Vegan Turtle Cheesecake (paleo, no-bake) - Texanerin Baking (2024)

This paleo vegan turtle cheesecake is rich, creamy and won’t leave you missing the dairy! It’s also no-bake and perfect for Christmas.

I can’t stop making variations of this vegan cheesecake. The base is just so perfect.

I’d tried numerous vegan cheesecake recipes over the last few years but didn’t love them enough to post. So now that I have one that I love, I’m going to adapt the heck out of it. :D

I posted another vegan cheesecake recently, this vegan pumpkin cheesecake but I’m posting another already because I want you all to have enough time to try this out before Christmas.

Not that you need to try it out. I can’t stop making it so I can ensure you that it is very well tested!

If you’ve never had vegan cheesecake before, you might be wondering how cashews work to replace cream cheese and eggs. It’s just magical. That’s all I can say!

If you’ve tried other vegan cheesecake recipes in the past and thought that they were gross (that was me for years), I urge you to give this one a try! Even my pickiest taste testers loved it.

And no, you can’t taste the coconut at all! I recommend using refined coconut oil. Otherwise, you might be able to detect some coconut taste!

You might notice that I didn’t use a ton of pecans. If you want a thicker pecan layer, use about 1 1/3 cups pecans and chop them up more finely than in the photos.

Stir them into the full batch of caramel. Top with mini chocolate chip or piped chocolate.

For more pecan treats that’d be great for Christmas, try these mini caramel pecan tarts or this pecan pie fudge. This dairy-free chocolate fondue would also be great!

Substitution questions about this vegan turtle cheesecake recipe?

• What can I use in place of the cashews?

  I think any nut would work for the crust. I always use cashews and almonds in the crust. I thought about pecans but they’re super expensive here and you wouldn’t be able to taste them so much with the cocoa powder in there, anyway.

  For the filling, I don’t think there’s a good sub for a vegan dessert like this.
• Can I use something instead of dates in the crust?

  I haven’t tried it but perhaps prunes would work. I’m not sure how different they taste but I think with all that cocoa powder, it’d cover up any unusual taste.

• Can I use something other than coconut milk?

  Another type of milk might work but it won’t be quite as rich, creamy or thick. It could also possibly be too soft to cut.



• Can I use something other than maple syrup?

  Any liquid sweetener would probably work (that you would use as a 1:1 sub for maple syrup or honey).

• Can I use something other than coconut oil?

  I’ve only tried this vegan turtle cheesecake with coconut oil and recommend using that.

• Can I use something other than lemon juice?

  Unfortunately not. It’s needed to give the cheesecake it’s slight zing. Without it, the cheesecake tastes kind of flat.


• Can I use a different sized pan?

  Definitely! Your cheesecake will just be thinner. Think about the crust, though. If you want an 8″x8″,you’ll probably want to double the crust. If you use a 6″ springform, you’ll have a little too much for the pan and will need to put the leftover filling in something else.

• I don’t have a food processor or high-speed blender. What else can I use?

  Sorry to say that you need one of those. You can’t chop up the dates finely enough without one. And because of more importantly – the filling. I really, really recommend a high-speed blender (not a regular blender!) over the food processor. It’ll get the filling perfectly smooth and creamy. I can’t say that all food processors will do the same (though I’m sure some would!).



About the sauce:

• Can I use something instead of coconut cream?

  I can’t think of a paleo or vegan sub. Heavy cream would probably work if you can have dairy. Almond milk, cashew milk, etc. would be too thin.

  See Also

  Maggie Beer's beef meat pie with sour cream pastry

• Can I use something instead of maple syrup?

  I wouldn’t recommend it! I know some people are probably curious about honey (for a non-vegan version) but I haven’t had a good experience using honey in place of maple syrup in boiled caramel recipes.

• Can I use something instead of coconut sugar?

  Brown sugar would probably work for a non-paleo version.

If you try out this vegan turtle cheesecake, I’d love to hear what you think!

❀