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Last Updated on October 17, 2023

If you thought dairy-free cheesecake was impossible on an AIP diet, think again! This AIP cheesecake makes the perfect replacement for the real-deal. They are mini little bites of cheesecake-goodness that have a lemon flavor and a gingerbread and date crust. This recipes is complaint for AIP, Paleo, GAPS, and SCD diets, and is also nut free, dairy free, and refined sugar free.

AIP Cheesecake

I don’t know about you, but I love the taste of cheesecake. Add some lemon and ginger and BAM! It’s a favorite dessert for special occassions or anytime I have a cheesecake craving.

But what to do when you are on the autoimmune paleo protocol and you cannot have dairy? Obviously traditional cheesecake is out of the question. The good news is, I have developed an easy lemon cheesecake recipe that’s AIP compliant!

This AIP cheesecake recipe fills my need for a yummy holiday treat (and a taste for cheesecake – lemon and ginger, no less – two of my favorite things).

How This AIP Cheesecake Happened

This week we had some friends over to make Paleo Mom’s Paleo Gingerbread Cut-Outs (a fantastic recipe, BTW, but not considered AIP as it contains egg whites and almond flour). I got to thinking that a lemon icing would be phenomenal on these gingerbread peeps so I threw something together and it just happened.

MAGIC.

My friend (a tremendous allergy-conscious self-trained home chef who should be the one with the food blog) and I put our heads together on how to make an AIP lemon ginger “cheesecake”. In other words, dairy free, nut free, egg free, refined sugar free, etc., etc.

AIP Cheesecake Recipe

This dairy-free delicious cheesecake recipe is a no-bake cheesecake, however you will need to toast some shredded coconut (so you will need the oven for that part).

The flavors are the perfect balance of sweet and tart. I had been craving cheesecake for a long time, so I may have eaten too many. Whoops!

Ingredients for Lemon Ginger AIP Cheesecake

There are no complex ingredients for this AIP cheesecake. Some AIP cheesecakes use complicated ingredients, like bloomed gelatin or flax eggs. This recipe sticks to simple ingredients.

To make these easy bite-sized treats, you’ll need the following ingredients.

Ingredients for the Crust

The great news about these mini AIP cheesecakes, is you don’t need to bake crusts! Here;s what you need for the crust mixture:

Medjool dates, soaked in warm water if hard
shredded unsweetened coconut
ground ginger
ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
melted coconut oil

Gluten-free AIP Cheesecake Crust Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make the cheesecake filling:

raw coconut butter (I use Artisana)
palm shortening (I use Spectrum Vegetable Shortening. The only ingredient is palm oil.)
raw honey
organic pure lemon extract
vanilla extract
sea salt
lemon zest or crushed lemon seeds for garnish (optional)

How to Make AIP Cheesecake with Lemon and Ginger

Start by preheating the oven to 250F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Next, line a mini muffin pan with mini paper liners.
Then, drain dates if soaked, then pit and roughly chop.
Spread shredded coconut onto lined cookie sheet and toast in oven until golden brown. Watch carefully as it will burn easily. Allow to cool.
In a mini food processor, pulse all of the crust ingredients until it comes together into a ball. Chill, if desired, while working on the filling.
For the filling, measure out the coconut butter and place it in a filled measuring cup. Then put that into a larger cup or bowl filled with hot water. This will soften the coconut butter, making it easier to work with. Be sure that no water gets into the coconut butter.
Once the coconut butter softens, beat all filling ingredients with either a hand mixer, stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or a high-powered blender until smooth and shiny. (It’s ok if there are some small bumps.)
To assemble, make little balls out of the crust and press into the bottoms of the mini muffin cups.
Pour the creamy filling into a zip-top bag, seal top and cut a corner off the end of the bag.
Pipe filling onto the prepared crust.
Chill the little vegan cheesecakes in fridge or freezer until set.
Garnish the top of the cheesecake with grated lemon zest (optional).

Flavor Variations

This yummy recipe makes the perfect dessert, but you can also top each cheesecake with some fresh fruit, like berries or even crushed freeze-dried blueberries, for instance, to change the flavors up a little.

If you are looking for more paleo dessert recipes, check out 100+ gluten-free, dairy-free desserts.

How to Store AIP Cheesecake

You’ll want to store your AIP cheesecake bites in an airtight container in the fridge. They are best served cold. You could also freeze them.

To freeze, lay on a freezer-safe tray in a single layer until individually frozen. Afterwards, you can pop them into a large ziplock freezer bag and seal for easy treats later on.

Mini Lemon “Cheesecake” with Gingered Date Crust (AIP, nut free, dairy free, refined sugar free)

Print Recipe

5 from 1 review

Yield: Makes 18-20 mini cheesecakes 1x

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Line a mini muffin pan with mini paper liners.
Drain dates if soaked, then pit and roughly chop.
Spread shredded coconut onto lined cookie sheet and toast in oven until golden brown. Watch carefully as it will burn easily. Allow to cool.
In a mini food processor, pulse all of the crust ingredients until it comes together into a ball. Chill, if desired, while working on the filling.
For filling, measure out coconut butter and place filled measuring cup into a larger cup or bowl filled with hot tap water. This will soften the coconut butter, making it easier to work with. Be sure that no water gets into the coconut butter.
Once coconut butter softens, beat all filling ingredients with either a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until smooth and shiny. (It’s ok if there are some small bumps.)
To assemble, make little balls out of the crust and press into the bottoms of the mini muffin cups.
Pour filling into a zip-top bag, seal top and cut a corner off the end of the bag.
Pipe filling onto the crust.
Chill in fridge or freezer until set.
Store in the fridge. Best served cold.
Garnish with grated lemon zest.
Enjoy!