This keto and gluten-free Vanilla protein cheesecake is smooth, velvety and creamy! It's baked to perfection without water bath, and a great match to my honey Graham cracker crust!
Add the eggs, sour cream (or natural Greek or plain yogurt), vanilla, lemon juice (if using), keto sweetener and whey protein powder to a large bowl. Mix by hand with a whisk, or use an electric mixer, until the protein powder is completely dissolved.
Add the full fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature. Whisk the cheesecake batter until completely smooth and without lumps. Don't over beat.
Pour the cheesecake batter inside the prepared crust, or, if making it crustless, pour the cheesecake batter into a silicone pan, or line the pan with buttered parchment paper for easier serving.
Bake the cheesecake at the pre-heated oven at 150 °C (300 °F) for 45 minutes, or until set with a slight jiggle in the center. Then, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside until it's completely cool.
Remove from the oven and refrigerate for about 6 hours (or overnight). Run a sharp knife along the edge of the pan to loosen before releasing the side/unmolding.
Notes
Pan size used is an 8.5" by 3" tall pan, recipe will fit 8" and above pans, cheesecake will be less tall in a larger pan.
If using vanilla flavored protein, you can half the amount of sweetener or even remove it entirely, as level of sweetness varies a lot from brand to brand and also if it's a naturally sweetened protein powder (with stevia/erythritol) or if it has sucralose (these tend to be A LOT sweeter). The vanilla taste is generally not as strong, so I still recommend adding vanilla flavoring even using vanilla whey powder.
Nutrition Information below is for the cheesecake only. For the cheesecake plus keto honey Graham cracker crust, the nutrition per slice is: 315 calories, 26.6 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of net carbs, 1.7 grams of fiber, and 13.6 grams of protein.