Intense red color, dreamy dairy-free Red Velvet 'Cheesecake'! Rich chocolate flavor-- made entirely with healthy, whole foods. No dye! (Paleo & Vegan)
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Two bottles of RED dye? Nope!! It's 100% natural. It's made from a VEGETABLE, haha! For real. Can you guess which one? 😉 
Secret Ingredient
It's BEETS! Remember my Hot Pink Pie made with beets? I was SO infatuated with that amazing color, and I just had to make MORE with those powerful little root veggies!
It turns out, if you add cocoa to beets (along with the cheesecake base), it turns RED. Deep, dark, glamorous burgundy red. Omg, don't you love it?! It's like art class all over again mixing paint colors. 🙂 And the beets add a subtle earthy quality to the chocolaty flavor of the cheesecake. It's definitely a specialty cake. Unconventional-- absolutely. Delicious? Yes! 
Fit for a Celebration!
This cake was made for my gorgeous mama, who was celebrating a special birthday last week. (Hi, Mom! Love you) We got to spend the weekend at my parents' house and had such a great time seeing a bunch of family. We made sure to do our favorites: visit 8th Street Coffee House for brunch, shop at the local antique/vintage shop, eat some Tex-Mex and go to TJ Maxx, ha! Love it.
Red Velvet has always been my mom's FAVORITE, so I was determined to recreate that for her, using only whole foods. And it was a hit! I was surprised that my brother (who is not gluten/dairy/sugar-free) kept asking for more, haha. 
Velvety Texture
The texture of this "cheesecake" is unlike any I've made before. It's ultra VELVETY. Smoother than anything I ever made before. And it has a RICH buttery quality, thanks to cashews and coconut oil. I decided to use refined coconut oil in this recipe as to not mask the chocolate flavor, but virgin works, too!
There is also a "Buttery Flavor" Coconut Oil that I really wanted to get for this recipe, but I waited too long. Someday I must try that! With a chocolate almond crust, cocoa cashew cheesecake filling and creamy cashew "cream cheese" frosting, this cake is both flavorful and RICH. You only need a tiny slice. 😉 
Special Occasion Ready
This Red Velvet 'Cheesecake' would be wonderful for the holidays (or for any special occasion). Especially for those of us on special diets - without refined sugar, eggs, gluten, dairy and grains. But as my brother could attest, even non-special diet folks love this cake, too! 🙂
If you make it, I'd be so thrilled to hear from you! Leave a comment or share your photo on my Facebook page or tag me Instagram @emily.likes.food
Red Velvet 'Cheesecake' (Vegan & Paleo)
Ingredients
Chocolate Crust
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 Tbs cocoa
- 2 Tbs maple syrup
- 2 Tbs refined coconut oil - melted
- Dash of pink salt
Red Velvet 'Cheesecake'
- 2 ¼ cup raw cashews - soaked
- 1 ⅔ cup roasted beets
- ½ cup + 1 Tbs maple syrup
- ¾ cup cocoa
- 1 oz dark chocolate - melted
- 1 cup refined coconut oil - melted
- 1 ¼ Tbs vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ⅛ teaspoon pink salt
'Cream Cheese' Frosting
- 1 cup raw cashews - soaked
- 1 Tbs maple syrup
- 2 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- Splash of vanilla
- Dash of pink salt
Instructions
To make the crust:
- Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl (sift cocoa first if clumpy). Add a splash of water if it's too dry.
- Press into a parchment-lined 7" springform pan. Chill while you make the filling.
To make the cheesecake:
- Soak cashews in a bowl of boiling water for 1-2 hours or overnight in room-temp water. Drain, rinse and shake dry.
- Blend cashews in a food processor for 3-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add roasted beets and blend smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend. Taste and adjust if needed.
- Spread over crust. Cover pan with a paper towel and wrap in foil. Freeze for about 3 hours until solid, then refrigerate.
To make the cream cheese:
- Soak cashews in a bowl of boiling water for 1-2 hours or overnight in room-temp water. Drain, rinse and shake dry.
- Blend cashews in a food processor for 3-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add remaining ingredients, to taste and blend smooth.
- Transfer to a baggie and snip off the tip to pipe on. ENJOY! 🙂
Ashley
Brilliant! Can't wait to try it!
Emily
Thanks, Ashley! Hope you enjoy
Mrs Christmas
I think I have found the first of my trio of Christmas Day desserts. Thanks so much I hope turns out as well as the Cashew lime cheesecake which as become a regular in our home.
Emily
Yay! It's perfect for Christmas. I hope you enjoy it ❤️ Please come back afterward and let me know what you think
Mrs Christmas
Hi again Emily
So I tried out the recipe and all I can say is that after the first bite we just looked at each other and not another word was spoken until we had savoured very mouthful!
It is a fabulous recipe and is a cert for Christmas day.
Thank you so much you Emily for the wonderful gift of this very special recipe xx
Emily
Oh wow you made it already? Awesome! So glad you loved it ❤️❤️❤️ Thanks for coming back to comment ☺️ And you are so welcome. Enjoy your cheesecake!
