No Bake Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
These no bake vegan strawberry cheesecake bites are a healthy summer treat. Made with cashew cream, strawberries, walnuts, dried cranberries and naturally sweetened with dates and maple syrup.
Equipment
- 24-cup mini muffin tin
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup walnuts
- 6 medjool dates pitted, and soaked in water for 5 mins
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
Filling
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked for 3 hours
- ¾ cup strawberry slices fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon beet juice grated beets, squeezed *see note 1
Instructions
Crust
- Process - to a food processor, add the dates (pitted, soaked in water, and drained), walnuts, and dried cranberries. Pulse to combine into a sticky and crumbly mixture. Test to see if it holds together if you squeeze a spoonful into a ball. If not, process for a little bit longer.
- Prep muffin tin - to get the mini cheesecakes out easily - cut strips of parchment paper (½ inch by 2 inch approx) and line each mini muffin cup. You can use these little tabs later to easily pull out each cheesecake.
- Assemble crust - use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to measure out the mixture and press into the bottom of each mini muffin cups. Press evenly to ensure the crust is level and consistent. Pop the muffin pan in the freezer to allow the crusts to begin setting while you prepare the filling.
Filling
- Filling - to a blender, add cashews (soaked for 3 hours, drained), strawberries, maple syrup, lemon juice, and ½ tablespoon of the beet juice. Blend until smooth, using a tamper to press the mixture down to the bottom of the blender. If you don’t have a tamper, turn off the blender and scrape down the sides a few times to make sure everything is well blended.
- Assemble - spoon the cashew cheesecake filling over top of the crust, using about 1 tablespoon per muffin cup. When each cup is filled, use the remaining beet juice to add a pink swirl to the top of each cheesecake. This is totally optional, but makes them extra pretty! A little goes a long way with the beet juice.
- Chill - return the muffin tin to the freezer and let set for an hour. Once fully chilled, remove the mini cheesecakes using the parchment paper tabs. Store in an airtight container (separated with parchment paper) in the freezer for up to 1 month. I do not recommend storing in the fridge, as cashews are likely to go bad quickly.
Notes
1 - To prepare the beet juice, grate half of a medium size beet (about 3-4 tablespoon grated beet). Pack the grated beet into a piece of cheesecloth, and press to squeeze out beet juice into a glass measuring cup.