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This Vegan Cheesecake is surprisingly creamy, thanks to a blended cashew filling that’s packed with a sneaky serving of vegetables. When served straight from the freezer, it has a texture remarkably similar to the real thing!
How to Make a Vegan Cheesecake
Cashews give this filling its signature creaminess, but the real secret is the hidden veggie that’s also inside– zucchini!
When you peel the zucchini, it doesn’t impact the overall color of your dairy-free cheesecake, but it does improve the texture. It adds moisture and fiber, and makes the cheesecake remarkably authentic when you serve it right from the freezer.
How to Make the Vegan Crust
I like to use a date-based crust for this cheesecake, paired with a buttery nut like pecans or walnuts. When you throw them together in a food processor, they form a sticky crust that you can easily press into the bottom of a springform pan.
To make the creamy filling, I like to break down the cashews in a blender first, then add in the other ingredients and blend until smooth. When you use a high-speed blender, you can even skip the soaking process and still wind up with a silky-smooth result.
You can use a 7-inch pan for a thicker cheesecake, as pictured here, or use a 9-inch pan for a thinner cheesecake. Either way works! The thinner cheesecake will firm up faster, and the thicker one will need more time in the freezer to set.
How to Sweeten this Cashew Cheesecake
I typically like to use I use a mix of natural sweeteners for a more neutral flavor and color. I use a combination of agave nectar and maple syrup to keep this recipe vegan, but you can use honey instead of the agave if you don’t need this to be 100% vegan friendly.
This no-bake cashew cheesecake is best served straight from the freezer, because it will melt relatively quickly if you leave it at room temperature for too long. You can store it tightly sealed in the freezer for up to 3 months, so I hope you’ll enjoy it!
No-Bake Vegan Cheesecake (Soy-Free!)
Ingredients
Cashew Cheesecake Filling
- 2 cups raw cashews , soaked in water for 2 hours
- 1 cup zucchini , peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/3 cup agave nectar (or honey, if not vegan)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Crust
- 6 Medjool dates , pitted
- 1.5 cups pecan halves (or walnuts)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil , melted
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Lightly grease a springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper for easy removal. I used a 7-inch pan in the photos here, but a 9-inch works also for a thinner cheesecake.
- Prepare the crust: Add the dates to a food processor fitted with an "S" blade, and process until they are broken down a bit. Add in the pecans, oil, salt, and maple syrup and process until the mixture is sticky. (Be careful not to over-process, or the nuts will release excess oil and the batter will be oily.) Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the lined pan, then place it in the freezer to set while you make the filling.
- Prepare the filling: Drain the cashews and place them in a high speed blender. Blend until they are finely ground, then add in the zucchini, lemon juice, honey, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt, and blend again until very smooth. (You may need to stop and scrape the blender a couple times to make sure everything gets incorporated.)
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the crust and smooth the top. Place the cheesecake in the freezer to set until firm, about 4 to 6 hours. (The thicker your cheesecake layer, the longer it will take to set.)
- Serve the cheesecake directly from the freezer for a firm texture, or you can let it soften in the fridge for an hour beforehand to soften it up a bit. I recommend cutting small slices, as they are very rich!
- This cheesecake will melt if you leave it sitting at room temperature for too long, so I recommend keeping it chilled until just before serving. Leftovers can be tightly covered and chilled in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Per serving: Calories: 234, Fat: 15g, Carbohydrates: 23g, Fiber: 2g, Protein: 4g
Recipe Notes:
- You can make this cheesecake using only maple syrup instead of the agave, but it will be darker in color and slightly less sweet. Feel free to experiment with other sweeteners, if you like, too.
- If you need to avoid cashews, you might want to try another nut, such as blanched almonds or macadamias, or you can try a seed, but keep in mind that the cheesecake will have the flavor of any nut that you use. Luckily, you can taste as you go and adjust the flavoring as needed.
- For a chocolate cheesecake, try this Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake.
