Early in December, I met Karen and Alex, two of my close blog friends, for dessert. We settled on one of my favorite places in town, a retro diner dedicated entirely to sweet treats.
Although I’ve been an embarrassingly large number of times since we moved last October, I still feel overwhelmed every time I walk through their doors. Two long display cases full of four- to six-layer cakes, éclairs, cream puffs, cheesecakes, pies, cookies, and bars greet you, and somehow in just a few moments, I’m supposed to pick out what I want to give the bakers behind the counter my order. Impossible!
I always hem and haw indecisively, pacing up and down the cases, trying to narrow down my choices to five, then three, then one. Sometimes my guy takes pity on me and tells me to buy two desserts, but this time…
Karen and Alex agreed that we should share around the table—the sweetest girls I could’ve asked for. Decision crisis averted! Karen went with a layered caramel, whipped cream, and puff pastry treat; Alex ordered a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate and peanut butter frostings; and I ended up with a piece of spiced apple cake.
Within minutes, we had nine forks spread out across the table, one for each person and dessert, and we nearly forgot to talk. So many desserts! So little time! Pure heaven for a baking blogger.
While the caramel in Karen’s and my treats made me weak at the knees, it was Alex’s frosting that stole the show. I already knew that I adored the restaurant’s rich, fudgy chocolate frosting, but that peanut butter one… It was sweet, nutty, and with the texture of mousse combined with cheesecake. I wanted to hole up with a bowl of that and a spoon!
That frosting became the inspiration for today’s dessert: Skinny Peanut Butter Cheesecake! It’s sweet and creamy with a light peanut butter taste, and boy oh boy… This is the stuff dreams are made of!
This lightened up cheesecake starts with the crust. I settled on a chocolate graham cracker crust because chocolate and peanut butter go together like two peas in a pod. (I bet Oreos would make an incredible crust too!) It’s held together with butter and an egg white, which helps cut down on fat and calories, and is baked until just barely fragrant.
The filling proved to be slightly trickier. It needed a prominent—but not cloying—peanut butter taste, and not just pure vanilla either. I tested the filling three times in five days before I proclaimed it perfect! (And yes, at one point, we had all three cheesecakes in the fridge. There was hardly room for anything else!) So here’s my trick…
I used a combination of Better’n Peanut Butter and PB2. Both of these have less fat and calories per serving compared to regular peanut butter, but they still provide the same iconic taste. You’ll need ½ cup of the former and 1 full cup of the latter.
However, because PB2 is actually a powder, it makes the filling really thick—much more so than a regular plain or vanilla cheesecake. We’ll add a little milk to compensate, but because it’s still so thick, the cheesecake finishes baking in a shorter period of time.
As hard as it may be, chilling is mandatory. At least 8 hours in the fridge before serving! This allows the texture and flavor to fully set, but as soon as the time was up, you better believe I cut into this, and…
Pure bliss.
| Skinny Peanut Butter Cheesecake | | Print |
- 7 sheets (109g) chocolate graham crackers
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter, melted
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 3 (8oz) blocks fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ c (96g) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp (30mL) nonfat milk
- ½ c (128g) Better’n Peanut Butter
- 1 c (96g) PB2
- ½ tbsp (3g) cornstarch
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- chocolate syrup, for serving
- Preheat the oven to 300°, and lightly coat a 9” springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the crust, add the graham crackers to a food processor, and pulse until they turn into fine crumbs. Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 1 egg white in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake at 300° for 8 minutes, then cool completely.
- To prepare the filling, beat the cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Beat in the milk, Better’n Peanut Butter and PB2. Add in the remaining egg whites, cornstarch, and vanilla, mixing well.
- Spread the filling on top of the cooled crust, and bake at 300° for 28-33 minutes, or until the center barely jiggles when shaken. Cool completely to room temperature before covering with plastic wrap, ensuring that it touches the top of the cheesecake, and chill for at least 8 hours. Just before serving, drizzle each slice with chocolate syrup.
I have not tried this cheesecake with any other peanut butter products and do not know how best to substitute them.
For a low-sugar version, granulated sucralose may be substituted in place of the sugar. I haven’t tried any other sugar substitutes.
