I had lots of fun last week when I went on vacation to the Keys but among the tons of overpriced tourist teasures, I didn’t bring much back home. That shouldn’t surprise you though because it’s only a few hours drive away. I did, however, bring some glorious fruits of the islands back with me – Key Limes.
These little sweet, tart, unique flavored citrus fruits are an absolute delight in baked goods – especially cheesecake. You should know already since they’re famous all over the world for their Key Lime Pie! Well, I wanted to keto-ize a version of their Key Lime Pie because I didn’t eat any while I was there and I was tempted by almost every shop I looked into. So, low and behold I bring you just that 🙂
You can also buy key lime juice online if you’re not close to Florida or the Keys. You can grab it off amazon as an add-on item for 8 bucks. If it’s like the other Key Lime juices I’ve used before, it’s more of a diluted version of the fresh juice. They normally make it from a concentrate so you’ll be looking at using something like 1/4 cup of juice to replace the 2-3 fresh Key Limes.
Let me know what you think of it in the comments below!
Yields 12 total Low Carb Key Lime Cheesecakes
The Preparation
Cheesecake Crust:
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
- 1/4 cup erythritol
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup butter, chilled
- 1 large egg yolk
Key Lime Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 2 large egg
- 1/4 cup erythritol
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia
- 2 tablespoons key lime zest
- 2 tablespoons key lime juice, ~2 limes
The Execution
1. Preheat your oven to 350F. In a food processor, add the 1/2 cup of macadamia nuts.
2. Grind the nuts into a coarse meal consistency, then add 1/4 cup of NOW erythritol.
3. Pulse for a few moments and then add 1/2 Cup Honeyville almond flour. Pulse again until all is combined.
4. Cube 1/4 cup cold butter and add that into the food processor. Pulse again until the mixture starts to clump.
5. Add 1 egg yolk and pulse again until all of the dough clumps.
6. Remove the dough from the food processor and knead together with your hands.
7. Using some silicone cupcake molds (or just a regular greased cupcake tin), fill the wells about 1/8 to 1/4 of the way full. This depends on how thick you like your crust. If you make the crust thin, you will be able to make more cheesecake cupcakes.
8. Bake the crust for 5-7 minutes at 350F. They shouldn’t be browned when you take them out, they will look greasy and undercooked.
9. While the crust is cooking, beat together 1 block of cream cheese ( 8 oz. ) and 1/4 cup butter.
10. Once the butter and cream cheese is combined, add the 2 eggs and mix again.
11. Add 1/4 Cup NOW erythritol and 1/4 tsp. liquid stevia then mix again.
12. Finally, add the zest of about 2 key limes and the juice from 2 (this is about 2 Tbsp. of juice). Mix again until fully combined.
13. Once the crusts are out of the oven, let them cool for 3-5 minutes and then pour the mixture into the molds. Fill them so they leave some space at the top because they will rise as they cook and can spill over.
