No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
This No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake is lusciously creamy and velvety smooth! Made with only 8 ingredients, this no-bake treat is a delightfully delicious, dairy-free, and gluten-free way to end a meal.
*This post was first published in September 2014. It has been updated and is being republished today.
Nibbling on a slice of this plant-based chocolate cheesecake is simply heavenly. It is so richly creamy and so velvety smooth. It is one of the best vegan chocolate cheesecakes my daughter and I have had.
We love this no-bake chocolate cheesecake because:
- It is so insanely delicious,
- It is incredibly easy to make – just blend and chill,
- It is dairy-free,
- It is satisfying,
- It is a plant-based dessert,
- It is made with only 8 ingredients!
What are the ingredients needed for this no-bake vegan chocolate cheesecake?
The ingredients needed for this no-bake chocolate cheesecake are:
- Vegan chocolate sandwich cookies,
- Coconut oil,
- Raw cashews,
- Almond milk,
- Vanilla extract,
- Almond extract,
- Vegan chocolate chips,
- Sugar or sweetener of your choice.
Over the years, I have made many, many versions of this no-bake chocolate cheesecake. Sometimes I make it without the crust and serve the filling as chocolate pudding in individual glass bowls. Sometimes I make little individual servings of this.
There have been times when I have used monkfruit sweetener instead of sugar, sugar-free chocolate sandwich cookies, and sugar-free chocolate chips so this cheesecake is diabetic friendly.
Other than these substitutions, I haven’t had much luck changing the ingredients and their quantities, so I stick to this recipe here and the resulting chocolate cheesecake seems to always turn out decadently delicious.
This vegan chocolate cheesecake is a scrumptious way to end a meal. But, I’ve got to admit, there have been many a time when I have sneaked a slice of this cheesecake for breakfast!
How do you make this plant-based dessert?
I cannot stress enough how easy this chocolate cheesecake is to make.
- First off, the chocolate sandwich cookies are pulsed in a food processor so they are crumb-like in texture. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a blender or simply add the chocolate sandwich cookies to a plastic bag, seal it, grab a mallet or rolling pin, and gently pound away so the cookies are crushed up.
- Then mix the cookie crumbs with some coconut oil and press it into a baking tray lined with plastic.
- Then make the filling by adding the ingredients into a blender.
- Blend on high until the mixture is velvety smooth.
- Spoon the blended filling onto the crust.
- And – now comes the hardest part – let this chill undisturbed for 6-8 hours or overnight. If you need to, you can place it in the freezer for a couple of hours or until it is set.
- When it is set, you can top it with some melted chocolate, crushed cookies, berries, or some chocolate coconut cream, or a combination of all four!
When I used to need a chocolate fix in a hurry, one of my favorite store-bought desserts used to be Edward’s chocolate pie. But this no-bake vegan chocolate cheesecake is so much more tastier than Edward’s pie. So, even though I have to endure the 6-8 hour chill period, I’d rather indulge in a slice of this. Besides, this is dairy-free and lactose-free – which is a huge plus for me!
Remember Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl“?
Well…let me introduce you to my version: titled:
“Lactose Swirl”
Lactose was a friend,
Yeah I know he was a good friend of mine
But lately something’s changed
It’s a feeling in ma belly…no need to define
Lactose got himself in every swirl
And in every cheesecake and almost in every Madeleine
And, those non-dairy labels are sometimes just lies
But, I will keep loving him with my tastebuds, I just know it!
And I will wanna keep holding him in a bowl, late at night,
You know I wish that I had some Lactose-FILLED Swirl
I wish that I had some Lactose-FILLED Swirl
But, I will settle for some Lactose-FREE chocolate pie instead of that!
I first made this no-bake vegan chocolate cheesecake in the Fall of 2014, when my daughter and I stumbled on some gluten-free chocolate sandwich cookies. Since then, there have been so many gluten-free and vegan chocolate sandwich cookies adorning the shelves of grocery stores.
