This vegan lemon and strawberry cheesecake has become a staple for both dinner parties, and casual dinners, impressing both guests and family members who all constantly ask me to make this dessert! I defy anyone who says they don't love a crunchy biscuit base, contrasting with a smooth and tangy cheesecake filling. It's made even more delicious when it's topped with a sweet strawberry layer and extra strawberries for the perfect summer pudding!
Our vegan lemon and strawberry cheesecake is gluten free, which is perfect for coelics and people with intolerances. It is also soy free as we wanted to make sure our friends with allergies had a cheesecake option. We have an amazing baked lemon and blueberry vegan cheesecake that uses silken tofu. To make this vegan lemon cheesecake and hold it together nicely, I used a springform cake tin. This also makes it nice and easy to remove.
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🥮Biscuit Base
I LOVE a biscuit base. To make this 100% gluten free, you need to choose gluten free oats. Alternatives that are also gluten free include quinoa flakes and buckwheat flakes. These are also great as an alternative to oats for breakfast - I use these in my Superfood, High Protein Breakfast Bowl.
To hold the ingredients together, I used a vegan egg replacement - milled linseed / flaxseed. This is a great ingredient for desserts and for binding burgers and patties. You can find out more about the best Vegan Egg Replacements here.
🍋Cheesecake filling
This vegan lemon cheesecake is soy free as it does not use tofu. It has very simple ingredients. The cashews, coconut cream and coconut oil become nice and creamy when blended together. You can choose what kind of sugar you use. I like to use coconut palm sugar in a lot of my baking, but using a white sugar will give the classic creamy white cheesecake look which contrasts beautifully with the other layers.
🍓Strawberry Layer
Tangy and fragrant strawberries are a classic topping for a chilled cheesecake and this is a super simple soft set jelly that not only looks beautiful, but tastes amazing! Instead of traditional gelatine (ew) we use Agar, which is a gelling agent made from seaweed. I like to use this organic one. Be careful not to use too much or the jelly top can become a bit hard, which isn't nice.
👩🏽🍳How To
Here's how to make the delicious crunchy biscuit base for the cheesecake. I've written a summary first, then you can see how to make it with simple images.
- Make the base from blending up oats, linseed, sugar and almonds. Then add the melted coconut oil/vegan butter.
- Press into the spring form tin and bake.
- Make the delicious lemon filling by blending the soaked cashews, lemon zest, sugar, coconut cream and coconut oil. Spread the filling evenly across the base and let it chill.
- Once it's set, make the topping. Heat strawberries sugar and agar. Once cooked, leave it to cool. Then top your cheesecake and let it set!
Get the ingredients ready; oats, milled linseed / flaxseed, coconut oil (or vegan margarine), sugar and almonds Blend all the ingredients, except the oil / margarine, until you have a fine(ish) crumb Line a springform tine with greaseproof paper Place the blended biscuit base mixture in a bowl, then pour in the melted coconut oil / vegan margarine Mix the ingredients together well Add the mixture to the springform tin and press down with a spoon. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 180°C until it's a little crunchy
Here's how to make the creamy zingy lemon cheesecake filling, and the beautiful strawberry topping.
Get all the cheesecake filling ingredients ready; coconut cream, coconut oil, sugar, lemons and cashews Soak cashews in boiling water for 30 minutes, then drain 
Add juice and zest of 2 lemons to a blender Add the rest of the vegan lemon cheesecake filling ingredients to the blender Blend all the cheesecake filling ingredients until smooth Pour the vegan lemon cheesecake filling on to the cooled biscuit base Make sure it is evenly spread across the base. Chill for at least 5 hours
Strawberry, sugar and agar for the topping. Chop the strawberries Gently heat the strawberries with water, sugar & agar. Leave to cool and pour over the set cheesecake Gently spread the strawberry jelly over the top and leave to set in the fridge Once set, you can cut the cake!
❓ FAQ
Yes (if there is any left!). Vegan lemon cheesecake actually freezes very well. Either freeze whole or cut into slices so you can get a little out at a time for a treat.
Absolutely - get creative! You can add blueberries and extra vanilla essence for a blueberry and vanilla one. Or even do a chocolate one by adding 5 tablespoon cocoa or cacao to the filling instead of the lemon flavours.
Yes. We used one big spring form cake tin, but you can use bottomless ramekins / food rings which you divide the mixture equally between. Or you can use muffins tins lined with paper muffin cases.
You can put your tin of coconut milk in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight), and it will separate into coconut cream on the top, and coconut water on the bottom. So you can just scoop off the cream.
🍰Similar Recipes
When it comes to desserts and cheesecakes, we never let you down. From more lemony desserts to biscuit bases and fruity treats, if you loved this vegan lemon cheesecake, we think you'll find these irresistible.
Vegan Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake with Toffee Sauce
Vegan Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake
Vegan Lemon & Blood Orange Upside Down Cake
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon and Strawberry Cheesecake (gluten and soy free)
Equipment
- Spring form tin
- Blender
- Saucepan
- Zester / grater
- Lemon squeezer
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
Biscuit Base
- 120 g oats / quinoa flakes (use gluten free oats to make it fully gluten free)
- 130 g almonds
- 50 g coconut palm sugar / caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 40 g milled linseed / flaxseed
- 80 g coconut oil / coconut butter, melted (vegan margarine will also work)
Cheesecake filling
- 210 g cashews
- 50 g coconut oil, melted
- 110 g sugar (caster sugar will keep a whiter colour, but any sugar will work fine)
- 150 ml coconut cream (either buy a tin of coconut cream or put a tin of coconut milk in the fridge for at least 4 hours so you can scoop the cream off the top)
- 2 lemons (juice and zest of)
Strawberry jelly topping
- ½ teaspoon agar
- 50 g sugar
- 250 g strawberries
- 50 ml water
Instructions
To make the biscuit base
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 and line the bottom of a spring form tin with some greaseproof paper.
- Blend up all the ingredients, except the coconut oil, until you have a fine(ish) crumb.
- Transfer the blended mixture to a bowl, and mix in the melted coconut oil.
- Spoon the mixture into the spring form tin (or other tart dish), and press down with a spoon so it's nice and compact.
- Bake for 10 minutes (or 15 minutes for a crunchier base). Once done, leave to cool.
To make the cheesecake filling
- Place all the cheesecake filling ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until nice and smooth.
- Pour the mixture on to the cheesecake base (as long as it has cooled).
- Place the whole cheesecake in the fridge for at least 5 hours to set.
- Once the cheesecake is set, you can add the strawberry topping! Don't try to add it on before it sets or it will just sink into the cheesecake.
To make the strawberry jelly topping
- Remove the stalks from the strawberries and chop roughly
- In a saucepan, gently heat the sugar, water and strawberries until the sugar dissolves and the strawberries start to break down.
- Add the agar and stir gently, simmer for 2- 3 minutes.
- Allow the jelly to cool for about 10 minutes. Stir occasssionally so it does not start to set yet.
- Once cooled, gently pour and spread over the now set cheesecake.
- Return to the fridge to allow the strawberry layer to set, this will take about half an hour.
- To serve - run a knife around the edge of the tin, then release. Either serve on the tin base, or carefully move to a plate!
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