Vegan Pistachio Chocolate Cheesecake with Cashew Date Crust
I used to be intimidated by the word “vegan”. In my mind, this term was used for those who had overly complicated diets and aggressively judged anybody who chose to eat any form of animals or animal products. I thought that vegan baked goods would lose their appeal, their luxury, their decadence, without eggs or butter. I was -very- mistaken. Allow me to introduce you to my favourite superfruit: avocados, reader. Reader, avocados. Avocados are the ultimate fruit. They are packed full of healthy fats, nutrients, and vitamins. Their subtle and versatile nature are what makes vegan baking (in this case, dessert because this was a no-bake cheesecake) absolutely amazing.
I think one of the best things about eating vegan is that I don’t feel guilty for consuming a meal that is heavy on cholesterol and saturated/trans fats. Vegan food is just an amazing way of appreciating ingredients the way you find them in nature. Raw, beautiful, full of colour, and packed with flavour. I used to think it was complicated, trying to find substitutions and whatnot to retain the same texture as non-vegan desserts. This cheesecake is the most luxurious yet light cheesecake you will ever have, because you aren’t eating a entire brick of cream cheese. Actually there’s no cheese. But I wouldn’t just say this is a tart. I would pick this over cheesecake almost any day. And I -LOVE- cheesecake. I was almost reluctant to say that actually, that’s how much I love cheesecake, but seriously, that’s how amazing this is.
It’s no bake, no cook, no refined sugar, no dairy, no gluten!
Unfortunately my nut-allergy friends should steer cleeear of this cake. Sorry friends.
But it is so creamy and the nutty crust provides just the right amount of texture to complement the filling. It took me about two hours from start to finish, but that’s just because I was taking pictures of all the ingredients (it was getting dark so those pictures aren’t any good). If you aren’t a shutterbug like I am, this will probably take you less than an hour from start to finish. The most time consuming part of that is shelling the pistachios. If you have a food processor, you could probably make this in about 30 minutes.
This recipe makes one 9-inch tart and 12 mini cheesecakes, so you can easily half this recipe if you only want to make one or the other.
Recipe adapted from Sally the Messy Baker.
Note: this recipe was developed before my nut allergy fully developed haha. This WAS delicious though, so if you can eat nuts, definitely try this! It was way tastier than I expected it would be XD
Vegan Pistachio Chocolate Cheesecake with Cashew Date Crust
These freeze really well, just cover, freeze, and then thaw prior to serving. (I'd say about 20-30 minutes for mini-cheesecakes, and at least an hour for the tart)
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 200 g roasted cashews
- 100 g roasted pistachios, unsalted
- 370 g dates, pitted
- 1/2 tsp salt (my cashews were salted so I omitted this)
- For the filling:
- 4 large avocados, ripe and mashed
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used dutch-processed)
- 1/2 cup agave nectar (you can use raw honey or maple syrup)
- 150 g coconut oil
- about 100 g pistachios sliced for garnish
Instructions
- For the crust, use a food processor to chop all the cashews and the pistachios. You'll have most of it as kind of a flour, but bigger chunks are good too. Add the dates, and process until you have kind of a dough forming. My food processor was too small for this, so I did this all with my magic bullet and I chopped the dates by hand. I then squished together the dates and the nut flour so that they started to clump.
- Press the mixture into a tart pan or into a mini-cheesecake pan. Set aside.
- Mix together the mashed avocados, cocoa powder, agave nectar, and coconut oil. Make sure you mix until smooth and everything is incorporated.
- Pour into/over the crust, and sprinkle the remaining sliced pistachios for garnish and extra texture.
- Freeze for about 15 minutes to set, or stick in fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Stephen@HappyHeart says
This is so inventive! Never tried using pistachios in a pie crust before – combined with the chocolate filling I’d say it’s amazing!
Lisa Mai says
Thanks Stephen! I can’t take all the credit, it was inspired by another recipe =) But it is amazing! You won’t even miss the butter, especially when the filling is stabilized with the coconut oil, which as you may know has amazing health benefits when consumed raw
Lauren says
This looks amazing! I don’t have a food scale though… could you give cup measurements?
