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Yogurt Cheesecake is an incredible-tasting, easy, healthy and fun dessert! Make with dairy, or dairy-free! Great for Ancestral, Paleo, real food diets, great for AIP, Keto, Primal, GAPS, Gluten-free and refined sugar-free diets.
This no-bake treat is full of probiotics and quick to make, with just 5 ingredients minimum.
Why Yogurt Cheesecake
Who doesn’t want a healthier cheesecake?!
On a personal note, friends, I LOVE this recipe. It may not be for everyone? — but I am a great cheesecake lover. Contrast that with my love for all things health, and we have a problem. LOL.
Cream Cheese
Most cheesecakes are made with cream cheese, which is almost never healthy; even the organic brands aren’t made with the right milk and cream.
Plus, not everyone can have dairy.
Yogurt
Any yogurt that fits your diet will work well in this recipe.
So, we get all the delicious YUM of yogurt — which is a little like cheese with its tang — all the creaminess of cream (real heavy cream, coconut cream or sour cream, depending on your diet) … and the lovely crust!
Plus the mouthfeel of cheesecake, which is pure pleasure on a fork.
Awesome that most restricted diets include some version of yogurt; most of us can have it!
Not too sweet
Yogurt Cheesecake has very little sweetener, so you can really have the cheesecake experience but a much healthier version.
In short, all the pleasure of yogurt and cheesecake rolled into one — makes the perfect dessert. And you will love the soft mouthfeel of this yogurt-cream filling!
Ingredients in Yogurt Cheesecake for the different diets
Yogurt Cheesecake can be made to fit most diets: dairy-free or dairy, egg-free, nut-free, Gluten-free (or not), Paleo (or not), Keto, AIP, GAPS and more.
See the notes below and the Notes section below the recipe for links.
YOGURT FILLING
- Paleo, AIP, dairy-free — Use your favorite non-dairy compliant yogurt, homemade or store bought. See the Notes section below the main recipe for links. For cream, use coconut cream; or for non-AIP, smooth rich cashew cream is also okay.
- Ancestral, Primal, Keto — Use homemade yogurt or the best quality store bought yogurt, which is naturally low carb for those on Keto. Just be sure it’s Plain, all natural, full fat yogurt, with no added sweetener. For cream, use the best quality cream, like Alexandre A2A2, which is at more and more markets, or raw, if you have access.
- GAPS — Use homemade 24-hour yogurt, and then real probiotic sour cream or coconut cream for the cream.
CRUST OPTIONS
See the Notes section below the recipe for links to several crust recipes to meet your needs.
Any cheesecake crust will work, including cookie crumb crusts that get pressed into place or no-bake crusts made with dried coconut, dried fruit and/or nuts. Just be sure to chill your crust before pouring in the filling.
Feel free to ask a question in the Comments section if you need an additional recipe to meet your dietary requirements.
NO-CRUST OPTION
If you want just the filling of this dessert, you may pour it into a deep glass pie plate or jars to chill and set up.
As such, you’ll have a delicious blancmange, panna cotta or rich bonny clabber-type dessert.
Eat plain or top with fruit.
You may notice from the photos; I’ve made the filling on the very soft and creamy side. The texture is sublime.
Yogurt Cheesecake (Refined sugar-free, dairy or dairy-free)
Equipment
- cheesecake pan or pie plate -- Use a 7.5" cheesecake pan and a half recipe of crust for a small deep cheesecake that serves 7 (as in the photos). Or, use a full size cheesecake pan/deep pie plate with full crust recipe for a more shallow cheesecake.
Ingredients
- 1 cheesecake crust chilled (See Notes section below for several crust options)
- 2 cups yogurt room temp. (not cold) (For dairy-free, AIP etc, use compliant dairy-free yogurt; see Notes section below for options.)
- 1 cup heavy cream (For dairy-free, AIP etc: Use coconut cream, warmed so it's smooth and pourable, no lumps; if there is any, remove any hard oil layer from the top of the can. For GAPS dairy option, use real probiotic sour cream.)
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup or for Keto: low carb liquid sweetener like allulose; for GAPS, use honey.
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon gelatin <-- Use link with code BEAUTIFUL10 for 10% off your entire order.
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Select crust recipe you'll be using. Make it, bake it (if applicable), and allow to cool. Chill it while you make the filling.
- Place water in a small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin evenly over its surface. Allow to "bloom" for 1 minute. Heat over low heat, whisking, until the gelatin "goo" texture dissolves, liquefies and is foamy on top, about 2 minutes. Keep whisking over low heat if there are any little lumps until they dissolve. Set aside.
- Dairy heavy cream version: In large metal bowl with beaters, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.AIP and dairy-free: Place coconut cream in small saucepan. Heat gently over low heat until coconut cream is fully melted. Do not simmer or overheat the cream. Allow to cool to warm. (Photo below is of the whipped cream for dairy version.)
- In another large metal bowl with same beaters (no need to clean them after whipping the cream), place yogurt and sweetener. Beat on medium speed for about 20 seconds until smooth and fully combined.
- While beating, drizzle in gelatin water, and mix well.
- Fold in whipped cream thoroughly. AIP and dairy-free: Simply whisk in warm coconut cream. GAPS sour cream version: Use electric mixer on medium speed to blend sour cream into yogurt mixture.
- Pour filling into crust and smooth top surface. Refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
- No topping is needed, but if you wish, garnish with berries, other fresh fruit, Easy Caramel Sauce, Strawberry Topping or lemon curd.
