These Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes are dairy free, healthier than a traditional cheesecake, and are whipped up in a blender with ZERO flavour compromises! They come together in under an hour and make such an impressive dessert – oh and did I mention that they can be made ahead? Keep reading my friends.
Ok so in all honesty, these babies barely lasted until dessert time in our home. Seriously. Max even cried when the last one was eaten (by me. in front of him. sorry son…I’ll make a double batch next time, I didn’t realize how much he liked them) – they were just that good.
We used the base recipe from this Baked Vegan Cheesecake [1] we made last month and modified it to make it oh-so-perfect for fall. And they just got better with time after sitting in the fridge, which made me super happy because I LOVE anything that can be made ahead, especially when I’m entertaining!
These are egg and dairy free – our graham cracker base had honey in it so they don’t qualify as vegan. We made ours in my Vitamix Ascent 3500 blender [2] – it is an absolute game changer in the kitchen.
One of the best things about converting recipes to plant-based is that the nutrition profile is almost always improved. Substituting the majority of cream cheese, which is high in saturated fat (not heart healthy) to a base made from blended cashews (high in unsaturated fat that is so much healthier) is a great step. I’ll look for any excuse to add pumpkin to a recipe: it’s high in beta-carotene, fibre and potassium and of course tastes amazing.
If you’re left with extra pumpkin after this dessert, you can use it in this Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Bowl [3] or this Pumpkin Pecan Granola [4]. I confess, I buy the larger cans of pumpkin (make sure it’s pure pumpkin not pie filling) just for this reason!
Happy Fall my friends!
xo
Tori
Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes (dairy free)
These Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes are dairy free, can be easily made ahead and are SO delicious - perfect for fall!
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 tablespoon sugar or coconut sugar
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil or vegan butter (melted)
- pinch salt
Filling:
- 300 g package soft tofu (drained)
- 1 cup raw cashews
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup dairy free cream cheese (we used Tofutti)
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 325F and soak the cashews to cover in boiling water – drain after 15 minutes.
-
Combine all of the crust ingredients together in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Divide the mixture among muffin tins lined with paper liners (we yielded 16) and gently press down.
-
Add all of the filling ingredients to a high powered blender, place the lid on the container and blend for 45 seconds to 1 minute or until smooth.
-
Divide the mixture equally among the prepared muffin tins and bake until set, around 25 minutes. Cool completely before serving – these are best served chilled and are AMAZING the next day! They can be stored refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
*soak in boiling water for 15 minutes and drain