Lisa Mai says
Hi Lauren! Food scales will change your life! You should really look into getting one, I got mine at Walmart for $15 =P
The thing about weighted measurements is that they’re much more accurate than cup measurements. I’ll do my best to estimate, but I’d have to make the recipe again if I were to make sure they’re correct.
I’d estimate the crust would be about 2 cups cashews, 1 cup pistachios, 3 cups chopped dates. You can play around with the actual amounts until you get a crust that sticks together when you squish some into your hand.
Let me know how much you end up using! I’m sure other readers would like to know how much you ended up using with cup measurements.
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
Pistachios, chocolate, you are speaking my language! Love the little ones, so cute!
Lisa says
=) They were my favourite to eat!
Jul Sexton says
Wow can’t wait to try this for my daughter’s birthday! I am going to use raw cashews in the crust to further the health benefits :o)
Jul
Lisa says
Yay! It’s so exciting when people use recipes from my blog! Good luck and happy birthday to your daughter! =)
Faye says
This recipe looks so good!
R says
we tried it!!!! it was really amazing!! thanks so much for sharing it :)
Lisa Mai says
Lovely! Thank you so much for letting me know =)
Julie @ This Gal Cooks says
I used to feel the same way as you about vegan foods. But I have tried a few and I must admit, some of them are good! I love avocados so I bet I would like your recipe. Pinned and I will be using this in my no bake desserts post. Thanks for sharing this with me on the OBC FB page!
Danielle says
Sad to say, but I made this for a family dinner tonight and it was inedible. Which made me very sad because a) between the coconut oil, whole foods avocados, piles of cashews, etc it was pretty pricey to toss in the bin and b) I was looking forward to sharing elements of my healthy eating with my family (mostly vegan, some raw).
But none of us could eat it. We all agreed the crust was delicious, but the “cheesecake” (more like a mousse) had a weird, bitter aftertaste. Worst of all, if you let it sit for a bit, the cake leaks a weird, bright green slime – presumably coconut oil + avocados.
Maybe I did something wrong? Overmixed the mousse in my vitamix? I also had to use your cup approximations above, and I used almonds instead of pistachios…hmm. Just wanted to share my experience in case any other readers are planning to spend $8 on avocados ;-)
Lisa Mai says
Hi Danielle,
Thanks for telling me about your experience with the recipe. I’m not quite sure why you had a weird slime, because I -definitely- did not have that when I made this. I even froze and thawed the larger tart without any problem and it was good for over a week. Was your avocado ripe enough?
Carla says
I’m not vegan but had a gluten free dairy free guest & this didn’t last 5minutes on the table!! It’s looks spectacular & tastes wonderful! Everyone asked for the recipe & now I’m making it again tonight for more non vegan guests! So quick & easy. I froze mine for while & it was really nice icy cold. The chocolate part is good to freeze for kids ice blocks! Thanks for sharing. Thus us the first time I’ve bothered to comment on any website!
Lisa Le says
Aw I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for coming to tell me =)
Nunzia says
Hello
I what to know the measures of the cake pan.
Thank you
Lisa Le says
I used a 12-inch tart pan =) But this recipe is pretty flexible for pan-sizes.
amanda says
What do you suggest as a substitute for the pistachios?? (I am allergic but this cake looks too good to not give it a try!)
Fiona says
I can’t believe how good this cake is!
Made it for the first time, for morning tea at work, to accommodate vegan, coeliac & lactose-intolerant workmates. Made the night before, then allowed to warm up to room temperature before serving.
When I first made the filling it had an avocado after-taste, & I was really worried it wouldn’t taste nice, but the chocolate flavour develops, & the combination of filling with the date & nut crust is perfect, making a creamy (without the heaviness of dairy), sweet, smooth, chocolatey dessert.
A great, quick & easy no-bake option for first-time vegan cooks, without too many special ingredients!