Yes, these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries are healthy. So healthy you can eat them for breakfast. And they're vegan! They're indulgent (did we mention they taste like cheesecake?!), but the protein from the cashews in the recipe helps keep you full. They make a great summertime dessert—if you're serving them to a crowd, cut the tips off the strawberries and stand them on a platter!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup raw whole cashews soaked in water overnight (8 hours)
- 2 –3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Grade B maple syrup or raw agave nectar if you're following a strict raw diet
- 1 tbsp cacao nibs or chopped dark chocolate
- 1 lb strawberries hulled
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine cashews, 2 tablespoons of water, coconut oil, lemon juice, and maple syrup in blender or food processor.
- Blend until smooth, scraping sides of blender if necessary. If mixture is too thick or the blade of the blender gets stuck, add an additional tablespoon of water.
- Fold in cacao nibs or chocolate chips.
- Place mixture in bowl, cover, and refrigerate until firm, 2–3 hours.
- Combine flaxseed and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Use a spoon to fill each strawberry with cashew cheesecake mixture.
- Sprinkle tops with flaxseed mixture and serve.
Notes
You can add an extra tablespoon of maple syrup if you'd like the cheesecake to be sweeter. Prep time includes time spent chilling in fridge.
If you want to serve the strawberries upright on a platter, slice off the tips of each strawberry; you can fill them with a little more cheesecake if you're standing them up.
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I probably shouldn't comment so late at night because these look awesome and I'm starving!
I made these yesterday and brought them to school with me to share with my friend who loves cheesecake. I subbed actual coconut milk (canned) because I didn't have coconut oil. I also only had time to refrigerate for one hour. this made it harder to stuff the strawberries but they were still very good. I also left out the chocolate chips because I didn't have any. I will definitely take the time to make this the right way next time but it was so good as is.
I think without the strawberries it tasted just slightly off, but with the strawberries it tasted exactly like cheesecake. I'm sure it would be great on graham crackers, raspberries or maybe even apples. thanks for the recipe, will be making again for sure!
Thanks for your comment! 🙂 I actually did use some of this on apples and it was really good.
These look adorable. I'm sure they taste amazing too. I'm off to hunt through the rest of your recipes!
I whipped these up tonight. They were fast, easy and fantastic! I can't stop popping them in my mouth. 🙂
I know, right? They're a little bit addictive. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed them!
I saw this on a 4th of July roundup and just had to pin it. I hope you’ll share your best post of the week on my Friday Flash Blog Linky Party going on ALL weekend at The Jenny Evolution.
Jennifer
These look delicious, but since I'm allergic to a bunch of nuts, is it possible to not use cashews? And if not, is there something I should substitute it with?
I don't know what you could substitute for the cashews and still get the same texture. If you're not vegan, there are a lot of stuffed strawberry recipes using regular cheesecake as the filling. And if you are vegan, I suspect you could get similar results by substituting vegan cream cheese into one of those recipes...
Perhaps silken tofu?
Dayia has some new vegan cream cheese spreads that are pretty darn good. There are plain, strawberry and chive flavors. They are great, and have a nice texture, but a little goes a long way. I tried to create a vegan version of buffalo chicken dip with the chive one, but it is so strongly flavored, that you couldn't taste the buffalo sauce over the cream cheese. It was a good experiment that I will continue to refine, but not totally successful, lol. Anyhow, I bet the strawberry version with the cacao nibs would be divine inside fresh strawberries.
We just got some samples of GO Veggie! cream cheese to try out and we've been enjoying those too. I still prefer making my own dairy substitutes when possible, but there are some good vegan cream cheeses on the market now!
I'll have to look out for theirs. I agree, I like to make things from scratch, but I have two jobs and going to school full time, so it's rare that I have the opportunity. Have I mentioned that I graduate in 91 days? Did I mention that? I needed to mention that. Did I mention that I have senioritus?
I do make all my own veggie meats, though. I don't care how little sleep I get, they are just better home made. And by all, I mean that I've made sausages twice. 91 days. There is a veggie/vegan restaurant in NYC called Zen Palate that has the most amazing scallion pancakes with a home made ham inside. I swear that when I eat it, the spirit of Montserrat Caballe hovers over the traffic, singing Norma and blessing the children who walk past. Every time I go, I ask for hints on the recipe and they all just laugh and smile and pretend they don't speak English. Sigh... 91 days and it will all fall into place. Caballe, veggie ham, bread pudding with no calories...
OMG, I worked two jobs while going to school full-time too! So high fives for that! I bet you will be a happy camper when you graduate soon. And it's funny that you make veggie meats yourself, but not the cream cheese--the cream cheese is easy! But veggie meats, those intimidate me. I do meatloaf and meatballs, but when it comes to sausages and such, I've never attempted them. I do need to give it a try soon though. I only have 1 job now and no school, so I have no excuse, right?
Thanks for sharing; these look great! Is there a way to substitute an unsweetened juice for the maple/agave?
I haven't tried that substitute myself, so I can't say. But if it's something you're familiar with and it works for you in other recipes, I don't see why not! 🙂
I just made my third batch of these in the past two weeks. I'm fully addicted! Thanks so much for the recipe!
They're totally addictive, right? I use the filling as a spread for bananas too when strawberries aren't in season. 🙂
This is the perfect post for me! Strawberries are my fav fruit and now with cheesecake filling?! I definitely need to make this treat ?
I feel like this would be great on just about any fruit...and loving that it's pretty much a raw recipe, too!