{gluten-free, low fat, low calorie}
More peanut butter cheesecake recipes from other food bloggers…
♥ No Bake Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake {with Nutter Butter Crust!} by Crazy for Crust
♥ Peanut Butter Nutella Cheesecake Bars by Inside BruCrew Life
♥ Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cheesecake by Sally’s Baking Addiction
♥ Peanut Butter Cheesecake Minis by TidyMom
Love this! I’m planning in making it tonight for family dinner tomorrow!! I did see that in the instructions is says “flour,” but there’s not flour listed in the ingredients. . Is it a mistake? Lol just double checking!!! I thought I had missed it when I wrote it down!! I can’t wait to sink into this though!!!! 🙂
Thank you so much for catching that Amber! The “flour” in the instructions should say “cornstarch,” and I’ve updated the recipe. Hopefully it’s clearer now! I hope you have a wonderful time at your family dinner, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cheesecake!
You’re welcome! Thank YOU so much for getting back to me so quickly! I let you know how we liked it tomorrow! I’m sure all will enjoy! 🙂 🙂
My pleasure Amber! 🙂
This sounds so yummy. Do you mix the PB2 first or just add the powder? Thanks!
Just add the PB2 powder! I hope you enjoy the cheesecake Samantha!
Made this using 24 oz. 0% plain Fage greek yogurt and turned out wonderful! It’s light and creamy, not too overly peanut butter-y and still get that cheesecake “zing”. High in protein, low in calories = perfect after workout treat. 🙂
Also — I subbed 1/2 unsweetened applesauce for the sugar and sweetened it just right.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cheesecake Katie, and thanks for sharing your substitutions! 🙂
I will be making this tonight, and we will enjoy it on Valentine’s day! Will let you know how it turned out.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cheesecake! Have a lovely Valentine’s Day!
Does this cheesecake recipe need a water bath?
No, it doesn’t! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of it Jamie!
Hi there,
Just wondering can you use quark in this to make it even less fattening? Im hoping to add Oreo cookies thins for the base and peanut butter for the filling. Would this work?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Lauren! Since the recipe uses fat-free cream cheese, I’m not quite sure how quark cheese would lower the fat content… Moreover, quark cheese is typically softer than cream cheese, so I can’t guarantee that the cheesecake will set properly if that substitution is used. I’ve actually covered your question about regular peanut butter already in the Notes section underneath the Instructions. It can be easy to miss! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this cheesecake!
Hi Amy, this looks fantastic! I love your recipes, they are low cal and delicious!
About this yummy cheesecake, I live in Greece so it would be a little hard to get that PB2.. but I do have peanut butter-favored whey protein powder. Do you think it would work?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Flora! I don’t think your whey protein powder will work. It isn’t nearly as absorbent as the PB2, so your cheesecake wouldn’t set properly. Are you able to find peanut flour or any other powdered peanut butter in Greece?
yes, I think I can order one online so I will try this! 🙂 Thank you Amy!
That’s great news Flora! I hope it works out! 🙂
So, I got my PB2 substitute and I plan on making it today 😀 Just one more question, how long will it last in the fridge?
Oh, never mind, I just saw in the description the “up to one week”, duh! Thanks for the great recipe Amy! ^_^
No worries Flora! It happens all the time. 😉 I’m so excited to hear how your cheesecake turned out!
I still dream about this cheesecake, Amy… if you’re ever stuck and need an idea for a new recipe, I vote you remake this one using peanut flour, Vanilla Stevia, and your greek yogurt/Neufchatel combo like your later fruity cheesecakes!! I think I’m going to make one of those fruity ones this week! <3 PB is my favorite, though, obviously… 😉
SO funny you say that… Redoing this cheesecake with our favorite peanut flour has been on my to do list for two years! So… It’s probably time for me to check it off my list! 😉 I’ll try to get on that this spring for you, sweet pea! ♡
Hooray!!! Can’t wait!!! <3 Just ordered a new bottle of Sweet Leaf, so I'm ready!!
YAY!!! Anything to get you through the final weeks of your program!! ?
I thought this chees cake batter was very thick and the finished product too dense. I used 2 T milk as the recepie calls for. I was wondering if this amount was correct. I will make it again, but I wwill try it with more milk. I also served it with a dollop of whipped cream. Very good!
I’m honored that you tried making my recipe, and I’m glad you enjoyed its flavor, Cecilia! I’d love to help solve those issues that you experienced though. 🙂 Did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? The batter should be on the thicker side, almost like thick cake batter, and the cheesecake itself is on the denser side, but not so dense that it’s like brownies. Does that make sense? Was yours thicker and denser than that? Also, how long did you bake it?