Ultra-rich and creamy baked Vegan New York Cheesecake made with no cream cheese or tofu! It's sweet but not too sweet, tastes amazing, and can be served with your choice of topping. I love it with some berry compote!
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FEATURED COMMENT
"Not even joking, this cake is amazing! I am a huge cheesecake fan and this consistency is right on the money...Amazing. Great flavor, and fantastic texture...you can’t even tell it’s vegan, it just tastes like a homemade cheesecake. I’m in love."
- Al ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
It doesn't get better than this Vegan New York Style Cheesecake! It is just like a "real" baked cheesecake in texture. Dense, rich, super creamy, very satisfying, but completely dairy-free, and unlike most vegan cheesecake recipes you don't need any vegan cream cheese or tofu.
To get the perfect baked cheesecake texture I tested and retested with many different ingredients and methods and found that the unlikely combination of chickpeas and cashew nuts gave amazing results.
Please don't let that scare you off though. You would NEVER know! The cashews give the filling its creaminess and the chickpeas give the denseness, which means you don't need to use vegan cream cheese or tofu.
Prefer a no-bake cheesecake? Give my very popular Vegan Biscoff Cheesecake or Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake a try, or if you're really pushed for time I have a single-serve Emergency Strawberry Cheesecake Bowl recipe!
Let's Make Vegan New York Cheesecake!
Can't wait to make it? Here's a quick summary of how it's done:
- Make the crust- For this, you need some cookies. Either digestive biscuits or graham crackers. Store-bought or homemade. I have recipes for both. To make the crust blend the cookies with some vegan butter or coconut oil in a food processor then press into a loose bottom pan and refrigerate.
- Make the filling - Blend all of the filling ingredients together. I recommend soaking the cashew nuts in boiling water before blending even if you have a high-powered blender.
- Bake the cheesecake - Pour the filling mixture over the crust then bake. No water bath is required.
- Refrigerate - After baking the cheesecake needs to be refrigerated for at least a few hours before serving.
Do not try to make this cheesecake in a cake pan without a removable bottom. You need to use either a spring-form cake pan or a loose-bottomed cake pan or you will never get it out in on piece.
Serving Suggestions
Here's the cheesecake in all its naked glory:
It is delicious on its own. That BISCUIT BASE is so good! A topping or sauce of some kind is highly recommended though. Not only does it make the cheesecake look beautiful, but it also adds flavor and contrast.
The topping can be as simple as a pile of fresh berries, or you can get creative with any of these:
I love a lemon curd and fresh raspberry combo, or a berry compote and fresh mixed berry combo like in the pictures.
Readers have had so much fun with this recipe over the years. One very popular riff, which I haven't yet tried myself but sounds amazing, is to use Oreo cookies for the base, with chunks of broken Oreo stirred through the batter and lots of chocolate syrup or sauce to drizzle.
Recipe FAQs
I have never tried freezing it so can't be sure how it will hold up. I think it should be ok though as long as it is wrapped very well.
To make this recipe gluten-free you'll need to find some gluten-free digestive biscuits or graham crackers. The filling is naturally gluten-free.
Recipe
Vegan New York Cheesecake
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
FOR THE BASE
- 23 (350 grams / 12 oz) digestive biscuits , or graham crackers
- 4 tablespoons melted vegan butter , or coconut oil
FOR THE FILLING
- 2 cups (300 grams) raw cashews ,soaked in boiling water for 15 mins then drained (measured before soaking)
- 1 cup (175 grams) canned chickpeas , drained & rinsed well
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
- ½ cup (120 ml) maple syrup , (real maple, not pancake syrup!)
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 x 14oz (400ml) can full fat coconut milk , it must be full fat not light (if your can is only 398 ml that's fine).
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 320F (160°C) and line a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan that is at least 3 inches deep. First grease it with vegan butter or a little oil so the paper sticks. Then draw around the bottom of the cake pan on parchment paper, cut it out and put that in the bottom of the pan. Line the sides of the pan with a long rectangular strip of baking parchment.
- Put the digestive biscuits (or graham crackers) into a food processor with the butter/coconut oil and blend until well combined and in clumpy, fine crumbs. Then press into the bottom of the cake pan. Refrigerate while you make the filling.
- Add all of the filling ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Pour over the crust then sit the pan on a baking tray.
- Bake for about 50 minutes or until set well around the edges with a tiny bit of a wobble in the middle. Time will vary depending on your oven and the pan you use.
- Allow to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 4 to 5 hours or overnight. Don't put it in the fridge while hot/warm.
NOTES
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Jackie Newman says
After reading your July catch up email I was going to make the Hummingbird cake. As there were no ripe bananas at my local shop I decided on the cheese cake. Wow, this is a great recipe, beautiful texture and tastes delicious. The berry compote is on the stove now and will top it off beautifully. Sorry I couldn't wait until it was cold to try it 😁
Melanie McDonald says
I'm so pleased you're enjoying it! You'll love it even more with the compote. I guess you'll have to make the hummingbird cake next time. Thanks so much for your review, Jackie. It's much appreciated!
Jackie Newman says
Definitely, as soon as my bananas are ripe enough!
Linda says
Hi! My daughter is allergic to chickpeas. Would white beans work instead of chickpeas for this recipe? Your blog has become my new favorite to find recipes for my vegan daughter.
Melanie McDonald says
Hi Linda, I've never tried this one with white beans. I feel like chickpeas work well in baked goods and desserts because they aren't too "beany". I have a feeling that if you used white beans instead their flavor would come through a lot because the other flavors are quite mild.
I think silken tofu would be the best chickpea substitute here. 1 cup (about 250 grams). If you have the option when buying it go for firm silken tofu but soft should still be ok if you don't. Silken tofu is often in tetra packs and not refrigerated. About 50% of grocery stores sell it here in BC, and any Asian grocery store will have it so hopefully you won't struggle to find it. If you do though regular soft tofu will also work. Just don't use regular firm or extra firm tofu as they can get a scrambled egg type texture when blended and baked.
Hope that helps and that you both enjoy it!
Linda says
Unfortunately she is also allergic to soy so she cannot have tofu. Thanks for the quick reply and the advice, though!
Emily Savage says
Hello Linda, I just wanted to say I found a recipe that uses white beans so you may be able to use it in this recipe too. Link https://gewoonlekkergroen.nl/vegan-cheesecake-2/
Linda says
Thank you SO much, Emily! I will totally try it.
Patricia Schor says
Delicious!!! The recipe is easy and the result is just perfect. I have been vegan for 10 years and am an experienced dessert cook. I had never found such a wonderful traditional vegan cheesecake as this one. My family loved it too. Thank you so much, Mel.
Jen says
Hi Mel! I noticed you have "modified" the recipe on June 12, 2024 . Can you tell me what modifications you made in the recipe so I can make a new card for my recipe file? I LOVE the original recipe but if you found something better, I'm going to try it! Thanks so much for all the incredible recipes you share for free!
Melanie McDonald says
I'm so pleased you're loving the recipe! You'll be pleased to hear that the recipe wasn't modified at all. It's perfect! The changes were only made to the writing of the post and photos. The modified date changes whenever a change is made there. I'm always cycling through old recipe posts as my writing style changes, to improve user experience, or to keep them up to date with Google's ever changing requirements. Hope that helps!
Ania says
I rarely leave any comments under recipes, but that one deserves all the hype and attention! I've been making this NY cheesecake for a few years now and everyone loves it. It's so worth the time and effort. Creamy, rich and smooth. :) The downside is that now I can't enjoy vegan cheesecakes anywhere else, because I've tasted heaven and I know now that a perfect vegan cheesecake exists :P