vegan peanut butter cheesecake

Vegan Peanut Butter Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for my brother’s birthday the other day. I thought it would be a nice change from a regular birthday cake, plus he likes peanut butter and chocolate and I thought that combo would go so much better in the form of a cheesecake! 

This cheesecake is vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free.

This vegan peanut butter cheesecake has a secret ingredient. Care to guess what it is? Well as the title suggests, there is no ‘cheese’ in this recipe, or any type of dairy for that matter. To make it vegan, I used tofu (yes, TOFU!) instead of cream cheese. I’ve been loving using tofu recently. I try to avoid dairy products as much as I can and since the hubby and I have started reducing our meat intake, tofu has become an essential ingredient in my kitchen. It’s so versatile! I’ve been using it in main meals as a source of protein, in desserts and in baking instead of, or to reduce the amount of oil I use.

To some, tofu may sound like an exotic ingredient that will be almost impossible to get hold of, but in reality, most supermarkets now stock it. You can find it either in the ‘free-from’ section where you usually find the Quorn products or in the international isle where you find Asian foods. I live in the city centre and our main supermarket is tiny and I was still able to find it. 

vegan peanut butter cheesecake

I wanted this vegan peanut butter cheesecake to have a chocolate base, because let’s face it, one of the best things to pair with peanut butter (apart from jam, of course!) is chocolate! Literally all I did was pulse peanuts, dates and cocoa in the food processor with a little bit of coconut oil to help the mixture hold together. 

The same with the ‘cheese’ topping, again in the food processor I blended tofu, peanut butter, creamed coconut and sweetener and boom, you have the most gorgeous, rich peanut butter cheesecake topping! 

vegan peanut butter cheesecake vegan peanut butter cheesecake vegan peanut butter cheesecake

This vegan peanut butter cheesecake is by no means low in calories and it’s definitely not low in fat, however all the ingredients are unprocessed and good for you! It’s full of healthy fats, the kind that you NEED in your diet and to make it lower in carbs I’m using stevia instead of sugar. Of course if you don’t like stevia you can use any other sweetener you prefer! 

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If you liked this recipe you may also like my Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

raw-strawberry-cheesecake