Fresh lemon cheesecake. Since spring is in the air, I thought lemon would be a great addition to my little cheesecake family. If you’ve been following the site for a while you’ll know that this isn’t my first healthy cheesecake recipe. It first started out with the regular Cheesecake (the base recipe), then it progressed to Coconut, then to Key Lime, then to Peanut Butter Chocolate and now we have Lemon Cheesecake Protein Bars. If you’re wondering why I call them protein bars, its because I don’t really consider them a dessert. Regular cheesecake is most definitely a dessert, as its so rich. But since these are made with non-fat greek yogurt and sweetened with stevia, they contain very little sugar and can be enjoyed as a snack. These also have almost 8g of protein per square!
As with the other recipes, you can switch around ingredients in the base if you wish (flax seeds or chia seeds). You could also put the base in mini muffin tins to make mini cheesecakes, its just a little more labor intensive.
If you haven’t tried one of these cheesecake creations before, you will be surprised with how much the texture is similar to regular cheesecake.
The light lemony flavor of these are perfect for spring and summer and would make a delicious snack or light dessert for any event. I hope you give it a try, and let me know what you think!
- 2 cups non-fat greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsp gluten-free flour (or if not gluten-free, use all purpose)
- ½ cup stevia for baking (or any dry non-sugar substitute, or 15 packets stevia, others have used honey and says it works too)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon extract (optional)
- Zest of 1 lemon (2 tsp)
- Juice of 1 lemon (3-4 Tbsp)
- ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs (for gluten-free, I used 7 S'morables Gluten Free Graham Crackers, pulsed to make crumbs)
- 3 Tbsp chia seeds (could also use ground flax)
- ½ cup whey protein powder, vanilla (I used MRM )
- 4 Tbsp butter, melted (could also use coconut oil)
- 30 drops lemon stevia (optional) (I used NuNaturals)
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, add in the greek yogurt and whisk until smooth. Next, add in the vanilla, lemon juice, zest, lemon extract and whisk. Then, add in the stevia and flour a little at a time, whisking after each addition.
- Once the cheesecake filling is whisked until smooth, set aside
- Next, start the base. Mist or lightly oil an 8x8 pan.
- In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, chia seeds, whey protein and liquid stevia (if using).
- Once the dry ingredients are combined, drizzle in the melted butter and stir until it all comes together.
- Press the graham crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of the 8x8 or 9x9 square pan. Ensure you pack it down firmly.
- Then pour over the cheesecake filling and spread it in the pan so its even.
- Place in the oven and bake for approx. 45 minutes
- When its done, it will just start to go golden around the edges, and might jiggle slightly in the middle when shaken side to side slightly.
- If it still seems too liquidy in the middle, bake for a few minutes longer.
- Allow to cool completely, then put into the fridge and allow to chill completely.
- Will take 1-2 hours to completely chill in the fridge. Cut into 16 squares.
- Keep stored in the fridge with tin foil over top of the pan, or transfer the squares to a sealed container in the fridge.
- Should freeze well for up to a few months.