Anyone who knows anything about me can tell you that I LOVE sweets! Few things in life give me more satisfaction than inventing delicious dessert recipes that I can share with my family and friends. Apart from eating the desserts, that is. This meant that for my birthday weekend I had to make something extra special – the best strawberry cheesecake recipe my friends and family have ever tasted.
It’s a big claim to make, I know. But this Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake is a real show stopper. The ‘why’ is very simple – it looks amazing, it’s easy to make, and it tastes absolutely incredible. None of my family members are healthy eaters or vegan. Heck, they usually frown at the word healthy because they’ve tried too many sub-standard, tasteless varieties before. And that’s why I made it my mission in life to create and serve amazing sweets which are both nutritious and scrumptious at the same time!
I find it sad that so many people think that adopting a healthy lifestyle means happy food days are over. I speak to countless people who are disappointed by the so-called ‘diet options’ and ‘vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, trying to be everything’ desserts in restaurants and stores. No wonder so many of them scowl when something is labeled healthy or vegan, and automatically equate this to bland and tasteless. If you’re one of those people, you need to give this healthy no bake cheesecake a try.
Is strawberry cheesecake healthy?
The answer to this question is ‘it depends’. If you’re thinking about America’s favorite slices from the cheesecake factory, the answer is a definite NO. The lowest calorie cheesecake in the range comes in at 610 calories PER SLICE. Some of their cheesecakes contain an even more ridiculous amount than that. If you consider something like McDonald’s Strawberry cheesecake, you’re looking at around 411 calories per slice. These calories are made up of at least 47.5g of sugar and 21.5g fat. Nevertheless, strawberry cheesecake CAN be healthy, if you eliminate the sugar and use better quality ingredients.
How to make cheesecake healthy and vegan
I always like to highlight the substitutions I make in my recipes because these healthy and vegan substitutions are absolutely critical for transitioning into the lifestyle you wish to follow. So how do you make cheesecake healthy and vegan? Let’s start with the crust. Rather than the usual graham cracker crust, I made a low calorie cheesecake crust with a mix of; sugar-free (vegan) biscuits, almonds, cereal, dates, a small amount of coconut oil and stevia sweetened dark chocolate.
For the filling, I replaced the butter, cream, and sugar with nutritious ingredients such as soy-based greek yogurt and frozen bananas. I also used vegan cream cheese, but you can use normal cream cheese if you’re not following a plant-based diet. My secret weapon is surprisingly the protein powder. I tried a number of ‘no bake strawberry cheesecake without gelatin’ recipes before this one. I tried using raw cashews, I tried recipes with agar agar, yet I was always somewhat disappointed by the consistency. The protein powder (I used a vanilla pea protein isolate) really helps the no bake vegan strawberry cheesecake set beautifully. You freeze it for a few hours, leave it in the fridge for around 30 minutes before serving, and the final result is a cold, refreshing, easy to serve healthy strawberry cheesecake that everyone loves.
If you’re not a fan of the ingredients on their own, don’t worry. You’ll never even realize they’re there when blended together. That said, you can very easily replace an ingredient you don’t like with other options you prefer. When it comes to strawberries, I couldn’t find any fresh strawberries around so I made this protein cheesecake using frozen strawberries and some frozen blackberries. The blackberries are completely optional. These give the cheesecake a brighter colour and a more robust flavour. You can obviously stick to just strawberries or use any other berries that you fancy.
How many calories in strawberry cheesecake?
Nutritional profile is not just about calories. Yet if you’re on a calorie deficit and looking for a low cal cheesecake, this is it. Based on 14 servings, each slice contains just 230 calories! The story doesn’t stop there. Each slice also provides you with a whooping 9.6g of protein 3.8g of fiber and just 6g of sugar! Apart from being a low calorie cheesecake, a dairy free cheesecake, and a high protein cheesecake, this fantastic recipe is simply an all-round healthy dessert, perfect for vegans and those following a healthy balanced diet. When you make this and taste it, you’ll know why I’m calling it the best vegan cheesecake.
Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake
If you’d like your healthy cheesecake to look really special, I do suggest using a cheesecake topping. This is extremely simple to make and will be ready in 10 minutes. All you need to do is mix your strawberries with some xylitol (or other sweetener) and vanilla extract in a pan over medium heat. When they start to bubble, mash the strawberries with a fork or use a hand blender to turn it into a chunky sauce. Before removing from the heat, add in a mixture of 1 tablespoon cornflour and 1 tablespoon of water for the sauce to thicken. And voila!
The Best Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake that will have you begging for another slice!
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Spatula
- 25cm Springform Pan
- Hand Blender (optional)
Ingredients
Healthy Cheesecake Crust Ingredients
- 100 g Sugar-free biscuits (vegan)
- 50 g Almonds
- 50 g Cereal I used classic wholegrain wheats
- 75 g Dates
- 30 g Protein Powder I used vanilla pea protein isolate
- 40 g Stevia Sweetened Dark Chocolate
- 15 g Coconut Oil
Vegan Cheesecake Filling
- 3 Frozen Bananas
- 300 g Frozen Strawberries
- 50 g Frozen Blackberries Optional. You can use more strawberries or other berries of choice.
- 300 g Soy-based Greek Yogurt you can use normal if you don't find Greek
- 170 g Vegan Cream Cheese
- 1 tsp Vanilla essence
- 30 g Date Syrup
- 60 g Vegan Protein Powder (vanilla pea protein isolate)
- 1 can Chilled Low-Fat Coconut Milk Only spoon off the creamy part on top. DO NOT use the water.
Strawberry Cheesecake Topping
- 150 g Strawberries (or a mix of 100g strawberries and 50g berries of choice)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
- 40 g Xylitol or other sweetener of choice
- 1 tbsp Cornflour mixed with 1tbsp water to form a slurry.
Instructions
How to Make Healthy Cheesecake Crust
- Add your biscuits, almonds, cereal, dates and protein powder to the bowl of your food processer. Blitz until you achieve a bread-crumb texture.
- Add in the melted chocolate and coconut oil and process for another minute until the texture is sticky.
- Place the ingredients at the bottom of your springform pan and press to form a crust. Make sure to use the sides too as this will make it easier to cut and serve the cheesecake.
- Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.
How to Make Vegan Cheesecake Filling
- Add all 'filling' ingredients to the bowl of your food processor and blend very well until you achieve a thick and creamy consistency.
- Place over the previously prepared crust and freeze for at least 3 hours or until firm.
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Topping
- Place your strawberries in a pan over medium heat. You can add a small amount of water if you want your topping to be more runny and less like a sauce.
- Add in the vanilla and sweetener and cook for around 10 minutes.
- Mash the berries with a fork if you like a chunkier texture, or blend using a hand blender if you prefer a smoother topping.
- Before removing from heat, add in the cornflour and water mixture and mix it well. This will thicken the sauce.
- Chill for a few hours and then pour over completely frozen cheesecake.
- Decorate the cheesecake to your liking and enjoy!
Video
If you’d like to start calculating nutrition facts yourself, there are plenty of apps that can help you do that. I personally prefer and use MyFitnessPal and you can find all my recipes listed there. You’ll find this recipe listed as ‘The Healthy Malteser Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake’.
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