Raw vegan strawberry cashew cheesecake. My vegan strawberry cashew cheesecake is a creamy no bake cheesecake to make on hot summer day!
My Strawberry Cashew Cheesecake Recipe is:
- Creamy & Delicious
- Healthy
- No-bake
- Dairy free
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Naturally gluten free
Summer is my MOST FAVORITE season of all! The sun is shining, the weather is gorgeous, I can actually wear sandals, and best of all.. fresh produce! We get fresh strawberries up here in upstate NY in the beginning of the summer and nothing I mean nothing compares to fresh juicy strawberries! I bought a huge container for just 3 dollars yesterday and just had to make a healthy dessert with it. So this vegan strawberry cashew cheesecake was born!
CLASSIC CHEESECAKE vs RAW VEGAN STRAWBERRY CASHEW CHEESECAKE
Which one would you choose?
Cheesecake Factory Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake
Calories: 1000
Fat: 69 grams
Carbs: 82 grams
Protein: 12 grams
Ingredients: cream cheese (pasteurized cultured milk and cream, salt, stabilizers [xanthan, carob bean, and/or guar gums]), sugar, sour cream (cultured pasteurized grade A milk, cream nonfat milk solids, modified food starch, sodium tripolyphosphate, guar gum, calcium sulfate, carrageenan, locust bean gum, potassium sorbate), vanilla and graham crumb (enriched wheat flour [wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], graham flour, sugar, palm oil, dextrose, whey [milk], high fructose corn syrup, molasses, salt, natural & artificial flavor, baking soda), eggs, margarine (palm oil, water, salt, mono- & diglycerides, soy lecithin, sodium benzoate [preservative], artificial flavor, beta carotene [color], vitamin A palmitate), vanillin - an artificial flavor, spice
Vegan Strawberry Cashew Cheesecake
Calories: 425
Fat: 31 grams
Carbs: 38 grams
Protein: 9 grams
Ingredients: raw almonds, dates, coconut oil, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, raw cashews, coconut milk, maple syrup, fresh lemon juice, strawberries, beet root powder. coconut whip: coconut milk, vanilla extract
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST RAW CASHEW STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
SOAK CASHEWS OVERNIGHT. This is necessary to get creamy cashew cheesecake filling!
DON'T FORGET TO RINSE YOUR FOOD PROCESSOR. Before you add the ingredients for your filling to your food processor, rinse it out. You don't want any crunchy almond bits in your cheesecake filling!
KEEP BLENDING UNTIL YOU HAVE SMOOTH AND CREAMY FILLING. Depending on your food processor, this could take 5-10 minutes to get creamy cheesecake like filling.
USE BEET ROOT POWDER OR PINK PITAYA POWDER FOR MORE VIBRANT COLORS. If you want a vibrant pink layer, use pink pitaya powder or beet root powder for a natural food dye.
REST YOUR FROZEN CHEESECAKE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE BEFORE CUTTING. This allows time for it to soften so you don't end up breaking a knife trying to cut through it!
STORE IN AN AIRTIGHT CONTAINER TO PREVENT FREEZER BURN. Also, make sure to use parchment paper on the bottom of the container to prevent sticking.
FAQ'S
Frequently asked questions about my raw vegan strawberry cashew cheesecake recipe.
CAN I MAKE HEALTHY STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS INSTEAD?
Yes! You can easily make this raw strawberry cheesecake into bars instead. Simply use a square or rectangle baking dish. Cut into bars after freezing instead of triangle slices. The smaller the baking dish you use, the thicker your cheesecake bar slices will be. The larger/longer your baking dish, the thinner your cheesecake bars.
HOW TO I MAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE SWIRL INSTEAD OF LAYERS?
If you want to swirl your cheesecake, don't freeze the first cheesecake layer. Drizzle the strawberry layer across the raw unfrozen first layer. Use a sharp knife or a toothpick to swirl the strawberry layer into the vanilla layer.
HOW MANY CALORIES IN THIS RAW STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE?
1 slice of my raw vegan strawberry cheesecake has 425 calories.
DO I HAVE TO BAKE THIS VEGAN STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE?
This no-bake strawberry cashew cheesecake does not require any baking at all!
