Low Carb Chocolate Lasagna is a great sugar-free and gluten-free layer dessert – perfect to bring to special gatherings.
I've been looking at pictures of chocolate lasagna and all it's variations on Pinterest for months now. Some of the pictures are absolutely drool worthy. And although I think it would be pretty hard, although not impossible, to make a dairy-free version, I knew that a low carb, gluten-free version could be easily made.
The original dessert is the epitome of easy; pre-made and instant ingredients create a creamy, chocolaty dessert that doesn't require the use of an oven or even cause one to break a sweat. It's so easy, that anyone can make it.
But what's really in it? 1 package of Oreo cookies, cream cheese, sugar, and Cool Whip. Just for the cookie layer it's 24 carbs per serving. (That's 36 cookies at 10.5 carbs each, divided by 16) But, I'm not going to break down the carbs in each layer of this tasty dessert. I just want to think about all of the weird stuff in the cookies, instant pudding and non-dairy whipped topping. Yuck! I shudder.
This homemade, low carb, scratch, version is very similar to the original version of Chocolate Lasagna except that the crust is made from wholesome ingredients, the pudding is made just like grandma used to make, and the whipped topping is real whipped cream.
Here's what's in this Low Carb Chocolate Lasagna
- homemade chocolate cookie crust (nuts, cocoa powder, coconut, natural sugar alternative, butter or coconut oil)
- 8 ounces cream cheese and natural sugar alternative
- homemade chocolate pudding using natural ingredients plus natural sugar alternative
- real whipped cream
- grated 90 % dark chocolate
It's almost the same as in the original recipe, and this low carb and gluten-free version delivers 4 net carbs per serving. And it's much healthier than the original.
Although this recipe has a few steps, none are very difficult to do. Breaking the steps into a couple days is the way to go and once you have the procedure down it's easy to make this dessert your own. Here are some ideas.
VARIATIONS:
- add peanut butter to the cream cheese layer or to the chocolate pudding layer
- add mint extract to the cookie crust and the pudding for chocolate mint
- replace the cocoa powder in the crust with vanilla whey protein powder
- make vanilla pastry cream instead of chocolate
- add banana or almond flavoring to the vanilla pastry cream
- sub lemon curd for the pastry cream
- swirl chia seed jam or blueberry sauce into the cream cheese layer
- mix and match any of the above combinations and make it your own!
This recipe makes a whole 13×9 inch pyrex dish of rich, layered goodness. If the recipe is too big, it can be split up between two pans and one frozen. It freezes very nicely.
Low Carb Chocolate Lasagna is 4 net carbs per serving
***NOTE: Baking the bottom layer produces a shortbread-cookie-like texture: not baking, produces a sandier and softer textured bottom layer***
[Disclosure: This recipe contains affiliate links.]
- 1 recipe Low Carb Chocolate Pastry Cream
- 1/4 cup almond milk, to be used at assembly
- 2 cups (180 g) Honeyville Almond Flour
- 1 cup (90 g) Bob's Red Mill Shredded Coconut
- 1/3 cup (25 g) cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup erythritol
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cups (16 oz) heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons erythritol, powdered
- 1 teaspoon stevia glycerite
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 2 tablespoons erythritol, powdered
- 1/8 teaspoon stevia glycerite
- 1 1/2 cup whipped cream, to be folded in
- 4 squares Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie, grated
- Make the Chocolate Pudding: Prepare the Low Carb Chocolate Pastry Cream and let it cool before continuing. *This can be made several days before.
- Make the Chocolate Cookie Crust: Grind the unsweetened coconut, 1/2 cup at a time, in a coffee/spice grinder and grind until fine. Put the ground coconut into a medium bowl. Powder the erythritol and add it and the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl with the coconut. Whisk together to combine. Melt the butter or coconut oil and pour over the ingredients. Combine to form a moist crumbly mixture.
- Dump the ingredients into a 13x9 inch glass pyrex baking dish and lay a sheet of waxed paper over the mixture. First with your hands, then with a flat bottomed glass, press the chocolate crust mixture firmly into the dish. Remove the waxed paper and continue with the recipe or *bake in a preheated (350) oven for about 10 minutes and then let cool completely. *This can be made the day before.
