If you love a creamy dessert but prefer to skip the dairy, this Espresso “Cheesecake” is a dream. Made with a cashew base and naturally plant-based and paleo, it’s a recipe I’ve made countless times for friends and family. It’s quick to prepare, freezer-friendly and endlessly adaptable.
There’s something comforting about returning to a kitchen ritual you’ve missed. It’s been a while since I’ve shared a recipe here, but this one felt like the perfect way to ease back in: a long-time favourite in my home and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, my Espresso “Cheesecake.”
I say “cheesecake” loosely because there’s actually no dairy involved. The base is made from soaked cashews, which blend into the creamiest, silkiest filling, a dream for anyone who’s dairy-sensitive or simply prefers plant-based desserts. It also happens to be paleo-friendly, which makes it one of those rare treats that checks a lot of boxes without feeling like a compromise.
I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count for friends, family, and any gathering where I need something reliable and universally loved. No one ever misses the cream cheese, and most people don’t even realize it’s not the real thing until I tell them.
It’s super simple to make too. You can pour the filling into silicone muffin cups for perfect little individual portions, or go classic with a springform pan. And if you don’t finish it all in one sitting, which is entirely possible but not guaranteed, it freezes beautifully.
If you’ve been looking for a dessert that feels indulgent but still aligns with a plant-based or paleo way of eating, this one might become a staple in your kitchen the way it has in mine.
Tips, Variations, and Little Secrets for this Espresso “Cheesecake” …
If you’re not a fan of coffee, you can easily change the flavour. Leave out the coffee and add a tablespoon of matcha for a vibrant matcha cheesecake, stir in one to two tablespoons of cocoa for a chocolate version, or brighten it up with a teaspoon of lemon zest for a fresh, citrusy twist.
If you want a crustless cheesecake, simply skip the crust. I’ve done this many times out of pure laziness and it still turns out great.
When removing the cheesecake from silicone muffin liners or a springform pan, make sure it’s frozen or partially frozen. The filling is very soft when fully thawed, and unmolding it when fully thawed can ruin the shape.
This dessert is perfect for making ahead. You can prepare it days in advance and store it in the freezer. Move it to the fridge a few hours before serving to let it thaw. A full cake will take longer to soften than individual portions.
Feel free to decorate your cheesecake any way you like. For this espresso version, I love sifting cocoa powder over the top or adding chocolate shavings. Simple and so pretty.
What you need for Espresso “Cheesecake”:
Dates
Walnuts and/or pecans
Cashews
Espresso
Coconut oil
Coconut milk
Maple syrup
Looking for more healthy dessert recipes? You’re going to love these …
If you love a creamy dessert but prefer to skip the dairy, this Espresso “Cheesecake” is a dream. Made with a cashew base and naturally plant-based and paleo, it’s a recipe I’ve made countless times for friends and family. It’s quick to prepare, freezer-friendly and endlessly adaptable.
Add walnuts and/or pecans and a pinch of sea salt to food processor and process until nuts are chopped into small pieces.
Add dates in and continue to process until ingredients start to stick together. If mixture is too dry, add a couple more dates at a time until mixture becomes sticky when you press it together. If it's too wet, add more nuts.
Place silicone muffin liners into muffin tray or on a flat tray.
Scoop in 1 tbsp of crust into each muffin slot and press with down with fingers or spoon.
Add all filling ingredients to a high-powered blender and mix until filling is smooth. Taste and adjust if needed.
Divide filling evenly among the muffin liners. Tap a few times to release any air bubbles, then cover with plastic wrap and freeze until hard – roughly 4-6 hours.
Once set, peel silicone liners down to remove cheesecake. They should pop right out. Let them thaw out in a container on the counter or in the fridge before serving. Store leftovers in the freezer.
Notes
* Soak the cashews in water in the fridge for 5 to 8 hours, or cover them with boiled water and let them sit for 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly before using.
Espresso Amaretti Cookies are a delicious variation on a classic Italian almond cookie. Made with just 5 simple & clean ingredients. These cookies are free from refined sugar, gluten & grains. Only 20-minutes needed to make these delicious cookies, just in time for the holiday season!
Almonds and coffee come together to make a perfect flavor combination. If you don’t believe me, then you’ve got to try this recipe! These chewy cookies are not too sweet, with a subtle espresso flavour. They are a perfect bite sized treat with a shot of espresso!