I was going to make a bean-“cheese”cake, but I was all out of beans. But I had a large container of raw cashews sitting in my fridge. I always store cashews and other nuts in my fridge to keep them from going bad. Well, I had seen so many versions of cashew cake/cheesecake on the interwebs so I figured I would take a stab at my own version.
Armed with the 3 C’s:
• Chocolate
• Cashews
• Coconut oil
…and bout 6 hours later….
Voila – this Dairy-Free, No-Bake, Totally Cool, Chocolate Cashew Cake adorned my kitchen counter – but not for too long!!!
This cashew chocolate cheesecake isn’t exactly like its dairy-filled counterpart, but if you (like me) have un-requited love issues with lactose – then this Dairy-Free, No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake will fill the void, nurse a craving away, and will not cause a mini-earthquake in your belly in the process!
FAQ’s
Yes, the cashews need to be soaked overnight at least. Just place raw cashews in a bowl and cover with water. Set it aside in the fridge overnight. Soaked cashews result in a smooth and creamy pudding/cheesecake.
All ingredients need to be at room temperature so the melted coconut oil will mix evenly and the resulting filling will be smooth and set evenly. You can keep the cashews and almond milk out on your counter until they are at room temp. Or, you can add them to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave them for 20-30 seconds or until they are at room temperature.
Place coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave them for 20-30 seconds or until melted.
You can store this vegan chocolate cheesecake in an air-tight container, securely covered, for up to a week in the refrigerator. This cheesecake gets gobbled up in 5-7 days in our home, so I couldn’t say if it stays fresh any longer.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 16-18 chocolate sandwich cookies
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
For the Filling:
- 3 cups cashews soaked overnight in water
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips melted
- Optional: 2-3 tbsp sugar/or monkfruit sweetener
For the topping (OPTIONAL)
- can full fat coconut milk chilled
- vegan chocolate chips
- 2-3 chocolate sandwich cookies
- berries
Instructions
- First off, add the chocolate sandwich cookies to a food processor and pulse until they are crumb-like in texture. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a blender or simply add the chocolate sandwich cookies to a plastic bag, seal it, grab a mallet or rolling pin, and gently pound away so the cookies are crushed up and crumb-like.
- Then melt the coconut oil by placing it in a microwave-safe dish and microwaving on high for 20-30 seconds.
- Then mix the cookie crumbs with the melted coconut oil and press this mixture into a baking tray lined with plastic.
- Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature so the melted coconut oil will mix evenly and the resulting filling will be smooth and set evenly. You can also place the ingredients (almond milk and cashews) in the microwave and heat them for 20-30 seconds so they are closer to room temperature.
- Make the filling by adding the soaked cashews, almond milk, vanilla and almond extracts, melted coconut oil (melt in microwave-safe dish for 20-30 seconds), melted chocolate chips (also melted in microwave-safe dish in microwave for 30-50 seconds) into a blender.
- Blend on high until the mixture is velvety smooth.
- Spoon the blended filling onto the crust.
- And – now comes the hardest part – let this chill undisturbed for 6-8 hours or overnight. If you need to, you can place it in the freezer for a couple of hours or until it is set. But, I have found that the best texture results from a slow chill in the refrigerator.
- When it is set, you can top it with some melted chocolate, crushed cookies, berries, or some chocolate coconut cream (made by whipping the chilled coconut milk until it is like whipped cream, then melting the chocolate chips and adding them to the whipped coconut cream. NOTE – make sure the melted chocolate chips are not hot but closer to room temperature so it does not deflate the whipped coconut cream.
- Finally – ENJOY!
Your version of Jessie’s Girl cracked me up, Shashi – thanks for that! 🙂 This cashew cheesecake looks and sounds fantastic, my friend. I could see this showing up on the back porch on a warm summer evening…and I could see this disappearing quickly, too. Haha!
No baking involved? Sold! This looks terrific — so FULL of flavor. Thanks!
I’ve got to admit – cheesecakes are never enough. I already have a big collection of cheesecake recipes but this one is truly special. Yum!