Vegan strawberry cheesecake: GF, simple, no bake, and delectable

Posted by

Başak

April 16, 2026

On April 16, 2026

Preparation: 30 mins

Refrigeration: min. 4 h

Difficulty: very easy

Yields: 6 portion

Cost: low

If you want to go straight to the recipe click here

Introduction to Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake

This wonderful vegan strawberry cheesecake proves that healthy, gluten-free and plant-based desserts can be also delicious. Just looking at it is enough to put anyone in a good mood, even those who don’t usually have a sweet tooth. I love making it because it’s one of the few desserts that doesn’t require:

certified culinary skills;
hard-to-find ingredients that you have to order online;
an eternity — aside from the cooling time, which you could spend on Artemis II, since the result doesn’t depend on your presence;
an obedient oven — the one on Rebound, the boat where we live, is a real rebel when it comes to baking sweets;
for the result you get, it really costs next to nothing — aside from the initial cost of the ingredients, which last a lifetime and are incredibly versatile. For example, you could use tahini in many different ways. You can cut the cost even further by making your own tahini, plant-based milk and plant-based yogurt, as I demonstrate here, here and here.
You don’t need animal products like butter, milk or eggs, which can be highly expensive if you buy “good quality” ones. Conversely, if you try to save money by buying cheaper products, you end up consuming not only a subpar product, but also supporting a great deal of animal suffering – something no dessert deserves!

Finally, I would like to dedicate this sweet, inclusive, delicious and joyful dessert to Daniela Maschi, who, in addition to having a kind and gentle spirit like that of the dessert in this recipe, is celebrating her birthday today. She is the designer of the CHE Food Revolution website that you are reading now and author of the series of books “Almanacco delle 365 cose perdute (Almanac of 365 Lost Things)“, which are aimed at nostalgic and fragile readers.

TO LEARN HOW TO REPLACE EGGS IN YOUR SAVORY AND SWEET RECIPES

Ingredients for a healthy vegan strawberry cheesecake

For the base:

80g almond flour (or hazelnut flour, or peanut flour)
70g pitted dates (or 90g raisins)
30g chopped hazelnuts
2 tbsps tahini
3 tbsps rolled oats or vegan gluten-free cookies
1 pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon
if too dry, 1 or 2 tablespoons water

For the filling:

200g silken tofu (or regular tofu, blended with 4 tablespoons soy milk)
100ml soy yogurt
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp tahini (omit for a lighter version)
juice of half a lemon or 1 whole lemon (adjust the acidity to your liking)
3 tbsps grape molasses (also gives a great color), or maple syrup, or sugar, or honey (for those who use it), etc.
3 tbsps chia seeds
150g strawberries

For garnish:

250g sliced strawberries for garnish
2 tbsps lemon juice
1 tbsp grape molasses, or honey, or maple syrup

Directions for an easy vegan strawberry cheesecake

Step 1. Prepare the base by blending the pitted dates, rolled oats and almond flour together until the mixture becomes sticky.
Step 2. Add the chopped hazelnuts, tahini, oats, lemon zest and salt. Mix well, but do not blend.
Step 3. Pour the base mixture into a springform pan, a glass baking dish or individual glasses or jars, pressing it down firmly. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Step 4. Ten minutes before the time is up, blend the tofu, yoghurt, ripe banana, lemon juice, tahini, chia seeds, strawberries and your chosen sweetener together until smooth. Adjust the acidity to your liking. I like my vegan strawberry cheesecake to be quite tart, so I use the juice of one whole lemon.
Step 5. Finally, spread the mixture over the crust in the pastry mould and refrigerate for at least another 4 hours or freeze for at least two hours.
Step 6. 15 minutes before removing it from the fridge, prepare the strawberries for decoration. In a bowl, mix the lemon juice and grape molasses or maple with a fork. Add the sliced strawberries (½ cm thick) and leave to marinate for about 15 minutes.
Step 7. At the end, remove the vegan strawberry cheesecake from the fridge, decorate with the marinated strawberries and serve well chilled.

Note: This healthy, natural, vegan, and gluten-free cheesecake is also lower in fat than the original. So it’s understandable that it isn’t as firm as a classic cheesecake; to remedy this, I recommend placing it for 24 hrs in the refrigerator and in the freezer for an extra 30 minutes before serving. But believe me also without this extra it will be still perfect

It will keep in the fridge for 2 days—in fact, it will become even firmer—and can be stored in the freezer for 1 month, provided you use fresh strawberries for the decoration.

Smart combos

Those following a diet with few or no animal products and those over the age of 50 (regardless of diet) should ensure they meet their protein and essential mineral requirements. This dessert is a great way to help you do just that.
One serving of vegan strawberry cheesecake provides approximately 12g of protein, 3mg of iron and 130mg of calcium. However, it also contains a high amount of fat, despite it being healthy and unsaturated.
So, before enjoying such a nutritious dessert, it is best to have a light meal consisting of something like this fennel and apple soup for a starter, followed by a balanced, light main course such as mushrooms in béchamel sauce with courgettes, or a light yet protein-rich side dish such as vignarola.