- ASSEMBLING THE LOW CARB CHOCOLATE LASAGNA:
- Make the Whipped Cream: Whip the cream with the vanilla and sweeteners until stiff.
- Cream Cheese Layer: Soften the cream cheese in the microwave and then using a hand mixer, whip it with the sweeteners and almond milk until nice and light. Adding 1/2 cup of whipped cream at a time, fold 1 1/2 cups of whipped cream into the cream cheese. Spread evenly over the base and refrigerate.
- Chocolate Pudding Layer: With a hand mixer, whip the cold pudding. Add the 1/2 cup of almond milk and mix thoroughly. Spread over the cream cheese layer.
- Whipped Cream Topping: Carefully, spread the remaining whipped cream over the chocolate pudding layer and refrigerate several hours.
- To finish the dessert, grate chocolate or sift cocoa powder over the top.
This is a VERY large dessert and easily serves 16-24 people.
***NOTE: Baking the bottom layer produces a shortbread-cookie-like texture: not baking, produces a sandier and softer textured bottom layer***
I am seriously allergic to coconut. Is there some kind of substitution that can be made?
Yes, Carol. I would use the walnut pie crust recipe instead. Walnuts go nicely with chocolate. I hope you enjoy the recipe. -Kim
I made this for a potluck and it was all liquid! The chocolate was liquid, the cream set up nice but then turned to liquid! It was a mess. It tasted amazing when I was making the different layers but disaster. I’m disappointed.
Jeni, I am SO SORRY! I had one other comment in the last month about the same thing. Two things that may have affected the dessert. 1. I got so much flack about the original pudding recipe having 1 Tbsp of cornstarch (or arrowroot) in it that I reduced the amount a few months ago. I have recently changed it back to the original quantity. 2. If the pudding isn’t cooked enough, it won’t set properly. So, unfortunately, you were a victim of one or both.
Hearing that the recipe didn’t turn out makes me very upset (and embarrassed) because I worked so hard on it originally, and the comments from before I made the change were fantastic. This recipe is on my list to re-test soon. Thank you so much for the feedback – I appreciate it. Again, I am sorry. Have a nice day. -Kim
I just made this over the past 2 days, and I’m curious if the pudding will stiffen up again after being mixed with the almond milk? It had such a great pudding consistency and then when I added the almond milk it became very runny, so then it was difficult to put the whipped cream layer on top. All of the layers have been super delicious! I hope that the crust will still be good even though I didn’t bake it. I wasn’t thinking and wish I had. Thanks so much!
It should firm up over night. Honestly, Andrea, I received so many complaints about the cornstarch (arrowroot) powder not being low carb that I reduced the amount by 1 teaspoon. Yes, the whipped cream should be spread very carefully over the pudding. Refrigerating over night should set it. Please, please, let me know if it doesn’t. I hope the change in the pudding recipe doesn’t ruin your dessert and Christmas. Let me know. Have a nice holiday. -Kim
Andrea, did the dessert turn out? -Kim
This looks delicious! and I will be making it this weekend for a family function. My only question is what can I replace the shredded coconut in the cookie crust with? My husband despises the texture of coconut 🙁 Do you think I could replace with another crushed nut or coconut flour?
Hi, Amy. Yes, you can replace it – it is ground really fine and added to other ingredients. The coconut helps reduce the carbs a bit, but you can use more almond meal if you want. The texture will be a little different, but it should still taste good. Do yourself a favor and make the pastry cream a day or two before you assemble, so it’s nice and cold. Let the assembled dessert chill overnight. Use full fat ingredients. Another reader used a lactose free cream cheese and her dessert didn’t set, but she may not have cooked the pastry cream enough, too. It should be nice and thick after cooking and almost stiff when thoroughly chilled. Enjoy. -Kim
I made this over the weekend and YUM! The only thing is that it didn’t set very well and I got more of a pudding consistency than anything. As soon as I cut into it it became a pudding/soup. It was still very good. I did use lactose free cream cheese and arrowroot powder…could that have been my downfall? Or did I not let things chill long enough. It didn’t specifiy how long to let the cream cheese filling chill so I only did about 30 min. And I chilled the whole thing overnight. Still very tasty!
