Creamy vegan cheesecake bars topped with a luscious cranberry topping. The gluten free oat and almond crust couldn’t be simpler! Easy to make, 12 ingredients, and refined sugar free.
Mix crust: Use a food processor to pulse oats into a fine powder. Add almonds, cinnamon and salt. Pulse until almonds are the consistency of almond flour. Add coconut oil and maple syrup and pulse until the mixture comes together in a ball.
Bake crust: Line 1 (8x8-inch) baking pan with parchment. Transfer mixture into pan and use the back of a spoon to press it firmly into the bottom. Bake until the edges are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven to cool.
Blend filling: In a high-speed blender, combine soaked cashews, coconut cream, maple syrup, lemon juice, coconut oil and vanilla. Blend until smooth and creamy. Pour over the crust. Refrigerate until set (about 6 hours or ideally overnight).
Make topping: Meanwhile, add cranberries, orange juice, and maple syrup to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes. Mix water and arrowroot together until smooth. Add the mixture to the cranberries, and stir well to mix. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a container and refrigerate.
Serve: Once the cheesecake filling has set, spoon over the cranberry topping. Slice into bars and serve. Refrigerate extra bars.
Notes
How to soak cashews: Cashews should be soaked until soft when squeezed between your fingertips. To soak cashews, either cover them with boiling water (soak for about 30 minutes) or cover them with room temperature water (soak for 6 to 8 hours).
Coconut cream: Either from a can of coconut cream, or the solids scooped from a can of full fat coconut milk. If using cans of coconut milk, 2 cans should yield about 1.5 cups coconut cream. For some brands, the coconut solids may have already started to separate in the can at room temperature. But to maximize separation, place cans in the back of the fridge overnight (or ideally 24 hours) before using. Do not substitute with boxed nut milk (it doesn't have enough fat).
Recipe adapted from our Vegan Cheesecake with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce recipe