No Fat Cheesecake:

This no-fat cheesecake strips the recipe down to its essence: nonfat cream cheese, gelatin, vanilla, lemon juice, and sweetener, blended smooth and chilled until set. No crust, no butter, no eggs, no baking. Just a clean, creamy cheesecake filling in a pie pan with a fresh berry compote spooned over the top.

Using nonfat cream cheese means this is genuinely fat-free, not just reduced-fat. The gelatin provides the structure that the missing fat would normally supply, setting the filling firm enough to slice cleanly while keeping it smooth and creamy.

The berry topping is a smart two-stage approach. Half the berries get cooked with a thickener (flour, arrowroot, or starch) until they break down into a thick, glossy sauce. The remaining berries get stirred in raw at the end, giving you both a jammy cooked berry flavor and fresh, whole berries in every spoonful. The hit of cinnamon adds warmth that bridges the tangy cheesecake and sweet berries.

The recipe calls for any berries except strawberries for the topping. Blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries all work beautifully.

Kitchen Tips

• Dissolve the gelatin completely in boiling water before adding the remaining cold water. Undissolved gelatin creates rubbery spots in the filling
• Blend thoroughly until there are absolutely no lumps. Nonfat cream cheese can be stubborn about smoothing out
• Spray the pie pan before pouring so the set cheesecake releases cleanly when slicing
• If using artificial sweetener in the topping, add it after removing from heat. Cooking artificial sweetener can create a bitter aftertaste

Variations

• Use a mix of blueberries and raspberries for the most colorful topping
• Add a tablespoon of orange zest to the cheesecake filling for a citrus twist
• Serve the berry topping warm over the cold cheesecake for a hot-cold contrast