“Learn how to cook–try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!” -Julia Child Recently I was asked the question, “How has having a baby affected the way you cook?” After thinking a minute, I replied, “Not much, really.” It’s not at all what I expected in adding a tiny human to our lives. But Alex and I have made cooking such a part of our routine that adding a baby didn’t rock it much at all. Cooking is so much a part of life that after bringing our son Larson home from the hospital, I was dying to get into the kitchen again. It makes us feel grounded and at home. It’s just plain fun. We want to cook, instead of feeling like we’re trying to fit it in. One of our biggest tips for people who want to get in the kitchen is: Cooking should be fun. It might not be at every moment, but what about approaching it with a sense of fun? Keep reading for this no bake blackberry vegan cheesecake bites recipe.
How to make vegan cheesecake bites
Now that Larson is old enough to eat food that we eat, I’m over the moon excited when he likes a recipe I’ve created. And guess what? He is absolutely in love with these blackberry vegan cheesecake bites! They’re chock full of good-for-you ingredients: cashews, pecans, oats, coconut oil, blackberries, balsamic vinegar, and a bit of maple syrup. The balsamic vinegar adds a tartness and a shine to the fruit, a trick that we learned from Italian cuisine. What makes these little bites vegan cheesecakes? (It’s actually also raw cheesecake too!) The filling is made of soaked cashews, which creates a creamy center. Blended together with some blackberries, maple syrup, and balsamic vinegar, it makes a lovely sweet-tart purple cream. These vegan cheesecake bites are elegant enough for a Thanksgiving or Christmas spread, but tasty enough for an 8-month old. He’d say two thumbs up, if he had enough fine motor control!
Using canned blackberries
These vegan cheesecake bites use a product we’re new to: canned fruit. Typically we only use blackberries in the summer months, or opt for frozen blackberries for smoothies. And I’ll be honest: usually we don’t think of using fruit in cans. However, we’ve been introduced to canned fruit, which we used for this recipe. Canned fruit is an easy way to incorporate the flavor and nutrients of fresh fruit; it’s available nationwide and year round. Why did we make gluten-free and vegan cheesecake bites? Alex, Larson and I eat both dairy and gluten, but lately we’ve been eating more vegan meals on the regular. And for the holiday season ahead, it’s fantastic to have recipes that fit many diets at once. Let us know if you try them out–and especially, if you have fun making them!
Looking for vegan desserts?
We love vegan desserts as they work for guests with various diets. Outside of these blackberry vegan cheesecake bites, here are a few of our favorite vegan desserts:
Decadent Vegan Chocolate Cake Peanut Butter Buckeyes Bliss Bites (Healthy No-Bake Cookies) Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies Pecan Butter Millionaire Bars Granola Instant Pot Apple Crisp Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Brownie Ice Cream Sandwich Maple Vegan Blondies Chocolate Tahini Vegan No Bake Cookies Chocolate Cherry Dessert Bites Blackberry Vegan Cheesecake Bites Fudgy Vegan Brownie Recipe Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (use vegan variation) Bananas Foster with a Perfect Flambé
Looking for more fruit desserts?
In addition to our vegan cheesecake bites, here are our favorite fruit desserts on A Couple Cooks:
Easy Bananas Foster Recipe Chocolate Banana Bread Mini Apple Pies Blood Orange Granita Granola Instant Pot Apple Crisp Orange & Fennel Upside Down Cornmeal Cake
Dietary notes
These vegan cheesecake bites are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free, naturally sweet, and refined sugar free. 5 from 1 review
½ cup pecans 1 cup oats 2 tablespoons coconut oil 1 tablespoon maple syrup ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling
1 cup cashews 1 15-ounce can blackberries (whole berries in light syrup) ¼ cup maple syrup 3 tablespoons coconut oil 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
