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Is Cream Cheese Keto Friendly?
We all love cream cheese, and there is no other way to say it. But what if you are a weight enthusiast and are on a keto diet? Is cream cheese keto?
Most people wonder if they can have dairy products on a keto diet. A short and fulfilling answer to this question is yes you can have dairy products on a keto diet, provided you keep in mind which product sources you are opting for and in what quantity.
Cream cheese is one of the most delicious dairy products you can get your hands on, but is cream cheese keto?
Let’s delve into this creamy goodness and find answers!
This guide will tell you all you need to know about whether you can eat cream cheese on a keto diet, it’s nutritional profile, and some amazing keto-friendly cream cheese recipes.
Let’s get started!
What is Cream Cheese?
Cream cheese is a mild-flavored and soft cheese made of cream and milk. Despite a lack of a particularly wholesome reputation like other cheese types (for instance, cheddar and gouda), cream cheese is cheese!
According to the Food and Drug Administration, cream cheese contains at least 33% milkfat and less than 55% moisture content. However, the fat content can vary in brands and countries.
Cream cheese has a soft and smooth texture and is not matured naturally. Therefore, you should eat it fresh, not aged like some other types of cheeses. Most people consider it similar in texture and taste to mascarpone and Boursin.
This smooth cheese type rose to popularity in the United States in the late 1800s. It was mostly produced in Philadelphia but it is now a popular cheese option globally.
You might be wondering: how is cream cheese made? Well, the answer is fairly simple.
Cream cheese is made by adding lactic acid bacteria to cream, causing its PH to decrease. Sometimes, the bacteria is added to a mixture of cream and milk.
A decrease in pH causes the cream to coagulate or separate into whey and curds. The whey is then drained off, and the curds are collected.
The collected curds are heated, and stabilizers are added to increase their shelf life. Ta da! Your cream cheese is ready to be enjoyed.
Cream cheese is used in various dishes, such as soup, miso spread, mac and cheese, pasta sauce, moussaka, pastry dough, crepe filling, and even brownies.
Cream Cheese: Nutritional Profile
Although the nutrition profile of cream cheese depends upon the particular brand and type you buy, a general 1 oz serving of plain variety cream cheese provides:
| Calories | 100 |
| Total Fat | 10 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 6 grams |
| Trans Fat | 0 grams |
| Cholesterol | 30 milligrams |
| Sodium | 110 milligrams |
| Total Carbs | 1 gram |
| Net Carbs | 1 gram |
| Fiber | 0 grams |
| Sugar | 1 gram |
| Protein | 2 grams |
| Vitamin A | 0% of the Daily Value (DV) |
| Vitamin C | 0% of the Daily Value (DV) |
| Calcium | 0% of the Daily Value (DV) |
| Iron | 0% of the Daily Value (DV) |
Is Cream Cheese Keto Friendly?
Following a keto diet is not as simple as you may think. Just because you can categorize a food into a low-carb diet plan does not necessarily make it a keto-friendly option. So is cream cheese keto-friendly?
Thankfully, yes, it is! One extra point to keto diets!
Cream cheese is 100% keto friendly because it is rich in fats, which makes it a highly beneficial food choice for keto dieters.
Although cream cheese does not contain a surplus amount of protein, it does offer a modest quantity while simultaneously keeping the overall net carbs ratio to the minimum.
Therefore, cream cheese is not only a great stand-alone food option for keto diets but is also a useful ingredient in various yummy low-carb delicacies. Keep reading to learn about some of the best keto-friendly cream cheese recipes!
Is Cream Cheesecake Keto Friendly?
Unfortunately, cream cheesecake is not keto-friendly. But wait before you blame cream cheese for this!
What makes a cream cheesecake not suitable for a keto diet is the other ingredients used in its making, such as the buttery graham cracker crust. Such food options can kick you out of ketosis and thus should be avoided at all costs.
