This ultra-rich, decadently creamy and smooth Vegan New York Cheesecake is surprisingly quick and easy to make. Enjoy as it is or get a little fancy with your choice of topping. It is dessert perfection and you absolutely need it in your life…..
Published: Sept 25th 2015 · Modified: · by · This post may contain affiliate links · Read my disclosure policy here·
Stop right there. This is a warning. This Vegan New York Cheesecake is for people who are serious about their dessert. Like really serious.
Proceed with caution. If you don’t want to eat slice after slice of classic, creamy, velvety, rich cheesecake and spend all of your time coming up with delicious ways to top your perfect baked cheesecake, then step away now. Find yourself another recipe.
May I suggest my Cinnamon Roll in a Mug? Ready in minutes and just one portion. perfect for people like me who cannot stop at one helping …
I LOVE CHEESECAKE ♡
Vegan Cheesecake has got to be one of my all time favourite desserts. I love anything rich, creamy and decadent and it doesn’t get much more rich and decadent than this Vegan New York Style Cheesecake.
I have made and eaten a lot of vegan cheesecake (all in the name of research of course ;O) and whilst they are mostly very lovely, they aren’t like “real” baked New York Cheesecake.
Most vegan cheesecake tends to be raw and don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with that and really enjoy eating them, but they tend to be very smooth and quite light in texture. They don’t have that ultra-rich, creamy density that traditional baked New York style cheesecakes have. Many of them also need to be kept in the freezer, or they use coconut oil to help solidify them and melt into a puddle if left out of the fridge for any length of time.
My Vegan New York Cheesecake is different. It is just like a “real” baked cheesecake in texture. Dense, rich, super creamy and very satisfying.
Whilst there is oil in the crust, there is none in the cheesecake filling. This means that if you follow an oil free diet you can make the cheesecake top without the crust and still stay on track (see my recipe notes for tips on cooking it like this).
MY VEGAN NEW YORK CHEESECAKE FILLING HIDES A SECRET INGREDIENT!
To get the perfect vegan baked cheesecake texture I experimented with many different ingredients and methods. I settled for a combination of cashew nuts and chickpeas. Yes, the humble but quite awesome chickpea is the secret ingredient here.
Please do not let that scare you off. You would NEVER know.
You might remember that they made a surprise appearance in my Healthy Raspberry Chocolate Fudge Tart, and that’s what gave me the idea of adding them here.
The cashews give the filling it’s creaminess and the chickpeas give the denseness, in a similar way that heavy cream cheese and eggs would in a non-vegan baked cheesecake.
It’s so similar in texture it’s scary.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN CHEESECAKE
SEE MY VIDEO FOR A VISUAL GUIDE. FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
This Vegan New York Cheesecake is surprisingly easy to make.
STEP 1
First you need to make the crust and let is set in the fridge. For this I use my Vegan Digestive Biscuits recipe but to make life easier you can use store bought digestive biscuits or graham crackers (a lot are accidentally vegan).
Have you tried my Vegan Digestive Biscuits recipe yet? They are so good and perfect for dunking in your tea or coffee!
Plus they make an awesome cheesecake base!
All you have to do is blend them with some vegan butter or coconut oil in a food processor. I have this one and love it:
STEP 2
Press the crust mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan (or similar). My go to bakeware is always USA Pan. Their spring form pan is great. This is the one I have (not sponsored, I just love their products):
STEP 3
While the crust is setting up in the fridge, blend the filling ingredients together until smooth. I recommend soaking the cashew nuts in boiling water before blending in the instructions, but if you have a high powered blender like the one below, or a Vitamix then you can get away without doing this.
STEP 4
Once the filling is blended and smooth, pour it on to the base and bake.
For such a decadent dessert it’s all pretty easy really!
STEP 5
Allow to cool then refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
CHEESECAKE TOPPING IDEAS
Whilst this Vegan New York Cheesecake is absolutely delicious on it’s own, I love to top it with a little something extra.
The healthiest option is fresh fruit. Juicy berries in particular are very nice. Then there’s my Five Minute Vegan Caramel Sauce, my Blueberry Lavender Sauce or my Vanilla Roasted Strawberries ♡
Or my Vegan Lemon Curd or Pumpkin Caramel Sauce…♡♡
I think the Pumpkin Caramel Sauce is my favourite cheesecake topping so far. It is a very indulgent combo and is extremely rich but that’s how I like my desserts!
For a festive spin on this cheesecake you could top it with a layer of my sweet, boozy Mincemeat.
This Vegan New York Cheesecake is:
- Rich
- Creamy
- Tangy
- Easy to make
- Perfectly sweet
- And just like the real thing!
- I can’t wait for you to try it!
