This no bake vegan chocolate cheesecake is a creamy chocolate custard dream! Completely gluten free and refined sugar free, this vegan cheesecake is easy yet elegant, and perfect for a decadent healthier treat!
I’m quite obsessed with this raw vegan chocolate cheesecake, mainly because it’s the ultimate chocolate lover’s dessert! This vegan cheesecake really takes little effort at all yet looks elegant, and it’s absolutely delicious and sweet, just like your traditional cheesecake!
Judging by how popular this is on Pinterest and Instagram for you guys, I know you feel the same way about this recipe 😉
All it takes is 15 minutes to put together, chill it in the freezer, and you have the most decadent no bake chocolate cheesecake ready for any occasion!
The Ultimate No Bake Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
Now, I firmly believe that dessert needs to be first and foremost sweet. So that’s what I decided to do!
This cheesecake is rich and decadent, yet just sweet enough that you won’t be overpowered by chocolate nor sweetness. Plus the texture is smooth and velvety yet requires no oven whatsoever.
Basically, we’ve got the Goldilocks complex going on here 😉
With a dark chocolate oat crust and the smoothest vegan cheesecake filling, this raw vegan chocolate cheesecake is almost too good to be true. Plus it’s completely gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, and soy free!
But again, the really cool part is how easy this cheesecake is; anyone can do it, and come out with the most decadent tasting dessert!
Ingredients for a Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
Okay, okay, so before we get to making the best chocolate cheesecake, vegan or not, let’s go over the ingredients real fast!
For this cheesecake, you’ll need:
- Soaked dates: I recommend soaking the dates overnight in the fridge, but you can do this 4-6 hours ahead of making the crust.
- Oats (made into oat flour): to make the crust, I actually just blended my own oat flour. I actually think this works better texture-wise, because you want a few oat-y pieces in there.
- Cacao Powder: You’ll need this for both the crust and the filling of this vegan chocolate cheesecake! I always say go for quality on the cacao powder because it will reflect in the taste and nutrients. There’s definitely a difference between cocoa and cacao, so go with cacao, as the taste will be so much better!
- Maple Syrup: my handy-dandy refined sugar free sweetener that reminds me of childhood (raise your hand if you were one of the kids who ate those maple syrup hard candies! Nope, just me? Alright, hands down).
- Cashews: you’ll need to soak the cashews for at least 3-4 hours at least prior to pureeing them (so start soaking them along with the dates!). This is basically the key to making this vegan chocolate cheesecake so thick and custard-like.
- Coconut Milk: for the coconut milk, I recommend using the coconut milk from the can; this is because the cheesecake needs to be sort of custard-like from the coconut fat, and that just won’t happen if there’s not enough coconut cream. No one wants a watered-down cheesecake- that’s just no fun!
- Lemon: only a little! I know a few people ask for a full lemon in their raw vegan cheesecake recipes, but I say, stick with half. If you want a little extra tanginess, go for 3/4 of the lemon!
Not too bad, right? The cool part is that there’s no baking required for this cheesecake, so take these ingredients, turn them into a no bake chocolate cheesecake, and you never have to worry about the cheesecake cracking, burning the crust, or any other baking mishaps!
How to make a vegan cheesecake
Get ready to break out my absolute favorite kitchen machine. The food processor. I am quite literally in love with mine. Use it multiple times a week. It’s my favorite.
So basically, what makes this healthy chocolate cheesecake so easy is that there’s no mixing on your part. Only pressing the puree button and pouring it into the cake pan!
A note before you begin: I highly recommend lining your cake pan (that has removable sides- SO KEY HERE!) with a little coconut oil and parchment paper. This will help you get the cheesecake out a lot easier!
First, let’s make the crust:
- Pulse the oats in the food processor until it’s almost a flour.
- Then add in the dates, cacao powder, and remaining crust ingredients to the food processor, and puree again until it’s a thick dough.
- Press the dough into the cake pan bottom evenly, and you can even work it up the sides, like I did.
Set the crust aside, and let’s move on to making the vegan chocolate cheesecake filling:
- Add the cashews to the food processor, and blend until it starts to become smooth.
- Add in the remaining filling ingredients, and blend again until it’s a thick and smooth batter (you don’t want to see any clumps of cashew in there!).
