Vegan No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

This Vegan No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake is raw, delicious, easy to make, gluten-free and paleo friendly, yet still beautiful, healthy and refreshing for a perfect summer dessert. This cheesecake is creamy, sweet, tarty and tastes like the real thing without dairy or sugar. It’s perfect to serve on a perfect summer day as a cool, sweet dessert.

It is a pretty simple recipe that I am sure everyone would love – vegan or not. What I love about vegan recipes is that you don’t need an oven to bake but just needs a refrigerator to set. It is so addictive that I make it all around the year and not just in summers. 

This Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake has a slightly crunchy crust made of blended  dates, almonds, walnuts, coconut oil and cinnamon. The creamy layer is made of soaked cashews, coconut milk, coconut oil, maple syrup and dried blueberries. The dried blueberries give a lovely blue color and adds a lot of flavor. The top fruity glazy layer is made of fresh blueberries and chia seeds. You can always use any other berry for another layer if you’d like to add a second layer of deliciousness!

One of the most crucial parts is to soak the cashews in water to get a creamy and smooth texture for the middle layer. There are two methods you can follow to get perfect soft cashews —

• Overnight method – Soak the cashews in a bowl of water overnight or at least for 12 hours. I always follow this method to retain all the nutrients and also to get a perfect smooth, creamy texture.
• One Hour Method – Soak the cashews in a bowl of boiling water, and cover the bowl with a lid. Leave it for an hour. I would choose the overnight method over this because leaving the cashews in boiling water takes away all the nutrients in the nuts. But I promise the texture would be the same for both.

So if you decide to make this recipe at the last minute to surprise a loved one then just go for the One Hour Method! One more important note is to wash the cashews well before you blend them to remove any dust from the nuts. 

What you’ll need to make Vegan No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

For the Crust layer

• Raw Walnuts
• Almond flour
• Pitted dates
• Coconut oil
• Cinnamon
• Kosher salt
• Lime Zest

For the Cheesecake layer

• Cashews (soaked in water for overnight or at least an hour)
• Dried blueberries
• Coconut milk
• Coconut oil 
• Maple syrup
• Lemon juice
• Vanilla extract

For the Blueberry layer

• Fresh blueberries
• Lemon juice
• Chia seeds

How to make Vegan No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake with step by step photos & instructions

1. For Crust layer: Add the walnuts, almond flour, pitted dates, coconut oil, cinnamon and salt to a food processor and blend until it forms a sticky dough. Make sure you don’t over blend or you’ll end up getting a nut butter. You would want to have some tiny bits of walnuts in the dough to get that soft crunchy layer.

2. Take a cake pan or a freezer-safe bowl or a springform pan. I used a freezer-safe glass bowl. Line it with a parchment paper and grease it with coconut oil. Now press the walnut dough evenly in the pan.

3. For the Cheesecake layer: In the same food processor, add the soaked cashews, dried blueberries, coconut milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Blend until you get a rich soft, creamy texture. Add more coconut milk if you think the texture is still not creamy.

4. Pour the prepared filling into the pan over the walnut crust. Smooth out with a spatula or tap down the pan gently a few times to remove the air bubbles and even out the layer. Place the pan in the refrigerator.

5. For the Blueberry layer: Rinse out the blender, add the fresh blueberries, lemon juice and chia seeds. Blend until smooth and pour over the cashews filling and even out with a spatula or by tapping down the pan a few times.

6. Place the pan in the freezer for at least 4 hours or until it sets completely.

7. Keep the cheesecake out of the fridge 30 minutes before slicing until it reaches a smooth cheesecake texture. Serve with fresh blueberries!

Notes

• You can substitute frozen thawed blueberries for fresh blueberries.
• For the crust, you can use any raw nuts of your choice like pecans, almonds or pistachios.
• Spring form pan works best for this recipe, but if you don’t have it you can use a cake pan or any freezer-safe bowl and layer with parchment paper.

Did you make this recipe?

Let me know how it turned out. Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with hashtag #daily_foodhacks.