The vegan lemon raspberry cheesecake bars are creamy, fruity, light, and such a crowd-pleaser. The tart yet sweet flavor of raspberries and fresh and zesty lemon are the perfect combination. Get ready for a tangy flavor explosion from the very first bite!
They're like a fusion between these vegan lemon cheesecake bars and vegan raspberry cheesecake recipes! You can also customize these raspberry lemon bars with other berries depending on what's available or in season.
What to expect from this recipe
- Creamy, refreshing, and light
- Zesty and summery flavors of citrus and berries
- Easy to make
- No baking required
- Eggless and dairy-free
- Perfect for spring, summer, and berry season
- Refined sugar-free
- Easily adapted as gluten-free
Ingredients overview
Cashews: Cashew nuts give vegan cheesecake recipes their "cheesiness"! When soaked (see recipe notes) they give raw cakes a wonderful creamy cheesecake consistency. Cashew nuts also add a buttery flavor to the crust.
Vegan cream cheese: This adds a creamy consistency to the cake as well as acts as a setting agent when chilled.
Vegan yogurt: This adds a lightness to vegan cheesecake recipes, and gives them almost a "sour cream" tangy flavor. Which is perfect for these refreshing vegan lemon raspberry cheesecake bars. You can use coconut yogurt or soy yogurt.
Maple syrup: Maple syrup is my sweetener of choice for most no-bake recipes. It adds a wonderfully subtle flavor and isn't highly refined like some other sugars/sweeteners.
Lemons: The main flavor of this dessert, so I recommend using fresh lemons as you'll need both lemon juice and lemon zest. And hey, you get a dose of vitamin C in your dessert too! For the zest, I would recommend using organic lemons to avoid any nasty pesticides.
Raspberries: Fresh raspberries work best for this homemade cheesecake as it will be set in the freezer, using frozen raspberries and defrosting them will turn them to mush.
Coconut oil: This helps to set the cake.
Vanilla extract: A little bit of vanilla bean paste helps to add flavor to the cake. You can substitute vanilla bean paste with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Toasted coconut flakes: Coconut makes up most part of the cheesecake base. The flavor pairs well with lemon.
Dates: These sweeten the crust and also help to stick everything together. I recommend using Medjool dates for the flavor and moisture.
Rolled oats: These are used for the no-bake crust, you can go for gluten-free oats if required.
Sea salt: Feel free to add less or no salt here, but it helps to lift the overall flavor of the cake and actually helps make the dessert taste sweeter!
How to make this recipe (with step-by-step images)
(Full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post)
These no-bake raspberry lemon cheesecake bars are incredibly easy to make, they come together in just two easy steps!
Before getting started on making the recipe, you'll need to prepare the cashews by soaking them in advance (see recipe notes).
No-bake crust
For the crust, first blend the dry ingredients (coconut flakes, oat flakes, cashews, and salt) in your food processor until they form a light even crumb consistency. Next, add in the wet ingredients (dates) and blend again until the mixture sticks together to form a dough.
Now using a flat bottomed glass (or just your fingers) press the dough into a square 8-inch pan lined with parchment paper (a springform pan works well) until smooth. Scatter the fresh raspberries on top of the crust.
Creamy lemon cheesecake filling
For the lemon cream cheese mixture, add all of the ingredients to your high-speed blender and blitz for a few minutes until completely smooth and creamy. You want to make sure it is super creamy, you'll find more tips on how to get the best cheesecake filling over in this guide to vegan cheesecakes.
Pour the creamy lemon cheesecake filling into the prepared pan and gently tap it on the counter to knock out any air bubbles before freezing the cheesecake until set.
You can cut the cheesecake into slices or bars before serving. I do recommend using a heated sharp knife to cut them whilst still frozen to get beautiful clean cuts.
Storage instructions
These vegan lemon raspberry bars will store for 3-4 days refrigerated in an airtight container. They can be kept at room temperature for a couple of hours on the day of serving, but I don't recommend keeping them out longer than that as they will begin to melt.
Freezing instructions
Alternatively, you can freeze the cheesecake in individually wrapped portions and defrost it for 30 minutes to an hour before serving. They'll keep well stored in the freezer for a couple of months.
Substitutions
- Vegan cream cheese: This can be swapped out for full-fat coconut milk (using only the thick cream from the top of the can) or coconut cream.
- Rolled oats: Use gluten-free oat flakes to make this lemon raspberry cheesecake bar recipe gluten-free.
Variations
- Raspberry coulis: You can create a raspberry swirl cheesecake by folding some raspberry sauce into the lemon cheesecake mixture, like the raspberry mixture in this vegan raspberry cheesecake recipe.
- Cookie base: Feel free to get creative with the cheesecake base. You could go for a cookie crust like in this vegan banoffee cheesecake, or use graham crackers in place of the cookies if you've got some you need to use up.
- Lemon berry cheesecake bars: You can swap the fresh raspberries for other berries like blueberries or blackberries.
More vegan cheesecakes
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Description
Ingredients
Crust
- 70 g (1 cup) toasted coconut flakes, or desiccated coconut (shredded coconut)
- 80 g (½ cup) cashews
- 50 g (½ cup) rolled oats, use gluten-free if required
- 7 (7) medjool dates, pitted
Filling
- 300 g (10.6 oz) fresh raspberries
- 200 g (1 ½ cups) cashews, soaked *see recipe notes
- 200 g (7 oz) vegan cream cheese, or full-fat coconut milk *see recipe notes
- 80 g (⅓ cup) vegan yogurt
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) pure maple syrup
- 55 g (4 tbsp) coconut oil, solid
- 75 ml (5 tablespoons) fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons (3 tablespoons) lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust
- Line the base of an 8 x 8" square springform pan with parchment paper.
- For the crust, add the coconut flakes, cashews, oats, and salt to your food processor and blitz for a couple of minutes until the ingredients form a crumb consistency. Add the pitted dates and blend again until the mixture sticks together to form a dough.
- Press the crust mixture into the base of the pan and smooth it out using a spatula.
Filling
- Add the soaked cashews, vegan cream cheese, vegan yogurt, maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest, coconut oil, and vanilla extract to your high-speed blender and blitz for a few minutes until completely smooth and creamy.
- Scatter the raspberries on top of the crust and then pour the lemon filling into the pan on top of them. Gently tap the pan on your work surface to knock out any air bubbles.
- Transfer the cake to the freezer to set for a minimum of 6 hours (or overnight if preferred). Once set, remove the cake from the pan whilst still frozen.
- Cut into 16 small or 9 large portions, garnish with fresh raspberries and lemon zest and defrost for 30 minutes before serving.
Storage
- Stores for 3-4 days refrigerated in an airtight container. They can be kept at room temperature for a couple of hours on the day of serving, but I don't recommend keeping them out longer than that as they will begin to melt. Freeze the cheesecake in individually wrapped portions and defrost for 30 minutes to an hour before serving. They'll keep well stored in the freezer for a couple of months.
Notes
- Soaked cashews: Soak the cashews in water for 4 hours or for 1 hour in boiling water, rinse and drain.
- Chilled coconut milk: Refrigerate the tin of coconut milk overnight, then only use the thick cream from the top of the can
- Vegan cream cheese: This can be swapped out for full-fat coconut milk (using only the thick cream from the top of the can) or coconut cream.
- Rolled oats: Use gluten-free oat flakes to make this lemon raspberry cheesecake bar recipe gluten-free.
- Lemon berry cheesecake bars: You can swap the fresh raspberries for other berries like blueberries or blackberries.
Nutrition
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