The Atkins diet is a very popular diet choice for many people. Not only has it been effective for so many of us, but it still allows you to enjoy some of your most favorite dessert choices – with a little tweaking of the recipes.
Cheesecake is a massively loved dessert and those on the Atkins diet may be wondering how they can enjoy this dessert whilst sticking with the dietary guidelines.
At its most basic explanation, the Atkins diet is a low carbohydrate diet that was devised in the 1960s. Its purpose is to try to help people lose weight but in a controlled way, allowing those that follow it to still enjoy some great foods.
Of course, these foods still include desserts. Typically speaking, it can be difficult to reduce the carbohydrate levels in certain foods, and these are often in some of our most favorite foods.
Luckily though, there are ways to still take part in the Atkins diet and enjoy your favorite foods, including cheesecake!
1. The No Bake (Keto)
The best possible way to enjoy an Atkins diet cheesecake is by using a keto version recipe, which is a no-bake cheesecake.
To make this cheesecake, you will need the following ingredients:
Butter
Almond flour
Salt
Cream cheese
Whipped cream
Erythritol
Vanilla extract
Lemon juice
Here’s what you will do when you’ve got these ingredients.
First, you will add all of the ingredients for the crust into a mixing bowl and then mix it fully until you get what looks like sand.
This mixture will then be put into a pan and you will then press the crust into the sides of the pan, using your fingers or a cup.
All of the rest of the ingredients will need to be mixed into the bowl and then mix it, using either your hands or with a mixer. After a few minutes, the consistency will be very fluffy.
From there, it’s quite simple to add this mixture into the crust and then smooth it down in the pan. Place the unfinished version into the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, when the consistency has become more solid, you can place your toppings on the top of it, such as cherries, whipped cream etc. The key to this recipe is the fact you are not going to bake the mixture!
2. Cherry Sauce
Another great recipe idea for your Atkins cheesecake is to utilize some incredibly delicious cherry sauce. All you’ll need to do is follow the above recipe, but while you are making your mixture, you will have to follow a few extra steps.
Add fresh cherries into the mixture, which will change the cream cheese color into a red or pink color. Once the finished product has had a night to solidify in the refrigerator, you should now make a cherry sauce.
It’s quite simple to do this. Simply crush a lot of fresh cherries in a bowl and then add boiling water, but not too much. Next, add a small amount of milk which will begin to change its consistency.
Allow this to cool and then place it in the refrigerator for a few hours until you get a syrupy consistency. Simply lather this over the cheesecake and you’re done!
3. Bake With Kiwi Fruit
What some people think is that you can’t follow an Atkins diet when a cheesecake is baked, but that’s far from the truth. You can bake the cheesecake, but the key is to not add any more carbs for baking to take place.
Use the same ingredients as above, but you’ll want to chop up some fresh kiwi and place these kiwi fruit slices on the top of your cheesecake until you get what looks similar to a key-lime pie!
4. Substitute Cream Cheese
Cream cheese doesn’t have too many carbs in it, but you can actually reduce the amount of calories in a normal cheesecake by replacing the cream cheese with something else.
One idea is to use a low fat but thick yogurt, or even a full fat, low carb cream. It’s about getting the consistency right, but you’ll also notice that the “cheese” part of the cheesecake is taken away.
However, this doesn’t mean it is not tasty!
5. Shortbread Cheesecake
It’s possible to find some very low carb shortbread. If you don’t know, shortbread is a scottish sweet biscuit and you can use this to top the cheesecake for a crunchy finish.
Simply make your cheesecake as you would, but when you’re ready to add toppings, crush a whole shortbread and sprinkle it on the top of the cheesecake!
6. Zero Sugar
You may have noticed that we have not used any sugar in the initial ingredients of our cheesecake. This is because you don’t actually need sugar in a cheesecake, and if you’re following Atkins, you probably don’t want too much sugar.
You can get the same flavor from some cream cheeses or even using Splenda!
7. Apple Filling
Another amazing choice which is perfectly in line with the Atkins diet is to use an apple filling. Don’t go to the store and buy apple sauce because that might be loaded with carbohydrates.
Make your own filling using chopped, fresh apples (not cooking apples) and mix this with low fat yogurt.
8. Mini Cheesecake
A cool idea to get in line with the Atkins diet is to create a miniature version of a cheesecake instead, and this will reduce any carbohydrate level regardless!
The process of making miniature cheesecakes is the same, except the amount of ingredients you use must be halved. You should also use a smaller pan and try to use smaller fruits like grapes or tiny cherries for the top of the cheesecakes.
9. Dark Chocolate Topping
Dark chocolate is by far the most healthy chocolate choice when it comes to looking at its white and milk compatriots.
To add a little chocolate into the recipe, buy a normal bar of dark chocolate and remove several squares. Place these into a pan and melt them on the stove’s burner.
From here, transfer the dark chocolate from the pan and whilst the chocolate is hot, lather it across your cheesecake for a hot and cold hybrid, with a chocolatey finish!
10. Mascarpone Cheese
Mascarpone cheese is lower in calories and lower in carbohydrates than many other cheeses, and in many respects it is better for a cheesecake than cream cheese.
All you need to do is to follow the recipe as you normally would, but instead of adding cream cheese, you’ll want to mix up some mascarpone cheese until you get the desired consistency.
From there, you will need to refrigerate it much quicker than you would normally with cream cheese, as it has a tendency to collapse.
11. Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt is a great substitute for whipped cream and it reduces the number of carbohydrates and the number of calories.
It’s also a great and healthy replacement with several health benefits!
12. Powdered Sugar
Powdered sugar can be used in place of erythritol which might help to reduce carbohydrate levels. The only problem is the consistency might reduce from fluffy to a more solid base.
13. Unsalted Butter
The usual way to make cheesecake would be to use salted butter, which can help to reduce added salt. However, you’d be best advised to use unsalted butter to start with your cheesecake and this should keep you in line with Atkins!
14. Raspberry Topping
Another fantastic option is to tweak the recipe by adding a raspberry topping. You can do the same steps to make your crust and then your filling as normal.
However in the meantime, you will want to create a raspberry topping. All you need to do is add some fresh raspberries and a small amount of whipped cream to circulate on top of your cheesecake slice!
15. Low Fat Ice Cream
Another great way to add to your cheesecake is by using low fat ice cream which should also be low in carbohydrates.
You can enjoy this recipe with warm or cold cheesecake, but the low fat ice cream gives it a little extra pop to it.
Final Thoughts
Keeping with an Atkins diet doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a nice cheesecake from time to time, and these recipe ideas should be pretty simple for you to make at home!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our list choices. Just remember to always read the label with your ingredients when following your diet!
Have you ever made something so delicious that you wished you could savor it forever?
Only to find that the recipe has now mysteriously vanished from your phone and the entirety of the internet. Yep, there’s not much more painful than that.
Hi, my name is Mark Williams and I have been infatuated with cooking since I was young. I would beg my mother to pull a chair up to the counter so I could watch what she was doing.
