This easy, no-bake cheesecake recipe makes a wonderful, healthy summertime (or anytime) dessert. My dear friend Annie from One Body for Christ served this when we visited her over the summer at her family’s new farm in Northern California. I just had to have the recipe and share it with you – it’s SO GOOD!
Annie’s No Bake Cheesecake (GF)
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnut baking pieces
- 12 whole pitted organic medjjool dates
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 1 cup plain organic whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1 cup (8oz) organic plain (or cultured) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup pure honey (I prefer sage honey due to its mild flavor)
- 1/4 cup all-fruit strawberry jam (or homemade jam)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups of your favorite assorted fresh organic berries
Step One: Nutty Crust
Step Two: Cheesecake Filling
Step Three: Fresh Berry Topping
Instructions
- Combine nuts, dates and coconut oil in a food processor and process until very finely chopped. (The mixture will resemble a graham cracker crust.)
- Press the nut mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish.
- Combine all ingredients in clean food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
- Pour into pie shell, using a rubber spatula to scrape down sides of bowl.
- Spread filling evenly in pie shell.
- Place in freezer for 12-24 hours until frozen solid.
- When ready to serve, remove the frozen cheesecake from the freezer and allow it to sit on the counter about 20 minutes prior to serving – this makes it easier to slice.
- While waiting for it to thaw a bit, arrange fresh berries in a pleasing pattern across the top of the cheesecake. Then slice and enjoy! (Recipe adapted from "What the Bible Says About Healthy Living Cookbook.”)
Step One: Nutty Crust
Step Two: Cheesecake Filling
Step Three: Fresh Berry Topping
Hi Kelly, what are your thoughts about using STEVIA in the filling instead of Maple? Do you ever like to use Stevia and if so, how much do you recommend as a conversion?
Yes, stevia is a healthy alternative as well. But just be sure you are using 100% stevia, i.e. the label on the package should read: stevia ONLY. There are two brands that I know for sure are 100% stevia: Kal stevia extract (nothing else added; less aftertaste) and Navita’s stevia (unprocessed).
I generally use stevia as a booster-sweetener to get an extra sweet punch in certain dessert recipes. But I personally don’t care for it as a primary sweetener – just a matter of taste preference. And since we do not have health issues that limit us from consuming pure maple syrup and raw honey in moderation, these are the two primary natural sweeteners I prefer to utilize. My personal opinion is that cooked/baked powdered stevia can be bitter, leaving an unpleasant aftertaste in baked goods. I believe stevia works best in creamy/liquid food, such as puddings, custards, smoothies and beverages.
So for this particular recipe, I think stevia would work well (since it’s creamy and not baked). You could easily start out with a small amount of stevia and taste the filling and adjust it to get it to the desired sweetness level. Hope you enjoy this delicious cheesecake! Many blessings, Kelly
Thanks for your wisdom. Your opinion has become very important to us! This dessert is stunning and It tops my list of things to try for the holiday. Cannot wait to share the raves I get with all of your recipes.
Blessings to you. You are one of the bigger blessings in our journey to balance health and delicious foods!
You are too kind, Gwen. It’s an honor to help precious families like yours! Blessings to you, sweet friend! 🙂 Kelly
We’re not big fans of walnuts, or really any nuts beyond almonds and cashews, come to think of it. Is there another nut that I could replace the walnuts with? This sounds so good, I really want to try it, but the walnuts throw me… 🙂
Sure, you could use any nut you prefer with this. Since it’s raw (not baked), the nut you choose won’t impact it setting, since it’s the dates that hold it together. Cashews would be a TERRIFIC choice, they work very well with dates! Mmm! Blessings, Kelly 🙂
Hi Kelly,
I am currently out of maple syrup. Do you think raw agave would work? I know it’s a bit thinner than syrup. Do you think it might change it setting up? I’m guessing honey would work as well. My family LOVES honey, but me….not a bit fan, so I try to change it up a bit. lol!!!!!
Thanks.
Hi, Tammy. Great question. Although agave syrup isn’t recommended by those following the WAPF principles, it certainly works in place of maple syrup cup-for-cup and will not impact this recipe setting up. Honey may also work, but I would use less (since it tends to be sweeter in flavor) and it may (due to it’s consistency) make the texture just a bit different, but still should be fine since this is a frozen dessert. If you’d like to read about why WAPF doesn’t recommend agave syrup, you can find a couple of links to the info below. But I always welcome and encourage everyone to do your own research and come to your own conclusions about what is best for your health particularly if you are battling health-related issues.
Many blessings to you and thank you again for that super kind note you emailed! You are such a blessing! 🙂 Kelly
http://www.westonaprice.org/press/press-release-2009apr12
http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/agave-nectar-of-gods
HI Kelly,
Thanks for the tip on the agave. I have to say I’m a bit disappointed. Not being a honey fan, I’ve enjoyed the alternative. I came across Agave when I saw a cookbook that a woman wrote who was hypoglycemic and could use agave as it was low on the glycemic index chart. I even purchased the “raw” thinking it had all those great nutrients. Oh well. 🙂 I will finish up what I have (yeah, I buy it by the gallon) lol!!!! and keep on with maple syrup and honey. 🙂 I’m not a big stevia fan, just don’t care for the taste.
Am looking forward to trying this pie. Will be making it for this weekend. 🙂
I know there are lots of agave fans out there and again, you’ve got to make your own decisions as to what’s best for your health. I just want to be sure people do have access to analyzing the data. By the way, although I do like honey, I don’t like strong honey-flavored food. That’s why I recommend using the very mild clover or sage variety of honey, because it’s flavor is much more subtle in recipes. The strong floral type honeys can be very overpowering. Also, you can use less honey because of it’s stronger sweetness, so you may find reducing the amount by a couple of tablespoons or more, better for your palate. Hope this helps! Many blessings, Kelly 🙂
Thanks, Kelly.
I appreciate your willingness to pass along info and let people make there own decisions. I’m the same way. 🙂 You gotta do what’s best for you and your family. 🙂
Thanks for the honey tip. I never really think about it the different types. We get our honey from a local guy. I’m not sure he even has different types. I will have to ask. 🙂
I’m making the pie today, so we can enjoy it Sunday afternoon. I’m excited to try it. I don’t have a food processor yet, so am going to make an almond graham cracker crust. (my blender just doesn’t work for this type of thing).
Oh and I think I read it somewhere here, about zesting a lemon then freezing the lemon juice. Well, if I did, thanks for that tip. I needed to zest a whole lemon the other day and typically I go “okay, I gotta use this juice now”. I NEVER thought to toss it is the freezer. But that’s just what I did. 😀 THANKS!!!!!
you are so welcome and yes, that is me who advises on freezing lemon zest anytime you are going to use a lemon for juice and vice versa. it’s so convenient to have it on hand. plus, it’s frugal too! 🙂 i appreciate your kind words! lots of blessings to you, Kelly
HI Kelly,
The pie was a big hit!!!!!!! I ended up using agave. (might as well use it up. haha). I used raspberry all fruit jam. And the crust ended up being hazelnut/graham cracker, as my kiddos had gotten to all the almonds. LOL!!!! 😀 I didn’t put fruit on top. We thought it was sweet enough without it. Thanks for sharing.
Hooray! So glad you all enjoyed it! Raspberry jam sounds delicious!!! There are so many raspberries at the market right now, I’ll have to try it that way – I may fold some fresh raspberries right into the pie too rather than put them on top. Woo Hoo! Thanks for your kind words! Blessings to you, Kelly 🙂