Hi Stephanie. I’m sorry the dessert did not set well. It could be one of three reasons. First, as you mentioned, it could have been the lactose free cream cheese. Having the dessert refrigerate overnight should have been perfect. The other reason may be because I updated the pudding recipe to have less cornstarch/ arrowroot because people kept complaining that they did not want to use it even though it resulted in a superior recipe. I would suggest adding 1/2 more teaspoons of arrowroot powder. And third, it may have been that the pudding was not cooked enough. It should be really thick after cooking and refrigerating before adding it to the layered dessert. I hope this helps. -Kim
Oh my goodness, this looks AMAZING! I’m totally going to make this…SOON. Thank you so much for posting this!
Thanks, Crista. Lot’s of people made it for the Holidays last year and gave it good reviews. Remember to break it up into steps to make it easy on yourself. I think it’s best to make the chocolate pastry cream a few days before. Enjoy! -Kim
In the Chocolate Lasagna and the pastry cream do you know the conversion if I wanted to use Gentle Sweet. Super Sweet Blend, or Stevia Extract (powder) instead of the Glycerate and Erythritol? Thanks
Great questions Melissa. I think the gentle sweet is an erythritol and stevia blend and is granulated, correct? I would try using just a little less of the super sweet blend and taste after all of the ingredients have been added. If you need to, add as many doonks of powdered sweetener as you need. If you have the regular GS, use the same amount as specified in the recipe and then add 2-3 doonks, tasting as you go.
NOTE: I’m a little nervous about the super sweet blend. I’m imagining that extra stevia has been added to bump up the sweetness. When stevia is added to chocolate, it can increase the bitter flavor compounds in both the chocolate and the stevia. Go slowly and taste as you go. Many THMs have made this recipe and I haven’t heard a complaint yet. Please let me know if you used the GSSS and how it worked. Have a great day. -Kim
New. Would love to try these. Never had weight problem now menopause hits, it’s a different story.
Oh, Karen. I feel your pain! It hit me early at 40 (seven years ago). I had kept the weight off with low carb until I started the blog. Now I’m struggling. I’m around food all day and grazing all day – and let’s face it, not exercising like I should. This is a wonderful recipe. It freezes well if you opt to make the two smaller sizes. It is pretty heavy on calories and fat, and very filling so I have smaller pieces myself. It’s a crowd pleaser! Enjoy. -Kim
How much did this make to cost because we wanted to create chocolate lasagna for our school but it has to be healthy so I checked this recipe out. Plus how many calories per serving is it because it has to be less than or equal to 200 calories.
Hi Jason. It depends on what your definition of healthy is. If it needs to be under 200 calories per serving then you will need to cut this dessert into smaller pieces. It is very rich and very filling so if you are serving it to kids, you could easily cut it into 24 pieces. My definition of “Healthy” is sugar-free and made from scratch with wholesome ingredients and little added chemicals. If your definition of healthy is low calorie and low fat, then this dessert is not for you. There are many recipes for Chocolate Lasagna or Chocolate Layered Dessert on-line which would meet your needs. You could make it very cheaply buy buying low fat cookies, cream cheese, low fat pudding and low fat coolwhip. As far as costing the dessert… I calculated the nutritional data in a recipe program but I did not cost it out. You will have to do that yourself depending on how you want to make the recipe. If you have any more questions, let me know. Have a great day! -Kim
Oh my gosh, this looks heavenly! Craving chocolate so bad! Unfortunately I do not care for coconut….is there something you could suggest for substitution?
Hi Sharon. Thanks! The coconut helps keep the carbs down, but you could try it with all almond flour. I can’t promise the texture will be the same but it should taste good. Have a great weekend. -Kim
How can I print this recipe?
