This fabulous no-bake matcha cheesecake is paleo, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free. It also happens to be super delicious!
Table of Contents
- Matcha makes it better!
- A vegan and paleo cheesecake!
- What makes this paleo cheesecake creamy?
- It’s no-bake, too!
- What kind of matcha should you use?
- What does matcha cheesecake taste like?
- Ingredients
- Equipment
- How to make matcha cheesecake
- More matcha recipes
- Matcha Cheesecake (Vegan, Paleo, No-Bake) Recipe
Matcha makes it better!
Two things you should know about me: I love matcha, and I spend way too much money buying store-bought vegan cheesecakes. So naturally, I decided to roll up my sleeves and develop a paleo, vegan, and no-bake matcha cheesecake. Yeah—it’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it, and it might as well be a matcha fiend like me. (Psst! If you’ve never tried matcha before, you can read up on why I love this umami-rich stone-ground Japanese-style green tea in my Matcha Mug Cake, Cold Matcha Latte, Matcha Pudding, Cold Brew Matcha, and Matcha Coconut Gummies recipe posts.)
A vegan and paleo cheesecake!
Years ago, I sampled a raw vegan cheesecake at a hipster vegan joint in New York City, and it was love at first bite. I know you’re probably thinking: SHOULDN’T “CHEESECAKE” BE IN QUOTATION MARKS? IT’S NOT CHEESECAKE WITHOUT THE CHEESE, LADY! Frankly, I was skeptical, too, but my doubts melted away as soon as I tasted the creamy awesomeness of this sweet indulgence. Gluten-free vegan cheesecake is now one of my favorite desserts. Sure, vegan cheesecake doesn’t taste exactly like its traditional dairy-full counterpart, but the velvety texture and inventive flavor combinations bowled me over. Now, I seek it out whenever I’m looking for a treat. Best of all, as someone who’s lactose intolerant, I don’t suffer any uncomfortable side effects afterwards—a huge win in my book.
Fast-forward to testing batch after batch of my No-Bake Matcha Cheesecake. As you know, I’m super-finicky about recipe testing until the final result matches the (unreasonably) high expectations in my head. For a while, I didn’t think I could ever come up with a version that I’d be proud to share with you. But last week, I finally did it: I perfected a homemade matcha cheesecake that I absolutely love—and it also got two enthusiastic thumbs-up from my even-pickier-than-me mother!
What makes this paleo cheesecake creamy?
The creaminess of this “cheesecake” is derived from a combination of puréed soaked cashews, coconut oil, and coconut milk. Soaking the cashews does take 2 to 4 hours with room temperature water…
…but you can speed up the process by soaking ’em in 4 cups of boiling water for 10-30 minutes. Don’t have time to use the soaked cashews right away? Rinse and drain them…
…and then store them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
It’s no-bake, too!
A few additional notes: This vegan cheesecake is no-bake, but it’s not technically raw because I do use toasted almonds and coconuts in the crust. I think they taste better toasted! And use dry roasted and salted almonds—the salt balances out the sticky sweetness of the dates.
What kind of matcha should you use?
I prefer using ceremonial grade matcha for this recipe due to it’s bright, vibrant green color…
…but if you don’t care about your cheesecake ending up a duller shade of green/brown, you can definitely substitute culinary grade matcha. You’ll save money and the cheesecake will still taste fantastic—plus you can always serve it at the end of a romantic dinner with the lights turned down so low that no one can make out the color of the dessert.
What does matcha cheesecake taste like?
This cheesecake is mildly sweet and matcha forward. If you don’t like matcha as much as I do, you can start with only 1 tablespoon and increase to taste. You can also add more maple syrup if you want it sweeter.
Finally, you can use this recipe to make either a cute 7-inch cheesecake that you can slice up, or you can divide the batter into a 12-cup muffin tin lined with parchment paper to create little peanut-butter-cup-size desserts.
Ready to wow your pals with a decadent matcha cheesecake?
Ingredients
Crust
- Pitted Medjool dates, coarsely chopped
- Dry roasted and salted whole almonds
- Unsweetened toasted coconut flakes (you can toast raw coconut flakes at 300°F for 3 to 5 minutes or until browned)
- Coconut oil (optional if using a springform cake pan)
Filling
- Matcha: If you want a bright green cheesecake (rather than a muddy gray one), use a high quality ceremonial grade matcha!