When creating this recipe, I tried a couple variations (in particular, brewed espresso vs. ground espresso beans) to find the right balance of flavour and texture. I decided to go with brewed espresso instead of ground espresso beans. Although the ground espresso beans offered a more intense espresso flavor, I felt that the brewed espresso resulted in a more balanced cookie.
I also decided to make these cookies egg free, even though traditional amaretti cookies are made with eggs. I did this for two reasons …
To keep this recipe super simple and easy to make. You can literally prepare and bake these cookies in just-20 minutes.
For people who have an intolerance or allergy to eggs. In addition, those following a plant-based or vegan diet can enjoy these cookies.
You’ll find that the taste and texture is still awesome even without eggs.
Espresso Amaretti Cookies can be stored in an airtight container (to ensure that they remain chewy) at room temperature for up to 1 week. These cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Espresso Amaretti Cookies are a delicious variation on a classic Italian almond cookie. Made with just 5 simple & clean ingredients. These cookies are free from refined sugar, gluten & grains. Only 20-minutes needed to make these delicious cookies, just in time for the holiday season!
Tiger Nut Energy Bites are the perfect nut free and AIP friendly snack or treat! They’re soft & chocolatey with a hint of nuttiness. Only 3-ingredients required for these delicious bites and they’re super easy to make!
DID YOU KNOW? Tiger nuts are not actually nuts, but rather tubers, like sweet potato, though much smaller in size. They get their name from the stripes on the tubers’ exterior.
These marble-sized tubers are chewy and taste like a cross between an almond and pecan with a hint of honey–making them a great nut replacement.
They are naturally gluten, grain and dairy free, so they’re perfect for those following a plant-based or paleo diet.
Tiger nuts can be consumed in a number of ways. You can eat them raw, roasted, soaked or boiled. You can also find tiger nuts in a variety of forms; tiger nut flour, tiger nut oil, tiger nut butter and tiger nut milk!
Lately, I’ve been experimenting with different tiger nut recipes. Not only do I get more variety in my diet with these small tubers, but they are packed with antioxidants, resistant starch fiber & vitamin E.
So, if you’re curious about tiger nuts or maybe you’re looking for nut free paleo recipes, you’ve got to try my tiger nut creations …
Tiger Nut Energy Bites are the perfect nut free and AIP friendly snack or treat! They're soft & chocolatey with a hint of nuttiness. Only 3-ingredients required for these delicious bites and they're super easy to make!
Put tiger nuts in a jar, fill with water and let soak in fridge for 12+ hours. Drain well.
Using a food processor, process drained tiger nuts until they break down a bit. Then add pitted dates, cacao/cocoa powder & sea salt. Continue to process until a consistent mixture forms.
Roll the mixture into small balls. Place in airtight container and store in the fridge.
Keyword autoimmune protocol, cacao, dates, energy balls, tiger nuts, vegan
Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding is a delicious and easy snack or dessert recipe! Naturally sweetened with banana & bursting with rich chocolate flavour. Only 4 simple ingredients and 5-minutes needed to prepare this chia seed pudding recipe! Plant-based, low-carb, keto & paleo.
DID YOU KNOW? Chia seeds are a great plant-based food to help with weight loss.
Chia seeds rank high on the list of plant-based protein foods, making them great for putting on lean muscle, burning fat, and managing hunger and appetite.
Studies show that increasing your intake of protein can promote weight loss by curbing cravings and therefore reducing your caloric intake. Additionally, other research shows that following a high-protein diet rich in foods like chia seeds could reduce the hunger stimulating hormone, ghrelin.
So, if you’re looking for an easy and delicious way to add chia seeds into your diet, I highly recommend chia seed pudding. It makes for a great snack or dessert!
Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding is a delicious and easy snack or dessert recipe! Naturally sweetened with banana & bursting with rich chocolate flavour. Only 4 simple ingredients and 5-minutes needed to prepare this chia seed pudding recipe! Plant-based, low-carb, keto & paleo.
1.5cupsunsweetened almond or coconut milk, use canned full fat coconut milk for a more rich & creamy pudding
1largebanana, ripe
6tbspchia seeds
2tbspcacao powder
1tspmaple syrup, optional
TOPPINGS: (optional)
Cacao nibs
Sliced banana
Dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Add milk, banana and cacao powder to blender and blend until smooth. Taste for sweetness, add maple syrup if desired and blend again to combine.
