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tablespoons low carb sweetener or Natvia
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Stabilized whipped cream:
- 1 teaspoon grass-fed gelatin
- 4 teaspoons cold water
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons low carb sweetener powdered
Filling:
- 12 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup low carb sweetener
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 2 key limes
- juice from 4 key limes about 3 tablespoons
Instructions
Crust:
- In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, cinnamon, and Natvia sweetener.
- Add melted butter then divide between eight 4 ounce jars or dessert cups.
- Press down to form a crust at bottom of each cup.
Stabilized Whipped Cream:
- In a small pan, combine gelatin and cold water; let stand to soften gelatin.
- Place over low heat, stirring constantly, just until the gelatin dissolves.
- Remove from heat; cool slightly at room temperature (do not allow it to set).
- Whip the cream with the icing sugar, until slightly thick.
- While slowly beating, stream in the gelatin liquid to whipping cream.
- Whip at high speed until stiff. Set aside.
Filling:
- In medium bowl, blend all filling ingredients with an electric mixer until well combined.
- Fold in half of the stabilized whipped cream.
- Pipe or spoon filling over crust in each jar, dividing evenly between the cups.
- Top off each jar with the remaining whipped cream.
- Decorate with additional lime zest and slices 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:
Patt Brady says
Did use as much sweetener. I put all the whip cream in so I added more lime juice. Great! Thank you.
Lisa MarcAurele says
I’m glad the key lime cheesecake recipe worked out!
Lynda says
I have a small Oscar food processor and an immersion blender. I don’t have the other type of mixer. Could I use one of these?
Lisa MarcAurele says
I don’t see why not. Even hand blending should be okay.
Martha says
Thank you for this recipe this was delicious! I made it into a pie and divided it into 8 equal parts.
melissa says
I found a recipe for making a sweetened condensed milk I was wanting to us that instead of the whipped cream do you think it would work
Lisa says
It should.You just need to make sure the sweetener amount is adjusted to your taste.
Audrey says
When you recalculated the nutrition info did the carbs still come ot the same? I am eager to try but it’s not worth it if I had that many carbs. I am Keto Krazy right now and need to only eat 4-6 carbs for desserts. Can’t wait to hear back!
Lisa says
I just calculated using my latest method and get 7g (5g net) per jar. You can always skip the crust to save on carbs.
Keri says
Can I use Stevia as my low-carb sweetness and it’s 2.7 for one 4 oz jar at 377 for the calories.
Lisa says
Any sweetener can be used. You just need to convert the amount as needed.
Ana says
Is the sweetner powder sweetner for all the parts it is called for?
Is Stevia ok?!
Lisa says
You can use any sweetener for the low carb sweetener, but may need to convert as needed.
Marianne says
This was amazing! I made it last night and three regular diet people loved them! I used Stevia granulated and feel I should have used a little more. it was still utterly DELICIOUS! The best part? I am not sharing the other four that are left 😉
Jill says
Can we use something besides jars? Cupcake cups?
Lisa says
Small glasses or cups work well too.
Dessa says
I didn’t do the gelatin part simply because I’m lazy and used sugar free whip cream instead with some lime juice/sugar, but holy moly! This kicked my cheesecake craving in the behind! I’m so impressed by the flavor when the ingredients list is so small.
Thank you so much for this recipe 🙂
Lisa says
I’m glad it worked out without the gelatin!
Maite Moctezuma says
Hi, could I try making the crust with coconut flour instead of almond flour …It’s kind of hard to get almond flour where I live and it’s really expensive! and for stabilizing the cream, could you replace the gelatin for tapioca starch?
Lisa says
It’s better to use ground nuts (any nut will work). Coconut flour is much drier than almond flour and you use much less.
Lauren says
This is the first thing on my low carb diet that I’ve REALLY enjoyed and it tasted NORMAL!!! Thank you sooooo much!
Lisa says
This was a great treat to transition over with!
Anon says
I got lost on the gelatin portion. Can you elaborate? Do I basically make standard gelatin that sits in the fridge for several hours until it is solid enough to eat? Then, remove it from the fridge, heat it up on the stove to dissolve it back into liquid form, and then put it back in the fridge for an hour or so to cool off? Is it still in liquid form when I blend it into the whip cream?
Unfortunately, your video demonstrates what appears to just be a quarter cup of water instead of 4 cups, and it doesn’t appear that the gelatin solidified or cooled off as you stir it over the stove.
Lastly, if I decide to cheat and just buy a can of whip cream, do I still fold in half of the canned whip cream into the filling?
Thanks!
Lisa says
Take a look at the ingredients in a can of whipped cream. You do not want to use that, especially since it is not stabilized. The recipe calls for 4 TEASPOONS (not cups) and the water is only used to dissolve the gelatin before streaming it into the cream as it’s whipped. If you do not fully dissolve the gelatin in a liquid, it will not get incorporated into the heavy cream correctly. Alternatively, you can soften the gelatin in a teaspoon of water, then add 3 teaspoons of hot water to fully dissolve the gelatin rather than heat such a small amount on the stove.