- Refined coconut oil, melted: Use the refined coconut oil so there’s no overwhelming coconut flavor.
- Full-fat canned coconut milk
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice: Adds the proper amount of tang to the “cheesecake”
- Maple syrup (you can add more if you want it sweeter)
- Raw unsalted cashews, soaked and drained: I don’t really think you can sub another nut for the cashews because no other nuts get as creamy when you soak and blend them.
- Vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Equipment
How to make matcha cheesecake
Time to make the no-bake crust! Place the dates in the food processor and pulse a few times to roughly chop up the pieces.
Then, hold down the “On” button until the pulverized dates form a sticky ball that thwacks against the side of the work bowl.
Add the dry roasted and salted almonds and toasted coconut flakes to the food processor…
… and pulse until everything is the size of rice grains. The dough should stick when smushed together with your fingers. If your dates are dry, you can add a teeny bit of water to get the crust to hold together.
If you’re making the cheesecake in a 7-inch springform pan, grease the bottoms and sides with coconut oil.
Add the crust to the greased springform pan and use a piece of parchment to spread it evenly on the bottom. I like to push the crust down with an empty measuring cup to flatten the bottom evenly. (Warning: I know my pictures have the crust coming up the sides, but the crust on the sides can stick to the pan when you try to remove it. You may want to save yourself the time and annoyance of patching the crust on the sides by simply forming the crust on the bottom of the pan and leaving the sides crust-free.)
Alternatively, grab a 12-cup muffin pan (or two 6-cup muffin pans) and pop in parchment muffin liners. Place a heaping tablespoon of the crust mixture in each muffin liner, and flatten with a piece of parchment paper to form an even crust in each one.
Take out a powerful blender. (Yes, you will have to dirty two different kitchen electrics for this recipe, but trust me: it’s worth it.) Add the liquified coconut oil, coconut milk, lemon juice…
…maple syrup, soaked and drained cashews, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt to the blender.
Blitz until very smooth. Spoon out about ½ cup of batter and set aside.
Add the matcha to the batter in the blender and blitz until everything is mixed evenly.
Pour the filling into the pie crust.
Smooth the top of the cheesecake with an offset spatula.
Dollop the reserved cup of matcha-less batter onto the top of the cake in a circular pattern and then use a skewer to swirl it around in tighter circles to make a pretty design.
Making mini cheesecakes in a muffin pan? Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the matcha filling into each muffin liner.
Smooth the surface of each one, and then dollop a heaping teaspoon of the reserved batter on top. Use a wooden skewer to swirl the batter around to make a marble pattern.
Cover the pan(s) with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours or until set.
Ready to eat? You can thaw the cheesecake in the fridge for about 2 hours before serving, or you can leave it out on the counter for 10-15 minutes before dessert time. Pop it out of the springform pan…
…and slice and serve!
Or just pop out an individual mini matcha cheesecake!
The frozen cheesecake(s) will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Once thawed in the fridge, the cheesecake should be eaten within 4 days. (But I have a feeling it won’t take you that long to finish it off!)
More matcha recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Matcha Cheesecake (Vegan, Paleo, No-Bake)
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup pitted Medjool dates coarsely chopped
- ½ cup dry roasted and salted whole almonds
- ⅓ cup unsweetened toasted coconut flakes (you can toast raw coconut flakes at 300°F for 3 to 5 minutes or until browned)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil optional if using a springform cake pan
Filling
- ½ cup refined coconut oil melted
- ⅓ cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ⅓ cup maple syrup (you can add more if you want it sweeter)
- 2 cups raw unsalted cashews, soaked and drained soaked and drained
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch sea salt
- 1½ tablespoons matcha save 20% with code: nomnompaleo
Instructions
- Time to make the no-bake crust! Place the dates in the food processor and pulse a few times to roughly chop up the pieces.
- Then, hold down the “On” button until the pulverized dates form a sticky ball that thwacks against the side of the work bowl.
- Add the dry roasted and salted almonds and toasted coconut flakes to the food processor, and pulse until everything is the size of rice grains. The dough should stick when smushed together with your fingers. If your dates are dry, you can add a teeny bit of water to get the crust to hold together.