- Pour the batter into the middle of the cheesecake crust, and place the crust into the freezer to chill for at least 3 hours, or until solid.
That’s it! When you’re ready to serve, just allow the cheesecake to come to room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing in.
I love to top my no bake chocolate cheesecake with melted 100% chocolate (I recommend Pasha Organics) or chocolate shavings! You can also top with fresh fruit, like I did here, serve with a scoop of coconut milk ice cream, top with coconut whipped cream, or anything you want!
I hope you love this vegan chocolate cheesecake as much as I do! If you get to making this recipe, let me know in the comments section below and be sure to give it a rating!
As always, I love to see your beautiful creations on Pinterest and Instagram, so be sure to tag me there!
Happy no-baking!
More healthy vegan desserts:
Paleo Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie
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This no bake vegan chocolate cheesecake is a creamy chocolate custard dream! Completely gluten free and refined sugar free, this cheesecake is easy yet elegant, and perfect for a decadent healthier treat!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup dates (soaked for 4–6 hours, pits removed)
- 2 cups gluten free rolled oats
- 3/4 cup cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup coconut milk, nut milk or water
Cheesecake Filling
- 2 cup cashews (soaked for 3+ hours)
- 1 16 oz can coconut milk
- 1 cup cacao powder
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2–1 large lemon (squeezed)
Instructions
- Line a 8″ springform pan with parchment paper (trick: to get the parchment paper to stick, grease the cake pan first with coconut oil and then place the parchment paper on top).
- In a large food processor, pulse the oats until they’re almost a flour (but still with some oats left). Then add in the remaining crust ingredients together until it forms a thick dough.
- Press the dough into the bottom of the cake pan evenly.
- In a large food processor, pulse the cashews until smooth, then add in the coconut milk and pulse until smooth.
- Add in cacao powder, lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla, and sea salt. Blend until smooth and creamy (there shouldn’t be any clumps of cashews).
- Pour cheesecake batter into the pan and place on an even surface in your freezer.
- Freeze for at least 3 hours, or until set.
- When removing from the freezer to slice, allow the vegan chocolate cheesecake to come to room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
- Top with coconut whipped cream and enjoy!
Keywords: vegan chocolate cheesecake, raw vegan chocolate cheesecake, gluten free chocolate cheesecake, no bake chocolate cheesecake
This is by far the BEST cheesecake I have ever made! I have been dairy free for over two years now and I never thought I would be able to enjoy cheesecake again until I found this. It is devine ❤️
★★★★★
Oh my goodness!! This makes me so beyond happy to hear!! Thank you so much for giving it a go, and I’m so beyond glad to hear you can enjoy cheesecake again!! 🙂 Have a lovely weekend!
I second that – this truly is the BEST cheesecake!! I love that it’s raw too! Such an amazing recipe. Thank you for this decadent masterpiece 🙂
★★★★★
Aw thank you so much!! I’m so happy you loved it!! Enjoy 🙂
Can I use coconut yoghurt instead of full-fat coconut milk?
Yes absolutely!
Does this need to be stored in the freezer and thawed each time or can you store it in the fridge after the original freeze?
Hi Mary Beth! You can absolutely store it in the fridge after the first freezing 🙂 It will be soft, but still hold its shape, as long as your fridge is below 40F. You can also store it back in the freezer and let it thaw again!
PURE BLISS!
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!!
I made the cake and it tasted absolutely delicious 🙂
the only thing that did not work out so well was cutting the cake into slices since the chocolate on top was harder than the cheesecake filling so my knife pushed the chocolate down and destroyed the cake a little bit. Should I have mixed the chocolate with coconut milk to make it softer or do you slice the cake when its still completely frozen?
★★★★★
Aw I am just so happy to hear it!! But I’m so sorry to hear about the chocolate! You could go that route, but I also sometimes will run my knife under super hot water, lightly dry it off (to not get water onto the cheesecake) and then slice- it actually really helps with cutting into the chocolate! Just be careful with the knife 🙂
I made it today. My poor little blender was a little overworked so I had to do the cashews and milk separately from the rest of the filling ingredients. I dumped it all into a bowl and whisked everything together.
The crust was a little dry and too little. I probably should have dumped the soaking water in with the dates.
Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Aw I’m so sorry to hear it was hard on your blender! do you have a food processor on hand? I hope it still tasted good to you!