But you don’t need to mop around at this sad news! Although the traditional cream cheesecake is not keto friendly, its keto-friendly alternative does exist. You can easily make a keto-friendly, low-carb cheesecake at home by using the following ingredients:
- Yogurt
- Cream Cheese
- Pure Vanilla extract
- Almont Flour or Almond Meal
- A low-carb, keto-friendly sweetener of your choice
- Lemon Juice (Optional)
It is advisable to opt for a low-carb plant-based cream cheese to keep your cheesecake within the bounds of keto-friendly and vegan. You can also choose between regular, Greek yogurt, or dairy free yogurt for your recipe.
Keto-Friendly Cheesecake Crust
Most cheesecakes are usually flourless; thus, you do not need to alter the recipe to a great extent to make your keto-friendly. All you need to do is modify the following three things: the sweetener, the crust, and the thickener.
It is advisable to use almond flour as the base for your cheesecake crust to make it keto-friendly.
Recipe To Make Keto-Friendly Cheesecake
- Preheat your oven to 350-degree Fahrenheit. Take a baking tray and place it in the oven’s lower rack after filling it about halfway with tap water.
- Take a separate eight- or nine-inch springform pan and line its bottom with parchment paper. Prepare your cheesecake crust and add it over the parchment.
- Take your cream cheese (make sure it is room temperature) and blend it with all the above-mentioned ingredients in a food processor or blender. Keep blending until the ingredients take a smooth appearance.
- Spread your freshly prepared cheesecake filling over the prepared cheesecake crust. Put your pan on the oven’s center rack (above the water pan) and bake for about thirty minutes for a nine-inch baking pan and 38 minutes for an eight-inch pan.
- Turn off the oven’s heat after the said time and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for about five more minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool it for an additional twenty minutes.
- Viola! Your keto-friendly low-carb cheesecake is ready to tickle your taste buds and maintain your ketosis!
Is Philadelphia Cream Cheese Keto Friendly?
Yes, Philadelphia cream cheese is keto-friendly as it is low in net carbs: it contains about 1.79g net carbs in a 100g serving. Since keto diets require you to limit your carb consumption to 20-30g per day to maintain your ketosis, you can opt for Philadelphia cream cheese and enjoy the taste with health.
It is also high in fats and contain no high-carb non-keto ingredients such as oils, sweeteners, and food additives.
Although this makes Philadelphia cream cheese a keto-friendly food option, it is necessary that you get your fats from minimally processed and natural sources, such as MCT oil, virgin olive oil, and grass-fed butter.
Natural fat sources help your body burn clean fuel when on ketosis and keep you healthy as well.
Is Puck Cream Cheese Keto Friendly?
Although Puck cream cheese in low in net carbs, it is advisable to avoid it on a keto diet because it contains some amounts of palm oil.
Palm oil is a highly processed and refined oil that can oxidize and cause inflammation in the body. Extraction of highly refined oils involves use of chemicals and high heat, which replaces their nutrients with harmful chemicals.
Opting for healthy fat-providing sources is crucial to allow your body to burn clean fuel on ketosis.
Puck cream cheese can be a suitable food option for a dirty keto diet. Dirty keto diets are a common name for low-carb food options made with unhealthy ingredients. Although you can reach ketosis on this diet and lose weight, you may develop health conditions in the long run.
It is wise to opt for nutritious low-carb foods that can help you lose weight and remain healthy at the same time. Some great food options in this regard are olives, mackerel, and broccoli.
How To Use Cream Cheese In A Keto Diet?
You can use cream cheese in your keto diet in various yummy ways. A few of them are as follows:
- As a sauce thickener
- As a fat booster
- As a binder in cheese and low-carb meat wraps
- As a dip when mixed with herbs and low-carb heavy cream
- As an appetizer on cheese crisps
Keto Friendly Cream Cheese Recipes
Let us look at a few tasty low-carb cream cheese recipes
Keto Low-Carb Cheese Dip
Ingredients
| Cream Cheese | 8 oz (Room temperature) |
| Cottage Cheese/Sour cream/ Crème Fraiche | 4 oz (Room temperature) |
| Fresh Chives | 2 tbsp (chopped) |
| Onion Powder | 1/8 tbsp |
| Salt and Pepper | To taste |
Recipe
- Mix all the above-mentioned ingredients in a large container. Use an electric hand mixer for an even spread.
