Cheesecake. Paleo. These two things do not go together.
Unless, that is, you blow up the rules for what a cheesecake should be.
For example, that it should have cheese. And eggs. And a graham cracker crust.
Before you throw yourself off a bridge in despair, hear my cry: my Paleo version of cheesecake has none of the above, but it will blow. your. socks. off.
Moreover, by some bizarre alignment of the ingredient gods, the result tastes like cheesecake. Lush, velvety, indulgent cheesecake, with the signature tang of the real thing and a decadent crust to boot.
Are you ready? Let’s get to it!
Before you do anything else, you will need to soak some raw cashews for at least 12 hours, and then drain. You can find raw cashews at natural foods stores and in the health food section of the grocery store. Once blended, they will comprise a major portion of the silken filling.
The crust could not be simpler: moist dates, unsweetened flaked coconut, and almonds. Simply pulse in the food processor and then press in the bottom of a springform pan. Done.
The filling likewise requires no cooking nor baking of any kind, but you will need to blend like crazy. Pulverize the aforementioned soaked cashews with coconut milk, melted coconut oil (this is essential for holding everything together once chilled), lemon juice, and maple syrup, stopping periodically to scrape down the sides; the goal is a perfectly smooth consistency. A high-speed blender works best, but a regular blender will work, too, with plenty of blending.
Now pour the filling into the prepared crust and freeze until set. That’s it! Just like any basic cheesecake, you can flavor the filling in countless ways or top the finished cake with fruit (I am a sucker for fresh berries), or perhaps a drizzle of caramel or melted dark chocolate. To cheesecake!
Easy Paleo Cheesecake {Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegan, Raw}
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 10 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- Crust:
- 3/4 cup almonds or pecans
- 1/3 cup unsweetened flake coconut
- 1 cup packed pitted dates
- Filling:
- 2–1/2 cups raw cashews (soaked overnight in cold water)
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk, well-stirred
- 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup or raw honey
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- (optional) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- (optional) toppings, such as fresh fruit, melted chocolate. or caramel sauce
Instructions
- Line the bottom of a 6-inch springform pan with parchment paper or wax paper; grease sides of pan (coconut oil is a good choice)
- Place the almonds and coconut in a food processor; process until finely chopped. add the dates, pulse, using on/off pulses; until dates are finely chopped and mixture comes together as a cohesive dough. Press mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan.
- Filling: Drain the cashews and place in high-speed blender. Add the coconut milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice and (optional) vanilla. Processor, stopping to scrape down blender several times, until completely smooth.
- Pour filling into prepared crust. Cover pan with foil and freeze for at least 12 hours until set. Let stand at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before cutting into slices and serving.
- Let thaw at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
We have made this recipe several times and love it! Thanks so much for sharing.
You are so welcome! So glad you are enjoying it so much!
Sooo yummy, loved it! My family includes vegans, some gluten and lactose intolerance, and those doing the paleo diet. This recipe is a win for all of us!!
yay!!!!! 🙂
Amazing!!! My whole family LOVED this cheesecake! I haven’t had cheesecake in over 5 years and felt like I was eating the real thing. My brother who is able able to eat real cheesecake even thought it was amazing and asked for the recipe. The only thing I did different was use the solid part only of the canned coconut milk. I look forward to any excuse to celebrate with this dessert. ☺
I am thrilled to hear that you and the family love this, Nancy!!!
I made this for family on Thanksgiving. Wow! What a hit!!! Everyone LOVED this. I served with a fruit topping but serving it as is would have been just as good. This is my go to dessert from now on.
Wow, thanks, Nancy! So glad it was such a hit 🙂
I’m not a huge fan of coconut. Is it necessary in the crust or can I leave it out/replace it with something? I’m ok with the oil and milk just not the flakes.
Thank you
Hi Ashley,
Sure, you can replace with some more nuts or seeds! 🙂
My daughter wants me to make this for her, but can’t have cashews or almonds. What can I use instead? Would pecans work instead of cashews?
Hi Marie! Any other kind of nuts, or also seeds. My sister ha some nut allergies, too–shelled sunflower seeds are great (and inexpensive, too! toasting them will really bring out their flavor)
Thanks for the recipe, came out pretty good!
http://i.imgur.com/GAXVkWz.jpg
2 tips:
1. If you want to make it ASAP, simply boil the cashews in water for 15 minutes (it’s like a speed soak, so you don’t have to wait overnight to soften the nuts). Mine came out great.
2. Don’t over-process the crust. I made mine into a dough (instead of a chunky-dough) & it was too stiff after chilling – no texture & very difficult to cut with a fork. “Cohesive” is the keyword – just enough to let you form a crust, but not enough to be a smooth dough. Also, be sure to press it down evenly – I didn’t realize mine was as wavy as it was.
please list the value of protein, sugar, carb, gms in each slice. Thanks
Please list the nutrient value of the cheesecake per slice – such as fat gms, protein, sugar gms and carb grms.
Can you substitute stevia (R) for agave. how bout fat free cream cheese? They make soy cream cheese but certainly is not fat free (but good fat) Aforementioned basically have no sugar. I like your idea of crust.
Hi Marie,
It sometimes takes me a few days to update the nutrition. You can always calculate it on your own using any number of online calorie calculation websites.
This is a dairy-free cheesecake (dairy is not allowed on a Paleo diet. nor is soy). I know that there are many fat-free or soy cream cheese cheesecake recipes available online. You would need to experiment with the stevia; I am not sure how that would work in place of the maple syrup (no agave in the recipe)/
All the best, Camilla
So happy to read this!!!!!!!