These delicious no-bake cheesecake bars are paleo, vegan, and oh-so simple to make! No baking or pie pan required. These cute little bars are sure to be the star of your holiday table!
Prep Time: 20 minutesmins
Cook Time: 2 hourshrs
Servings: 16servings
Ingredients
Cranberry Garnish
4ozfresh cranberries
1/2cupmaple syrup
Sugar for rollingoptional, not paleo*
Cranberry Sauce
4ozfresh cranberries
8tspwater
6tspmaple syrup
Crust
1 1/2cups225g pitted Medjool dates
1 1/2cups150g walnut halves/pieces
1Tbsp14g coconut oil
1/8tspsea salt
Filling
1cup236mL full fat coconut milk
3/4cup195g raw cashew butter*
1/3cup79mL freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of about 1.5 lemons)
1/4cup56g coconut oil, melted
1/4cup59mL or 80g pure grade A maple syrup
1tspvanilla extract
1pinchsea salt
Instructions
Cranberry Garnish
Soak cranberries in maple syrup overnight.
Drain and set aside for garnish. Alternatively, if you want to make sparkling cranberries (not paleo), you can roll in granulated sugar or granulated monk fruit sweetener (like Lakanto brand), then allow to dry on a sheet pan for about an hour.
Cranberry Sauce
Combine all ingredients in a shallow saucepan.Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and allow to cook for about 10 minutes or until the cranberries have broken down.
Use an immersion blender to make a smooth sauce. Refrigerate in a sealed container until ready to use.
Crust
Before you begin to make the crust, line an 8×8″ brownie pan with parchment paper. Cut 2 long sheets to line the pan with overhanging sides.
To make the crust, place all of the crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse for about a minute or until the mixture is well combined and broken down a bit. Don’t over blend. The crust should still have a little texture to it. The mixture should stick together when pressed, but won’t form one big sticky ball in the food processor (like you may want in other recipes). If the mixture seems a little dry, add a few more dates. If it’s too sticky, add some more walnuts.
Pour the crust mixture in the brownie pan and gently distribute it into an even layer. After you have a nice even layer, press the crust down firmly with your hands or a measuring cup to make a compact layer.
Filling
To make the filling, blend all ingredients (at room temperature***) together in a food processor until smooth.
Pour the filling over the crust and place in the freezer for about 2 hours or until the filling is completely set.
Cut and Garnish
While it’s still frozen, remove from the pan by gently pulling on the overhanging parchment and place on a cutting board.
Wait about 5 minutes and then slice into 16 bars using a sharp knife. Wipe knife between cuts to make bars come out with clean edges.
Allow to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving to allow them to soften a bit. Garnish with cranberry sauce and candied cranberries just before serving. Store under refrigeration in a sealed container for up to 5 days. The cheesecake bars should be served very cold for the right texture. Remove from refrigeration just before serving so they don't become too soft. They can also be stored in the freezer in a sealed container for even longer!
Notes
*Lakanto granulated monk fruit sweetener can be used in place of sugar, but it is also not paleo**For the cashew butter I recommend making your own from raw cashews. It’s super easy, just place about 300g (0.66lb) raw cashews in a food processor and process for about 10 minutes or until silky smooth! If you’d like to buy it instead, make sure to get a brand with only raw cashews on the ingredients list. No salt or oils or anything else. The most important thing here is to make sure you don’t use roasted cashews or roasted cashew butter! That will completely change the flavor of the cheesecake and not in a good way!***Make sure all of the components of the filling are at room temperature before combining. If any of the ingredients are cold it will cause the coconut oil to clump up. If you get any clumps you can gently heat the entire mixture over super low heat over a double boiler until the clumps dissolve.