14. Bake the cheesecakes for 30-35 minutes at 350F.
15. Cool the cheesecakes for 20-30 minutes and then store in the fridge overnight.
16. Add some extra key lime zest over the top and serve!
This makes a total of 12 servings of Low-Carb Key Lime Mini Cheesecakes. Each serving comes out to be 219 calories, 21.8g fats, 1.9g net carbs, and 4g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 1/2 cup macadamia nuts | 481 | 50.8 | 9.3 | 5.8 | 3.5 | 5.3 |
| 1/4 cup erythritol | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/2 cup almond flour | 324 | 28 | 12.3 | 7.3 | 5 | 11.8 |
| 1/4 cup butter | 407 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| 1 large egg yolk | 55 | 4.5 | 0.6 | 0 | 0.6 | 2.7 |
| 8 ounce cream cheese | 776 | 77.1 | 9.3 | 0 | 9.3 | 14 |
| 1/4 cup butter | 407 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| 2 large egg | 157 | 10.5 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 13.8 |
| 1/4 cup erythritol | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 tablespoon key lime zest | 6 | 0 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 |
| 2 tablespoon key lime juice | 8 | 0 | 2.6 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 0.1 |
| Totals | 2639 | 263 | 36.8 | 14.4 | 22.4 | 48.8 |
| Per Serving (/12) | 220 | 21.9 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 4.1 |
Low-Carb Key Lime Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Cheesecake Crust:
- ½ cup macadamia nuts
- ¼ cup erythritol
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup butter chilled
- 1 large egg yolk
Key Lime Filling:
- 8 ounce cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 2 large egg
- ¼ cup erythritol
- ¼ teaspoon liquid stevia
- 2 tablespoon key lime zest
- 2 tablespoon key lime juice ~2 limes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Add the macadamia nuts to a food processor.
- Grind the nuts into a coarse meal and add the erythritol.
- Pulse for a few moments and then add the almond flour. Pulse again until well combined.
- Cube the chilled butter and add it to the food processor. Pulse again until the mixture is beginning to clump.
- Add the egg yolk and pulse again until the dough is beginning to clump.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and knead together.
- Using silicone cupcake molds (or just a regular greased cupcake tin), fill the wells about 1/8 to 1/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 5–7 minutes. The crusts will still look greasy and undercooked when taken out. Leave oven on.
- While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Beat together the cream cheese and butter.
- Add the eggs and mix to combine.
- Add the erythritol and liquid stevia and mix to combine.
- Finally, add in the lime zest and lime juice. Mix again until fully combined.
- Once the crusts are out of the oven, let cool for about 3–5 minutes, and then pour the cheesecake mixture into the molds. Leave a little space at the top to prevent them from spilling over as they rise.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes.
- Cool the cheesecakes for 20–30 minutes and store in the fridge overnight.
- Serve and enjoy!
Looks great. Did you do the whole Keys or just Key West? We go to Islamorada every Thanksgiving. I’ll have to make these to keep us going until November!
Hey Luanne,
We stayed in Cudjoe Key and drove up to Key West a few of those days. We never really do the whole keys to be honest because we rarely visit except when family comes over. When we go, it’s always the big tourist spots that we end up doing, but I still had a bunch of fun 🙂
If you have recommendations I’ll be sure to check it out the next time I go down there!
The key lime dessert was great but I was wondering if a different sweetener could be substituted. I had an allergic reaction to the erythritol – same symptoms I get from corn. After investigating I found that it is derived from corn. Now I know since it is an alcohol it probably wouldn’t bother most folks but hey- everyone is different. I allergic to all forms of corn. Do you know of any brand that is not derived from corn that I can use. I mean the recipe was fantastic so I’d like to try again. Any suggestions?
Tina, pretty much any other sweetener could be used in this. It’s totally up to you what you use – sorry to hear about the corn allergy. Truvia would also be off your list because it is a mixture of erythritol and stevia. You could go with xylitol, stevia alone (though it might turn out with a tad bit of aftertaste from it), monk fruit in small quantities, or something like that. There’s tons of sweeteners out there and I don’t know how clean your eating is so I don’t know if you only like using natural sweeteners or not. If not, you could use a bit of Splenda. Totally up to you – but pretty much any sweetener would sub in this 🙂
Thanks for the help- I’m trying to contact Swerve to see if there product uses corn. I’ve been told “Just Like Sugar” is made from chicory so I’m going to check into to that one as well. Thanks for all the hard work you do to help all of us. BTW – I’m watching the fat melt off and I’m down a size. I have to say it’s all due to a lot of the food you share with us.
Sounds good! Glad to hear that you’re doing so well 🙂
I used baking Splenda for mine, and it turned out great.
Glad to hear Cheryl!
Xylitol is also mostly made from corn most times so, beware of that as well. It can be found made from birch trees, but you really have to search for it. I also find xylitol makes things taste a little funny when baking. I’d maybe go for pure Stevia.