OTHER RAW VEGAN NO BAKE CHEESECAKE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
- Healthy Strawberry Cheesecake Balls
- Healthy Vegan Mango Cheesecake
- Pink Pitaya Vegan Cheesecake Tarts
- Healthy Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake
- Healthy Dulce De Leche Cheesecake
- Chocolate Tart with Almond Pulp
- Vegan Chocolate Mini Cheesecake
- Key Lime Pie Cheesecake (Vegan)
ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS IN MY RAW CASHEW CHEESECAKE
- Almonds & cashews are a great source of fiber, healthy fats, and protein!
- Dates contain many nutrients that include iron and potassium!
- Coconut oil & coconut milk both have medium chain fats, which are processed fast in your body for energy! Plus, coconut milk has minerals like folate, magnesium, and manganese!
- Vanilla extract, while it doesn't have much going on that I can find.. it smells amazing and is plant based! Make sure you buy PURE vanilla extract and not artificial!
- Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory properties!
- Maple syrup, while super high in sugar if eaten in excess, you'll only be eating about 1.5 teaspoons per slice. And, maple syrup is an excellent source of manganese!
- Fresh lemon juice is super high in disease fighting vitamin C!
- Strawberries are another great source of antioxidants and vitamin C to help fight disease in your body.
HOW TO MAKE RAW VEGAN STRAWBERRY CASHEW CHEESECAKE
***THIS CHEESECAKE RECIPE REQUIRES AN OVERNIGHT SOAK OF CASHEWS, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOAKED YOUR CASHEWS AHEAD OF TIME!!***
No need to turn on the oven! This is a no-bake cheesecake recipe!
What you need to make your raw cheesecake:
- Your ingredients
- A food processor (a good blender could work too)
- A spring form pan (or a square baking dish if making bars instead)
STEP 1: MAKE THE ALMOND DATE CRUST
Start by adding 1 cup almonds, 1 cup pitted dates, 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon to your food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
If you like it heartier, only food process it till it looks like this:
But if you want it more like a classic cheesecake crust, keep food processing it till it resembles fine crumbs like this:
Pour your crust into the bottom of a spring form pan.
I used a 6" pan because I like thick cheesecake slices, but if you like your cheesecake to be thinner, you can definitely use a larger pan like a 9".
Press the crust firmly into the bottom of the pan. Set your crust aside while you prepare the cashew cheesecake filling.
STEP 2: HOW TO MAKE THE RAW CASHEW CHEESECAKE FILLING
If you want multiple layers, follow my steps below.
But, if you only want 1 uniform layer, just add everything in at once including the strawberries and beet root powder.
FOR LAYER 1 (VEGAN VANILLA CHEESECAKE)
Add 2 cups soaked cashes, ¼ cup melted coconut oil, ¼ cup coconut milk, ¼ cup maple syrup, juice of 1 lemon, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to your food processor.
FOR 1 LAYER CHEESECAKE: add in the 1 cup of strawberries and 1 teaspoon of beet root powder now.
FOR 2 LAYER CHEESECAKE (PICTURED): don't add the beet root powder or the strawberries yet!
Food process until the mixture is very creamy.
Spread ¾ of the vanilla filling over the prepared crust.
FOR LAYER 2 (VANILLA STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE):
I made the second layer of my strawberry cheesecake filling with strawberries blended inside the cheesecake! So much flavor and color.
Now, if you are doing the second layer, add the 1 cup of strawberries and 1 teaspoon of beet root powder to the ¼ of mixture left in the food processor.
Pulse until the strawberries are completely pureed in.
Carefully spread the strawberry cheesecake across the top of your vanilla cheesecake layer.
Freeze this for AT LEAST 2 hours to set. But, overnight is better!
RAW STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE TOPPINGS
I used coconut whipped cream & fresh sliced strawberries to top my cheesecake.
CLICK HERE FOR MY VEGAN COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM RECIPE
HOW TO SERVE RAW VEGAN STRAWBERRY CASHEW CHEESECAKE
My healthy fresh strawberry cheesecake is best served at room temperature with fresh strawberries piled high on top!
Take your cheesecake out of the freezer.
