Paleo Strawberry Cheesecake (vegan, raw)
This paleo strawberry cheesecake is super creamy, vegan and raw and is loaded with extra flavor thanks to freeze-dried strawberries!Â
Spring has finally arrived! For many people, this means stepping away from heavy, wintry comfort foods and focusing on lighter, healthier eating. This paleo strawberry cheesecake is a great way to welcome spring!
I got a few comments about my paleo lemon bars being full of fat. And they are. Just like this cheesecake! But it’s healthy fat. Embrace it. :D
The recipe
I first made this strawberry cheesecake last year with in-season strawberries that were sweet and had a nice, strong strawberry flavor. The cheesecake came out awesome!
Then I tried it again about a month ago. German strawberries probably won’t be in season until next month, so I tried the recipe with frozen strawberries, thinking they’d be better than the fresh ones. Turns out that those are almost bitter and hardly taste like strawberries. So then I tried fresh strawberries, which again, hardly taste like strawberries and aren’t at all sweet.
I was not happy with the result. I thought maybe there was an issue with my recipe, so I kept tinkering with it and even tried other vegan strawberry cheesecake recipes. I didn’t like any of them.
So, obviously, the strawberries were to blame. My solution? I added half a cup of freeze-dried strawberry powder. Lots of concentrated strawberry flavor! You can also use the same amount (33 grams) of freeze-dried strawberries. If you’re using tasty, sweet strawberries, you might not need it.
For another tasty paleo treat with strawberries, try these Paleo Strawberry Pudding Souffles from Perry’s Plate!
Unless you’re serving the cheesecake to a crowd, you might want to make this recipe as mini cheesecakes using a regular muffin pan and muffin liners. You can pop the cheesecakes in the freezer and take one out whenever you’re in the mood. I made it as a full-sized cheesecake with Easter in mind.
If you’ve never tried a cashew-based cheesecake before, the texture is slightly different from cheesecake made with cream cheese. This one is kind of like a creamy, silky pie, or like softened ice cream.
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Paleo Strawberry Cheesecake (vegan, raw)
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup (110 grams) walnuts
- 1/3 cup (70 grams) pitted dates
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (10 grams) unsweetened shredded coconut optional
For the cheesecake:
- 1 1/2 cups (218 grams) cashews
- 3/4 cup (168 grams) coconut oil
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) coconut cream
- 9 to 10 tablespoons Grade A maple syrup
- 3 cups (460 grams) strawberries fresh or frozen and defrosted, room temperature (do not use cold berries!)
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup (33 grams) freeze-dried strawberry powder only likely needed if your strawberries aren't flavorful
Instructions
- Line the bottom of a 6.5" or larger springform pan with a piece of parchment paper. This will make cutting the cheesecake easier.
- Place the 1 1/2 cups of cashews needed for the filling in a small pot, pan or mug and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 1 hour. Drain the water.1 1/2 cups (218 grams) cashews
- Prepare the crust. Place all the crust ingredients in a high-powered blender (or a food processor, which will actually make the pieces more uniform in size) and process at low speed until the mixture starts to clump together. Don’t process so long that it becomes pasty. When you pinch some of the mixture between your fingers, it should easily clump together. Use the bottom of a shot glass or your fingers to press the mixture firmly over the bottom of the parchment-lined pan.1 cup (110 grams) walnuts, 1/3 cup (70 grams) pitted dates, 1 tablespoon coconut sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons (10 grams) unsweetened shredded coconut
- Place the pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
- Wipe out the blender jar using a paper towel and pour in all the filling ingredients (using 1/2 cup of maple syrup and not adding the freeze-dried strawberries yet) in the blender. Blend for about 30-60 seconds at high speed until totally smooth. Taste and add more maple syrup if it’s not sweet enough and if the mixture doesn’t taste strongly enough of strawberries, add in about 2 tablespoons of the freeze-dried strawberries or powder at a time until you’re happy with the taste.1 1/2 cups (218 grams) cashews, 3/4 cup (168 grams) coconut oil, 1/4 cup (60 grams) coconut cream, 9 to 10 tablespoons Grade A maple syrup, 3 cups (460 grams) strawberries, 1/4 cup (60 grams) lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, pinch salt, 1/2 cup (33 grams) freeze-dried strawberry powder
- Pour the filling over the chilled crust and freeze for about 4 hours or until firm in the center. You can also chill the cheesecake, but it’ll take about 8-12 hours to set. If you freeze the cheesecake for 6-8+ hours, the filling may be a little icy straight from the freezer and the cheesecake will be very hard. Let defrost at room temperature for about 3 hours before cutting. Keeps well refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
Notes
- The cheesecake is very tall in the 6.5″ pan I used. I think using up to an 8″ or 9″ pan should be fine. There’s definitely enough filling, and I’m pretty sure there’s enough crust (which is also quite thick in the 6.5″ pan).
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator. The values don’t include the optional strawberry powder.
Out of curiosity, what other fruits do you think could replace replace strawberries? Maybe blueberries, bananas, cherries? ????
Yummy and gorgeous!! This is my second raw vegan dessert and it was a success! Since I don’t use any sugars, I did sub dates for the maple syrup and brown sugar swerve for the coconut sugar. Still not a low carb recipe but compliant for me and YUM. I didn’t have to use any strawberry powder and I thought the flavor was great. Mine didn’t even have much of a coconut vibe, which was surprising. I made individual “cupcake” servings and had enough filling left to test drive it as ice cream ;) Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the cheesecake. I love your changes. I’ll have to try out dates next! And great that you liked the flavor even without the powder. Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :)
I am thrilled to have found this recipe. I’m very busy and need to meal prep so I make this every weekend, freeze it, and have a slice for breakfast with fruit and granola. It’s easy to make, it’s filling and feels luxurious.
I admit I can be “free and easy” with recipes in trying to use up what I have, and this one is bullet-proof. I have added cooked rhubarb and a banana with the strawberries, I’ve added blueberries. I’ve subbed dates and prunes for the crust when I did not have enough dates. It all seems to work so this recipe is now my go-to. I love it. THANK YOU.
I’m so glad that you’ve been enjoying it! I would love this for breakfast, too. :D All of your subs / additions sound delicious! Especially rhubarb. I’ll have to try that. Thanks for your feedback! :)