Ah, I don’t use Xylitol myself I just hear many people using it. Good thing to know! You don’t feel like Stevia has an aftertaste? I tend to not like Stevia as a sweetener alone.
I prefer using straight Erythritol or Truvia actually. I think there are a few brands of Stevia (sweet leaf is one I know of that is pure and isn’t too butter though.) that aren’t too bad. I prefer the Stevia without the fillers as well. Maltodextrin actually causes blood sugar spikes even when stevia doesn’t so, the more pure the better. 🙂
Yeah I use Sweetleaf, but I still get a bitter aftertaste if I only use Stevia to sweeten, but if you like it then go for it! 🙂
Tried this recipe and it’s super tasty! I think I may sub in pecans instead of macadamia nuts next time though as I think they give a really nice flavor. I also think that you could also just crush them up in a bag and add the nuts and the almond flour to melted butter and sweetener to give it a nice consistency, but totally optional. Great recipe!
Elise, that sounds great! I went with macadamias because of the fat and carb counts in them. They’re one of the lowest carb, highest fat nubs but I’ll try out different nuts in different flavor profiles next time 🙂
Not sure about fat count off hand, but pecans are lower carb than macadamia nuts. Not by much though! I plan on making with pecans tonight. Will also try with melting the butter and adding them. Will let you know how it turns out! I live on your recipes. Thanks for being such an awesome resource! 🙂
Yeah, pecans are just very slightly less carbs and macadamias are slightly more fat. I’m looking forward to hearing how they turn out!
So, my modification this time were as follows:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup butter
3tbsp Truvia
I melted the butter in a pan and then added the Truvia, then added the pecans and almond flour and mixed it until the butter was incorporated all the way. I then put it into greased cupcake pan and baked it for the same 7-10 minutes. Basically I just omitted the egg yolk.
I kept the filling the same recipe. I think it turned out pretty darn tasty. I like that the nuts are a bit chunky. Gives a really good texture and crunch.
Each cupcake with my modifications comes out to 207.3 Calories | 18.9g Fat | 1.92 Net Carbs | 3.7g Protien
Sounds good Elise! Glad they turned out pretty tasty, they definitely sound it 🙂
I couldn’t find my cupcake pans so I made a pie. It turned out great!
Awesome to hear Tammy! I had a few questions about making it into a whole pie and now I know the answer. Thanks!
Awesome to hear Tammy! I had a few questions about making it into a whole pie and now I know the answer. Thanks!
How long did you bake it?
Hi Melody. The crusts are pre-baked for 5-7 minutes and the full cheesecakes are baked for 30-35 minutes.
Hello Craig, Followed your link in the ingredients for this recipe and purchased the Erythritol. I am using Loseit to track my carbs daily. When I was entering this recipe I noticed that the Now Erythritol has 4 carbs per serving. Using the full recipe for the 12 tarts and then calculating the net carbs for 1 Tart it is coming out at 10.9 total carbs – 1g Fiber = 9.9 Net Carbs. Has something changed with the Erythritol since this recipe was posted?
No, I don’t usually count erythritol. I have an explanation on why in the forums: //www.ruled.me/forum/thread-sweeteners?pid=364#pid364
No, I don’t usually count erythritol. I have an explanation on why in the forums: http://www.ruled.me/forum/t…
Can you tell me why a lot of recipes call for use of Stevia and Erythritol? I thought they were both sweeteners so confused why you need to add both. Thanks
I like to use both because they balance the flavors out. Sometimes erythritol has a weird aftertaste and sometimes stevia has a weird aftertaste – so you use both to keep the sweetness where you want it, but try to mute the aftertaste effects of both 🙂
These look amazing and as spring and summer approach, I’m starting to crave things like Key Lime pie. Question, though… I’m allergic to macadamias, hazelnuts, pecans, and walnuts (yeah, I know, sucks to be me LOL). Is there another nut I could substitute that would work? I know it’ll throw off the counts and I’ll have to consider that, but figured I’d ask.
