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This no-bake Layered Blueberry Vegan Cheesecake is simple to make, Paleo and gluten-free, and a total stunner! Made with soaked cashews and full-fat canned coconut milk, the cheesecake layers are lusciously smooth and creamy with a tart, fruity topping. The date-based cheesecake crust is also gluten-free.
Looking at the pictures of this no-bake layered blueberry cheesecake makes me seriously giddy inside! Isn’t she a beauty?!
I’m pretty sure no-bake, raw vegan cheesecake recipes are my new favorite thing. While I’ve always loved a good no-bake dessert recipe, the love affair with cheesecakes *specifically* began when I realized how beautiful and photogenic they can be after photographing this raspberry cheesecake for my friend Monica, and then this citrus-topped lemon cheesecake stunner. I think this blueberry version is my latest favorite, though. Not only is it so pretty with those layers, but it tastes ridiculously good.
I also have some fabulous no-bake vegan cheesecakes in my best-selling cookbook, Bakerita! Mocha chip cheesecake or salted caramel cheesecake, anyone?! Both recipes are in the book :D
How do you make a vegan cheesecake?
If you’ve had a vegan, cashew-based cheesecake – you know how good they are. If not, let me initiate you!
Like my other raw cheesecakes, this one is made with CASHEWS as the base! If you’re skeptical about cashews’ ability to replace luxuriously creamy cream cheese, you wouldn’t be the first. I was skeptical for a while…until I tried it. The raw cashews are soaked in water, which helps them blend into a luxuriously creamy cheesecake base that is so delicious!
For the crust
We use a simple pecan & date-based crust for this recipe. It’s lightly sweetened with the dates and flavored with cinnamon, which pairs so well with the blueberry flavors in the filling. The crust is lightly sweet, chewy, and crunchy!
If you don’t have or don’t like pecans, any other nut or seed will work here too.
How to make vegan blueberry cheesecake filling:
To start, soak the cashews for 8 hours. They’ll become incredibly soft and creamy, and the soaking will help them blend easily into the most luxurious, creamy filling you can imagine.
- Raw Cashews: These are the stars, and they’re what give us an ultra-luxurious creamy cheesecake filling.
- Full-fat Canned Coconut Milk: for extra creaminess and to help our cashews blend smoothly.
- Coconut Oil: I like using refined coconut oil for no coconut flavor. Don’t substitute this with another oil—the solidifying properties of coconut oil help the cheesecake hold its shape.
- Maple Syrup: our sweetener of choice! Any liquid sweetener you love will work.
- Lemon Juice: adds a cheesecake-y tang.
- Vanilla Extract
- Freeze-Dried Blueberries: for that vibrant blue color and flavor!
All together, these make a pretty damn close replica of the cheesecake you know and love.
This one removes all those refined sugars and dairy, though, and makes a “cheesecake” that will actually fill you up and give you some nutrients. Such a win! This vegan and paleo cheesecake will certainly satisfy that cheesecake craving.
What gives the blueberry flavor?
Half of the filling has freeze-dried blueberries blended right into it! That’s what gives the top layer that gorgeous blue color and a mellow blueberry flavor.
Freeze-dried blueberries are different from dried or frozen blueberries. They’ve had the moisture removed from them, so they add flavor and color but no extra moisture. It’s important you use freeze-dried blueberries; otherwise, the flavor won’t be as strong, and the texture will be off.
How to assemble blueberry vegan cheesecake
The freeze-dried blueberry cheesecake layer is spread over the first creamy vanilla layer. Then, it all goes into the freezer to harden up while you make the final layer.
We add a final burst of blueberry layer with a quick blueberry jam-like topping. It helps brighten up the richness of the cashew-based layers. There’s no sweetener! To make it, blend blueberries with a touch of lemon juice and chia seeds to help thicken it up.
This no-bake layered blueberry cheesecake is definitely going to be a new favorite around here. The rich and creamy cheesecake layers are hard to resist —especially once you add the tangy, jammy blueberry topping!
How to store no-bake vegan blueberry cheesecake:
You can store this vegan cheesecake in the refrigerator or freezer. It will keep in the refrigerator for one week or in the freezer for at least six months!
Store it in an airtight container to ensure it lasts and doesn’t absorb other odors from the refrigerator or freezer.
To serve from frozen, let it thaw at room temperature for about an hour or overnight in the refrigerator. This will help it soften to a delicious, creamy consistency you’ll love.
Want more vegan paleo cheesecake recipes?!
- No-Bake Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
- Vegan No-Bake Mint Chip Cheesecake
- No-Bake Chai Cheesecake Bars
- Strawberry Shortcake Bars
Layered Blueberry Vegan Cheesecake (Paleo)
Ingredients
For the crust
- ½ cup (65g) raw pecans
- ½ cup (48g) almond flour
- 2 pitted dates
- 2 tablespoons (25g) coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the cheesecake
- 2 cups (240g) raw cashews, soaked in cold water for at least four hours or preferably overnight (see Notes)
- ½ cup (114g) canned coconut milk, shaken
- ¼ cup (50g) coconut oil, melted and cooled (use refined coconut oil if you want no coconut flavor)
- ⅓ cup (111g) pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, or ½ teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- ¼ cup (10g) freeze-dried blueberries
For the blueberry layer
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed, if frozen
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
Instructions
- Grease a 6” springform pan with coconut oil, or line an 6-inch cake pan with strips of parchment paper for easy removal, and grease well with coconut oil. Set aside.
