Strawberry Vegan Cheesecakes

My friend recently told me about this recipe for vegan cheesecakes and I was very intrigued. The list of ingredients isn’t very scary and everything in it is good for you… so I added strawberries into the mix and tried it out. I’m happy to report that these little creamy desserts are delicious! They’re definitely lighter than regular cheesecake, but I’m not a huge fan of the super rich stuff anyway. Plus, these are guilt FREE.

1 cup pitted dates

1 cup raw pecans

1.5 cups raw cashews

1 large lemon

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp full fat coconut milk

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/2 – 1 cup strawberries

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Before anything else, you need soak the raw cashews in water for 4-6 hours. Drain them, and then begin this process. You also need to soak the dates in warm water for 10 minutes.

Drain the dates and add them to a food processor.

Take the dates out and add the pecans in.

Add the dates back in and process until it all combines.

The “dough” should be moldable – not too dry and not too wet.

Lightly grease a muffin tin. Place a little bit more than 1 tbsp into each slot. Press down with the bottom of a glass to really pack it in.

Moving on! Drain the soaked raw cashews and add them to a blender.

Add the lemon juice, coconut oil (melted), coconut milk, agave, and strawberries to a blender. I put in about a half cup of strawberries, but you definitely have freedom here.

Blend until smooth.

Pour over each of the crusts in the muffin tin.

 Top with chopped fresh strawberries. 

If you happen to like these better frozen then thawed, skip this step. I’ll explain more later…

Cover and freeze for 4-6 hours.

When they are done, run a knife along the outsides of each of the cheesecakes. Before you get all the way round, they will pop out.

You can either thaw these for an hour or so, or you can eat them soon after you take them out of the freezer. Giving them time to defrost makes it taste a little bit more like cheesecake, but eating them quickly tastes a little bit like ice cream… so, the choice is definitely yours.

If you like them frozen or nearly frozen, wait to add the strawberries on top until you serve.

Or add extra strawberries before freezing and after. Like me!