Purple Potato Vegan Cheesecake Bars

Stokes are a type of purple potato with a unique cake-like flavor. The purple potato gives these healthy dessert bars a vibrant color and lots of healthy fiber and antioxidants. I found stokes to be a bit dry when eaten on their own, and was delighted to find how much better they taste blended with cashews and coconut milk! If you can’t find stokes in your grocery store, this recipe works great with regular sweet potato, pumpkin, or Murasaki potatoes as well. These bars have no refined sugar (just naturally sweetened with dates) and are packed with protein (from tofu), so they can count as a healthy snack or breakfast bar as well as dessert!

Purple Potato Vegan Cheesecake Bars

Healthy protein-packed, plant-based bars for dessert or healthy snacking. Keep them in the fridge to munch throughout the week or bring to a party for a colorful treat to share.

Makes about 6 bars.

Ingredients:

For the filling:

• ¼ cup water

• ¼ cup full fat coconut milk (I prefer the flavor of the Thai Kitchen carton of milk rather than canned)

• ½ block firm tofu cubed (about 7 oz.)

• ¼ cup raw cashews (can optionally soak in the ¼ cup of water overnight for easier blending)

• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

• 1 tbsp cocoa powder

• ½ tsp sea salt

• 3 pitted Medjool dates

• 1.5 packed cups of cooked and peeled stoke (purple potato, or sub sweet potato/pumpkin/Murasaki potato)

For the crust:

• 2 tbsp boiling water

• 2 tbsp vegan milk (almond, soy, etc.)

• 2 pitted dates

• ¼ cup chopped raw pecans

• ½ cup Ezekial sprouted cereal (or other crunchy cereal)

• 1 tsp coconut oil

• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. First make the crust by mashing 2 dates in the 2 tbsp boiling water to form a paste. Mix in the milk and cinnamon and stir until smooth. Then add the pecans and cereal and use your hands to make chunky crumbles. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with the coconut oil (melted) and press the crumble mixture into the bottom as a thin crust. For the filling, add the filling ingredients in order to a high-powered blender and puree until completely smooth. Spoon and spread the puree evenly over the crust. Bake for 50 min until firm on the outside but still moist on the inside. Allow to fully cool to room temperature and then transfer to fridge to fully harden for at least 2 hours before slicing. You can optionally put them in the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing to keep their shape better. Store the sliced bars in the fridge for easy snacking. Enjoy!