Jose F.Avilez
Thanks you for your recipes, I'm a Baker. I made one of your vegan dessert ,my family was so ha with it.
Emily
You are welcome! So glad your family enjoyed 🙂
Corinne Boccieri
Hi I was wondering why you roast the beets? Do you think it would drastically change the flavor to use raw beets? I usually use them raw in the other cakes/smoothies etc. That I make, but I really want this to have a perfect red velvet cake like flavor!
Emily
Honestly I’ve never had raw beets, so I can’t say 100%. But I would think it is much easier to purée cooked beets, no? The texture may not be as smooth using raw. But the flavor may be the same. If you try it, let me know how it goes! 🙂
Amber
Cooked beets do have a little less of the earthy flavor to them. You primarily taste the sweetness. Roasted is the best way to do this. Cooking on the stove helps, but not as much. I didn't like beets until I tried them in a Roasted Root Vegetables recipe. My palate has adapted to it now, although I use them almost exclusively as beet noodles or in smoothies
Sal - berrysweetlife.com
This looks completely delicious! I wouldn't mind getting this for my birthday! 🙂
Emily
Thanks so much! ☺️
Kathryn
Looks SO good!!! My husband loves red velvet and I won't make it due to the food coloring, but I will make this! Thank you for including the info on how to roast the beets.
Do you buy your cashews in a certain place or in bulk? If I buy one lb bags, will one bag be enough for this recipe? Though I'll double this one I bet it'll go quick!
Emily
Thank you, Kathryn! I was so excited to create that bold color without artificial coloring
I buy cashews on bulk on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2Ey8iJs. Sprouts and other natural grocery stores also have good prices sometimes. Just be sure to get raw/unroasted.
One pound might be enough if you don't double it, and leave off the frosting.
I wouldn't double this one, though. It's SO rich. A tiny sliver is plenty 🙂
Neha
Hey I wanted to know whether I cud use any oil apart from coconut oil.. thanks
Emily
Yes! Cacao butter (aka cocoa butter) would be perfect. Or you can use Palm oil 🙂
If you try it, let me know how it turns out. Hope you enjoy!
Neha
I was thinking of unsalted butter or regular refined oil..
I usually use regular refined oil in other cakes
Emily
Butter would probably work, too! It needs an oil that solidifies when chilled.
Neha
Ok.. thanks .. I ll try n surely let u know..
Neil
This looks awesome. Would the dark chocolate take away from the vegan thing Emily? My birthday on Wednesday hoping to make it to share at work.
Thanks, Neil
Emily
Thank you! There are many dairy-free brands of chocolate now. Enjoy Life is one of the most popular. I use Aldi brand, also DF. Just check the label 🙂
Hope you enjoy! Have a wonderful birthday ♥️
Vedrana
This looks sooo good! I am going to make it for a party. I was wondering though whether the quantity of vanilla is a typo. Is it really 1.25 Tablespoons? I usually see vanilla in teaspoons and I don't have a 1/4 Tbs measure, so I thought maybe it's 1.25 teaspoons? Thank you!
Emily
1 Tbs + 1 tsp works You need a lot of vanilla in this one. Well, I like a lot, but you can always taste and adjust to your personal preference.
Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Vedrana
It came out great! Thank you so much for the recipe!!
Emily
Yay! You are so welcome!
Jen
I can't wait to make this for Valentine's Day! I'm super happy about the beets because I can't bring myself to use red food coloring lol. I was wondering what I can use for the frosting in place of cashews?
Emily
You can use whipped coconut cream instead of the cashew frosting if you’d like 🙂
or use palm shortening, vanilla and powdered coconut sugar like this recipe: https://prettypies.com/christmas-tree-sugar-cookies/
Maybe even add a few drops of lemon juice if you want a cream cheese type of flavor.
Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Kris
Amazingly delicious....will definitely make again.
Thank you for the recipe.
Emily
So happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, Kris ❤️
Rita
OMG this was AMAZING. I was kinda skeptical about this recipe at first but I tried it and it seriously tastes like the best thing ever!!! And it's easy to make too!
Emily
Woohoo! That’s the best news!
Christie
Hi, This looks amazing! Would canned beets work as well?
Emily
Thanks! I think that should be fine. Canned are already cooked, correct? If so, go for it 🙂
Amber
Why does this use refined coconut oil as opposed to Virginia? Usually when I see a cashew cheesecake, the coconut oil is to help it set, but isn't refined coconut oil still liquid at lower temperatures?
Amber
Virgin, not Virginia
Emily
Refined is just flavorless. 🙂 I used it so there is no coconut taste added. It still solidifies the cake like virgin coconut oil. There is a separate type of oil that stays liquid, but that is not to be used here.
Laura
What would you recommend to use instead of lemon juice? I'm allergic to all citrus items.
Emily
The lemon gives it a hint of cheesecake tang. You could substitute water though 🙂
Amber
I have used white or apple cider vinegar to sub for lemon juice for cashew cheese sauce when I was out and both worked fine. The apple cider vinegar does make it slightly sweeter, though
Laura
Thank You
Amber
I have used white or apple cider vinegar in place of lemon juice for cashew cheese sauce. Either of them would probably work