This post is brought to you by Driscoll’s who provided me with fresh berries for this vegan mini blueberry cheesecake recipe! The recipe and opinions shared in the post are all my own. May 26th is National Blueberry Cheesecake Day – let’s celebrate!
Heading back to work the day after a long weekend is always tough. Luckily, these vegan mini blueberry cheesecakes are the perfect thing to put a little sunshine back into your day! It has taken me entirely too long to get on the cashew cream train. The real reason is that I had one bad experience trying to make mini cashew cream based cheesecakes with tequila and lime in the past that failed miserably. Since then I hadn’t worked up the courage to try another cashew cream recipe. Then I read about these strawberry kiwi cashew cream parfaits on Dianna’s blog and knew it was time to try again! Fingers crossed it worked out deliciously this time. Cue the National Blueberry Cheesecake Day celebration! Thanks to Driscoll’s, I had plenty of fresh blueberries on hand.
Cashews are high in heart healthy monounsaturated fat as well as a good source of copper and magnesium. Copper enzymes play a role in many crucial pathways in the body including: energy production, iron metabolism, neurotransmission, and the maturation of connective tissue. Meanwhile, magnesium plays a role in bone health as well as muscle contraction. Even when you are indulging in dessert, you may as well make it from ingredients with healthy benefits, right?
Vegan Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 1 cup cashews soaked ~3-5 hours
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ~1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
For the Crust:
- 1/4 cup oats
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup dates ~4-5 dates, soaked ~10 min in warm water
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- Dash of salt
For the Blueberry Topping:
- 2 cups fresh Driscoll's blueberries
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Juice from 1/2 lemon ~1 1/2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Place cashews in a bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside to soak for ~3-5 hours. Drain and rinse when ready to use.
- To make the filling, puree all the ingredients listed in a blender or food processor until smooth. You may need to add a few more tablespoons of milk depending on your blender. The finished filling should be similar to the consistency of hummus. Transfer to a bowl and set in the fridge until finished with the crust.
- To make the crust, puree the oats in a food processor to make a course flour. Add the walnuts, dates, and coconut oil. Pulse until it forms a stiff dough. Set aside.
- Spray each cup of a muffin tin with oil. Use your fingers to rub oil up onto the sides of each muffin cup to make sure they are well greased.
- Press ~1 tablespoon of the crust mixture into the bottom of 6 of the muffin cups.
- Spoon in the cashew mixture on top of the crusts, filling each cup about 3/4 of the way full.
- Cover the muffin tin with plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer.
- To make the blueberry topping, add the blueberries, syrup, and lemon juice to a small saucepan and begin to heat. Stir occasionally until blueberries start to swell and break apart. Continue stirring, breaking apart the berries by pressing them against the sides of the pan with the back of a woolen spoon. Continue to cook until mixture starts to simmer and thicken.
- Remove from heat and transfer to blender to puree until smooth. Allow to cool completely.
- Pour cooled blueberry topping onto each cheesecake and place back in the freezer. Chill about 4 hours until firm.
- To serve, allow to thaw about 5-7 minutes on the counter. Top with whipped coconut cream if desired.
- Keep cheesecakes stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1-2 weeks.
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
This looks delicious and I see it’s from last year, but please everyone DON’T buy Driscoll’s berries. Farmworkers at Driscoll’s, including children – yes, children, earn $6 dollars per day for 12 hours of work. Workers trying to unionize and their allies called for a boycott of Driscoll’s this April. Veganism means respecting life, and Driscoll’s clearly does not respect the lives of their workers.
Oh wow this looks too good to be true! I would never want to accidentally eat an entire cheesecake (I have a thing for cheesecake!) and these mini ones would help limit how much of a glorious treat I take!
Deb!! I don’t usually think of cheesecake and vegan in the same sentence but I can’t wait to try it! I think this would make me feel less guilty if I go back for a second helping. Plus, your photos are beautiful, as always. I featured your post this week at #FoodieFriDIY – thank you so much for participating!
These look so delicious! I love the idea of making mini cheesecakes to share around, and also how none of the ingredients you have used are too tricky to find — it is easy to get put off this type of baking when so many ingredients are expensive and hard to locate.
wow, these are so pretty! I made a cashew based cheesecake once which was pretty good, but I bet it would be soo much better with the blueberries! Can’t wait to try!
Yum! These look so delish and adorable!
Beautiful pics! YUM!
These are beautiful! I’ve never tried making a vegan cheesecake. Definitely pinning these to make!
These are so cute and look so tasty! I love blueberries! Pinning 🙂