Let it rest at room temperature ~10-15 minutes.
Run a knife along the outside of your spring form pan to loosen the cheesecake from the sizes. Release your spring form pan.
Finally, cut the cheesecake into slices (whatever size you like!) and serve topped with coconut whipped cream!
The vegan strawberry cashew cheesecake... YUM!
The longer your raw strawberry cheesecake sits at room temperature, the softer it will get! I like mine super soft and creamy. But, if you like it to be very firm, make sure to cut it then put it back in the freezer so it doesn't get too soft! (see the very soft one below in the bottom right corner):
HOW TO STORE VEGAN STRAWBERRY CASHEW CHEESECAKE
Store your cheesecake in the freezer. When you want to have a slice, take it out and let it thaw for ~10 minutes at room temperature before slicing.
Or, to make it really easy, cut your entire cheesecake into slices at once and store them in separate containers in the freezer.
You can store your strawberry cashew cheesecake in the freezer for up to 3 months!
If you try this Vegan Strawberry Vanilla Cheesecake Recipe, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a rating and comment below! Ready for more? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!
Vegan Strawberry Cashew Cheesecake
Equipment
- Food processor
- 6" or 9" spring form pan
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil, melted & cooled
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the cheesecake:
- 2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted & cooled
- ¼ cup coconut milk at room temperature sub any plant based milk
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh sliced strawberries
- 1 teaspoon beet root powder
Toppings:
- Coconut whipped cream (recipe linked at the bottom in the notes section) optional
- Fresh sliced strawberries optional
Instructions
- Make sure you plan ahead for this one! Soak your cashews overnight in water. You can leave them at room temperature or in the fridge. I find that soaking them at room temperature gets them even softer than soaking them in the fridge.
- You will see that you need cold coconut milk for the whip but room temperature coconut milk for the filling. Scrape the hard portion off the can of coconut milk and place it back in the fridge while you prepare the cheesecake. Warm up the milk quicker by microwaving it for ~30 seconds. Cold milk will cause your coconut oil to harden before it is completely blended into the cheesecake. Depending on your food processor, you could end up with little chunks of coconut oil.
For the crust:
- Add all the ingredients for the crust to your food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If you like a heartier crust, don't pulse it as long, so that the mixture is chunkier.
- Press the crust evenly into the bottom of your spring form pan. Set this aside while you prepare the filling. Rinse your food processor before making the filling.
For the filling:
- Drain the water off your soaked cashews. Add them to the rinsed out food processor along with all the other ingredients except the strawberries & beet root powder.
- NOTE: if you want the entire layer to be strawberry, just blend everything together at once including the strawberries & beet root powder.
- Puree your mixture until it is smooth and creamy. Pour ¾ over the top of the crust and spread it around evenly.
- Add the strawberries and beet root powder to the remaining ¼ cashew filling. Food process until it is totally combined.
- Pour the strawberry mixture carefully across the top and spread it around evenly.
- Cover the cheesecake with a lid or wrap and freeze at lease 2 hours.
Serving:
- Make sure to thaw 10-15 minutes before serving it. The longer you thaw it, the creamier it will be. But keep in mind that the longer you thaw it, the less it will hold its shape!
- Run a knife along the outside of the spring form pan before opening it to keep the cheesecake intact.
- Top with fresh coconut whipped cream and strawberries.
- Enjoy!
- I cut mine all up into 8 pieces and then store them in separate containers in the freezer for about a month (or until I eat them... which is usually much less time!)
Christie
This vegan strawberry cashew cheesecake sounds AND LOOKS AMAZING!!! I love that gorgeous pink colour! You nailed it Rosemary. Have a great weekend!
Katerina
You could definitely win me over with this cheesecake! I mean, all those healthy ingredients, plus the addition of fresh juicy strawberries - yummm! Enjoy summer!
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Ahhh thank you Christie!! I think you would LOVE This one! It is one of my favorites yet-- especially with fresh summer strawberries!
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It will always amaze me that these healthy ingredients create something so sweet and delicious!! I really hope you try it out one day! <3
Cheryl Baker
Yum! Do you think I could use a can of coconut cream instead of the milk?
Rosemary
yes definitely!