Celebrate National Pistachio Day with These No-Bake Vegan Cheesecake Bites

|Updated Jun 14, 2022

@FloridaCrystals

Today, February 26th, is National Pistachio Day, celebrating the salty, high-fiber, high-protein green nut that is part of the cashew family, which contains 13 grams of fiber and 25 grams of plant-based protein per cup, a hearty snack to tide you over for your next meal.

In honor of this day, we're adding a sweet twist to pistachios with these vegan raspberry cheesecake bites that are easy to make and don't require any baking. This recipe calls for plant-based ingredients like vegan cream cheese, coconut oil, and pitted dates to make a smooth, sticky blend that holds together the crust. When your masterpiece is complete, you will end up with twelve mini adorable cheesecakes that everyone will love, children included.

Recipe Developer: Florida Crystals

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Freeze Time: 3 hours

Pistachio Vegan Cheesecake Bites

Makes 12 small cheesecakes

Ingredients

1 cup shelled pistachios, lightly salted
15 Whole dates, pitted
1 teaspoon Coconut oil, to grease the pan
3 cups (about 2 pints) Fresh raspberries
2 (8-ounce) Packages plain vegan cream cheese
½ cup of raw cane sugar
½ cup of light brown raw cane sugar
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
12 Fresh raspberries, for garnish

Instructions

Crust:

In a food processor, combine dates and pistachios. Blend the ingredients until paste forms. Set aside.

Filling:

In a blender, purée raspberries until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Discard seeds.
Return raspberry purée to the blender. Add cream cheese, raw cane sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

Cheesecake Assembly:

Grease 12 muffin pan openings with coconut oil. Cut 12 (1x5-inch) strips of parchment paper. Lay one strip across each opening, allowing it to overhang.
Spoon 1-tablespoon of crust mixture into each opening and press down firmly.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill the cups with raspberry filling.
Freeze cheesecakes for 3 hours or until firm.

Serving:

Remove pan from freezer 5 minutes before serving. Lift each cheesecake out of the pan by holding the ends of the parchment paper strips.
Discard paper and place cheesecakes onto a plate.

Pro Tip: If you do not have a mini cheesecake pan, you can use a cupcake pan to prepare the cheesecakes. Skip step 1 of the assembly instructions and instead, grease 12-cupcake pan openings with coconut oil. Cut 12 (1x5-inch) strips of parchment paper. Lay one strip across each opening, allowing it to overhang. Continue following assembly instructions.