Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake (Gluten-Free)

This Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake is seriously indulgent yet secretly healthy. It’s rich and creamy, tangy and perfectly sweet.

Why you’ll love this Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake:

• it’s rich and creamy
• it’s sweet and tangy
• it’s seriously chocolatey
• it’s oil-free 
• it’s grain-free and gluten-free
• it’s refined sugar free
• it’s paleo
• it’s easy to make
• all you’ll need to make it is one food processor
• it comes together in 20 minutes 
• it’s no-bake and doesn’t require any cooking 
• its taste and texture remains unchanged for up to a few days
• it’s perfect for entertaining!

How to make this Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake

You’ll need to use a food processor to make both the crust and the filling – don’t worry, there’s no need to wash it out in between.

To make the crust, just pulse together dates, walnuts and a pinch of salt, and press it into a 18cm / 7 inch springform baking tin using your fingertips. Using a springform baking tin will make your job so much better later on, as it’ll make the cheesecake easier to remove.

Tip: Placing a circle of baking paper on the bottom of the baking tin before you add the crust will prevent the crust from sticking, also making it much easier to remove.

You can make the filling in the same food processor – the base is soaked cashew nuts, which create a luxuriously creamy, velvety texture, as well as a pleasantly neutral flavour.

Coconut yogurt adds extra creaminess, as well as a fermented taste reminiscent of cream cheese, whilst lemon juice adds extra tanginess.

A tiny amount of cacao butter helps the cheesecake to firm up, as well as adding extra richness and chocolate flavour.

Once the filling is done, just pour it into the baking tin and place in the fridge for at least a few hours until it’s firmed up.

Then you can decorate it with cacao nibs or dark chocolate shavings!

Substitutions you can make to this recipe:

• the dates in the crust can be substituted with dried figs or dried apricots (although the flavour will be affected slightly)
• the walnuts in the crust can be substituted with almonds, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds or desiccated coconut
• the coconut yogurt in the filling can be substituted with any other type of plant-based yogurt
• the cacao butter in the filling can be omitted or substituted with coconut oil

HOW LONG DOES THIS CHOCOLATE Cheesecake KEEP FOR?

This Chocolate Cheesecake keeps well covered in the fridge for a good few days and its taste and texture will remain unchanged, which means it’s a great dessert for entertaining as it’s perfect for preparing in advance.

MORE GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN NO-BAKE DESSERTS:

• Blueberry Cheesecake
• Chocolate Silk Pie
• Peanut Butter Pie
• Healthy Snickers Ice Cream Bites
• Key Lime Pie
• Chocolate Pudding Pots

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake (Gluten-Free)

This Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake is seriously indulgent yet secretly healthy. It's rich and creamy, tangy and perfectly sweet.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: paleo cheesecake, vegan cheesecake, vegan chocolate cheesecake

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 10

Calories: 206kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the crust:

• ▢ 65 g (½ cup) walnuts (or sub almonds, pecan nuts, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds or desiccated coconut)
• ▢ 90 g (½ cup) pitted dates
• ▢ Pinch salt

For the filling:

• ▢ 150 g (1 cup) raw cashew nuts (soaked overnight in cold water or in boiling water for 10 minutes)
• ▢ 150 g (¾ cup) coconut yogurt (or any other plant-based yogurt)
• ▢ 10 g (0.35 oz) cacao butter *
• ▢ 6 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• ▢ Pinch salt

To decorate (optional):

• ▢ Dark chocolate shavings or cacao nibs

Instructions

For the crust:

• Grease a springform tin (I used a 18 cm/7 inch springform tin) and line with a circle of baking paper on the bottom
• Add all the ingredients for the crust to a food processor and blitz until you get a crust that easily sticks together but that still has some texture
• Place the crust along the bottom of the springform tin, pressing down with your fingers, the back of a spoon or the bottom of a small cup or glass to make it as compact as possible
• Place in the fridge while you make the rest

For the filling:

• In the same food processor (no need to wash it out), add all the ingredients for the cheesecake and whizz until completely smooth
• Taste and adjust amount of maple syrup or lemon juice if necessary
• Place the filling on top of and place back in fridge until completely set (will take up to a few hours)
• Sprinkle over chocolate shavings or cacao nibs, if desired
• Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days

Notes

*If you’re blender isn’t very powerful, you’ll need to melt the cacao butter first before adding it

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake (Gluten-Free)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 206 Calories from Fat 108

% Daily Value*

Fat 12g18%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Sodium 5mg0%

Potassium 236mg7%

Carbohydrates 22g7%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 14g16%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin C 3.2mg4%

Calcium 50mg5%

Iron 1.5mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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