No Bake Snickers Cheesecake – a devilishly decadent dessert that’s free of eggs, dairy, grains, and refined sugars. Make it paleo by swapping peanuts with almonds!
Hi, hello it’s Friiiiday which means it’s time to eat all.the.chocolate.
Not that you need a special day or another reason to eat chocolate. I could easily make up an argument for why you should eat chocolate on any given day of the week, but I’ll spare you the details because there are more important things to discuss: like these snickers cheesecake squares!*high five emoji*
I’m actually a little sad right now looking at all these pictures and knowing that there’s none left. They were just so damn good. On a brighter note, I already have more cashews soaking in the kitchen so that I can make some more tomorrow! This is my kind of mental health food and it’s 1000% necessary.
Vegan cheesecake is the kind of thing that always looks a lot more complicated than it actually is to make. There are all these nuts and crazy things that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see in a regular cheesecake recipe that kind of throw you off. Once you actually try it though you’ll see how easy it is to make – the most difficult part is to waiting, but maybe that’s just me.
This cheesecake is a combination of a couple of recipes I’ve previously shared. The cheesecake part of this recipe is based off of this raw blackberry cheesecake and the nut butter caramel is from these no bake millionaires I made last year. These are my two most popular desserts on their own, but together they are beyond decadent and delicious. Really though – just try it!
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No Bake Snickers Cheesecake (Vegan & Paleo)
No Bake Snickers Cheesecake - a devilishly decadent dessert that's free of eggs, dairy, grains, and refined sugars. Make it paleo by swapping peanuts with almonds!
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1 1/2 cup packed dates
- 1 1/2 cups raw pecans or walnuts
CHEESECAKE FILLING
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
NUT BUTTER CARAMEL
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon peanut butter, or almond butter for paleo
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPINGS
- 1/2 cup salted peanuts or almonds for paleo
- 1/2 cup melted dark chocolate
Instructions
- If you haven’t already add the cashews to a bowl and cover with water. Leave the cashews overnight to use when you need it the next day.
Crust
- Make the crust by adding the dates and the pecans to a food processor or high powered blender. Blitz together until the dates and pecans are broken up into small pieces and come together. If your mixture is too dry add a couple more dates. You may need to stop to scrape the sides down occasionally.
- Press the crust into an 8in x 8in parchment-lined dish, until evenly spread. Use another sheet of parchment paper to place over the crust when pressing in the pan. This will keep the crust from sticking to your hands when you’re trying to press it into the tin.
Nut Butter Caramel
- In a small pot melt the caramel ingredients on a medium low heat for about 2 minutes (the maple, coconut oil, nut butter, vanilla, and sea salt). Make sure to stir while everything melts to keep from burning. Pour the caramel mixture into a small bowl so that it cools faster. Set it aside in the fridge while you make the filling.
Filling
- For the cheesecake layer, begin by draining the water from the cashews and then placing them in a high speed blender or food processor with the remaining cheesecake ingredients. Blend it all together until it becomes smooth. If you need, stop and scrap the sides down to get all the bits mixed in. This should take 60-90 seconds. (If you own a Blendtec, I put mine on the smoothie setting and that did the trick
- Taste and adjust flavor as needed. Add another 1-2 tablespoons of maple if you like it sweet. Keep in mind that the nut butter caramel will add additional sweetness when we add it in later.
- Pour filling over the crust. Dollop half of the caramel mixture across the cheesecake filling and then drag a knife or toothpick across the top to create the rippled effect. Don't worry if it's not pretty because you're going to later drizzle dark chocolate and the remaining caramel over the top of the cheesecake. Take half of the peanuts (or almonds) and scatter them across the pan and press them into the filling
- Cover the cheesecake and place it in the freezer for 4-5 hours to set.
- Remove the cheesecake from the freezer to allow it to thaw slightly before cutting it.
- While it's thawing melt your dark chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments or over the stove top over a pot of simmering water on a low heat stirring constantly. Remove the chocolate from the heat and let it cool for a minute or two before drizzling it over the cheesecake.
- Drizzle the remaining nut butter caramel over the top along with the melted chocolate and remaining peanuts (or almonds).
Notes
If you want to speed up the cashew soaking process cover the cashews with boiling water and set them aside for at least 2 hours Keep these stored in the fridge or freezer.
Hands on prep time is about 30 minutes, but these need to set in the fridge for about 4-5 hours before eating.
Melissa says
Hey Sarah
Your nut butter caramel instructions are different to the nut butter caramel ingredients.
Was it supposed to have coconut oil in it?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Melissa! I think you might have accidentally skimmed over it! Under the ‘nut butter caramel’ part of the instructions it’s listed in step number one in parentheses with the other ingredients.
I do just say ‘oil’ instead of ‘coconut oil’ in the instructions because I thought that might be implied, but I’ve specified it in the instructions just in case that might be confusing. I hope that helps!
Lisa says
Is it possible to use vegan cream cheese for the filling?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Lisa! It’s hard to say without testing it myself first. I think you’d probably be able to use vegan cream cheese in place of the cashews, but I’m not sure how much of the other ingredients you’d have to change as well to adjust for taste
Kay-M says
These look soooo good – but, unfortunately, with 24 carbs for just one of 16 servings, they are too sweet for my diabetic husband’s blood 🙁 Guess, he/we will just have to drool!!!
Sarah Nevins says
More for you at least! Thanks Kay 🙂
Eleanor says
Hi there, is there anything you could swap the soaked cashews for as I’m intolerant! Thank you
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Eleanor! If you’re only intolerant to cashews and not other nuts as well you can try using another type of nut in its place. I’ve seen people use almond/macadamia instead of cashews before. If nuts are a no go then you can try using hulled sunflower seeds. Hope that helps!