These vegan mini chocolate cheesecakes are the perfect sweet ending to Valentine’s Day, or any day, really! Made with just a handful of ingredients–nuts, dates, cacao, cacao butter, non-dairy milk, lemon juice, and salt–these little cheesecakes taste indulgent, but are actually wholesome and healthy!
Coming at you all with recipe numero trois of vegan Valentine’s week! These vegan no-bake mini chocolate cheesecakes are your reward for eating so many vegetables at dinner. 😉
This recipe is based on my Vegan Nanaimo Bars. I reckoned that changing the format slightly would result in a delightful vegan cashew cheesecake, just perfect for Valentine’s Day. Instead of putting the ingredients into a square pan, as you do for the Nanaimo Bars, you’ll press the crust into muffin cups (lined with paper liners for easy lift-out, of course!). And instead of the regular Nanaimo Bar filling, you’ll make a chocolate cashew filling!
vegan chocolate cheesecake: a healthy indulgence
This dessert looks and tastes indulgent, but it is beyond healthy. The walnuts are bursting with omega 3 fatty acids, which are so essential for brain and heart health. The cashews are packed with a plethora of minerals–magnesium, copper, and iron, to name just a few. And although dates and maple syrup contain some sugar, dates are full of potassium, while maple syrup is actually a good source of magnesium! I could go on, but let me just say that these vegan chocolate cheesecakes have a rockin’ nutritional profile.
Furthermore, I have always found raw vegan desserts to be incredibly satisfying thanks to the healthy fats they contain abundance. While this dessert is not technically raw (maple syrup is heated), it is full of healthy nuts, which satisfy and stabilize blood sugar. These healthy fats also help to slow the release of sugar into the bloodstream. Coupled with the naturally occurring fibre in nuts and dates, you will not experience a blood sugar spike the way that you would with, say, a slice of chocolate cake. (I have nothing against chocolate cake, but you’ll feel much better after one of these cheesecakes than you will after chocolate cake.)
how to make these no-bake vegan mini chocolate cheesecakes
I love no-bake/raw vegan desserts. They look extravagant, but they are really simple to make. Seriously, anyone can make these. They require very little culinary skill, but your significant other will think that you are a bonafide Julia Child when he or she sees these. Serious brownie points!
You will, however, need a good food processor and blender (such as a Cuisinart and a Vitamix) to make this recipe. You will also need to soak your cashews beforehand. You can either soak them in cold water for 8 hours, or employ the quick soak method (my favourite) by bringing the cashews and water to a boil, removing from heat, and soaking them for 1 hour. Remember, too, that the mini cheesecakes need to set in the freezer for a few hours before they can be enjoyed. While the hands-on time is brief, you’ll need to make sure that you prepare these a few hours before you plan to enjoy them.
Once you have soaked and drained the cashews, the recipe comes together quickly. To begin, pulse together the walnuts or pecans, coconut, dates, cacao or cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt in a food processor. If the mixture seems too crumbly, add a teaspoon of coconut oil to help bring it together.
Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Evenly divide the date/coconut/nut mixture between the two liners and press in with your fingers.
Next, blend together the cashews, maple syrup, cacao butter, vanilla, sea salt, non-dairy milk, cacao or cocoa powder, and lemon juice in a high speed blender until super smooth. This will take a couple of minutes–I recommend ear plugs!
Evenly top the 12 crusts in the muffin cups with the filling, and place the whole pan in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving to let them soften somewhat.
If you like, you can make a basic cherry compote to top the cheesecakes by cooking down 4 cups of frozen tart cherries over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, draining off any excess liquid.
If you’re hungry for more vegan dessert recipes, you might also like:
- No-Bake Vegan Nanaimo Bars
- Vegan Pumpkin Chai Cranberry Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Almond Butter Mousse
I hope that you love this recipe. If you make it, leave a comment and review below, and share a photo to Instagram with @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.
Enjoy! <3
PrintVegan No-Bake Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes
These vegan mini chocolate cheesecakes are the perfect sweet ending to Valentine’s Day, or any day, really! Made with just a handful of ingredients–nuts, dates, cacao, cacao butter, non-dairy milk, lemon juice, and salt–these little cheesecakes taste indulgent, but are actually wholesome and healthy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups raw walnuts or pecans
- 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup pitted Medjool dates (very soft ones work best here)
- 1 tbsp raw cacao powder OR cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp coconut oil, if needed
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked* and drained
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
- 1/3 cup melted cacao butter**
- 1/3 cup cacao powder OR cocoa powder***
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Cherry Compote/Stewed Cherries
- 4 cups frozen organic tart cherries (or use fresh if you have access to them!)
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse together the walnuts/pecans, coconut, dates, cacao/cocoa powder, and salt until crumbly. When you press a small amount between your fingers, it should hold together. If it does not, add 1 tsp of coconut oil and pulse again until it sticks together.
- Line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper liners. Evenly divide the nut/date/coconut mixture between the 12 muffin cups and press in firmly with your fingers. The more firmly you press it in, the better!
- In a high speed blender, blend together the cashews, maple syrup, milk, melted cacao butter, cacao powder/cocoa powder, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt until very smooth. This will take a couple of minutes, so be patient and plug your ears or wear ear plugs to protect your eardrums! Once smooth, divide it evenly between the 12 little crusts in the muffin cups.
- Transfer the entire muffin pan into the freezer and freeze the cheesecakes for 3-4 hours, or until mostly firm. Be sure to remove them from the freezer at least 15 minutes before serving to soften; otherwise, you’ll have more of an ice cream cake than a velvety cheesecake!
- If desired, make the cherry compote/stewed cherries by simmering the cherries over medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes, or until they’ve cooked down to half their original volume. Strain off excess liquid as needed.
- Top individual cheesecakes with a spoonful of cherry compote and serve. Leftover cheesecakes can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
Notes
*Raw cashews need to be soaked to soften them. This also increases their digestibility. You can soak them in cold water for 8 hours or employ the quick soak method by placing the cashews in a pot, adding water to cover, and bringing to a boil. Then remove the pot from the heat, cover, and soak for one hour. Drain through a fine mesh sieve and proceed with your recipe.
**If you are unable to find cacao butter, you can use an equivalent amount of melted coconut oil!
***I used regular organic cocoa powder, but you can use raw cacao powder if you want to make this recipe higher raw.
Keywords: no bake vegan cheesecake, vegan valentine’s day dessert, vegan chocolate cheesecake recipe
I will share an alternative dessert recipe tomorrow intended for those of you who might be short on time on Valentine’s Day!
Suzanne
This look so good! Do you make other kinds of cheesecakes with cashews?
Allison
Thank you! I do- you can add all sorts of things like berries, lemon juice, pumpkin and spice, etc. instead of the cocoa. 🙂
Vanessa
Thanks for sharing! How far ahead of time can I make them?
Allison
You can probably make them up to a few weeks ahead and store them in a container in the freezer. Just take them out 15 minutes before serving so they can thaw a bit! Enjoy!
Claudia galvez
Hello! Can I use almonds instead of cashews?
Allison
Hi Claudia! I haven’t tried using any other nut, but as long as you use soaked, blanched almonds (with the skins removed), almonds should work. 🙂 Let me know how it goes!