These Gluten-Free Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Marbled Mini Cheesecakes are an easy and healthy recipe made with clean, real food ingredients. They're the perfect plant-based dessert that is individually sized for portion control and can be prepared in about 15 minutes!
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 reasons:
- Contains A Healthy Vegetable Ingredient - This dairy-free cheesecake has a healthy twist to it that may come as a surprise and one you wouldn't expect. Zucchini! If you'd tried any of my other dessert recipes, there are a couple that has zucchini in them, but you'd never know. For example, these Vegan Flourless Zucchini Brownies and another is Raw Zucchini Hummus.
- It's A No-Bake Plant-Based Dessert - There's no baking involved, not in the crust or the filling and both can be prepared in under 15 minutes!
- Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients - You can feel good about eating this dessert because it's made with clean, real food ingredients such as cashews, pecans, dates, coconut oil, raw cacao, zucchini, maple syrup, vanilla bean powder, and Himalayan pink salt.
Let's look at some typical ingredients in a traditional marbled cheesecake:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Traditional Marbled Cheesecake Typical Ingredients: Chocolate Cookie Crumbs, Butter, 2 1/2 pounds of Cream Cheese, 1 3/4 cup White Sugar, 3 tablespoons White Flour, 2 Egg Yolks, 5 Eggs, 1 cup Sour Cream and 6 ounces of Semi-Sweet Chocolate.
This healthier recipe is plant-based, raw, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, no-bake, paleo-friendly and contains no refined sugar.
How To Make This Recipe: Step-By-Step Instructions
Here is how to make this recipe and I'll show you how easy it is with step-by-step instructions below.
Before beginning, set aside a 12-cavity mini cheesecake pan.
Step 1: Prepare The Crust
Firstly, add all the ingredients for the crust to a food processor.
Process until the mixture has a wet and crumbly texture.
Next, divide the mixture evenly between the 12-cavities of the cheesecake pan and press it down evenly and firmly.
Place the cheesecake pan in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
Step 2: Prepare The Chocolate Swirl Topping
Secondly, add all the ingredients for the chocolate swirl topping to a small mixing bowl.
Stir or whisk everything together until it's well combined and smooth, then set aside.
Step 3: Prepare The Cheesecake Filling
Thirdly, add all ingredients for the cheesecake filling to a Vitamix and blend until it's creamy and smooth.
Step 4: Assembly
Fourthly, remove the cheesecake pan from the freezer and divide the cheesecake mixture evenly between the 12-cavities.
Add a (1) tablespoon dollop of the chocolate swirl topping on top of each of the cheesecakes.
Using the tip of a sharp knife, swirl the topping into the cheesecake filling.
Return the cheesecake pan back to the freezer for approximately 2-4 hours, or until they are firm.
Store in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve because they will get soft and lose their shape if left out at room temperature.
Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Pecans: This can be substituted with another nut such as walnuts or almonds.
Cacao Powder. I used raw cacao powder to keep the recipe 100% raw, but you can substitute with regular cocoa powder.
Coconut Oil. If you don't like the taste or smell of coconut oil, you can use organic refined coconut oil which has zero coconut taste or smell.
Dates: In the crust only, the dates could be substituted with 1/4 organic maple syrup, but not in the cheesecake filling or the chocolate swirl topping.
Vanilla Bean Powder. It can be substituted with organic pure vanilla extract in the same amount.
Cashews. Make sure you use "raw" cashews and not "salted" or "roasted" cashews for this recipe. In addition, if time permits, you can soak your cashews in advance which will make the cheesecake filling extra creamy and smooth.
- Add the cashews to a medium-size mixing bowl and fill it with filtered/purified water. Allow the cashews to soak for 30-60 minutes which will soften them. Drain and rinse with filtered/purified water before adding them to your Vitamix.
Zucchini. Although this ingredient adds a little extra nutritional boost to the recipe, it can be omitted.
Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice will give the best flavor and nutrition since it hasn't been pasteurized, but you could also use store-bought organic lemon juice.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.
Want More Healthy Plant-Based No-Bake Dessert Recipes?
Check out these:
- Wild Blueberry Cheesecake
- Cranberry Lemon Ball Truffles
- Black Forest Bars
- or my CLEAN DESSERTS Cookbook with 72 plant-based no-bake dessert recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Did You Make This Recipe?
I'd love to hear about it! Please give it a rating and leave a comment below...it would make my day! 🙂
Gluten-Free Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Marbled Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups organic pecans
- 1/4 cup organic raw cacao powder
- 2 organic Medjool dates (pitted)
- 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon organic ground vanilla bean powder
For the cheesecake filling:
- 2 cups organic raw cashews
- 1 cup organic zucchini (peeled and cubed)
- 1/2 cup organic maple syrup
- 1/4 cup organic coconut oil
- 5 tablespoons organic lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1/2 teaspoon organic ground vanilla bean powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
For the chocolate swirl topping:
- 1/4 cup organic raw cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons organic maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil (melted/liquid)
Instructions
- Set aside a 12-cavity mini cheesecake pan.