Cecelia, there should be a print button somewhere near the top of the recipe? Is it not there? -Kim
What is erythritol, I’m from the uk, and never heard of this ingredient
Hi Lil. I sent you an email last night but in case you didn’t get it I’ll answer here, too. Eryhtritol is a sugar alcohol (having both properties of sugar and alcohol in its chemical structure) which tastes very much like sugar but is about 60 -70% the sweetness of sugar. It is not absorbed by the body therefore it has zero calories and does not affect blood sugar. It undergoes an endothermic reaction when it melts, creating a cool sensation which is especially nice in frozen desserts. It has become a staple ingredient for low carb bloggers and bakers. Google erythritol. It can be purchased as crystals like sugar or blended with other ingredients like stevia, monk fruit or chicory root – Truvia is a brand that comes to mind. Can you find the Sukrin line of sugar-free products or Swerve? Either will work nicely. Please let me know if I can provide anymore information. Thanks for your question. Have a nice week! -Kim
This was “out of this world” amazing! Even my family members that don’t like low carb alternatives (and hate sugar substitutes) really liked this dessert. I added 5 tablespoons of natural peanut butter to the cream cheese layer and it turned out great (I may experiment with different amounts of peanut butter to get the best ratio to taste just right)
I believe the best low carb desserts are the ones you make yourself.
P.S. next time I’ll get a mixer because doing the beating by hand for the different ingredients can be one heck of a ride lol. Was good cardio though!
I’m so happy you liked it! I love that you added peanut butter to the cream cheese. I just posted a peanut butter version of this dessert a few weeks ago. If you don’t have the peanut flour for the crust, use this on or the crust from the coconut version. I made a peanut butter pastry cream/pudding for that one. So Good! I’m impressed you did all of the mixing “old school”! My arm would have fallen off! Kudos! Have a nice weekend and thanks for taking the time to comment. -Kim
I stumbled across this recipe on both Facebook and Pinterest and decide to make it for a get-together with non low carbers… Everyone LOVED it! If someone else had made this and told me it was low carb I would NOT have believed them! The only things I did differently in mine was I subbed in Splenda as I did not have stevia glycerine, and split the dessert into 2-8 inch pie pans.
Thank you so very much for this incredible recipe. I look forward to experimenting with the other suggested flavors as well!
Stephanie, you’ve made my day! I am so glad you tried it and liked it. Thanks for letting us know that the Splenda worked. Let me know what combinations you try. Have a great day! -Kim
I finally got the time and mind set to make this dessert, I have been wanting to do it for so long now but felt a bit intimidated by it. I will say right now that I shouldn’t have been, it went very smoothly and I did all the layers in 1 hr. and 10 min. time 🙂 I did bake the crust and let it cool on the counter for about 15 min. then stuck it in my freezer while the pudding was in the fridge cooling. All the layers are put together and it is sitting in my fridge just waiting for me to dig in. Can I just skip supper tonight and eat this instead!?!?! I know it will taste delicious because all the layers on their own are delicious. Thank you for all your recipes!!
Mary Lynne, I am so happy you tried it and found it do-able! I like it best with a baked crust – more cookie like. It’s really not any harder to prepare than the original version we grew up on. I think some people see multiple steps or see a long ingredient list and think it’s going to be hard. In any case, hooray! Thank you for your wonderful comments, it is my extreme pleasure to share the recipes. Have a great day. -Kim
What can I use instead of shredded coconut? Don’t like coconut at all and this is my favorite “high carb” Christmas dessert. Could it be left out without any substitution?
Hi Nancy. Use another cup of almond flour. It will probably only add 1 carb per serving. If the mixture seems a little dry, add a little more butter. Let me know how the almond flour works. Have a nice week. -Kim
Hey, I’m wondering if you can use coconut flour for the crust instead of blended coconut. Thoughts?
Hi S. I haven’t used the coconut flour in this particular recipe. I’m sure you could, but I don’t know how much. I specifically chose the coconut because it keeps the carb count to a minimum while bulking up the recipe. Thanks for your question. 🙂 -Kim
This is going to become a Christmas Day staple at our house. We celebrate our Southern Hemisphere Christmases with beach visits and sprinkler play, and turning on the oven for more than ten minutes seems very wrong when it’s 37 degrees C. I managed to whip this up on Christmas morning (we had a quiet one this year). It tasted amazing and looked beautifully festive. Thanks to the detailed instructions, I managed the pudding bit with very few lumps and felt very proud. The finished product is huge – I agree that it would be great for a special occasion; there’s really too much for one family unless you have a lot of people around. I made it circular like a pie and stuck the leftovers in the freezer – it froze beautifully, and tasted like ice-cream cake when frozen. The one thing I would do differently next time is to make the first two layers the day before as the method suggests. It wasn’t really cold and set enough to layer the cream on easily and I had to be super careful not to mess up the chocolate pudding layer.
