A pie that looks like it took most of a day, where the active work is about 25 minutes. This sugar-free apple cream cheese pie bakes one thin almond crust, chills while you cook the apples, and slices into eight clean wedges with a removable-bottom tart pan.
The filling never goes in the oven. Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat Neufchâtel and FAGE Total 0% Greek yogurt are set with gelatin instead of eggs, which is what keeps the middle white and creamy rather than turning into a dense baked slice. Thin cinnamon apples go on top in overlapping layers rather than getting folded through it.
Why You’ll Love This Sugar-Free Apple Cream Cheese Pie
Only the crust sees the oven. Ten to twelve minutes at 325°F turns the almond crumbs golden, and everything after that happens in the refrigerator.
Gelatin sets the filling, not eggs, and that is what makes this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie slice cleanly. Two teaspoons bloomed in cold water give you a slice you can lift out with the pan rim instead of one that needs a knife and a fork. The filling also stays ivory white, because nothing has browned it.
The apples are sliced thin and cooked first. A cup of Granny Smith at about ⅛ inch goes into a small skillet with cinnamon, lemon juice and allulose for 7 to 9 minutes, until the slices are tender but still hold their shape. They cool completely before they touch the filling.
The waiting is all in one block. At least 6 hours in the refrigerator sets the filling, and most of that happens while you are asleep. This sugar-free apple cream cheese pie is a make-ahead pie that only asks you to do something the night before.
A slice lands at about 158 calories and 4g net carbs, which is what makes this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie easy to put on the table next to the sugar-free apple crumble when you want two apple things rather than one.
Ingredient Notes
The list is short because there are only three parts to this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie: a crust, a filling and a topping.
The crust is ⅔ cup of plain dry-roasted unsalted almonds, 75g, pulsed until the crumbs are fine but still slightly coarse. Stop before it turns into almond butter, because the crumbs need to stay loose enough to press and then hold, which is what keeps the shell in this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie from cracking when it is cut cold. Melted butter and 1 tablespoon of powdered allulose bind them.
The pan matters more than usual here. A 6-inch removable-bottom tart pan at least 1½ inches deep is what lets you release this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie and cut it into 8 wedges without turning it out onto a plate first. Line the bottom with a parchment circle so the crust releases cleanly.
For the filling: 7oz (200g) of Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat Neufchâtel and ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of FAGE Total 0% Greek yogurt, 200g, both at room temperature. Cold dairy is the most common reason the filling in this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie ends up grainy.
Two teaspoons of unflavored gelatin, 6g, do the setting in this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie. Sprinkle them over 2 tablespoons of cold water, bloom 5 minutes, and warm gently until dissolved. Do not boil it.
Allulose does the sweetening in three places, and it is a rare sugar the FDA allows to be left out of the total sugars and added sugars declarations on the Nutrition Facts label. In the crust it browns like sugar does, in the filling it keeps the texture creamy instead of icy.
The topping is 1 cup of cored Granny Smith, 120g prepared weight, sliced thin. The fresh lemon juice is not optional flavor, it is what keeps the cut apples from going brown while they cook, which matters when the topping sits on this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie overnight.
I check every gram weight on the site against the USDA FoodData Central database, which is where the 200g of yogurt and the 120g of apple come from.
How to Make Sugar-Free Apple Cream Cheese Pie
There are fourteen steps to this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie, and only five of them need the oven or the stove turned on.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line the pan bottom with parchment.
- Pulse the roasted almonds into fine, slightly coarse crumbs without making almond butter.
- Mix the crumbs with the melted butter and 12g of the powdered allulose.
- Press firmly across the bottom and about ¾ inch up the sides.
- Bake 10–12 minutes until lightly golden. Cool completely.
- Beat the softened Neufchâtel and 48g of the powdered allulose until creamy.
- Gradually mix in the room-temperature yogurt on low speed.
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. Bloom 5 minutes, then warm gently until completely dissolved. Do not boil.
- Stir 2 tbsp of filling into the gelatin, followed by another 2 tbsp. Gradually mix into the remaining filling on low speed.
- Spread the filling into the cooled crust, smooth, cover, and refrigerate at least 6 hours.
- Cook the apple slices, cinnamon, lemon juice and 5g of the allulose over medium-low heat for 7–9 minutes until tender but intact. Add water only if needed.
- Reduce the excess liquid until it lightly coats the apples. Cool completely.
- Arrange the cooled apple slices in overlapping layers over the set filling. Spoon over a little of the remaining cinnamon juice.
- Release from the pan and cut into 8 equal wedges.