Pour into glass container, add chia seeds and whisk until well combined.
Let pudding thicken in fridge for a minimum of 1-hr before consuming. The longer you let the chia seeds soak the more thick and delicious the pudding becomes (I like to soak my chia seeds for at least 8 hours before enjoying).
Transfer to small serving bowl, add toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Use canned full fat coconut milk for a more rich & creamy pudding.
The longer you let the chia seeds soak the more thick and delicious the pudding becomes.
Turn this recipe into a satisfying breakfast by mixing in 1-2 scoops of Whole Body Collagen.
Tiger Nut Lemon Cheesecake Bars are rich & creamy with a hint of tartness and tiger nut crunch. The perfect cheesecake recipe if you’re following an AIP, plant-based, nut or dairy free diet.
DID YOU KNOW? Tiger nuts are recommended for healthy skin, weight management, and fertility—all because of vitamin E!
One serving of tiger nuts provides you with 278% of the daily recommended value–that’s 3mg of vitamin E!
Vitamin E is important to our health due to its powerful antioxidant properties that may help reduce free radical damage and slow the aging process of your cells.
Free radicals not only weaken and break down healthy cells, but these molecules may also contribute to heart disease and cancer.
It’s important to have a diet rich in antioxidants to protect yourself from oxidative damage over time, and tiger nuts are a great source of antioxidants.
If you’re looking for tasty ways to add more tiger nuts to your diet, check out some of my tiger nut recipes (including the yummy cheesecake below!).
What you need for Tiger Nut Lemon Cheesecake Bars:
Tiger Nut Lemon Cheesecake Bars are rich & creamy with a hint of tartness and tiger nut crunch. The perfect cheesecake recipe if you're following an AIP, plant-based, nut or dairy free diet.
2tbspcrushed tiger nuts, use a food processor for this
Fresh berries, raspberries, strawberries or blackberries
Instructions
Put tiger nuts in a jar, fill with water and let soak in fridge for 12+ hours. Drain well.
Process all filling ingredients in a high-powered blender until completely smooth. Note: Tiger nuts are not easy to breakdown, so you may need to blend for a while, scraping the sides of the blender along the way.
Transfer cheesecake filling into small glass container (~5"x 5") lined with parchment paper and smooth out.
Freeze for at least 5 hours. Remove cheesecake from container and slice into bars. Thaw out briefly, decorate with toppings and serve. Keep remaining bars refrigerated for up to a week or in the freezer for longer.
Tiger nut chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy and so delicious! The perfect cookie recipe for those following a nut free paleo lifestyle or those looking to add more variety and nutrients to their diet.
You might be wondering — “Why tiger nuts, Jen?”
Well, my obsession with tiger nuts started a while back when the BF was having bad gut reactions to nuts.
At that time, most of the treats I made contained some form of nut which were a big NO for him. So, I began searching for a nut replacement that would not only make delicious treats, but also keep his belly happy.
It turns out that tiger nuts, which are small tubers and not actual nuts, are a great alternative since they have a similar taste and texture to nuts. I like to describe them as a cross between an almond and pecan with a hint of honey.
Eventually the BF’s issue with nuts went away, BUT the loads of tiger nuts and tiger nut flour that I bought didn’t!
SO, when life gives you tiger nuts, make tiger nut everything! Right?!
This time around I decided to try a classic treat–THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE! Turns out that tiger nut flour works well as a base. These cookies turned out soft and chewy, like all chocolate chip cookies should be.
If you’re following a nut free paleo diet (or maybe you just want to add more variety and nutrients to your diet), I highly recommend this recipe.
Here’s what you’ll need for Tiger Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a food processor or hand-mixer, mix together coconut oil, coconut sugar, egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
Add in flour, baking soda and salt and continue to mix until smooth batter is formed.
Fold in chocolate chips with a spatula.
Scoop onto baking sheet, I recommend using a cookie or ice cream scooper. Leave as is (do not flatten). Cookies will expand during baking so leave enough room around each cookie.
Bake at 350F for 10-12-minutes or until edges are golden. Let cool on baking sheet.
My mission is to help women heal their gut, lose weight and feel great through simple and delicious smoothies, whole food nutrition & healthy lifestyle habits.
