The BEST Cannoli Cheesecake {Vegan, GF}

Name: The BEST Cannoli Cheesecake {Vegan, GF}
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 cups whole oats (or 1 3/4 cup oat flour); 1/3 cup coconut oil, room temperature; 4-6 tbsp cold water; 1/4 cup maple syrup; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp cinnamon; 8 ounces coconut milk yogurt (make sure it’s thick, like coconut cream. The ingredients should be coconut cream and the bacteria); 4 ounces Miyoko’s vegan butter, room temperature (if you can’t find Miyoko’s, use a coconut oil based vegan butter); 2 tsps vanilla extract; 1/2 cup maple syrup; 1/2 cup coconut cream; 2 tbsp arrowroot powder*; 1/2 cup chocolate chips

posted by Britt Berlin on Feb 12, 2020 (last updated Mar 21, 2022) 39 comments »

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★★★★★ 7 reviews

Get ready for the best cannoli cheesecake you’ll ever taste! Undetectably healthy, vegan, dairy free and gluten free, you’ll fall in love with this spin on a classic Italian dessert!

My Italian grandma just loves making cannoli (yes, it’s cannoli, not cannolis haha!)- it’s a dessert I grew up with and have come to love the taste of powdered sugar with fried dough and chocolate chips. Yep, it’s good!

So I decided to go with a twist on a classic, because I love making things my own way and starting a new tradition 😉 which will include this unbelievably vegan and gluten free chocolate chip cannoli cheesecake!

Yep, I said it. It’s vegan, it’s gluten free, it’s dairy free, and it’s refined sugar free, yet no one would know! This cannoli cheesecake is that good.

Did I mention it’s easy to make too? Seriously, this pie is hard to mess up and just tastes phenomenal- like eating a cannoli, only bigger and better!

I even got the approval from my Italian grandma! So if that doesn’t sway you to give this cheesecake a go, I don’t know what will!

Cannoli Cheesecake Ingredients

The ingredients of a cannoli cheesecake are key when it comes to making this vegan and gluten free. Not all vegan butter and coconut yogurts work in this recipe, so read closely for the suggestions.

Oat flour pie crust: This is what allows this cannoli cheesecake to be both gluten free and vegan! It’s an easy pie crust that’s no roll and no chill before placing into the pie dish! Plus it yields wonderful results 🙂 All you’ll need for this pie crust is oats (or oat flour), coconut oil, maple syrup, cold water, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla!
Coconut yogurt: this gives your cannoli cheesecake a nice tang to it, like traditional cannoli made with cheese! I wouldn’t recommend another sub in for coconut yogurt, as the fat from the coconut is very thick, yielding the thick and cheesecake like texture!
Coconut cream: one of my favorite ingredients of all times (aside from maple syrup…we’ll get there haha!), coconut cream adds a delicious creamy texture to the vegan cannoli cheesecake! Go for full fat coconut cream, or if you’re having trouble finding the coconut cream, you can use coconut milk (full fat again). DO NOT use light coconut milk or the refrigerated kind. It won’t guarantee the same results as using regular coconut cream or milk. I find my coconut cream, and organic too, at Trader Joe’s!
Vegan butter: for this one, I love using Miyoko’s vegan butter, which is organic and you can also find at Trader Joe’s! However, if it’s not available to you, look for a coconut oil based vegan butter. This will give the best results.
Arrowroot Powder: much like my vegan key lime pie and banana cream pie, arrowroot powder serves as an excellent ingredient to bind the cannoli cheesecake ingredients together and make it firm, like a traditional cheesecake. You can find arrowroot powder at many grocery stores, as well as Whole Foods! Please note: if your arrowroot powder is expired or hasn’t been stored properly (it should be in a cool airtight container), then it will not work, resulting in a runny pie!
Vanilla extract: because we can’t make vegan gluten free cannoli cheesecake that resembles an actual cannoli without the vanilla!
Maple syrup: you can also swap in coconut sugar here, but your pie will look slightly browner!

slice of vegan cannoli cheesecake with bite

How to make the oat flour pie crust

This oat flour pie crust is the key to making a healthy yet delicious gluten free vegan cannoli cheesecake. I’m always astounded by how simple this pie crust is and am not sure why I even both making pies with different crusts haha!

Just kidding, I love variety! The more pie and pie crusts, the merrier 🙂

Now, to make this oat flour pie crust, it’s quite simple! You can start with either whole oats, like I did (and is probably the cheaper and easier option, since many have oats in their homes!), or purchase an oat flour. If you purchase and oat flour, skip ahead to where we’re combining the flour with the remaining ingredients 🙂

If you’re making your own oat flour:

Add your oats to a large food processor.
Pulse the oats until they become a fine flour, which is different than how we mad the oat flour in these banana oatmeal pancakes. We don’t want any oat chunks!
Next, add in your coconut oil, water, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon to the oat flour, and blend again in the food processor until it becomes a sticky dough, like below.
Press your oat flour pie crust dough into a coconut or olive oil greased 9″ pie dish and refrigerate your pie crust for about 20 minutes. See, no rolling!

oat flour pie crust pressed into pie dish before baking

While the pie crust is chilling, preheat your oven to 375F. Place your pie crust into the oven when the oven is ready, and bake your gluten free vegan oat flour pie crust for about 15 minutes.

Once it’s done, remove it from the oven and start making your vegan cannoli cheesecake filling while it cools! Then we’ll finish off the vegan chocolate chip cannoli cheesecake 🙂

How to make a vegan cannoli filling

Now, making the vegan cannoli filling is just as easy as making the pie crust… if not, easier!

First, you’ll start by placing your softened vegan butter, coconut yogurt, coconut cream, vanilla, maple syrup, and arrowroot powder all into one large bowl.

vegan cannoli filling ingredients in glass bowl

Beat together your ingredients using a hand mixer until it’s nice and smooth, like below!

whipped vegan cannoli filling ingredients

Fold in your chocolate chips and then spoon your vegan cannoli filling into your baked oat flour pie crust.

That’s it! Now, let’s finish off the cheesecake!

Assembling your chocolate chip cannoli cheesecake

Place your vegan cannoli filling filled cheesecake into the oven and bake it at 375F for about 15-20 minutes.

The center should be a little wobbly, but the outer rim should be slightly set. If it’s not, don’t worry! You can still remove it and chill it! This was just to activate the arrowroot powder!

Then remove your chocolate chip cannoli cheesecake from the oven and let it cool for about 15 minutes at room temperature.

Next, place your cheesecake into the fridge to let chill and set for about 2-3 hours. Once your vegan cheesecake has chilled and your ready to serve, add some extra chocolate chips on top and sprinkle some powdered sugar over it!

There ya have it!

An easy and delicious vegan and gluten free chocolate chip cannoli cheesecake 🙂 Tastes just like a cannoli and is a pie for both summer and winter, spring and fall! Whenever you’re in the mood for your favorite Italian treat 😉

I hope you love this cheesecake as much as I do! Let me know how it goes in the comments below, and I cannot wait to see your creations on Instagram and Pinterest!

Happy baking, setting, and chilling!

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