Super easy, ultra-rich, decadently creamy, and smooth Vegan New York Cheesecake with no cream cheese or tofu! Enjoy as it is or get a little fancy with your choice of topping. It is vegan dessert perfection and you absolutely need it in your life...
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. Especially when all the other recipes I’d seen used expensive blocks of silken tofu or tubs of cream cheese. I’m making this next time there’s an event. Can’t wait to blow their socks off. Thank you thank you you absolute legend." - Al ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ See more reader reviews here.
Vegan Cheesecake has got to be one of my all-time favorite 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.
In this post:
My Vegan New York Cheesecake is just like a "real" baked cheesecake in texture. Dense, rich, super creamy, very satisfying, but completely dairy-free!
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 awesome chickpea is the secret ingredient here.
Please do not let that scare you off. You would NEVER know.
The cashews give the filling its creaminess and the chickpeas give the denseness, without needing any vegan cream cheese or tofu!
How To Make Vegan New York Cheesecake
This vegan cheesecake recipe is surprisingly easy to make.
- Make the crust- For this, you need some digestive biscuits/cookies. You can use store-bought digestives or homemade Vegan Digestive Biscuits Vegan graham crackers are similar and also work well. To make the crust all you need to do is blend the cookies with some vegan butter or coconut oil in a food processor. Then press it into a springform pan or a loose-bottomed pan, then refrigerate.
- Make the filling - It's as simple as blending all the cheesecake filling ingredients together. I recommend soaking the cashew nuts in boiling water before blending.
- 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.
Success Tip - Do not try to make this cheesecake in a cake pan without a removable bottom or you will never get it out. You need a spring-form cake pan or a loose-bottomed cake pan for this recipe.
Serving Suggestions
Whilst this Vegan New York Cheesecake is absolutely delicious on its own, I love to top it with a little something extra. Some ideas include:
Storage
Vegan cheesecake leftovers will keep really well in the fridge for up to a week. Just be sure to cover it so it doesn't dry out.
More Cheesecake Recipes
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's wrapped really well.
To make this recipe gluten-free you'll need to find yourself some gluten-free digestive biscuits or graham crackers. The filling is naturally gluten-free.
Recipe
Vegan New York Cheesecake
Author: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 4-5 hours or overnight. Don't put it in the fridge while hot/warm.
Ruth says
Excited to make this! Will this freeze well? If so, how long do you think? Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
I have never tried freezing it. I would imagine it would be ok but can't say for sure. If you try it let me know how it goes!
Daniela says
I wanted to thank you for sharing this great recipe! I modified it a little and made it into a grain free carob cheesecake and it was fantastic! Even or omni friends liked it! Thank you thank you! Next attempt will be pumpkin cheesecake! Happy holidays and have a great new year!
A Virtual Vegan says
It sounds great. So glad you all enjoyed it! The adaptation possibilities are endless with this recipe. Pumpkin would be so good!
Cara says
This recipe tuned out great! My cheesecake-loving son gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up. I did not have a spring form pan, but there was just about the perfect amount of filling for two nine-inch store bought graham cracker pie crusts. I reduced the cooking time to 35 minutes (although don't quote me on that, my oven is kind of dodgy) and added a homemade cherry sauce. Divine!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! I'm so glad you all enjoyed it. I can imagine how good cherry sauce was with it!
Joanna says
I have a can of chickpeas. What do you mean by cooked? Also, will it be ok if I made the cheesecake 5 days in advance? Thanks!
Mindlyly says
Impressive.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you!
Violaine says
Thank you, your recipe sounds very promising. I have a question concerning the full fat coconut milk to make sure I pick the right one. How much fat do you have in your coconut milk? I found one with 22 g fat for 100 ml (3,4 oz). Is it enough?
A Virtual Vegan says
I just checked a can in my cupboard and it is 14g of fat per 79ml, so roughly the same as yours. It will be fine!
Isabelle Adams says
Do you think if i added oreos to this to make it an oreo cheesecake, it would still turn out okay?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes. I have a couple of readers who make it like that. With oreos crushed up for the base instead of digestives and chunks of oreos through the batter and whole ones stuck in the top. They say it's great!
Mary Light says
I am in the midst of making it for a student gathering tomorrow. So far just in tasting it it is surprisingly tasty!
I had Mexican Vanilla at hand (which is not always my go-to...) and did fresh lemon and also orange zest. I had a ten inch springform and added a cup of unsweetened coconut shredded to the " gluten free graham animal cracker cookies " I had on hand, as it seemed to need more to fill it out as to that size bag of animal cookies. I used to be a chef/caterer and made a lot of cheesecakes in my time, and this one is shaping up nicely! About to go in the oven. Have a Peach Cranberry Maple freuit sauce to serve with it as an optional topping, or a cold "coconut whipped" organic whipped topping.
A Virtual Vegan says
I hope it goes down well tomorrow. Your sauce sounds amazing. The perfect accompaniment!
Michael says
Great post, fab recipe, chickpeas, who'da thunk it, *clap clap clap* :D
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! Chickpeas are my secret weapon in lots of recipes!
Emily says
Love your cheesecake! I only changed the maple syrup to a cup of sugar. Lotus biscoff cookies make for a delicious crust.
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you like it! I love those biscoff cookies. That's a great idea to use them in the crust.
Maggie says
So for the chickpeas is it supposed to be 1cup of cooked chickpeas for the recipe or cook a cup that will expand to about 3cups?
A Virtual Vegan says
It's 1 cup of cooked chickpeas.
Lia says
Hi. Is there anything that can sub for cashews?
A Virtual Vegan says
I have never tried it with anything other than cashews. Macadamias would almost certainly work, possibly sunflower seeds although I'm not sure how they would affect the flavour, almonds if they were soaked and blended really well. Young coconut meat too might work. Let me know how it goes if you do decide to try anything else. I'd love to know how it turns out!
Anisia Stephenson says
Hi, my husband is allergic to coconut. What other milk substitute would you recommend to keep it creamy?
A Virtual Vegan says
The coconut also helps with the setting because of the fat in it. I wouldn't like to suggest a sub as without testing it I wouldn't be sure it would work. Silken tofu might work instead or using another plant milk and increasing the arrowroot, or adding some agar agar. But I don't know quantities etc as i haven't tried it. Sorry!
Anaïs Maes says
Hi Anaisa!
Have you tried it with something else than coconut milk :)?
Lav says
That's a lot of vinegar for one cheesecake. Does it taste especially vinegar-y?
A Virtual Vegan says
Not at all vinegar-y and it's not really all that much. Only 3 tablespoons and it's a big cheesecake. Regular cheesecakes have the tang from the cream-cheese. This one needs the vinegar to give it that slight cream-cheesy tang. It's had nothing but positive feedback. Everyone that makes it loves it!
Melissa McDaniel says
I am so excited I found this, my boyfriends favorite dessert is cheesecake and he isn't vegan but I'm trying to persuade haha. I was wondering if I can replace arrowroot with corn starch since I already have that, and if it's possible to replace the coconut milk with another thick fatty milk? I'm just always weary of the coconut flavor coming through, unless you can't taste it? This looks so amazing I'm so excited to make it!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Well if anything will persuade him cheesecake will! ;O) Yes you can replace the arrowroot with cornstach but you MUST use canned full fat coconut milk. That's what helps it to set properly. Other milks won't work. It really doesn't taste coconutty at all though. Good luck and I hope you win him over!
Alexis says
This cheesecake looks great and I can't wait to try it, but is the tahini necessary?
A Virtual Vegan says
You could omit it if you really wanted to. It will still technically work without it. It's there to help with the cheesecake tangy flavour.