- Mix until you attain your desired consistency, and your keto-friendly cream cheese dip is ready!
Cream Cheese Fat Bombs
Ingredients
| Cream Cheese | 4 oz (Room temperature) |
| Smooth keto nut butter (almond butter, peanut butter, etc.) | 3 oz (Room temperature) |
| Whipping Cream | 1 oz |
| Coconut Oil | 1-2 tbsp |
| Swerve | 1 tbsp |
Recipe
- Add the cream cheese and keto-friendly nut butter of your choice into a mixing bowl and stir evenly.
- Add the rest of the above-mentioned ingredients into the mixture and mix until the mixture is smooth.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop the mixture and make an even golf-sized ball with your hands.
- Place the balls neatly on a cupcake pan or baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place them in the freezer for about two hours until they attain a solid shape.
- Your cream cheese fat bombs are ready to be devoured!
Low-Carb Keto Pancake with Cream Cheese
Ingredients
| Cream Cheese | 2 oz (Room temperature) |
| Eggs | 2 |
| Keto-sweetener of your choice | 1 tsp |
Recipe
- Add all three above-mentioned ingredients into a blender and blend until they attain a smooth consistency.
- Heat a griddle over medium-high heat and add one tablespoon of coconut oil on it.
- Pour a quarter of the mixture you just made on the griddle and cook.
- Flip the pancake and cook it on the other side. Follow these steps to make four pancakes each with a quarter of the mixture.
- Serve your freshly made keto-friendly pancakes with a side dish of salad and breakfast sausages.
Cream Cheese Cookies
Ingredients
| Almond Flour | 1 cup |
| Coconut Flour | 2 tbsp |
| Baking Powder | 1 teaspoon |
| Salt | 1 pinch |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (Room temperature) |
| Cream Cheese | 1 oz (Room temperature) |
| Xylitol or any other keto sweetener of your choice | ½ cup |
| Egg yolk | 1 |
Recipe
- Add the baking powder and flour to a small bowl. Stir evenly and ad a pinch of salt.
- Take a separate bowl for your wet ingredients and add butter, cream cheese, and keto sweetener. Use a hand blender to mix them all together evenly.
- Add the egg yolk and beat the mixture for an extra two minutes.
- Keep beating and add the flour in small quantities to the cream mixture until you form a dough.
- Store the dough in the refrigerator for about an hour.
- Make golf-sized balls of the cooled mixture and place them neatly on a greased baking sheet.
- Bake the balls for about 20 to 25 minutes at 350-degree Fahrenheit and enjoy your freshly baked cookies!
Cream Cheese Ice Cream
Ingredients
| Cream Cheese | 8 oz (Room temperature) |
| Heavy Cream | 1 cup |
| Milk | 1 cup |
| Lemon Juice | 1 tbsp |
| Vanilla Extract | 1 tbsp |
| Monk Fruit Sweetener | 1 ½ cup |
| Salt | 1/8 tsp |
| Keto-friendly dark chocolate chips (Optional) | As per requirement |
Recipe
- Use a blender to mix all ingredients (except the heavy cream) into a smooth mixture.
- Add the heavy cream to the mixture at the end and mix by hand.
- Pour the mixture neatly into an ice cream maker. Transfer it to an airtight container to freeze for about two hours once it is done in the ice cream maker.
- Garnish with fresh strawberries and crushed almonds, and serve your keto-friendly delicacy!
Wrapping Up
Cream cheese is one of the most popular dairy products with versatile uses in the food industry. Thankfully, you can have cream cheese on a keto diet provided you opt for the regular, plain version.
Now that you know the answer to “is cream cheese keto friendly,” make sure to put it in your grocery cart the next time you go keto shopping! After you are done enjoying some delicious delicacies made from cream cheese, make sure you come back for more keto tips and information!
If you want to learn more about keto friendly foods:
Are Black Olives Keto Friendly?