- Add the pecans, almond flour, pitted dates, coconut oil, cinnamon and salt to a food processor or high-powered blender and pulverize until it comes together into a sort of sticky dough, with small pecan bits remaining. Don’t over process, or it’ll turn into nut butter! Press the pecan date dough evenly along the bottom of the prepared pan.½ cup (65g) raw pecans, ½ cup (48g) almond flour, 2 pitted dates, 2 tablespoons (25g) coconut oil, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- In the same food processor or high-powered blender (no need to wash between – I used my Vitamix, but most powerful blenders should do the job), combine all of the filling ingredients except for the freeze dried blueberries and blend for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is silky smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as necessary. You may need to add a bit more coconut milk or lemon juice to get it to blend smoothly if your blender isn’t super high-powered.2 cups (240g) raw cashews, ½ cup (114g) canned coconut milk, ¼ cup (50g) coconut oil, ⅓ cup (111g) pure maple syrup, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Once it’s smooth, taste the mixture and adjust the sweetness/tartness levels by adding more maple syrup, vanilla, or lemon juice, if desired.
- Pour 2/3 of the filling into the prepared pan over the pecan crust. Smooth out the top and tap the pan hard against the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Place in the freezer. If you want super clean layers, let it freeze for about an hour or until firm before adding the blue layer on top.
- Add the freeze-dried blueberries to the remaining batter and blend to incorporate. Spread over the plain layer. Return to the freezer.¼ cup (10g) freeze-dried blueberries
- Rinse out the blender, and add the fresh blueberries, lemon juice and chia seeds to it. Blend until smooth, and then pour over the other layers.1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- Place in the freezer to set for at least 3 hours or until completely firm before slicing and serving. I recommend running your knife under hot water to warm it up before cutting the cheesecake with the still-hot (dried) knife.
- You can let thaw for about 20 minutes from frozen at room temperature, or for the best texture, transfer to the refrigerator at least an hour before serving. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Tips & FAQs
- You can also cover the cashews in very hot/boiling water and let them sit for about an hour if you want to speed up the process – it won’t be quite as creamy and may need to blend for longer, but it will do the trick!
- If you want to use an 8″ springform pan, you’ll want to double the recipe.
I know the sweetener is liquid, but do you think the texture will still be the same if I used erythritol instead?
Hi Fran, I haven’t tried it so unfortunately, I can’t give an informed opinion here. If you try it, you may need to add a little extra liquid (like coconut milk) to help it blend more smoothly :)
Thank you. I’ll definitely try it and use the coconut milk. Will let you know the result.
I have tried this recipe twice and it has come out perfectly! Thank you so much :-)
So glad you’re loving it, Amrita! Thanks so much for the feedback :)
Hi Rachel
Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.
Just wondering, when I was looking for vegan cheesecake recipes online, I noticed Ciao Kitchen translated this recipe into Chinese with minor changes and posted on her blog and YouTube channel. Is that an authorized use? Seems like it’s posted as her own recipe.
Hi Fiona, no that is not authorized use of this recipe – thank you very much for letting me know!!
This is the best paleo cheesecake I have ever had! Made it awhile back and will make it again tomorrow for dinner plans on the weekend. I made it exactly as written, no changes at all. The flavors are perfectly balanced with a just right “cheesy” flavor. Such a beautiful presentation too, a real WOW factor!
Thank you for this one :) Made it for my sister’s birthday, tastes very nice, the recipe is easy to follow.. I am looking forward to making it again, maybe with different fruits next time. Greetings from Czechia :)
★★★★★
So glad you loved it, Iva! Thanks for sharing :)
This recipe is great! I brought this cake to a friend’s house who is VERY skeptical of “different” desserts and both her and her husband loved it and went for seconds! It’s so beautiful too. I love just looking at it in the fridge. Haha. I would definitely make this again. It was so easy!
Hi, is it okay to leave out the coconut oil? It’s hard to find the refined kind where I live and my normal coconut oil has a strong taste.
Hi Zarina, the coconut oil is essential to helping the cheesecake set up so I wouldn’t recommend skipping it!
Oh..I’m gonna try it just hoping the coconut oil won’t be too overpowering. Thank you!
You could try cacao butter in it’s place if you have access to that – it will add a bit of a white chocolate-y kind of flavor, but would probably be delicious!
Hi,
What is the height of this cheesecake? I wanted to see if i could use a 8” cake pan with 1.5” height for this recipe.
Hi Heidi, I’m not sure of the exact height but because the cheesecake will be a lot thinner at 8″ width, that should work ok.
This was amazing! My aunt is allergic to coconut so we used avocado oil instead of coconut oil and replaced the coconut milk with cashew milk and halved it since it’s thinner. We are also on Whole30 (because cheesecake is so Whole30) so we used seven dates instead of maple syrup. Turned out great!
So glad this worked out well, Shelby!! Thank you SO much for sharing your changes – super helpful :D
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’m almost completely WFPB, and thus like to avoid oil (especially high saturated fat oils like coconut oil) and added sugar (like maple syrup), so this is really helpful. From what I’ve read, leaving out the coconut oil tends to lead to a better texture then subbing for another oil (and is a bit healthier), so I’m going to try it without the coconut oil and with dates instead of maple syrup very soon! It’ll be a test run, but if all goes well, this will be my B Mitzvah cake!
Thanks so much!
Hope you love it, Skye! Enjoy, and mazel tov :)
2questions- to have this remain out on display what change or additional ingredients would make it stable?
– I love cherry cheesecake. How could I duplicate your recipe with cherry?
Hi Rita, I actually have a cherry cheesecake recipe! It will always soften with warmth after a while, but switching out coconut oil for cacao butter would help it stay a bit firmer.
This looks amazing. However I’m allergic to cashews. Could I soak almonds and use them as the creamy base instead?
Hi Gill, they definitely don’t blend in the same way as cashews so it wouldn’t be nearly as creamy. You’d be better off substituting with 1 1/2 cups of almond butter, which will give you a much creamier texture.