This no-bake Vegan Chocolate Tart features a creamy and rich, fudge-like filling made with just a handful of ingredients. And prep couldn't be easier for a dessert this special! This chocolate tart is perfect for parties, holidays and special occasions. Gluten-free and easy, requiring only 30 minutes of hands-on prep time.
*This post was originally published in August 2018. It has been updated with new content and photos.
When you need a simple, foolproof chocolate dessert to please any crowd, this vegan chocolate tart is it!
The filling is every bit as dense, creamy, and delicious as it looks. And that gluten-free vegan tart crust? Friends, it's almost too good to be true. It's oil-free, made with buttery almond flour and is inspired by our go-to pie crust (a reader favorite).
Similar to my Vegan Cranberry Tart, this recipe was originally published with a crust made from dates and hazelnuts.
You can still find that crust option in the recipe below, but if you prefer a crisp gluten-free tart crust, I highly recommend the almond flour one.
You'll love how easy this tart is to prepare. In fact, you don't even need a blender if you'd rather not use one.
And the flavor and consistency are so deeply satisfying, almost like a soft fudge. This tart is dense, rich, just chocolatey enough, and will please even the pickiest eaters!
For another party-ready dessert, check out this no-cook vegan chocolate pie.
Vegan Chocolate Tart Ingredients
You only need 9 ingredients to make this velvety rich chocolate tart.
- one 11-inch Vegan Gluten-Free Tart Crust (or dates and hazelnuts for the other crust option)
- 1 (14 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
- 10 ounces dairy-free chocolate (55-60% cacao)
- 1 cup raw cashews OR ½ cup of your favorite nut or seed butter, such as cashew, almond, peanut butter, or tahini
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt (omit if using salted nut butter)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 to 2 tablespoons brewed coffee or 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (these enhance the flavor of the chocolate but aren't 100% necessary)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar, optional, to taste
How To Make a No-Bake Chocolate Tart
This no-bake chocolate tart truly is a breeze to prepare, and you have options as far as whether to use a blender or not.
The basic process looks like this:
- Prepare the crust.
- Blend the filling. Or if you don't have a blender, choose nut/seed butter instead of cashews, and whisk everything together by hand.
- Chill for 4 to 6 hours or until set.
- Decorate as desired, slice, and serve!
Scale the Recipe For Different Pans
I realize not everyone has an 11 inch tart pan, specifically. So I did a little research about how to scale recipes so I could summarize it for you in plain English.
There are many handy charts out there, but I especially liked this thorough article over at Food52, written by Alice Medrich. Follow this basic equation for round pans:
- 3.14 (aka π) x half the diameter of your round pan (aka radius) x half the diameter of your round pan again = surface area in square inches
For example, I calculated the area of my 11 inch tart pan to be 95.
- 3.14 x 5.5 x 5.5 = 95
This recipe is for an 11 inch pan, but let's say you want to scale down for an 8 inch pan (you might be surprised how much smaller it is):
- 3.14 x 4 x 4 = 50
As you can see, the surface area of the 8 inch pan is basically half that of the 11 inch pan, which makes it easy to calculate the ingredient amounts. But let's continue to work through the math because it won't always be so straight forward.
Next, divide the area of the larger pan (95) by the area of the smaller one (50), and you get 1.9. Now, divide the amount of each ingredient by 1.9, and you'll see that you'd need to cut these amounts in half to make this recipe for an 8 inch pan.
- 2 cups ÷ 1.9 = 1.05 cups
Though 1.05 isn't exactly half of the original amount, it's close enough. However, if you apply this equation to other pan sizes and start getting numbers more than .2 away from a whole number, I would try to follow those fractions as precisely as possible for the best results.
Serving Suggestions
When it comes to certain chocolate desserts I'm a bit of a purist. And this particular tart doesn't really need anything to taste outstanding.
I mean, I'll never turn down a dollop of vegan whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla oat milk ice cream, but this vegan chocolate tart is perfectly lovely all by itself.
Decorate with a simple dusting of cocoa powder and fresh chocolate shavings, then serve and enjoy!
More vegan chocolate desserts:
I hope you love the simplicity and chocolate-lover's flavor of this Vegan Chocolate Tart! If you try the recipe please leave your feedback below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Tart (Gluten-Free)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 11-inch vegan tart crust, baked - See instructions in post to scale for smaller pans.
- 1 (14 oz.) can full-fat coconut milk - Do not use "lite" milk or the tart won't set properly.
- 1 cup raw cashews or ½ cup nut/seed butter of choice - Try peanut butter or tahini for slightly different flavor.
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons brewed coffee or 1 teaspoon good quality balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder plus more for garnish
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 ounces dairy-free chocolate (55-60% cacao), melted
- 1 to 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar, optional
Date-Hazelnut Crust (if not using the tart crust linked above):
- 2 cups whole raw or toasted hazelnuts
- 1 ¼ cups pitted medjool dates, approx 15 large
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
If making hazelnut-date crust:
- Skip ahead to step 2 if using the almond flour crust linked in the recipe. If starting with raw hazelnuts, toast them on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly before wrapping in a lint-free towel and rubbing together to remove most of the skins. In a food processor fitted with the S blade, pulse together the hazelnuts, dates and salt until sticky and well incorporated. Lightly oil the scalloped ring of an 11-inch tart pan. Press the crust mixture into the pan, allowing it to come up the sides. Freeze the crust for a few minutes while you prepare the filling.
For the filling:
- With a blender (see Notes): Blend the cashews (or nut/seed butter) and coconut milk on high speed until smooth. Add the vanilla, coffee, cocoa powder, and melted chocolate to the blender, and blend again. Without a blender: In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, nut/seed butter, vanilla, coffee, cocoa, salt, and melted chocolate. If needed, heat briefly in the microwave, 10 to 15 seconds, so that it's easier to fully incorporate the ingredients.
- Taste the filling and adjust sweetness as desired. Note: when I tested the recipe with tahini, I preferred the flavor with the additional 2 tablespoons of sugar, to offset tahini's natural bitterness.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust, and refrigerate until set, 4 to 6 hours.
- Garnish as desired with sifted cocoa powder, chocolate shavings, fresh berries, or dried coconut, and serve with dairy-free whipped cream.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Mandy
I can’t wait to try this !
Lori
Fantastic! So happy you’re excited about it. Just let me know if you have any questions, but it really is sooooo easy! 😁
Julie
Lori, I absolutely adore how you decorated your chocolate tart; it was the perfect finishing touch (as well as delightfully different from ubiquitous berries)!
I would really like to replicate it; can you tell me what edible flowers you used?
Lori
Thanks so much, Julie. Yes, these are nasturtiums. I planted them last year from an edible flower mix I purchased from Seed Geeks on Etsy. Highly recommend them!
Candace Folks
Lori,
So excited about your quiet kitchen! Kudos in following your heart and making your dream a reality.
I look forward to new recipes in my life, thanks to you.
Candace
Lori
Thanks so much for the support and kind words, Candace!