Prepare the crust:
- Add all ingredients for the crust to a food processor and process until well combined and the mixture has a wet and crumbly texture.
- Divide the crust mixture evenly into a 12-cavity mini cheesecake pan and press down firmly.
- Transfer the cheesecake pan to the freezer to firm the crust while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
Prepare the cheesecake filling:
- Add all ingredients for the cheesecake filling to a Vitamix and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Remove the cheesecake pan from the freezer and evenly distribute the filling on top of each crust.
Prepare the chocolate swirl topping:
- Add all the ingredients for the chocolate swirl topping to a small bowl and stir or whisk until creamy and smooth.
Assembly:
- Add a small dollop of approximately (1) tablespoon of the topping on each cheesecake and swirl it in a circular shape using the tip of a knife.
- Transfer the cheesecake pan back to the freezer for approximately 2-4 hours, or until the cheesecake hardens.
- Store in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve because they will become soft and lose their shape if left out at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
- Add the cashews to a medium-size mixing bowl and fill it with filtered/purified water. Allow the cashews to soak for 30-60 minutes which will soften them. Drain and rinse with filtered/purified water before adding them to your Vitamix.
Nutrition Information
Hi, I'm Karielyn! I'm the published cookbook author of CLEAN DESSERTS and content creator of The Healthy Family and Home website since 2012. I specialize in creating easy, healthy plant-based recipes that are gluten-free + vegan (with a heavy focus on Medical Medium® compliant) and made with clean, real food ingredients that you can feel good about eating.
Matea says
Just put the mini cheesecakes in the freezer and could not wait to try them. They were amazing! I wouldn't have guessed there was zucchini in it!)
Karielyn says
Hi there Matea! I know...I love how you can add that extra nutrition in without it affecting the flavor at all!
Thanks so much for trying out the recipe and I'm so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Ann says
Just made these this past weekend. Delicious! I doubled the recipe and put it in medium-sized muffin tins which gave me 24 mini cheesecakes. So far, I've given them out to 10 "taste-testers" who absolutely loved them. I'm curious about the zucchini. Is it integral to the success of the recipe, or is it added just as a healthy ingredient? Thanks so much for sharing this, Karielyn.
Karielyn says
Hi there Ann! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe and using the smaller sized cups was a great idea too!
I think the zucchini might be in there for extra nutrition because some of the other raw/vegan cheesecakes I've made use only cashews (no zucchini). Because of that I know it isn't an essential ingredient in a raw/vegan cheesecake recipe.
Thanks for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you liked it 🙂
KC says
I see in your picture for the crust that it looks like you have a couple dates in the food processor, I was just wondering if you added those in or if that's what you used as your sweetener. If you did use them as your sweetener, how many did you use and do you recommend this over maple syrup or honey?
Thanks! This recipe looks great! Def going to try it out!
Karielyn says
Hi there KC! I usually alternate between my sweeteners sometimes, especially when the recipe is flexible like this one. I have used both dates and maple syrup as the sweetener for the crust and in this recipe, I used (2) large pitted medjool dates.
I prefer the dates (when I have a choice) since they are a little lower in sugar content and since there is additional sweetener in the filling and chocolate topping. And, because I don't like my desserts too sweet.
But feel free to use whichever you have on hand or prefer, both will work.
Thanks for the question and I hope you enjoy it 😉
Keri Kight says
These were so yummy! I love that they're already individual sizes. Thanks 🙂
Karielyn says
Hi Keri! Thanks so much for the kind comments!
I, too, like the mini cheesecakes because they are also great for portion control!
I'm so glad you liked the recipe and thanks for letting me know 🙂
luminousvegans says
I'm usually leery about raw desserts and have only made a few myself, but this was really awesome! I'm by no means vegan for my health but it's good to know that even a dessert like this has health benefits.
Karielyn says
Hi there! Thanks so much for trying out the recipe and letting me know you liked it! 🙂
marquis @realrawkitchen says
these were so simple and yummy. The perfect serving size. I also love that zucchini is in there 🙂
Karielyn says
Hi Marquis! Thanks so much! These are definitely really easy to make and I also like them with the zucchini too because it's a nice change of pace from the typical cashew only cheesecake filling...extra nutrition! 😉
Sienna says
Could you use almonds in place of cashews?
Karielyn says
Hi Sienna! I've never used almonds to make a raw/vegan cheesecake, so I'm not sure it that would work or not.
I have used macadamia nuts and they work really well, but you really need to like the taste of macadamia nuts because the taste as strong whereas with the cashews, it's a more neutral flavor.
If you needed it nut-free, you could also try to find a tofu recipe to replace the nuts.
I hope you find something that will work out, it's really good 😉
Alexis says
oh my gosh this was the BEST vegan cheesecake recipe I have ever made!! everyone, even non-vegan family members loved it too. thank you
karielyn says
Hi there Alexis! I'm so glad to hear you liked it, as well as your non-vegan family. That's always a win 🙂