Steps 9 and 12 are the two that decide the texture. Tempering the gelatin through a few spoonfuls of filling is what keeps this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie smooth instead of stringy, and it is the same move in both places.
Success Tips for Sugar-Free Apple Cream Cheese Pie
Six details separate a clean slice from a broken one, and all six are in the success notes for this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie.
- Press the almond crust firmly for clean slices. Loose crumbs give you a wedge that sheds a layer, which is the usual way this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie goes wrong.
- Keep the dairy near room temperature before adding gelatin. Straight from the fridge, the yogurt seizes the gelatin before it can blend.
- Temper the gelatin to prevent lumps or strands. Always bloom it, always warm it gently, never boil it.
- Slice the apples approximately ⅛ inch thick. Thicker and they stay raw in the middle; thinner and they collapse.
- Cool the apples completely before topping. Warm fruit melts the set filling underneath it.
- Release from the pan while it is cold, so the wedges cut clean all the way through the crust.
Storage
Refrigerate airtight for up to 3 days, which is the only storage instruction this recipe gives. The filling in this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie is already set with gelatin and the crust is baked, so nothing else needs protecting.
Add the apple topping to this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie once the filling has chilled all the way, and keep the finished pie cold until you serve it. The apples are the part that softens first, so if you are eating it the next day rather than the same day, the topping will have relaxed slightly into the filling.
FAQ
How is this different from the caramel apple cinnamon cheesecake?
That one is baked. The sugar-free caramel apple cinnamon cheesecake sets its filling with two large eggs in a 7-inch springform and bakes for 35 to 43 minutes, then gets glossy caramel apple chunks on top. This sugar-free apple cream cheese pie never sees that oven after the crust: gelatin sets the filling cold, it comes out of a 6-inch removable-bottom tart pan, and the topping is thin slices cooked with lemon and allulose.
Can I make it without gelatin?
This recipe does not include an alternative. Two teaspoons of unflavored gelatin, 6g, are what set the Neufchâtel and yogurt filling in this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie, and the amount was not tested with anything else in its place.
Why does the pie need a removable-bottom pan?
Because step 14 releases the pie and cuts it into 8 wedges in the pan itself. A 6-inch tart pan at least 1½ inches deep also gives the filling room to set as one thick layer instead of a shallow one.
Can I use another apple?
The recipe calls for 1 cup of Granny Smith, 120g prepared weight, sliced thin. Granny Smith is the one that holds its shape through 7 to 9 minutes of cooking, which is what lets this sugar-free apple cream cheese pie keep distinct slices on top instead of a soft purée.
How many net carbs are in a slice?
About 4g net carbs per serving, from roughly 6g total carbs and 2g fiber, at about 158 calories, 7g protein and 12g fat across 8 servings. Those are estimates.
More Apple Pies on the Site
If you want a crumb instead of a filling, the sugar-free apple crumble skips the crust entirely and bakes the fruit under a loose almond and oat crumble. The sugar-free Dutch apple pie with pecan streusel goes the other way, with a thin almond crust, apples cooked down on the stove and a pecan streusel over the top.
Sugar-Free Apple Cream Cheese Pie
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C). Line the pan bottom with parchment.
- Pulse roasted almonds into fine, slightly coarse crumbs without making almond butter.
- Mix crumbs with melted butter and 12g powdered allulose.
- Press firmly across the bottom and about ¾ inch up the sides.
- Bake 10–12 minutes until lightly golden. Cool completely.
- Beat softened Neufchâtel and 48g powdered allulose until creamy.
- Gradually mix in room-temperature yogurt on low speed.
- Sprinkle gelatin over cold water. Bloom 5 minutes, then warm gently until completely dissolved. Do not boil.
- Stir 2 tbsp filling into gelatin, followed by another 2 tbsp. Gradually mix into remaining filling on low speed.
- Spread filling into cooled crust, smooth, cover, and refrigerate at least 6 hours.
- Cook apple slices, cinnamon, lemon juice, and 5g allulose over medium-low heat for 7–9 minutes until tender but intact. Add water only if needed.
- Reduce excess liquid until it lightly coats the apples. Cool completely.
- Arrange cooled apple slices in overlapping layers over the set filling. Spoon over a little remaining cinnamon juice.
- Release from the pan and cut into 8 equal wedges.
Notes
- Press the almond crust firmly for clean slices.
- Keep dairy near room temperature before adding gelatin.
- Temper gelatin to prevent lumps or strands.
- Slice apples approximately ⅛ inch thick.
- Cool apples completely before topping.
- Refrigerate airtight for up to 3 days.