Raw Vegan Lemon Cheesecake Smoothie
39Piggies! You are in for a scrumptious treat today. I hit the yummy JACKPOT with this smoothie blend. This raw vegan lemon smoothie tastes just like a melted cheesecake in a glass! You will never guess this is dairy free. It is smooth, creamy, rich, and decadent. This recipe yields one 16-ounce glass. But I like to serve it in shot glasses for dessert and share it with friends.
I was inspired by this month's Sprout Living Raw Vegan Protein Powder Giveaway to create a ton of super tasty smoothies this month and this is one of my favourites. I LOVE the raw vegan Sprout Living Vanilla Lucuma Epic Protein powder, so I added a scoop to this smoothie. But this ingredient is optional. The smoothie tastes fantastic without it.
What I love the most about this raw vegan smoothie is the sharp tangy lemon taste that hits you with every swish. You are greeted with the tartness of the lemon on the front end, then a touch of banana and cashews; with the taste sensational rounding out with a zesty lemon twist. This is a really refreshing Summer indulgence.
Those of you who have been following me for a while would know my partiality for tart recipes. My dear friends Chuck and Stacey, the amazing hosts of the voice over show, VO BUZZ WEEKLY, were over last night and LOVED this smoothie. They are sooo much fun, and are always up for anything. Chuck, who is not a fan of lemon, found this smoothie very tart at first, but then enjoyed the cheesecake tasting element. Fellow "tart at heart" Stacey was in zesty piggy heaven soaking in the lemony piggiliciousness. You may remember Stacey, my recipe development partner-in-crime from our delicious raw vegan spicy cranberry pudding. The test of a great recipe is when it gets Stacey's stamp of approval! She is an amazing cook and has a great flare for flavours.
Trust me, let the "tart at heart" in you sing, and turn lemons into 30 second lemon cheesecake! If you need a bit more sweetness just add in some more dates or a dash of coconut sugar, maple syrup, or raw agave. Either way, this smoothie ROCKS!
Raw Vegan Lemon Cheesecake Smoothie
- 2 cups ice
- 1 cup filtered water
- ½ cup raw chopped pitted dates
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- ¼ cup lemon flesh (1 whole small lemon) peeled and pips removed
- 1 medium banana (fresh or frozen)
- 5 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp Sprout Living Epic Protein Vanilla Lucuma Powder (*optional)
- 1 tsp non alcoholic vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp regular extract
- ½ tsp freshly grated lemon zest
- pinch Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt
- Place all ingredients in your high-speed blender (I use a Vitamix) and puree until smooth and creamy.
- Tweak flavours and ice to taste.
- Devour! Oink Oink :)
- This fills a 16 ounce glass but serves 4 – 8 people served in shot glasses for dessert. It is very rich!
- You could also thicken this with chia seeds and make a raw vegan lemon cheesecake pudding. YUMMO!
Piggy Cooking Tips
the best way to store lemons
Lemons continue to respire and ripen after they have been harvested. The faster they respire the more carbon dioxide they produce, and the quicker they spoil. Store your lemons in the fridge to slow this down and they should keep for up to about ten days. Make sure you do not store them in plastic bags where they are on top of each other. When there is limited oxygen, the ethylene gas gets trapped, causing them to rot. Always bring them to room temperature to get the most juice out of them.
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Piggy Grunts!
Add Your GruntIf you love lemons, you will LOVE this smoothie. So zesty, lemony, and rich!!!!
I cannot wait to try this one! I think I have the ingredients on hand.
And by pips, do you mean seeds, Ms. Oz?
LOL! Yes! That’s what I mean!!! Enjoy.
I can’t wait to hear what you think.
Everyone must try this smoothie, it is pure tart, sweet heaven! I love how the tartness hits you first, then you get the banana and then another hit of lemon for the grand finale! YUMMMY to infinity, thanks for sharing it, Tess. xoxo
Just made this with a few subs and it it nothing short of awesome. Thank you for sharing it, Tess! I used almond milk instead of water; skipped the dates, used Stevia instead; subbed avocado for the banana, and skipped the lemon juice—was quite tart with zest and lemon. Added pinch of xanthan gum . Heaven. Thank you!