- If you’d like to make this cheesecake with cashew butter instead, replace 2 cups of cashews with 1 cup cashew butter. Raw cashew butter gives it the best flavor.
Reader Feedback: Have you made a cashew cheesecake before? Any other dairy-free desserts you love, or would like for me to recreate?
Hi, there wasn’t any info under the “for the crust” section. Is my computer glitching?
There’s a link to the crust recipe above, because my “print this recipe” settings won’t let me post 2 recipes in the same post.
You can find the recipe for the crust here: https://detoxinista.com/2010/07/friday-night-splurging/
What can you sub if allergic to tree nuts? I can do coconut, sunbutter, and peanuts but not any tree nuts. Would those take ok?
Sunflower butter might work, though I haven’t tried it myself. Any changes will definitely result in a different flavor, but I’m sure with a little experimentation, it will still be tasty!
Found this via pinterest and made it yesterday. We ate it tonight and it is deeelish! Love the ingredients, amazing. Makes sense that zuchinni takes on the other tastes around it, since it doesn’t have a strong taste on its own.
I definitely taste the lemon, so for those who aren’t big on lemon flavor, they may want to decrease the amount.
I made a similar pumpkin cheesecake using cashew butter & pumpkin recently. You can also do a great crust out of almonds, coconut & dates.
I made a raw pumpkin cheesecake a couple years ago, and it was delicious! Might need to pull it out again this fall. 🙂
Did you sub the pumpkin for the zuchinni or use both? If so, how much pumpkin? That sounds delish!!! Thanks 🙂
I just made this and it looked nothing like yours. Mine was light brown, not white. I’m not sure how it’s supposed to be white since the butter is brown and so is the vanilla. Am I doing something wrong?
Hmmm… the vanilla may affect the color slightly, but the cheesecake should primarily turn out the color of the cashews– which is an off-white color. (You can see in my pictures that my cheesecake isn’t pure white, in comparison to the bright white dots on the plate.)
Did you use raw or roasted cashews? I believe raw cashews are lighter in color, so that would make a difference in both the color and flavor. Otherwise, I have no idea! I hope it tastes good, regardless. 😉
Thanks for your reply. I bought the cashew butter at my local bulk barn. I’ll have to try it again and make my own butter with raw cashews. The stuff I bought looked very strangely like almond butter which is darker.
The good news is, I decided to throw in some cocoa to make a chocolate cheesecake. Not bad for my first attempt! My 7 year old loves it! Of course he’s more on board for raw eating than the rest of the family. Gotta start them young!
I used a little more zucchini than called for and filled 20 cups in a mini muffin tin. I also put a rounded 1/2tsp of your graham cracker crust in the middle of each. Using My Fitness Pal I came up with 75 calories for each. I used stevia and 1 Tbsp coconut oil in place of honey. I am so looking forward to these.
YUM!!! I hope they taste as delicious as they sound. 😉
This was soooo delicious! Enjoyed by both vegans and non vegans. I added a tbsp of refined coconut oil to the filling, some oreo cookies to the crust, and topped with a berry compote. Will definitely make again!
I’ve also realized the longer i dont consume candida irritating foods, the less I crave the stuff! This is great! I had a cucumber with cayenne and salt/ plain yogurt for breckfast and unsweetend almond butter as a snack and I am completely satisfied! I am not even hungry for lunch! I think I’ll do a green smoothie later!
really really liking*
I am really really these recipes, I’m on a candida cleanse diet right now and its becoming tons easier to follow as i try these recipes and look at other vegan/ sugar/ gluten free blogs… thanks a ton!! 😉
Would cucumber work for this recipe? I’m not quite familiar with the texture of zucchini so I dont know how substituting with cucumber would effect it. Unfortunately we currently have no zucchini.
Thanks!
Cucumber is more watery, and may alter the flavor a bit, so you’d have to experiment with that. If yellow squash are available, that would work as a zucchini substitute, too!