If you love cheesecake but you'd like a slightly healthier alternative to the standard everyday cheesecake, you've got to try these freezer-friendly vegan strawberry cheesecake bars which are packed with strawberries, cashews and many other fresh ingredients.
As well as being delicious, these bars are so easy-to-make. The texture is silky smooth and creamy, making them a refreshing snack for any time of the day. If you get to try one, I know you're going to adore it!
Are you a big fan of no-bake cheesecake recipes like this? I also have a vegan blueberry cheesecake bars recipe that is very similar to this one and I love to make them interchangeably for a supper time treat.
For some other tasty strawberry recipes, be sure to see my vegan strawberry lemon layer cake, vegan frozen yogurt peanut butter strawberry bites and vegan Danish mini pastries which are both great options for whenever you're craving some fruity snacks.
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Why You Will Love These Cheesecake Bars
- No Baking Required - The best thing about this recipe is that it is 100% no-bake. That means that once the ingredients have been added to the baking tray, you can relax while the bars freeze without having to check on them regularly.
- Packed With Fruit - As these cheesecake bars are filled with lots of fresh strawberries, they're certainly a healthier alternative to the additive-packed artificial ones that you'll find in many stores. I also find, that using actual fruit like I also did in my vegan black forest cheesecake and vegan banana cream cheesecake recipes makes a no-bake cheesecake taste so much better.
- Easy to Follow - This is about as simple as cheesecake recipes come. All you need to do is make the cheesecake crust and filling separately, pour the filling over the crust and freeze. Happy days!
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This vegan strawberry cheesecake bars recipe is fully vegan and dairy free.
Ingredient Notes
- Digestives or gluten free version - These are what you need for the crust. I like them because of their neutral taste which makes them a great choice when making a homemade cheesecake.
- Vegan butter block - If you can't find this where you are, you can also use a vegan margarine spread.
- Raw unsalted cashews - It is very important that you make sure that you soak these overnight. They are the main ingredient that is responsible for the consistency of the cheesecake and if they're not soaked, they'll be too firm to blend.
- Fresh strawberries - These will be used for both the filling and topping. I don't recommend using pre-frozen strawberries for this recipe. If that's all you have, let them thaw before using them.
- Full fat coconut cream - This gives the cheesecake bars that extra little bit of creaminess. I like to use a full fat version instead of low fat as it makes a big difference to the texture.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice - This is an innovative ingredient. Suprisingly, lemon juice gives the bars a 'cheesecakey' taste, which is great for a vegan cheesecake recipe as it contains no actual cream cheese products. However, avoid using artificial lemon juice. I also used this hack for my vegan biscoff cheesecake and vegan peanut butter cheesecake recipes. It works a treat!
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- With this recipe, there is an option to make the cheesecake bars gluten free. To do this, simply substitute the regular Digestive cookies for some that are gluten free, as they are usually always vegan. I made this a possibility for my vegan chocolate orange cheesecake too as I want to make as many recipes a prospect for as many people as I can.
- You can (almost) make the recipe refined sugar free by removing the white granulated sugar. However, to make these bars fully refined sugar free, you'll need to find some vegan Digestives without refined sugar. After taking out the granulated sugar, you can alternatively add a few extra teaspoons of maple syrup instead if you wish.
How To Make Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Line a square cake baking tin with parchment paper.
2: Make the cheesecake crust then press into the baking tin.
3: Slice the strawberries evenly and remove the stalks.
4: Make the cheesecake filling and pour it into the lined tin. Top with strawberries and freeze.
5: Remove the cheesecake from the freezer and slice.
Expert Tips
If you forget to soak your cashews overnight - Pouring boiling water over them will do the trick if you forget to soak them overnight but still leave the cashews to soak for at least one hour so that they become soft enough to blend.
Use full fat coconut cream - If you are using coconut cream from a can of coconut milk, make sure that the can says 'full fat' instead 'of 'light'. Using lower fat coconut cream will affect the texture of the cheesecake bars adversely.
Recipe FAQs
Just swap out the Digestives for a gluten free cookie alternative and your no-bake cheesecake bars will be completely free of gluten.
If you aren't re-freezing these vegan strawberry cheesecake bars, store them inside the fridge for up to 4 days.
Yes you can! Place the sliced bars inside freezer-friendly ziplock bags or airtight containers and freeze for up to 1 month. Let them thaw at room temperature.
More Fruity Vegan Recipes That You Will Enjoy
If you tried this Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake Bars Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Easy Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake Bars (No-Bake & Gluten Free Option)
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 400 g Digestives or gluten free version Graham crackers work too
- 150 g vegan butter block melted
- Pinch of salt
For the cheesecake filling:
- 300 g raw unsalted cashews soaked overnight
- 120 ml water
- 250 g fresh strawberries tops removed and sliced
- 200 g full fat coconut cream
- 70 g coconut oil melted
- 35 ml maple syrup
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Preparation:
- Grease an 8 x 8” square baking pan with vegan butter and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
Make the crust:
- Add the Digestives or Graham crackers to a high-speed blender and blitz until the cookie crumbs are fine.
- Melt the vegan butter in a saucepan then add it to the blender, with the salt. Blitz again until the wet base mixture forms.
- Firmly press your cheesecake base into the bottom of the tin with your hands or the bottom of a glass.
- Place your base into the freezer to set. In the meantime, we can make the strawberry filling.
Make the strawberry cheesecake filling:
- Blend your soaked cashews with the water for about 40 seconds until fully blitzed and smooth.
- Add all the other filling ingredients, but only HALF of the chopped strawberries. Save the rest.
- Blend for 60 seconds once more until the mixture is smooth and there are no lumps.
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the crust. Top with the remaining chopped strawberries.
Freeze:
- Place your strawberry cheesecake into the freezer for 4 hours to set.
- Let the cheesecake thaw at room temperature for 5-10 minutes then slice into bars carefully with a sharp knife and serve.
- If you’d like them a little softer, place the bars in the fridge after freezing for 2 hours.
Video
Notes
- Pouring boiling water over them will do the trick if you forget to soak them overnight but still leave the cashews to soak for at least one hour so that they become soft enough to blend.
- If you are using coconut cream from a can of coconut milk, make sure that the can says 'full fat' instead 'of 'light'. Using lower fat coconut cream will affect the texture of the cheesecake bars adversely.
Sonya Parker says
These bars were refreshing and delicious. Will make them again in summer