This was FABULOUS! I substituted a few items and LOVED it. I adore lemon flavored, creamy delights and this held up to it. Thanks for sharing, luv!
This was SO tasty. I am going to try the pineapple cheesecake version the lady from facebook tried tomorrow.
Hey Samantha,
This is not the most low-calorie smoothie. with the dates, banana and cashews. It is all about the fun. I would not drink this every day, and certainly not if you are trying to lose weight.
I recommend finding about 10 sweet (just fruit not any additional sweeteners except stevia) and savoury smoothies that you like the taste of and rotating them every morning so you get a nice blend of nutrients and flavours. Please feel free to email me - address is in the FAQ section of the blog, and I can help you further.
Look at any of my green smoothie recipes except the sweet pistachio ice cream kale shake, which tastes AMAZING but is not low calorie. You can enjoy every once and a while as well as this smoothie but not every day…..
I hope this helps.
Hi Blender Girl,
Thanks so much for your helpful advice. I have picked four smoothies from your website, two are green which I will start with today/tomorrow and see how I go. I will try the Lemon Cheesecake as a treat next weekend after a week of green smoothies. I have 10 kgs to loose and like the idea of smoothies as I have a Vitamix which I have hardly used!
Pleasure Samantha.
I am going to be posting a TON of healthy and fun smoothies this month, so you will have plenty to choose from.
Give that Vitamix a good workout!!!
Hi! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I’m on a smoothie kick right now :) I just wanted to let you know that you’ve been pinned here: http://pinterest.com/hautewhimsy/smoothies
Thanks Jen.
I really appreciate your spreading the love :)
This sounds fabulous! I love cashews so much. It’s amazing how they can make such a decadent creaminess!
I know…aren’t they AMAZING for that.
We would be LOST in the vegan world without them :)
They are the quickest, most delicious way to satisfy the cream dream cravings and replicate that delicious flavour.
Thanks Jann!
I jumped for JOY when I created this smoothie! ENJOY :)
This is really easy to make. I never thought of using rice for the making smoothies. Can I just use any rice for this one?
You won’t get exactly the same cheesecake flavour, but you can use rice milk in this smoothie and it tastes delicious.
I am as obsessed with your blog as I am with my Vitamix…and this smoothie is currently the king pin. I go to bed excited at the thought of waking up to a new day and being able to make another one! But tonight Im excited to try your banana coconut pie greenie, it will no doubt be as amazing as all the others.
Oh Leanne, it was SO lovely to wake up and read your sweet comment this morning. That just made my weekend!
I really appreciate your kind words of support and encouragement. It really means the world to me.
I am so glad you are enjoying this smoothie. This is a dessert in a glass! That is for sure. Have your tried the pistachio ice cream kale shake? OH MY!!!!!!
Can’t wait to hear what you think of the other yummy smoothies.
:D You are so right about it being desert in a glass! So incredibly decadent, luscious and creamy, its terribly hard to keep it as a treat. lol!! But, I havent been able to try the pistachio kale one, as I just cant find kale ANYWHERE where i am in Aust, ever….may have to try my hand at growing my own?!
Yes! SO hard not to drink every day.
My thighs scream out and BEG me not to! LOL! I have purchased kale from health food stores in Australia. Are you in a rural area?
@Leanne
Ah….I see.
Perhaps get some friends who would buy it too and your local store can order it in. Or grow your own. It is SOOO good for you.
I just made this with lime in place of lemon. OOOOOOH MY GOOOOOD! So delicious!
Oh Great! So glad you enjoyed it. LOVE lime cheesecake too :)
OH MY! My girls and I loved this! (we might not be able to share with the boys who are supposed to be home in a few minutes!) Thank you!
LOL! LOVE it. SO happy you and the girls enjoyed this so much. Thankyou so much for sharing :)
OH, this sounds yummy!
I may have to make this tonight.
It is SOOO good!
I can’t wait to hear what you think :)
YUM! I even had lucuma powder on hand that I bought a few weeks ago!!
Wonderful, yummy recipe. Thank you!!