- If you’re making the cheesecake in a 7-inch springform pan, grease the bottoms and sides with coconut oil. Add the crust to the greased springform pan and use a piece of parchment to spread it evenly on the bottom. I like to push the crust down with an empty measuring cup to flatten the bottom evenly. (Warning: I know my pictures have the crust coming up the sides, but the crust on the sides can stick to the pan when you try to remove it. You may want to save yourself the time and annoyance of patching the crust on the sides by simply forming the crust on the bottom of the pan and leaving the sides crust-free.)
- Alternatively, grab a 12-cup muffin pan (or two 6-cup muffin pans) and pop in parchment muffin liners. Place a heaping tablespoon of the crust mixture in each muffin liner, and flatten with a piece of parchment paper to form an even crust in each one.
- Take out a powerful blender. (Yes, you will have to dirty two different kitchen electrics for this recipe, but trust me: it’s worth it.) Add the liquified coconut oil, coconut milk, lemon juice, maple syrup, soaked and drained cashews, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt to the blender. Blitz until very smooth. Spoon out about ½ cup of batter and set aside.
- Add the matcha to the batter in the blender and blitz until everything is mixed evenly.
- Pour the filling into the springform pan and smooth the top of the cheesecake with an offset spatula. Dollop the reserved cup of matcha-less batter onto the top of the cake in a circular pattern and then use a skewer to swirl it around in tighter circles to make a pretty design.
- Making mini cheesecakes in a muffin pan? Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the matcha filling into each muffin liner, smooth the surface of each one, and then dollop a heaping teaspoon of the reserved batter on top. Use a wooden skewer to swirl the batter around to make a marble pattern.
- Cover the pan(s) with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours or until set.
- Ready to eat? You can thaw the cheesecake in the fridge for about 2 hours before serving, or you can leave it out on the counter for 10-15 minutes before dessert time. Pop it out of the springform pan and slice and serve! Or just pop out an individual mini matcha cheesecake!
Video
Notes
- Soaking the cashews does take 2 to 4 hours with room temperature water, but you can speed up the process by soaking ’em in 4 cups of boiling water for 10-30 minutes.
- Don’t have time to use the soaked cashews right away? Rinse and drain them and then store them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- This vegan cheesecake is no-bake, but it’s not technically raw because I do use toasted almonds and coconuts in the crust. I think they taste better toasted! And use dry roasted and salted almonds—the salt balances out the sticky sweetness of the dates.
- I prefer using ceremonial grade matcha for this recipe due to it’s bright, vibrant green color, but if you don’t care about your cheesecake ending up a duller shade of green/brown, you can definitely substitute culinary grade matcha.
- This cheesecake is mildly sweet and matcha forward. If you don’t like matcha as much as I do, you can start with only 1 tablespoon and increase to taste. You can also increase the amount of maple syrup if you want it sweeter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Will it come out the same even if I omit the coconut flakes? (I don’t like the taste of coconut flakes)
Any suggestions on how to make if you don’t have a food processor? I have a vita mix but not a food processor. This looks so fabulous!
If you don’t want Matcha, could you use some other “flavoring” like cocoa or a berry puree?
Looks delicious 😋
Do you have a website?
Yep, this is my website.
I am a type2 diabetic my niece has celiac. I was looking for a desert recipe that would accompany us both. well we also have a ladies (friends) get-together every 2 months and I am the “cheesecake” lady lol. So I decided to give this recipe a little try. I only changed the crust a bit by adding cocoa powder and unsweetened coconut. Oh and added some chocolate drizzle to the top garnished with unsweetened coconut flakes. The only people who knew about this recipe was myself, my niece & sister in law but my inlaw didn’t know what the ingredients were. Well I have to say this desert was a HUUUGE hit. EVERYONE loved it and were suprised to hear the ingredients.
Thank you for sharing this recipe Donna and it’s especially sweet when they can’t even tell it’s paleo!
you are most welcome. i just received my 1st order for this recipe.
I love this cheese cake and have made it several times. But since we found out my boy is allergic to cashew nuts. What can I substitute instead and still have that cream lovely taste.
Hi, I haven’t found a substitute for the place of cashews to make the creamy base.
This vegan cheesecake tastes better than the store bought versions! The crust is out of this world delicious, super creamy filling. Very easy to make. Had my eye on this recipe for a long time, finally made it with my daughter. Thank you for a great recipe, can’t wait to make it again and try different flavors!
Can I use coconut cream instead of milk?
Yes!