Don't tell Derek I made him a healthy cheesecake for his birthday... but I totally did.
Sorry I'm not sorry!
Despite this being a lightened-up cheesecake, it just might be the best I've ever made! I used two blocks of normal cream cheese, two blocks of neufchâtel, and one cup of Chobani Non-fat Plain Greek yogurt. WINNER! This is a really creamy cheesecake, and with a thick raspberry swirl throughout, you just can't go wrong.
I bought the Chobani with the intent to make a lighter creamy pasta sauce, which I think I'll do today, but in a stroke of genius decided it had to go into the cheesecake, too! Totally worth it, healthy, delicious, and creamy. Highly recommended!
Skinny Raspberry Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 85 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
Ingredients
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- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus butter for pan
- 12 graham crackers
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse salt
- 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 16 oz neufchâtel cheese, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup Chobani non-fat plain Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and liberally butter a 9" springform pan.
- In a food processor, blend the crackers until fully ground. Add the ¼ cup sugar, plus salt, and blend to combine. Add the melted butter, blend to combine.
- Press the graham cracker mixture into the prepared pan and halfway up the sides. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden-brown.
- When the crust is done, remove from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 325 F.
- In a stand-mixer, cream the cream cheese and neufchâtel together until very smooth.
- Add the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated.
- Mix in the Greek yogurt until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared crust.
- With a fork, mash the raspberries into a pulp. Add the 2 tablespoon sugar and mix until smooth.
- Transfer the raspberries to a pastry bag, put the tip halfway down into the batter of the cheesecake, and pipe the raspberries around the entire cheesecake under the surface. Use a knife to lightly swirl the raspberries into the batter.
- Bake for 75-85 minutes, until the edges are set and the center is still slightly jiggly.
- Let the cake cool for two hours at room temperature before refrigerating overnight.
- If desired, top the cheesecake with whipped cream and extra raspberries.
Gretchen says
That is so beautiful! I am going to make that!
Dina says
lovely cheesecake!
Lori says
One of the most Beautiful cakes I have seen...Beautiful Work!
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
This looks absolutely divine!
Fiona Bryant says
How is this skinny? Lots of sugar and cream cheese, butter and biscuit base... is there another version?
Mary says
By replacing cream cheese with neufchatel, and sour cream with greek yogurt, this cake is nearly 1000 calories less than it would be. You could replace ALL of the cream cheese with neufchatel, if you want. No cheesecake is going to be calorie-free or "healthy", but this is a lighter alternative to the norm!
Julia says
Thank you for posting such a beautiful cheesecake. I've never heard of the "plunge-to-fill" technique but plan to try it very soon.
Nyameka says
Hey, this cheesecake looks amazing and I love that its skinny cheesecake. We don't have Neufchâtel in South Africa, will it still come out great if I don't use it and what can I substitute it with? Thank you
Mary says
Hi Nyameka - you could substitute normal cream cheese and it would be fine, or you could (maybe) try using plain yogurt for half of it... I haven't tried it with the higher ratio of yogurt to cream cheese, but if you do let me know how it works!
Kristin says
How do you keep the top of your cheesecake from cracking?
Mary says
I use a few methods: the water bath (for moisture and for a more constant/gradual temperature) and allowing the cheesecake to cool in the (turned off and cracked open) oven for an hour after baking. Then I let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating it. This allows for the gradual cooling, which usually prevents cracks. IF I do get cracks, I take a smooth metal spatula and dip it in hot water before gently smoothing the cracks over. It works surprisingly well!
Lindsey says
How do you get the top to look like that?
Mary says
Put a few drops of the raspberry on top and use a knife (or handle of a spoon/fork) to swirl! A little bit goes a long way, so start small...
Kari says
Hi do you have the nutrition fot this? The calories? Thank you.
Mary says
Hi Kari — I'm sorry I don't have that info... feel free to plug the recipe into a calculator! Enjoy!
Jessica says
Wow, made this cheesecake, it was amazing! Decorated beautifully and tastes great! I needed more crust though.
Mary says
Thanks, Jessica! Glad you liked it! Xo