Tania, I am thrilled to her that you and your family enjoyed it and that you found it easy enough to prepare. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. Happy New Year! -Kim
What could I use instead of stevia glycerite. I am fructose intolerance plus celiac. .
Hi, Wendi. I did not know that stevia glycerite would be a problem for those with fructose intolerance or with celiac. I thought it was gluten free. Just use more of your favorite sweetener to taste. I only use the stevia glycerite to cut back on other expensive sweeteners because it is so concentrated. Happy Holidays! -Kim
What is the nutrition information on this recipe?
Hi, Cecelia. The nutrition counts should be near the picture at the top of the recipe. Serves 16: Calories 387, Fat 39, Carbohydrates 7, Fiber 3 and Protein 7. Net carbs per serving are 4. I hope this helps. -Kim
wondering if guar gum or xanthan gum would work instead of cornstarch or arrowroot powder in the pudding?? this looks like just what I’m looking for in a recipe 🙂
Thank you for your question Tammy. The amount of guar gum or xanthan gum needed to thicken the pudding would result in a really gummy pudding. But let me share some information with you. Mixing thickeners will allow you to use less as they have a synergistic affect. Try mixing 1 T of cornstarch or arrowroot powder with 1/4 teaspoon guar gum and 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (or glucomannan powder). You may be able to get away with 1/2 tablespoon of this mixture as the chocolate will help thicken the mixture, too. Let me know what you end up doing and how it works. It may help someone else. Have a nice day! -Kim
First time on your sight and first of all I am so glad you do not have stars. If you have never tried it how can you rate it.
I also have a granddaughter who is 6 and has both Celiac and is a Diactic so I really need low carb count and this seems to fill the bill.
Hi, Cecelia. Sometimes people forget to leave stars. I can tell you that I have had lots of nice comments on this dessert on Facebook from people who have made it. 🙂 I hope this is something that your granddaughter enjoys! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Enjoy your week. -Kim
Love this! You are amazing!
Hi, Kristie. Thank you very much! Love your Youtube channel! Have a nice week. -Kim
Here is what Cynthia said about this dessert on Facebook:
” I just made it for the first time and it is incredible!!!”
I asked her if it was hard to make and she said…
“It is definitely worth the time it took to make and I don’t think it took much longer than when I used to make a high sugar dessert similar to this as I always made my chocolate cream layer from scratch. If someone wanted to cut the time then they could do like you suggested and make some of it the day before. What I love about this recipe is it is so similar to what has been one of my family’s favorite desserts. It felt like welcoming an old friend…but so much better because of the carb count. The high sugar version of this dessert was the first dessert I ever made for my hubby…so it was great to welcome it back into our lives!!! (I love your addition of the chocolate to the shortbread crust!)
If you try this dessert and like it, please leave me a comment. I will be thrilled! -Kim
Absolutely incredible!!! I made it today and could not have been more pleased. (I used Swerve Sweetener)
Awesome! Cynthia, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Have a nice weekend.
Hi Cynthia, I would also like to use Swerve when I make this..did you leave out the stevia glycerite then, since Swerve is already cut with stevia?
Kim, my first time to your site. Gotta make this looks lovely. However erythritol leaves my tummy not happy, can I use coconut crystals and stevia? Also what is stevia glycerite? I have nu-stevia which I use in my baking, is that the same thing?
Hello, Anna. Thanks for the compliment and great questions. You may use any sweeteners that you prefer -BUT- the taste will be different. If you are okay with it having more of a brown sugar taste and brownish color then go for it! The coconut crystals will be especially good in the crust I think. Stevia glycerite is a viscous super-concentrated liquid form of stevia that I feel is much less bitter than other brands. I am guessing that the nu-stevia is very similar to KAL Pure Stevia powder which I love but don’t use in my blog recipes as I try to stay more in-line with other bloggers so readers don’t have to buy 12 different products! You may need to experiment a little with your sweeteners just a tad to get the taste you want, so taste as you go. I would LOVE to hear how your sweeteners worked in the recipe as it may help someone else who may have the same issues with erythritol. Have a great week!
Thank you. I cannot wait to make this, it looks so appealing.
Arlease
You’re welcome, Arlease!