Che says
It’s like Jello mix, but no flavor. Just sprinkle it on the water. Actually, my short cut is to add it to the cream and stir it, before whipping and not even mess with dissolving it in hot water.
Seems to work fine
Rae says
Hello, can I make these and freeze them for later?
Lisa says
As long as the containers are freezer safe, it should work fine.
Julie says
So one 4 oz jar equals 2 servings right? So for one 4 oz jar, I came up with 32.75 grams of total carbs, minus fiber (5.38) equals approximately 27.38 grams of carbs, and 619 calories, 53.75 g of fat, 13g of protein.
It is delicious recipe but the nutrition facts are deceiving. No matter what I tried, I could not figure out how you got 2.7 net carbs, or 3.9 total carbs from 8 servings or 2 oz. I even clicked the “Buy the ingredients” tab, which I have to assume is what you used and couldn’t get that low carb count. Why are the nutrition facts so low? Can you tell me how you got those numbers?
Lisa says
I’ll take another look at this by plugging it into MyFitnessPal. If it seems off, I’ll change the info. Thanks!
Michele Skof says
Lisa,
I would like to use this crust for your dark chocolate mousse pie. Can I use a deep dish pie pan?
Lisa says
I’ve used it for deep dish so it should work.
Katt0628 says
Can I make these a day ahead of time and store in the fridge?
Lisa says
I always make these ahead. The whipped cream is stabilized with gelatin so it shouldn’t go flat.
Michelle says
I’m excited to make this recipe. Quick question, can I skip the gelatin? I’m out of it and stores are closed. It’s Mother’s Day here. Thanks.
Lisa says
The gelatin is the thickener. So, it’s okay as long as you don’t mind it being thin.
Lisa says
These look fantastic! I would like to make them, but can you tell me if they can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve? I imagine the crust and the filling can, but will the whipped cream mixture hold its shape? When entertaining, I try to do as much as I can earlier in the day. I can’t wait to try these! Thank you for posting the recipe 🙂
Lisa says
I’ve made these ahead without issue. That’s why I add gelatin to the whipped cream. It acts as a stabilizer so the whipped cream doesn’t deflate.
Pam says
Rheddi whip has 1 carb…why go through the work? Top when ready to serve…can’t wait to try in a pie pan!
Lisa says
I’m not a fan of some of the ingredients in the can. But, it is an option.
Linda Lanzoni says
Just made this recipe for July 4th. Tried something….baked the crust in a pie plate, let it cool and then filled and topped with whipped cream and lime zest. It came out really nice and my taste was delicious!! Thank you for this recipe!🎆🌌🎆
Lisa says
Good to know that you can bake the crust and make a whole pie!
Jamie Hall says
Do you have to use Natvia, or can you use a different sweetener?
Lisa says
You can use any low carb sweetener you prefer. Natvia is a one-for-one sugar replacement to substitute accordingly.
Helen says
I made the key lime cheese cake tonight, it’s lovely!! Bet these are too.
Lisa says
These ones are my favorite! I need to make them again soon. I’ll do a single pie instead of the jars.
Meaghan says
I can’t find Natvia where I live. I do have erythrotol though. Can I substitute and would I need to change the amounts? Also, I can’t find key limes or key lime juice anywhere! Has anyone made this with regular limes/juice? I am so excited to make this!
Lisa says
Regular limes will work, but key limes have a unique taste. You can use erythritol or a mix of erythritol and another sweetener like stevia. If using just erythritol, you may need a bit more depending on how sweet you like it.
Eliz says
Hello, may I know the actual calculated nutrition facts for this key lime cheesecake? 🙂
Lisa says
It’s in the recipe notes. Nutrition per serving: 123 calories, 11.8g fat, 58mg sodium, 4.3g carbs, 0.4g fiber, 2.1g erythritol, 1.7g net carb, 2.1g protein
Eliz says
I thought that the comment below stated that the calories was 379? So the nutrition facts should differ as well?
Lisa says
Just recalculated. I think the original calculation was only part of the recipe.
Ashley says
Good recipes but all nutrition is way off. Calories when entered as recipe was 379!!
Lisa says
Will have to recalculate and see if something was missed. Thanks!
Sally says
I made this in a 8×8 glass pan and it was just perfect!! It has lasted a week! I used bottled key lime juice and might add more next time. The zest really adds to the flavor and counteracts with some of the sweetness. Thanks for recipe
Lisa says
Great to know that the recipe fits nicely into an 8×8 pan!
claudia | gourmet project says
so nice!
Lisa says
Thanks! They are really yummy!
Nóri | ingeniouscooking.com says
Lovely! Pinned. 🙂
Lisa says
Thanks!