- Serve!
Notes
Cheesecake Crust options
- Tiger Nut Crust (Paleo, AIP, GF)
- Keto Shortbread Crust (Paleo, Keto, GF)
- 2 GAPS Diet Pie Crusts (Paleo, GF)
Dairy-free Yogurt options
- Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt (Paleo, AIP, Keto, GAPS)
- Tiger Nut Yogurt (Paleo, AIP)
- Oat Milk Yogurt (GF)
- Cashew Yogurt (Paleo, GAPS)
The nutritional data below is for the Keto version of this recipe and does not include whichever crust recipe you choose. So add those net carbs for your total.
Nutrition
You can Pin this recipe here:
Similar Cheesecake-related Egg-free recipes you’ll love, all Gluten-free:
- Fermented Dairy-free Cheesecake (Paleo, Vegan, Keto, Ancestral, GAPS)
- Bonny Clabber and Probiotic Panna Cotta (Primal, Ancestral, GAPS)
- No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (Primal, Keto)
- Eggnog Cheesecake (Primal, Keto, no-bake)
- Saffron-Vanilla Cheesecake (Primal, no-bake, made with chèvre)
- Fermented Peanut Butter
- Fermented Almond Butter
Gail says
I noticed there is no option to make this with coconut yogurt – will that work too?
Megan says
Hi Gail, Yes, I just added a direct link. Here it is: https://eatbeautiful.net/homemade-coconut-milk-yogurt-easy-aip-paleo-keto/ 🙂
Virginia C says
Wow was this a great recipe, my daughter and I made it yesterday and it was SO yummy! Thank you for the wonderful recipe, I plan to make it for my friends and family again soon! I chose to do a walnut and oat crust. God bless you Megan!
Megan says
Yay, Virginia, that’s awesome! Thanks so much for sharing your results! Your crust sounds SO yummy!! God bless you, too!! xx 🙂
Dorothy says
This looks amazing!! If there’s any dessert that tops ice cream, it’s cheesecake. I like the idea of making it with coconut milk yogurt for an easier to digest and just as delicious version. Though I haven’t made it yet; in fact I don’t guess I’ve made or eaten cheesecake for quite some time. I hope to make it soon! Would we need to double your coconut milk yogurt recipe to have enough yogurt?
Megan says
Hi Dorothy, yes, you would need to double the yogurt recipe, as it doesn’t provide quite enough. And then you’ll have leftovers of the yogurt. Thank you! 🙂
Dorothy says
Thanks Megan. We like the yogurt, and maybe someday I’ll make the cheesecake. 🙂
Megan says
Great, Dorothy, so glad that you like the yogurt! 🙂
Stephanie says
Hello – would it still be AIP to make with organic coconut yogurt from the grocery store??
Megan says
Hi Stephanie, it’s hard to say. I depends what other ingredients are in the brand you choose. In most cases, no, but I think there is one brand that might work. Tapioca is okay as a thickener, for example, and a very small amount of sugar is okay for some, depending.
Pistonbeat says
How about making this with Harmless Harvest Coconut yogurt? They have a large plain tub that I normally eat with a little monk fruit sweetener that I add to my serving. I top it with Aldi’s keto coconut, pumpkin seed, sunflower clusters.. So the yogurt should easily work in this recipe I would think?
Megan says
Yes, absolutely! I’d love to hear how your cheesecake turns out! 🙂
Erin says
I made this with the tigernut crust and it was fantastic! The yogurt I made was kind of weird and bubbling (but smelled and tasted okay), so I thought I’d better use it up quickly and found this recipe. So I made this, ate a few pieces and froze the rest. I have a sweet tooth and increased the maple syrup to 1/3 cup and it still set up perfectly. Thanks! 🙂
Megan says
Great to hear, Erin! Thanks for reporting back your results, and so glad you enjoyed the healthy treat and had a use for your yogurt. Good idea to freeze the extras, too!
Marge says
I have tried coconut yogurt, but do not like it. It was runny almost like eating a sauce. My preference is Fage Greek yogurt. I usually buy 5% full fat, but sometimes buy either 0% or 2%. Would the Greek yogurt be treated the same? I’m a decent cook, but not adventurous. I also would prefer to use blackberry honey made by our local honeybees, which should add delicious flavor.
Megan says
Hi Marge, I haven’t trialed this recipe with Greek Yogurt, and it already has the whey strained from it and is very firm, so I don’t think the recipe would play out the exact same way; I think it would need some tweaking.
Dan says
I made the AIP version of this. The taste was great, but the consistency of the filling was off. The gelatin did not set evenly across the filling, but instead, beaded up so that the filling was a little bit thicker than yogurt with pellets of hard gelatin mixed in. I think for the AIP version, rather than melting the gelatin in water, I will try melting the gelatin within the coconut cream and then just whipping that into the coconut yogurt plus maple syrup. Overall, the flavor of the filling was very reminiscent of cheesecake, especially when paired with the tigernut crust. I really liked the flavor of the filling, so I’m going to play around with this recipe and see if I can get the consistency of the filling better.
Megan says
Sounds like your approach will work well, Dan. Thank you for sharing your results, and I’m sorry you didn’t get that consistent texture.
Gauri says
Hi!! So excited about this! Could you do a baked version?
Megan says
Hi Gauri, I haven’t recipe tested a version like that. You’d need eggs, and your probiotics would die.
Gauri says
Thank you! Do you have a video?
Megan says
Hi Gauri, not of this recipe being made.