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Raw Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake

This velvety cheesecake literally MELTS in your mouth! And the best part is that it's secretly good for you! How to make it: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2014/04/01/bake-cinnamon-swirl-cheesecake/

This velvety cheesecake literally MELTS in your mouth.

With such a smooth and creamy texture, it’s almost impossible to believe the cheesecake recipe contains no cream, no dairy, no gluten, no soy, and no eggs.

cinnamon swirl

Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake

Cinnamon Bun Cheesecake

You don’t even need to heat up the oven. Just blend the ingredients together, pour the batter into a pan, and chill until firm.

This velvety cheesecake literally MELTS in your mouth! And the best part is that it's secretly good for you - no sugar, no butter, no flour. How to make it: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2014/04/01/bake-cinnamon-swirl-cheesecake/

Raw Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake

  • 1/2 cup applesauce (120g)
  • 1 1/2 cups raw cashews (150g)
  • 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp virgin coconut oil (30g)
  • pinch pure stevia plus 2 tbsp water (or 1/4 cup pure maple syrup and omit the water)
  • just under 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon, divided

Place the cashews in a cereal bowl, cover with water, and soak overnight. The next day, drain and pat the cashews completely dry. Combine all cheesecake ingredients, except 1/2 tsp cinnamon, in a high-speed blender or food processor, and process on high until the mixture is completely smooth. Make the crust:

  • just over 1/2 cup pitted dates
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup almonds (80g)
  • 1/16 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • up to 1 tbsp water, if needed

Combine all crust ingredients in a high-quality food processor (not a blender), and process until fine sticky crumbles form. If mixture is too dry, add the water and process again. Press the crumbles into the bottom of an 8.5-inch round pan, then smooth all but 2 tbsp of the cheesecake filling on top. Combine the reserved 1/2 tsp cinnamon with the reserved 2 tbsp cheesecake filling. Spread this paste on top of the pie, then use a fork to swirl it around the cheesecake. Freeze until the cheesecake is firm enough to slice.

View Nutrition Facts

 

 

Question of the Day: 

What would be your dream cheesecake flavor?

Cookie Dough? Crème Brulee? Chocolate Banana Marble Swirl? Basic Raw Cheesecake? Please feel free to get as creative as you want with your answers!

Published on April 1, 2014

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been 
featured on The 
Today Show, CNN, 
Fox, The 
Huffington Post, and 
ABC's 5 O’Clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

Learn more about Katie

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94 Comments

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  1. EVA says

    I’m intrigued! And it’s awesome to see a GF/vegan cheesecake recipe that doesn’t rely on Greek yogurt. Is there any possible substitution for the coconut oil, I can’t digest the fats in coconut.

    Dream flavor…..hmmm….cookies and creme? I haven’t had smores in a long time, maybe that’d make a scrumptious variety!

    • Hannah Elizabeth says

      I have not made this particular recipe, but I have made stuff with a cashew base several times before (like Katie’s chocolate strawberry truffle pie – yum!), and the cashews are so mild, they just blend with whatever other flavors are in the dish. They are so smooth and creamy, and impart virtually no flavor; the people to whom I have served such dishes were always puzzled as to what I had used as a base. I absolutely *love* working with cashews!! Cashews and cauliflower have got to be my two favorite secret ingredients of all time!!

  2. Emily J. says

    This looks divine! I don’t know about my dream cheesecake flavor, but dark chocolate/orange sounds delish! This is a dumb question (!) but what is cashews soak? Is it just cashews that have been soaked and drained?

    • Michelle says

      Hmm… I’m guessing she meant “raw cashews, soaked.” Cashews that are soaked and then drained, yes. Looks like it’s just a typo!

  3. Christine says

    That looks SO good. My dream cheesecake is one I used to make before going V/GF. Boston Creme Cheesecake. A layer of yellow cake, a layer of cheesecake on top, and then chocolate ganache. SO good!

  4. robin says

    This looks awesome. If I wasn’t at work right now I would be making it. Love the fact that u don’t need Vegan Cream Cheese. I have been wondering if there was a good homemade version for cream cheese and it looks like you have created it.
    I was wondering what blender you use? Everyone loves their blenders and I want to purchase one. I have read so many reviews. I am sure whatever I choose I will be happy with. Enjoy..rm
    A rasberry dark choclolate cheescake sounds good right about now.
    Enjoy always..robin

  5. Jaime says

    Cant wait to try this!

    Also, if I can make a suggestion: name your photos the title of your dessert amd your blog name. This helps when pinning directly from your site 🙂

  6. Hannah Elizabeth says

    I have not made this particular recipe, but I have made stuff with a cashew base several times before (like Katie’s chocolate strawberry truffle pie – yum!), and the cashews are so mild, they just blend with whatever other flavors are in the dish. They are so smooth and creamy, and impart virtually no flavor; the people to whom I have served such dishes were always puzzled as to what I had used as a base. I absolutely *love* working with cashews!! Cashews and cauliflower have got to be my two favorite secret ingredients of all time!!

