This mini vegan cheesecake recipe is made with an easy graham cracker crust + a cashew & plant-based cream cheese center, and they’re topped with a fresh strawberry sauce – making them the perfect sweet tooth bite!
Hello Berry Season!
It’s getting towards the end of May in the northeast and the weather is (finally!) warm, the sun is shining… and berry season is upon us (yay!).
I’m a big fan of all kinds of berries, and strawberries are high on my list of favorites. I try to make it to a local farm for berry picking every year. I’ll get a huge crate full of berries, and then my household has fun enjoying them. And of course, I enjoy making recipe favorites & coming up with new recipes to enjoy summer berries with!
I’ve had a mini vegan cheesecake recipe on my “to test” list for awhile now, and finally got the chance to experiment with making tasty dairy free cheesecakes recently. And what better topping for cheesecake than a fresh strawberry sauce?!
My Mini Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe
This recipe is similar to my no bake vegan strawberry cheesecake recipe, only this recipe uses as fresh strawberry sauce vs a frozen topping. My no bake version is made in a pie pan vs the mini cheesecake pan I use here and is (obviously) not baked as I do with this recipe.
I whipped up these babies when I was about to have family visit for the weekend. I served them for dessert, and even though everyone present eats dairy, they all devoured em. I love having enthusiast recipe testers around!
So just how do we made a creamy cheesecake center without dairy?
- Raw cashews, which we quick soak in hot water so that they break down easily into a creamy mixture
- Plant-based cream cheese – I used Miyoko’s Creamery’s cashew milk cream cheese for this recipe, but there are a variety of options to choose from. I also like Kite Hill.
The bottom layer of this vegan cheesecake recipe is a super simple 2-ingredient graham cracker crust: graham cracker sheets + dairy free butter. Easy peasy, yet perfect!
The strawberry sauce is also made with just a few ingredients: diced strawberries, granulated sugar + fresh lemon juice. So while this vegan cheesecake recipe has three layers of goodness, each layer only requires a couple of ingredients.
Most of the prep time for this recipe is soaking the cashews (20 minutes) and letting the cheesecakes cool for at least an hour. So while these cheesecakes look kind of fancy and fun, the hands-on time to make them is pretty minimal.
Once the cheesecakes are baked and cooled, you can top them with a bit of powdered sugar, coconut cool whip, or even a dark chocolate drizzle… whatever your heart desires!
Who else loves mini desserts? I happen to think that this mini vegan cheesecake recipe makes such a cute sweet tooth treat. They’re perfect for a portion-controlled dessert… though I can’t promise you that you’ll be able to resist eating more than one!
Get The Vegan Cheesecake Recipe
If you give this mini vegan cheesecake recipe a try, be sure to leave me a comment below or let me know on Instagram, Twitter or TikTok. Enjoy berry season friends!
Mini Vegan Strawberry Cheesecakes
Ingredients
The crust
- 10 graham cracker sheets or 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup + 1 TBSP softened dairy free butter
The filling
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 8 oz plain dairy free cream cheese
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 TSP vanilla extract
- 1/4 TSP fine sea salt
The sauce
- 2 cups strawberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Zest from 1 small to medium sized lemon
Instructions
- First quick soak the cashews: Place the cashews in a bowl and cover them with boiling water. Soak for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 12-cup mini cheesecake tin.
- Prep the crust: Combine the graham cracker sheets and dairy free butter in a food processor and process until the crumbs are ground and butter is evenly incorporated. If using graham cracker crumbs to start with, you can combine them in a bowl with the butter and stir well, or add to the food processor.
- Press the graham cracker mixture into the mini cheesecake pan evenly. Make sure to press the mixture down well into each cup, then set aside.
- To make the cheesecake center: Use an electric mixer on medium-low to beat the cream cheese until smooth. Drain the cashews and add them to the cream cheese bowl. Add in the maple syrup, vanilla and fine sea salt. Beat until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture into the mini cheesecake pan over the graham cracker crust.
- Bake for 27-32 minutes, or until the cheesecakes have nicely firmed up. Transfer the pan to the fridge and allow the cheesecakes to cool for at least an hour.
- To make the strawberry sauce: Dice the strawberries. Place them in a small pot or saucepan warmed over medium heat. Add in the lemon zest and sugar. Lowly simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes, until the strawberries are tender.
- Spoon the strawberries evenly into each mini cheesecake. Enjoy!
Strawberries and cheesecake definitely do go well together! I love this recipe. And I would gladly volunteer to be one of those recipe testers, too! 🙂 We’re moving in a few weeks, so I don’t think I’ll have the chance to go strawberry picking before we leave…but you better believe I’ll be looking for a u-pick strawberry place down in Asheville for next year!
I hope that your move went smoothly!!
I was just looking up farms near where I currently am in NJ where we could maybe go blueberry picking this weekend!
Those look pretty and would make a yummy summer treat!
Definitely! I love strawberry desserts in the summertime.
I’m going to make these this weekend!!
I hope that you enjoyed them!