For more indulgent vegan dessert recipes, check out these great options:
- Cheesecake Topped Vegan Brownies
- No Bake Espresso Chocolate Fudge Cake
- Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
- No Knead Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread
- Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug
- Salted Maple Pecan Vegan Fudge
And if you love this recipe, please do check out my cookbook, and subscribe to my email list for a fabulous FREE eCookbook featuring my top 10 recipes. Being on the list means you will be first to see my new recipes and you’ll be kept in the loop on all things new and exciting too!
Vegan New York Cheesecake
Ingredients
FOR THE BASE
- 350g | about 23 biscuits/cookies digestive biscuits (can sub graham crackers) - if you use my digestive biscuit recipe you will need almost the whole batch (minus about 3). For a gluten-free version use gluten-free cookies
- 4 tablespoons melted vegan butter , or coconut oil
FOR THE FILLING
- 300g | 2 cups raw cashews ,soaked in boiling water for 15 mins then drained (measured before soaking)
- 175g | 1 cup chickpeas , drained & rinsed well (cooked not dried chickpeas)
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder , or 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder , or cornstarch (cornflour in the UK)
- 120mls | ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 400 ml can full fat coconut milk (must be full fat, not light)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 320F
- Prepare the tin. Use the bottom of a deep 9 inch spring form pan . It must be at least 3 inches deep (see recipe notes if you have another size pan). to draw a circle on some parchment paper. Cut out the circle and use it to line the bottom of your pan. Line the sides of the pan with a long rectangular strip of baking parchment. Use a little mildly flavoured oil on the pan first to make the paper stick
- Put digestive biscuits (or graham crackers) into a food processor with the butter/coconut oil and blend until well combined and in fine crumbs.
- Press into the bottom of the tin. Make sure it is even and pressed down firmly then refrigerate while you make the filling.
- Add all the filling ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Remove base from the fridge and pour the filling in carefully.
- Bake for about 50 minutes. It should be set well around the edges and have a little bit of a wobble in the middle when done. A few small cracks are ok and will be covered by whatever you toppings you use.
- Remove and allow to cool then refrigerate for at least 4-5 hours or overnight.
Notes
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Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Rita says
The worst thing I did this week was make this cheesecake! It’s SO good I can’t stop eating it! And I live alone! And I didn’t cut into 10 servings so I’m pretty sure I’m having more than one serving at a time lol! I wonder if this freezes. I’m not going to take a chance and ruin it 😁. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe!!
Melanie McDonald says
Oh no! As I started reading your comment I thought it was going to say you hated it or something! I was so relieved once I got past the first sentence. I’m really pleased you enjoyed it. I have not tried freezing it because no-one will let me because they want to eat it all. Ha ha. As there is no dairy in it though it does last for a pretty long time in the fridge so you should be ok! Thanks so much for stopping by to leave feedback Rita!
Kiah says
Do I measure the cashews before or after soaking them? And do you think they can be replaced with silken tofu? I have a sister with a cashew allergy. Mine came out still watery in the middle, I guess I didn’t do something right. Flavor was spot on though!! Thanks!
Melanie McDonald says
The cashews are measured before soaking. I haven’t tried making it with silken tofu so I can’t say for sure whether you could use it instead. It might make the filling a little looser and the quantity would probably need playing with. It would affect the overall flavour a bit too.
The cooking time is a guide and you should remove it when it is set around the edges and there is a little wobble in the middle.If it’s still liquid in the middle then you would need to cook it a little longer. All ovens are different and the depth of your pan makes a difference too which is why the time isn’t exact. Then by the time its been refrigerated for 5 hours it will be firm. It shouldn’t be watery in the middle at all. Be sure you drain the cashews well as if you don’t that could create excess liquid.
Hope that helps!
Halimah says
Hi, I love this recipe and even won over my skeptical omni brother. I am hoping to make this into a coffee cheesecake for another group of vegan-skeptical friends. Do you have any suggestions on how I can modify the flavour? Thank you :)
Melanie McDonald says
Oh, ha ha, I just saw your Facebook post while scrolling and replied there but I think for sure you could dissolve some coffee powder in a teeny tiny bit of boiling water and stir it into the batter once cool, or coffee extract would work too and might give you a more pronounced coffee flavour. I’d probably omit the lemon zest and juice. Toppings-wise, chocolate sauce would work really well, or caramel, or a creamy whipped coffee topping like cappuccino. You could use something like So Delicious Coco Whip dolloped on top too with shaved chocolate. That would be sooo good!
Bambi says
I’m trying this out for a Shavuot cheesecake contest. Question: I have all the ingredients but the cookies. could I do a GF pretzel crust and add a little sugar? I’m thinking of the strawberry jello pretzel layer dish that, as an American, I grew up eating… and topping the cake with a strawberry sauce! Thanks in advance for the recipe!
Melanie McDonald says
I have never tried using pretzels in a recipe like this so I’m not sure if they would hold together as well as cookies. I suggest making it as a trial in advance so you know for sure it works before the big day.