  7. Natalie @ Feasting on Fruit says

    This looks dangerously good. I love the inclusion of applesauce to boost the volume in a healthy way.
    My dream (and quite unconventional) flavor would be marshmallow cheesecake! Creamy cashews…melt down a bag of Dandies…I may have to try this 🙂

  8. Emily says

    Katie, why, why! I just gave my daughter the half-cup of applesauce left in the fridge this morning… and used the cashews I soaked for a pot pie! Why didn’t you beam this to my brain about six hours ago instead?!

    Ahh it looks so good. For next week, I guess. 🙂

  9. Kate @Almond Butter Binge says

    This looks amazing! I’ve never worked with cashew cream before, but this looks good enough to make me start. Yum!

    I noticed Ellen loves you so much that she put a photo of the two of you on the coffee table…nice 😉

  10. Ana @ HealthyNationalDesserts says

    The cashews filling looks so amazing, I will definitely give this a try. My dream cheesecake flavor is dark chocolate.

  11. AnnaBananaBelle says

    Wow this looks great! I am wondering though, does this taste anything like traditional cheesecake? I love cheesecake and I am hoping that this is going to taste very similar. Hoping for the best, i think i will try this weekend. 🙂

  12. Emma says

    Mmmmm. Looks so delicious. I go through cinnamon at the rate of knots!
    I think my ideal cheesecake flavour would be lemon 😀

  13. Lauren says

    This made my day finally I can try one or your cheesecake recipes! Though it’d still be cheating for me it’s not soy or whatever processed stuff so ya I’m making it! Thank you!!! The cheesecakes were always the most haunting recipes for me 😉

  14. victoria says

    looks amazing! i am soaking cashews right now!!
    do you think it freezes well? i want to eat some tomorrow and some next week!

    p.s. i have been a longtime follower of your blog and this is my first ever comment. everything i have ever made (and it’s been a lot) has turned out incredible!!!

  15. Emily says

    Katie I absolutely love you! I actually just decided to go vegan (partly because of your blog!) and was wondering if you had any tips for me? Can’t wait to go try ALL of your vegan recipes now 😉

  16. Michelle says

    Hi Katie! I was wondering if there was a reason the recipe has us making the filling first and the crust second. Wouldn’t it make more sense to do it the other way around? Then we’d be able to make the crust, press it into the pan, make the filling, and be able to dump it right on to the crust. If I make the filling first then I would have to transfer it to another container while I made the crust. Is there a specific reason for the order you have written here? Thank you!

  17. Haley says

    I would love to see more RAW low fat recipes from your brilliant mind!! I Always enjoys your creatively delicious blog! Keep on keeping life epic 🙂

  18. Jessica says

    Any cheesecake is good by me. I recently had a Bananas Foster cheesecake and a cookie dough cheesecake with a mocha crust. Having said that, there’s an awesome Greek restaurant by me that has a Baklava cheesecake. One day I want to cheat and try it. Two of my favorite desserts in one!

  19. Ale says

    Hi Katie! I’m from Peru and I’m obsessed with your blog. I’m trying this recipe this weekend. My favorite cheesecake flavour is Toblerone cheesecake. (P.S. thank you for teaching me that cutting off dairy doesn’t mean cutting off yummy desserts).

  20. Lisa @bitesforbabies says

    I totally remember when you were “on” Ellen! Actually, I remember looking at your picture and thinking your face looked kind of weird, lol!!!! As for the cake, it looks amazing!! I LOVE cinnamon and through it in every recipe I can but I’ve never to make a cinnamon-based cake! Yum!

    • MK says

      Her face is GORGEOUS .. not weird!

      And I’m looking forward to serving this at Thanksgiving tomorrow alongside Oh She Glows pumpkin pie 🙂 Thank you CCK!

  21. Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen says

    I totally fell for your April Fool’s until I read some of the comments! Too good (like this cheesecake!) nom nom nom! My favourite cheesecake is pumpkin, chocolate and also smores cheesecake (I could never choose just one!) Pinned 🙂

  22. Izzy says

    hey katie! i’m a big fan of your blog, and i love your recipes. i have noticed a lot of your recipes contain applesauce and i’d like to know if i could substitute anything for this? thanks.

  23. Jeanette says

    I just ordered a big tub of cashews, but I think they are roasted…is that going to screw up all potential recipes? 🙁

  24. Jena says

    I made this for a baby shower-ish thing today, and I knew people with a number of allergies would be attending. Very tasty, though I didn’t give it enough time to get firm, apparently (about how long do you think we should set aside for that, for future reference?), and my pan was also bigger, so my result was a bit flatter. I was so excited about it (I’ve never really made such a healthy dessert before in my life, I think) that I kept asking people if they’d tried it & what they thought–it certainly didn’t last long! And it was so easy! Zip zip in the food processor!

