Foods I know you are all asking the question…. What the heck is in this “cheesecake” then? And does it taste good? The answer to the second question is, Yes! This Pumpkin Spice Dairy Free Cheesecake tastes very good. It is incredibly decadent, rich, simply superb. The answer to the first question is explained below. You know what else? It is Gluten Free, Grain Free, Egg Free and Sugar Free too. Even better than all of this, it’s a No Bake “Cheesecake”! I like things that come easy.
Looking for gluten-free recipes and resources? This Everything Gluten Free page is a library of everything gluten free we’ve worked on.
Dairy free cheesecake! (Yes, it’s possible!)
I have been pondering (for some time) how to make a really good cheesecake recipe without the cheese and with all the wonderful taste that comes with it. Personally, I love cream cheese, but my kiddos’ bodies do not always love it. And to be honest, I have backed away from dairy quite a bit, even though I can have it and it has no ill effects on me. I digress. Either way, finding a great cheesecake without the cheese is not easy. However, I also didn’t look terribly hard.
Then came along my path, an “in your face” moment. I like those.
As some of you know, I am studying to be an herbalist through Vintage Remedies. I had recently ordered some useful books from the company to add to my studies and they gave me a copy of Real Foods on a Budget. It’s a great book if you are new to real foods, or even a seasoned veteran. I enjoyed reading it and gleaned some new, helpful information to apply to our lives and in it, I also found a great dairy free cheesecake recipe. That was it! I hit the treasure chest as far as that recipe went. It got me thinking again about how to make things dairy free.
The only negative was that it had a grain crust and it also had honey. It also didn’t have pumpkin. I love pumpkin. I believe I enjoy this time of year more than most when it comes to pumpkin. In fact, I enjoy pumpkin so much, that I can have it all year long and never tire of it. You may not be the pumpkin lover that I am, but I am sure you will find a way to enjoy this recipe.
Now…back to the recipe so I don’t drool on my keypad over pumpkin!
The hurdles I had to jump were how to add the pumpkin, keep the “cheesecake” solidified without honey, and make sure there was also enough liquid since I was removing honey and the other liquid ingredient, lemon juice. I don’t think that the lemon juice would be too good in a pumpkin spice cheesecake, do you?
So I subbed out the liquids with the pumpkin, coconut milk and the big ticket, gelatin. Perfect.
We’re now in Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake heaven!
Pumpkin Spice Dairy Free Cheesecake {Gluten Free, Grain Free, Sugar Free and Egg Free}
Equipment
- Pie plate, 9"
- Blender
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1/2 cup ground flax meal
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 3-4 tablespoon extra virgin organic coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon THM Gentle Sweet or Truvia or other sweetener to taste
For the Filling:
- 3 cups cashews or pecans, walnuts, or almonds. A combination of these can work too
- 2/3 to 1 cup coconut milk full fat
- 2/3 cup pumpkin
- 1 cup coconut oil melted
- 2 tablespoons THM Gentle Sweet or other sweetener to taste
- 1 tablespoon gelatin
- 1 tablespoon gluten free vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves or allspice or nutmeg (your choice)
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Mix the flax, almond flour, cinnamon and sweetener together with a fork.
- Soften the coconut oil and blend the coconut oil with the flour mixture.
- Press into a 9" pie dish.
For the Filling:
- Add all of the ingredients into the blender, except the coconut oil.
- Blend on high until the ingredients are well homogenized, pouring the coconut oil in while blending.
- Use a spatula or tool to keep in the ingredients moving in the blender. Watch out for the blades!
- Pour into the crust-lined pie dish.
- Place into the refrigerator for 24 hours or until firm enough to serve (until it no longer jiggles in the center).
- Serve and Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
*For people following the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this is definitely a crossover dessert. In my opinion, this is a very worthy crossover too. I would have a Fuel Pull meal to pair with this or I would eat this as an afternoon snack.
Now was that a difficult recipe? No. Super easy and amazingly tasty. You do not have to deprive yourself of the joys of life just because you need to avoid certain foods. Be creative and keep on living and loving life. You are worth the time it takes to tweak things and have fun in the kitchen. Remember this has no cheese in it, so the texture will be slightly different but it is delicious.
When I originally gave the recipe to Trisha, she was a little leery about how good and cheesecake-like this might be. You may be too. Let me share with you what she shared:
I wanted to let you know I tried the pumpkin cheesecake. Two thumbs up! I can’t believe how much like cheesecake it tasted. I was a bit skeptical. I figured it would be good, but I didn’t expect it to have the right texture and everything. It was awesome. I used the pecans (since I am sensitive to cashews) and increased the coconut milk to 1 cup. It set up really nicely!
Not only do you have my tastes but hers to compare things to. I sure hope you love it as much as I do!
Now go get creative!
What are helpful tweaks you have made to re-create your favorite foods? Do you have any other helpful tips to give to those who are new to the “free” real foods lifestyle? Please share in the comments.
Looking for more Pumpkin Goodness???
Why not try some of these other delicious pumpkin recipes? They’re of course all grain-free and sugar-free
This looks great! Love recipes that I can just sweeten with stevia! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. I’m going to make it for our Thanksgiving meal. It looks delicious. I have pinned, tweeted and shared this recipe on my Friday link roundup. Thanks, Amanda!
You are welcome Melanie 🙂 Thanks for sharing! I hope you love it.
Just curious, in your opinion why is honey a negative? It is my understanding that stevia would be the negative (natural, but processed sweetener that elevates blood sugar). Just my research on the subject so I’m always curious to hear other opinions.
I’m not Amanda and I didn’t author the post, but thought I’d weigh in on this question. There are some benefits of honey, but the big drawback would be that it does create a pretty significant insulin spike (I wrote a whole post on the benefits and drawbacks of honey here).
Stevia in the form that we use it, is processed, but it does not elevate the blood sugar. You can read more about stevia here.
Hope that helps!
I only have liquid stevia (or honey). How much would I use in your recipe? Thank you.
Good question Barbara. I would choose liquid stevia to taste. That means I would add a little, taste it, add more if needed. I would do this during blending. The honey would add too much liquid. ~ Amanda
I’m pinning this. I need my pumpkin cheesecake but this year I’m gluten/dairy free. Thanks for sharing this.
Glad to hear this 🙂 You’re welcome and I hope you love it! ~ Amanda
I am curious if you use raw nuts or roasted and does it make a difference? Also, salted or unsalted?
I am very excited to make this for family members with allergies! Thank you!!
Jennifer, Those are excellent questions! Personally I do think that the taste would vary greatly if you used salted and roasted nuts. Digestibility would also be an issue for some because roasting usually means the nuts are coated in oils that can cause issues for people with sensitive guts. We use only raw unsalted nuts for our cheesecake. 🙂 Thanks for the great question! ~ Amanda
Have you tried Chia instead of flax? Unfortunately, that is one of my many food allergies. I am trying to find some go to recipes. Thanks!
Is this a no bake crust?