It’ll throw the counts off, but you can easily recalculate it. You can use pretty much any type of nut you want for this. I chose macadamia because I thought the flavor compliment was nice (and the high fat, of course).
It’ll throw the counts off, but you can easily recalculate it. You can use pretty much any type of nut you want for this. I chose macadamia because I thought the flavor compliment was nice (and the high fat, of course).
Made these last night and they were a huge hit! Used 3 key limes with zest. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Can the erythritol be replaced with xylitol?
Sure!
i dont know what happened but they sank in the middle. followed the recipe but….
Oh no! Sometimes cheesecakes can deflate if too much air gets whipped into the batter.
they were still yummy! 🙂
Hi! Do you know a version of this that doesn’t use eggs? Just to avoid using the oven
You will still need to bake the shells (without the egg they will be too crumbly) but you can leave the eggs out of this. The texture will not be the same though.
This was really good! Thanks so much for all the recipes!
I’m so happy you liked this!
Would the crust work for a quiche if I left out the sweetener?
Yes!
What can you substitute macadamia nuts for? Also can these be frozen? Can the stevia be replaced with more erithrytol?
Thanks.
You should be able to use all almond flour, but may need to pulse in a little more butter.
You should also be able to freeze this!
Replacing stevia with more erythritol would work.
I changed the crust and added coconut instead of macadamia nuts. Worked great. Now can we do everything the same and just change the flavours like chocolate or lemon to this? I also found 2 key limes was not enough flavour so I added more.
Sure Randi, I think that would be great! I think vanilla with a few pureed raspberries swirled in would be nice too. 🙂
Can I make this as a full pie, instead of in muffins?
Sure! You will need to increase the bake time, though I’m not sure by how much.
I made it as a pie. I baked the crust for 15 minutes. After adding the filling baked for another 20 minutes. I upped the zest and the lime and will probably experiment to add more filling but it was delicious!
I made these minus the crust in half pint jars and they are great! I’m making raspberry swirl and suntella swirl jars today to fill the freezer. I only fill the jars about 2/3 and bake them uncovered in a water bath. Convenient sweet treats. I’ll try the crust in the future but since I don’t have a food processor at my disposal at the moment I just went without. Thanks! With these I’ll have no problem staying on track. https://uploads.disquscdn.c… *photo is right out of the oven before they deflated.
Beautiful!
Erythritol does not have zero carbs. I just bought the NOW erythritol that you link to and it has 4g of carbs per tsp. That means your recipe has over 100g of carbs total and although it is low carb compared to regular cheesecake, it is definitely not 1.95g of carbs per serving. I’m pretty disappointed because I was hoping these would be a nice dessert while I’m keto but at 10g of carb per serving, I can’t afford them in my diet. I didn’t realize this until after I finished making these and created a recipe through MyFitnessPal.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Hello Noel – the human body doesn’t digest erythritol so we mainly just excrete it. You can see more about it here: https://www.ruled.me/keto-d…
It’s a keto friendly sweetener that you don’t have to count the carbs of. Everything is always best in moderation, of course.
Spot ON Craig!
Was so excited about this recipe, but mine didn’t turn out. I used silicon cups, and have made mini cheesecakes before with a almond crust that doesn’t require pre-baking. The trouble I had is that the filling didn’t stick to the crust. I had to turn the cups upside down and carefully remove each one. Also, I couldn’t taste the lime. I think I needed more zest. I used actual Key Limes to make it. The macadamia nuts were super expensive, so this was disappointing.
I’m really sorry to hear about that Sandra – these were a winner when I served them to my family. I’m not sure what might have gone wrong with the crust and/or filling. They should stick together well (you can see in the photo where one is on the side, the crust is almost melted into the filling).