  25. Heather Mason says

    I had the same problem. Mine was in the fridge for at least 5 hours and it never got firm… I don’t think it ever will.

      • Maria Petrie says

        Why does the coconut oil need to be virgin? I used refined because my husband doesn’t like the taste of coconuts. It didn’t firm up in the fridge, but it did in the freezer. Very tasty filling, could not believe it wasn’t cream cheese. Do you have any other GF crusts you think would pair with the filling? The dates were a bit much for us.

        • Unofficial CCK Helper says

          Try her healthy graham cracker crust! Or I believe the chocolate crust might use raisins instead of dates.

  26. Leah says

    Wow. This was amazing. I made this last week and savored every bite! I did share with my 1 year old…and we ate it for breakfast many days. I mean, its made of mostly nuts, its protein right? SO GOOD! Thank you for this amazing recipe, absolutely will make it again. Also, a tip, I used Trader Joes Cashew Meal moistened with some hot water instead of soaking cashews and grinding them up. Makes it easy peasy and no waiting 🙂

  27. Lisa B says

    Hi
    I was just reading all the comments because i want to make this today. But do I have to use the extra virgin coconut oil? Can I sub it with regular oil?
    2nd question, do you know how long this will last once done and I guess keep it in the freezer?

  28. Serena says

    This looks amazing! How long does it need to freeze for and do you store it in the freezer afterwards? Thanks!

  29. Sarah says

    Is there any substitution for the nuts? My daughter is allergic to all nuts and I always feel guilty making things she can’t eat. It sounds so amazing I plan to make it anyway (I may just have to be sneaky about it)!

    • alana says

      you could probably try using some sort of seed- similar fat content to nuts and will grind up well to make a buttery kinda substance (think tahini or sunflower seed butter). still i don’t know about sunflower seeds but tahini is not at all mild…i’d probably suggest sunflower seeds i suppose

  30. Ro says

    This is the BEST recipe ever. It is my go to recipe. I make it at least every month! 🙂 Check out my IG @bikinirawkinvegan! I use SO MANY of your recipes. Thank you :):)

    • Unofficial CCK Helper says

      To print, highlight just the recipe itself and right-click “copy.” Then open a new Word document and right-click “paste.” You can name this document, save it in a “CCK Recipes” folder, and print it easily from that point.

  31. Frances Barker says

    This looks so delicious and scrumptious mm good !!
    I want to make this but do I have to use cashews ? Can I use almonds and just soak them the same way? Thanks For Sharing This Fabulous Recipe 🙂

  32. Robin DeMaio says

    katie can this be made in a springform pan? I have a small 7 inch one I use to make cheesecakes in my electric pressure cooker….

  33. susan says

    I would really like to know where you find all your cashews at a price that doesn’t break the bank. Cashews around my area are extremely expensive…

  34. gill says

    This looks lovely and I will definitely try it.
    I have one question: I see ‘applesauce’ in American recipes a lot and wondered if you could clarify what it is? I am guessing that I would just take some apples and stew them in a little water, and assume that this being you, it would not have any sugar added. But what sort of apples? I know that Americans do not use the tart Bramleys so would I use Granny Smiths or sweeter ones such as Braeburn?

    Fave flavour: Malteser, Crunchie, butterscotch or white chocolate (all not available to dairy free me :-(!! )

    Gill.

  35. Lucy says

    Hi katie! I am making this for our “house anniversary” (ie. we’ve lived here exactly four years). I measured out 1 1/2 cups of cashews but it came out as 190g. Should I go by my cup measurements, or use 150g as the recipe says? Thanks 🙂

  36. ami says

    i made this, totally messed it up; forgot the lemon; didn’t have the right size pan; but the filling and crust still tasted delicious as i was making it; awaiting final results as it is freezing now.

    • Jason Sanford says

      Sure you could! You’d have to experiment to find the right amount, but be sure to report back if you try, for other readers!

  37. Elly says

    Hi Katie,
    Firstly I have to say thank you for all your amazing recipes!
    I’ve made this cheesecake with your ‘ridiculously easy chocolate pie crust’ but subbed out the 1/2 cup of raw cashews with sunflower seeds instead, since this recipe already had cashews. Also, I’ve used raisins instead of dates and it turned out fine.

    I didn’t have applesauce so I blended a very ripe pear instead.

    I was too excited to wait for the cashews to soak overnight so I soaked my cashews with piping hot water, drained them and repeated the process three more times and they turned out perfectly fine. The trick is to blend them really well in the end.

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