Red Velvet Cheesecake - PrettyPies.com

Red Velvet ‘Cheesecake’ {Vegan, Paleo, No-Bake}

Intense red color, dreamy dairy-free Red Velvet ‘Cheesecake’! Rich chocolate flavor– made entirely with healthy, whole foods. No dye! (Paleo & Vegan)Red Velvet Cheesecake - PrettyPies.com

Two bottles of RED dye? Nope!! It’s 100% natural. It’s made from a VEGETABLE, haha! For real. Can you guess which one? 😉 Red Velvet Cheesecake - PrettyPies.com

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!

Red Velvet Cheesecake - PrettyPies.com

Birthday Girl

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.

Red Velvet 'Cheesecake' from PrettyPies.com (Vegan, Paleo, Dye-Free)

Red Velvet Cheesecake - PrettyPies.com

Velvety Velvet

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. 😉

Red Velvet Cheesecake - PrettyPies.com

Special

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 and hashtag #prettypies

Pin it on Pinterest:

Red Velvet 'Cheesecake' - (Vegan, Paleo) PrettyPies.com

Red Velvet Cheesecake - PrettyPies.com

Red Velvet 'Cheesecake' (Vegan & Paleo)

Intense red color, dreamy cheesecake texture, yummy chocolate flavor. All with healthy, whole food ingredients!
4.75 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 14 slices
Author: Emily

Ingredients

Chocolate Crust

Red Velvet 'Cheesecake'

'Cream Cheese' Frosting

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! 🙂

Notes

Use a small 7" springform to make your cheesecake tall and pretty. A regular size will result in a flatter/shorter cake.
Featured Products:
To roast beets:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a pan with foil. Trim the beets, leaving about 1" of the sprout. Wrap each beet in foil. Roast for 45-60 minutes until fork tender. Allow to cool. Use gloves (or baggies) to remove the peel with your fingers.
Keep refrigerated for up to one week, or frozen (tightly wrapped) for 1-2 months.
Tried this recipe?Tag @emily.likes.food #prettypies!

47 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating