Mini Mocha Cheesecakes

It’s hard to beat the delicious combination of chocolate and coffee. These mini mocha cheesecakes made with cashews, cocoa powder, and instant espresso are the perfect, no-bake dessert for any occasion.

Post originally published August 2015; updated April 2024.

Let’s celebrate Friday with these delicious dairy free mini mocha cheesecakes! (I know I will be!) After I had long demolished my stash of these vegan mini blueberry cheesecakes in my freezer, it was time to restock my supply.

One of my absolute favorite things is coffee, so I thought I would incorporate a bit of coffee and chocolate in this newest version. This chocolate vegan cheesecake might be the version that I forever remake on repeat! This cute mini vegan cheesecake recipe is made with just a handful of pantry staples like cashews, cocoa powder, and maple syrup.

Mini Mocha Cheesecake Ingredients

• Cashews: raw, unsalted cashews are what you’ll need for the filling of these dairy free mini cheesecakes. Soak them for a couple hours on the counter so they are soft enough to puree smoothly.
• Milk: to help the cashews blend, you’ll need a little milk for the blending step. We usually use soy milk, but any non-dairy milk will work well.
• Cocoa Powder: adds the chocolate flavor to the filling.
• Maple Syrup: naturally sweetened these cheesecakes.
• Coconut Oil: helps the vegan cheesecake filling firm up when chilled.
• Espresso Powder: adds a subtle coffee flavor to the non dairy cheese cake filling for this vegan dessert recipe.
• Oats: old fashioned oats create the base for these mini vegan cheesecakes. To make this recipe gluten free, simply use gluten-free certified oats.
• Dates: to help the crust stick together, you’ll use a few medjool dates.

How to Make Vegan Cheesecake

Soak the Cashews: Put your cashews in a large bowl and cover with water. Let them soak for at least 2-3 hours. Drain the soaking water from the cashews and then you are ready to use them in this vegan mini cheesecake recipe.

Blend the Filling: Combine all of the cashew vegan cheesecake filling ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. (The finished consistency should resemble hummus.) Start with 1/3 cup of soy milk and add more milk by the tablespoon full to thin out the puree if needed. Store the finished cashew puree in the fridge until you finish the crusts.

Make the Crust: To make the crusts, puree the oats and almonds together in a food processor until ground into a breadcrumb consistency. Now add the dates, coconut oil and salt. Puree until the mixture sticks together.

Assemble: Evenly divide the crust mixture into 9 of the muffin cups. Use your fingers to press the crust mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup. Spoon the cashew filling over the crusts. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, gently pressing them into the top of the vegan no-bake cheesecake in each muffin cup.

Chill & Serve: Cover and freeze for 3 hours or overnight until the frozen mocha cheesecake is firm. To serve, slide a knife along the edge of a cheesecake and pop it out of the muffin tin. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes and enjoy!

Tips for Making this Frozen Mocha Cheesecake Recipe

• Make sure to soak the cashews for at least 2 hours. The longer you soak the cashews the easier it is to achieve a smooth puree.
• For a smoother cashew puree, I found the most effective tool was the single serving cup of my blender.
• You may find that you need to add a little bit of extra soy milk to get the cashews started in the blender. I will usually start by adding 1/3 cup of soy milk and add 1 tablespoon at a time to thin the puree a bit. Your goal is to get to a hummus-like consistency.
• Make sure to use a non-stick muffin tin for this mini no bake mocha cheesecake recipe. I grease the inside of each cup well with cooking spray before adding the cheesecake. You can also lay strips of parchment paper into each cup to create pull “tabs” to lift the cheesecakes out of the muffin tin. The well-greased muffin tin route has worked for me so far so I usually skip the parchment paper strips. 

Vegan Mocha Cheesecakes

Created by: Deborah Murphy

Course Dessert

Cuisine Vegan

Prep Time 5 hours hours

Total Time 5 hours hours

9

It’s hard to beat the delicious combination of chocolate and coffee. These vegan mocha cheesecakes are the perfect, no-bake dessert for any occasion.

Print

Pin

Share

Rate

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the Filling:

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups raw cashews soaked or 2-3 hours
• ▢ 1/3 cup soy milk (+ more if needed)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons instant espresso
• ▢ 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• ▢ 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

For the Crust:

• ▢ ¼ cup oats
• ▢ ½ cup almonds
• ▢ ½ cup dates (~5 dates)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• ▢ Dash of salt

Garnish:

• ▢ 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

• Put your cashews in a large bowl and cover with water. Let them soak for at least 2-3 hours. Drain the soaking water from the cashews and then you are ready to use them in this recipe.
• Combine all of the cheesecake filling ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. (The finished consistency should resemble hummus.) Start with 1/3 cup of soy milk and add more milk by the tablespoon full to thin out the puree if needed. Store the finished cashew puree in the fridge until you finish the crusts.
• To make the crusts, puree the oats and almonds together in a food processor until ground into a breadcrumb consistency. Now add the dates, coconut oil and salt. Puree until the mixture sticks together.
• Evenly divide the crust mixture into 9 of the muffin cups. Use your fingers to press the crust mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup.
• Spoon the cashew filling over the crusts. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, gently pressing them into the top of the cheesecake. Cover and freeze for 3 hours or overnight until cheesecakes are firm.
• To serve, slide a knife along the edge of a cheesecake and pop it out of the muffin tin. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes and enjoy!

Notes

Store prepped cheesecakes in the freezer in an airtight container. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1Cake | Calories: 309kcal | Carbohydrates: 28.2g | Protein: 7.3g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11.3g | Sodium: 34.4mg | Fiber: 3.4g | Sugar: 15.5g

Make this recipe?

Share it with me on Instagram @dietitiandebbie and tag me #dietitiandebbie

Email Recipe Pin Recipe Share Recipe