Cherry Dairy Free Cheesecake Treats

These little dairy free cheesecake treats are full of cherry and coconut flavors and make for a healthy dessert. They are dairy free, gluten free, no bake and easily made vegan.

You might also like this dairy free homemade ranch dressing.

I crave sweets all the time and am constantly looking for a healthier option for me and my family. I learned how to make vegan cream cheese with cashews last year and thought it was the coolest thing.

So I thought I would treat myself to a Cherry Cashew Cheesecake this weekend and try to eliminate the dairy from the recipe. It turned out great!

This dairy free cheesecake is no bake, gluten free and Paleo. It has a creamy filling with coconut and cherry flavors made from cashew cream cheese. Then there is a nut crust and cherry topping.

Is This No Bake Dessert Vegan?

First things first. I used ghee in the crust of this healthy dessert because I didn’t want to add more coconut oil. However if you use coconut oil for crust this is a vegan dessert because we are using cashews to make a vegan cream cheese filling.

Also ghee is not technically dairy free but it is lactose free so this recipe show be fine for those who cannot tolerate dairy. And again you can easily substitute coconut oil for the ghee.

If you don’t like the flavor of coconut oil which I used in both the filling and crust, you can try a good quality refined coconut oil like this.

Ingredients I Used.

I used raw cashews, lemon juice, Swerve sweetener, pecans, coconut oil, ghee, coconut sugar, frozen cherries and cinnamon.

If you scroll down you can see the Recipe Tips and Notes section for substitutions. Again if you have issues with ghee, just use coconut oil. Also if you don’t want to use sweetener you can just use coconut sugar instead.

Let’s Make These Cherry Dairy Free Cheesecake Dessert!

This dessert is not hard to make and there is no baking. Yay! However it does takes some timing. Below I’ve tried to show you how to make this in the right order also you can see the pic above for what the different components look like.

1. The first step is to place the raw cashews in water to soak. You should soak them for 4 hours so if you do this first thing in the morning you can make this at lunch time. Soaking the cashews is what gives it that creamy texture.
2. When it’s almost time for the cashews to be done soaking, get the cherry topping going. Add frozen cherries to a sauce pan with a few tablespoons water. Let it cook down until it gets thicker, like a sauce. This might take 15 minutes or so. Set aside to cool. (Note you might want to set aside the ¼ cup of cherries for the filling so they can thaw a little).
3. In the meantime make the bottom nut crust. Add a little sprinkle of cinnamon, nuts, melted ghee and coconut sugar to a food processor. Process until it’s sticky looking crumbs (see pic above) and then add the mixture to your dessert cups or ramekins. Pack the mixture in tightly to form a solid layer.
4. Then when your cashews are ready, drain them and add to a high speed blender to make the filling. Add your sweetener (I used Swerve but you can use also coconut sugar), cherries, lemon juice and melted coconut oil. Process until the mixture becomes creamy. Try to get this as smooth as you can.
5. When you have the right consistency (thick and creamy) add this cheesecake mixture as the filling on top of the nut layer. Then spoon the cherries and sauce over that. Refrigerate for an hour or so to set up the cashew cheesecake filling. Please scroll down and print the recipe card for later.

Recipe Tips & Notes

• I used little dessert cups because I think I’ve already told you about my fondness for eating out of cups. It made 6 desserts which was perfect for me because they are filling. However you could use ramekins if you want but it might only make 3.
• While this would be a bit better with raw cashews, you could use roasted one if you can’t find raw. I think the raw makes it a bit creamier.
• The filling definitely has a coconut flavor to it. I personally like it but if you don’t you might want to buy a refined coconut oil which won’t have that coconut flavor.
• I used coconut sugar in the crust and Swerve sweetener in the filling. You could easily use either in both the filling and crust.
• Ghee is clarified butter so technically it is not dairy free. However it does not lactose so it’s fine for those that are lactose intolerant. (source) If you want you can use coconut oil if you are worried.
• I used almonds for the crust when I originally made these but now I use pecans for most of my nut crusts. It’s just a personal preference. However you can use your favorite nut for the crust.

That’s all there is to it. You will want to refrigerate these before eating so that the cream mixture will set up.

I hope you enjoy these dairy free cheesecake treats. That cashew cream cheese is awesome and I think this recipe will work well with many flavor combinations. Let me know what you think about it, in the comments below.

For More Cheesecake Treats Try These Keto Recipes!

I’m most a low carb blogger so I have many low carb cheesecake recipes on this blog. My favorites are these super easy lemon cheesecake, peanut butter cheesecake and lemon strawberry cheesecake treats.

Also try these low carb strawberry cheesecake bites that taste like strawberry pretzel salad in one bite.