No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake (Paleo + Vegan)

This luscious and decadent cheesecake is completely dairy-free, easy to make, and requires no baking! Sound too good to be true? I promise you’re going to love it, and so will everyone you share it with! This No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake is Paleo and Vegan, but no one has to know.

Guess who made herself a cake that did not involve chocolate? This girl! And guess who absolutely loved it? This girl! Well, me and everyone else I gave a slice to.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Light and refreshing – This healthy Strawberry Cheesecake absolutely hit the spot with it’s refreshing, light, and perfectly textured taste!
• Perfect warm weather treat – After enjoying our first night eating out on the deck this year, this was the perfect ending. My fruit pie obsessed children and husband were super excited that I catered to their tastebuds in the dessert area.
• No bake cake – In the summer, the LAST thing I want to do is turn on the oven if I can help it! No bake cheesecakes are the perfect summer dessert. The best flavors and no oven needed! Just like my No-Bake Mini Cottage Cheese Cheesecakes with a Pretzel Crust, they are quick to make, creamy, and perfect for hot days.

How to Serve No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

Not only gorgeous, but this cheesecake is full of healthy fats, delicious, and super easy to make! Requires no oven, making this an obvious choice for a dessert in those hot months. It’s delicious after some grilled rosemary and balsamic chicken, or some portobello mushroom burgers to keep the meal vegan! Serve them with a side of grilled sweet potato salad.

Ingredients

Obviously a dairy-free cheesecake sounds like an oxymoron, but believe me when I tell you, you can make it happen and it’s amazing!

To make this no bake strawberry cheesecake recipe vegan and paleo, we will use nuts and dates to help recreate the original flavors!

• Raw cashews
• Coconut cream
• Maple syrup
• Coconut oil
• Lemon juice
• Sea salt
• Diced strawberries
• Medjool dates
• Raw pecans
• Cinnamon

Ingredient Substitutions and Variations

This recipe is written to be both paleo and vegan. If you do not need the recipe to fit both of those diets, there are a few substitutions you could make! To keep it vegan, you can use vegan vanilla wafers or vegan graham cracker crumbs in place of the pecans to make a more traditional graham cracker crust. Biscoff cookies also work! For a chocolate strawberry twist, add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to the crust.

If you don’t have any dietary restrictions, you can use melted butter instead of coconut oil. For the cheesecake filling, you could also use cream cheese and a cup heavy whipping cream in place of coconut cream and cashews. This cream cheese mixture will give you a more classic cheesecake recipe.

Brown sugar or granulated sugar can also work in place of the sweeteners in the crust and filling, but be aware that this can change the texture! Also, feel free to add a teaspoon vanilla extract for some added flavor.

While these substitutions are possible, definitely try this recipe as is! It is SO good. You’ll be very surprised this is vegan and paleo! Feel free to switch up your method of freezing. You could make these mini cheesecakes, or even make no bake strawberry cheesecake bars!

How to Make No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

To start off we need to soak some raw cashews. You can do this for as little as 15 minutes in boiling water, or as long as overnight. While the cashews are soaking, we’ll make the crust! The crust is a combo of medjool dates, pecans, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. This creates a thick, sweet, slightly sticky, and nutty crust. Press this firmly into a springform pan. I also let it go up the sides a bit.

Drain the water, then toss the cashews in the blender (or food processor) on high speed. We’ll add coconut cream, maple syrup, a little lemon juice, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and fresh strawberries. You will need to blend for several minutes until really smooth. If your food processor is not large enough, grind the cashews, then transfer to a large bowl on a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Fold in the remaining ingredients, and blend until the strawberry puree creates stiff peaks.

Spread the strawberry mixture around the crust, and pop the pan into the freezer.

Freeze until set! This will take a total time of at least 3 hours. You will want to bring to room temperature for at least an hour before cutting into. Top with whipped cream (if you have no dietary restrictions), fresh berries, and even a bit of strawberry jam for more strawberry flavor!

Storage

You can store leftovers in the freezer or the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. If you freeze this strawberry cheesecake, allow to defrost before serving!