This berry cheesecake recipe is made without added granulated sugar in the mix. Just the natural sugar from the berries for a healthier version. Berry puree is served on the side for a little extra natural sweetness.
My daughter and created this berry cheesecake recipe for our Easter dinner dessert. My brother-in-law is a diabetic, and we are always striving, often failing, for healthier options in our diet. Although, there is a fair amount of fat content in this dish, the only sugar, is the natural sugar from the berries, and a small amount of sugar in the graham cracker crust.
We used raspberries and blackberries for this recipe, but you could try other berries or fruit. We specifically thought of berries because they are so flavorful, and low on the glycemic index, This means they have a smaller effect on your blood sugar, and are considered some of the best fruits to eat.
No-Bake Low-Sugar Berry Cheesecake
You can see that there are only a few ingredients for this berry cheesecake. Originally we thought about using blueberries, but decided to stick with just raspberries and blackberries.
The berry puree, which is just berries and water that have been crushed up in a food processor, gives the cheesecake a pretty pink color. Wouldn't this be great for Valentine's Day?
Decorate the top any way you like. I really liked the ring of berries making sure that every slice gets some. It might be even better if the entire top was covered in fresh berries.
The puree was also served on the side for those who wanted a little extra sweetness.
All in all, we were really happy with the way it turned out. You could definitely tell that there wasn't a lot of sugar in the cheesecake compared to a traditional recipe, but the added puree sauce more than made up for the difference.
More Berry Dessert Recipes
No Bake Berry Cheesecake with No Added Sugar
Ingredients
- 2 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 cups berry puree 2 c raspberries & 2 c blackberries & 1/2 cup water pureed in food processor
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice about one lemon
- zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 pkgs Graham crackers (1/2 box) crushed
- 1 stick butter 1/2 c melted
Instructions
- Butter an 8 inch spring form pan.
- Mix graham crackers and melted butter together in a bowl.
- Press graham cracker mixture into spring form pan on the bottom and sides.
- Place crust into freezer.
- Beat softened cream cheese with lemon juice.
- Add whipping cream and beat on medium/high until thickened.
- Add lemon zest, vanilla and 1/2 of the berry puree
- Pour into graham cracker crust and place back into freezer for a few hours or overnight.
- Remove cheesecake from spring form pan and decorate with berries.
- Serve with remaining puree on the side.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
ghg
Which size should the spring form pan be?
Patti Estep
ghg, I used an 8-inch spring form pan.
Karen
Hi,
I am so glad to find this recipe. It is so difficult to find recipes with no added sugar (no sugar and no artificial sugar). I'm doing Keto and don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners, and don't want to do sugar. The berries gives it just enough soury sweetness :-). I just omit the crust.
Thank you
Karen
Patti Estep
Thanks Karen. It is tart but for us, there was enough sweetness considering that we were going for a low sugar dessert.
Karen
Hi
What is the carb count if I omit the graham racket crumbs? Thanks?
Patti Estep
Karen, I use a plugin to calculate calories etc.. If I take out the graham crackers it brings the carb count to 5. It's just an estimate.
Kathy
I made this yesterday for my diabetic husband's birthday. The concept is good but there are several ways I would improve it next time.
1. Less crust (except it was the only part that gave it real sweetness so this time I'm glad I at least had the thick crust).
2. I do not believe this needs to be frozen, just refrigerated. Freezing makes it icy. I let it sit in the refrigerator a while before we ate it but it just didn't work well.
3. Just needs a little sugar somewhere to make it enjoyable (one of our guests asked for the sugar bowl), so I'm going to add sugar to the leftover puree which people can choose, if they wish, to put over their own slices. I used very sweet blueberries from our garden and blackberries (not so sweet) and it just did not give enough sweetness.
Patti Estep
Everyone does have their own preferences. Especially when it comes to sweets. Thanks for sharing your ideas Kathy.
Gramma DD
I used 2 cups of frozen berries and did not add water. I beat half the berry mixture with the cream cheese and whipping cream. The other half berry puree I swirled through the mixture after I put it in the springform pan. I also made a crust with no sugar and just used it as a bottom crust. Beautiful, delicious dessert. Even our non diabetics enjoyed it. Thanks!
Patti Estep
Great ideas. Thanks for sharing and I'm so glad it was something everyone loved.
Deborah
I'm a diabetic and I do miss having desserts. I'm thrilled you shared this recipe. I can't wait to try it!
Carole
This looks amazing! Saving for later and I love that you accomplished the majority of cheesecake without sugar. I've been cutting back the sugar in all my sweet recipes lately because I'm finding it over powers the natural flavor. It's just so pretty and I love the raspberries mixed with blackberries.
Patti Estep
Hi Carole,
I'm so glad you like it. It was really fun trying to come up with something low in sugar for a dessert with my daughter.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
Patti