Vegan Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars

These Gluten Free Vegan Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars are so simple to make and delicious! This no bake recipe only requires 30 minutes of prep time and you do not even have to turn your oven on. The chocolatey brownie crust combined with the creamy peanut butter cashew cream filling is to die for. This dessert pairs with just about anything!

Growing up, cheesecake was one of my favorites, especially cheesecake with peanut butter and chocolate. When I found out I had celiac disease and an allergy to dairy I thought I would never be able to eat it again. I was wrong! Little did I know I just needed to tweak a few things and I would be golden. Even people who don’t eat gluten and dairy free love this cheesecake. No one even knows it is vegan and gluten free!

Jump to:

• Why You Will Love This Recipe
• Ingredients
• Substitutions and Variations
• Instructions
• Equipment Needed
• Chef Tips and Tricks
• FAQs
• Storage Instructions
• Other Vegan Dessert Recipes
• If you liked this recipe be sure to rate it below!
• Vegan Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• This homemade cheesecake is super easy to make and doesn’t even require you to turn your oven on. 
• The peanut butter cashew cream filling combined with the brownie crust is seriously to die for!
• You can make this homemade dessert far in advance and freeze it.
• This recipe is naturally dairy free, gluten free, soy free, egg free, refined sugar free, vegan and grain free.
• You can substitute the peanut butter in this recipe with any other kind of nut butter. 
• If you want to jazz up this recipe even more you can add my homemade Vegan Reece’s Cups on top. 

Ingredients

For the cashew cream peanut butter filling:

• Peanut butter-The peanut butter is what gives this peanut butter cheesecake its taste! I prefer creamy peanut butter over chunky and crunchy but any kind will work.
• Dairy free milk-This makes the filling nice and creamy and helps blend up the cashews. I like using coconut or almond milk but any kind of milk will work.
• Coconut oil-This makes the filling nice and smooth.
• Sea salt-Just a pinch to taste.
• Vanilla-For flavor. Make sure you buy pure vanilla extract!
• Maple syrup-For sweetness.
• Cashews-This is what is used in place of cream cheese. When cashews are blended up with other ingredients like dairy free milk and coconut oil it creates a creamy like substance like cream cheese.

Gluten free brownie crust ingredients-

• Almond flour- This helps hold all of the ingredients together as well as acts as the base of the crust.
• Pitted dates- The dates are used to sweeten this recipe up as well as bind everything together.
• Maple syrup- Adds the perfect amount of sweetness.
• Vanilla-For flavor.
• Cocoa powder-This gives this gluten free crust a chocolatey taste.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements. 

Substitutions and Variations

For the cashew cream filling-

• The peanut butter can be substituted for almond butter or any other kind of nut butter. Just note that different nut butters have different tastes so the taste will vary.
• You can substitute honey with the maple syrup. Note that maple syrup has a richer taste so if you do substitute it with honey it will not taste as sweet.

For the gluten free brownie crust-

• You can substitute the maple syrup for raw honey. Note as stated above that honey is not as rich as maple syrup so it will not be as sweet.

This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!

Instructions

Equipment Needed

• 8 by 8 casserole dish or something comparable.
• High speed mixing blender.
• Spatula.

Chef Tips and Tricks

• 6 minutes may seem like a long time in the food processor but it is what is needed to get the filling nice and smooth.
• If your filling is grain-y, it needs to go back in the food processor until smooth.

FAQs

Storage Instructions

• It is best to store this recipe in an air tight casserole dish.
• This homemade dessert can last for up to 5 days in the fridge or a month in the freezer.

Other Vegan Dessert Recipes