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.
lisa says
My vegan son and I made this for Easter and it was wonderful! Thank you for such a great recipe.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so glad you both enjoyed it Lisa!
Anna says
I made the cake with the roasted strawberries for our Easter family lunch and it was a success! When I asked what was it made of, everyone answered ricotta :) it's really delicious and although mine turned out really dense and a bit dry (I think it was slightly over cooked) the strawberry sauce made it perfect.
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Anna. I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. The texture is somewhat like ricotta so I can understand why they thought that. It does sound like it was a little overcooked if it was dry. It should be creamy. Next time keep checking it and take it out when it has a bit more of a wobble. It continues to cook a little as it cools, then firms up a bit more in the fridge too so don't worry if it looks a little underdone. It's great you made the roasted strawberries with it. I love it served with those! And thank you so much for coming back to leave feedback. I really appreciate it!
Jess says
Wow! This was sooo good. The only thing I did differently was only use 1/2 T vinegar, because I had juiced a very large lemon. Our non-vegan friend said she couldn’t tell the difference from regular cheesecake. Thank you so much for this recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome Jess! I'm so glad it went down well. Thank you for stopping by to leave feedback. It's much appreciated!
evie says
Wow, if you're curious to try this definitely give it a go! My 12 year old brother (who is the most fussiest boy I have ever met.. especially when it comes to me trying to make healthy recipes) said it is so yum and tastes like a regular cheesecake and I love it too!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's so good to hear Evie. I'm glad you both enjoyed it!
Rowan says
Oh my lord!! I just tried the filling before cooking it and it is unbelievable! So so similar to cream cheese. Cannot wait to eat it. WOW!
A Virtual Vegan says
I hope you enjoyed it as much once it was baked up!
jacob anciso says
This is an amzing recipe!
I did leave it out overnight after baking it (by accident! I fell asleep) will it still be good if i put it in the fridge for several hours still?
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! Yes it should be fine. Let it chill then enjoy it!
Mel says
Would it be possible to make this in an instant pot? & if so how would you do it?
Bailey says
I followed the instructions exactly and this turned out great! I think next time I would use half the lemon because it really tastes very lemony. Or maybe just omit the zest and do the juice only.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thank you for stopping by to leave feedback!
Ally says
Hi,
This looks amazing and I am so excited to try it. I have a question though: would it be possible to use some other bean instead of chickpeas? I find I have an allergy to chickpeas (usually just chickpea flour, but I avoid both chickpeas and chickpea flour to be safe) .
Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! I haven't tried it with any other bean so I'm not sure whether the beany taste might come through with others? I would imagine it would be ok though as it would more than likely get drowned out by the other ingredients. You could always taste the mixture and add more vanilla to cover up any bean taste if you can detect it. It will definitely technically work though so no worries there. Good luck!
Fran says
Do you only use the solid part of the full fat coconut milk?
A Virtual Vegan says
No the whole can, not just the hard part.
Lindsay says
The taste is very good and the directions were easy to follow. Mine was a bit overcooked at 70 minutes though. I should have been keeping a closer eye on it.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm glad you liked it Lindsay. With anything baked in the oven the time can vary a little. All ovens are slightly different, some pans conduct heat better than others etc. That's why I say "around" 70 minutes and give instructions on what to look out for so you know it's ready. I'm sure you'll get it spot on next time! Thank you so much for stopping by to leave feedback. It's much appreciated!
Raina Saul says
Oh my God i just put it in the oven and realized i forgot to add the vinegar!!! Whats going to happen? Is it ruined? I could cry!
A Virtual Vegan says
It won't be ruined so don't panic! The vinegar helps give it a little tang, like a cheesecake made with cream cheese. It will still be perfectly edible without!
Raina says
Oh thank you! Do you think the vinegar also works to cover some of the coconut flavor from the coconut milk?
A Virtual Vegan says
Maybe a little but hardly as it's such a small amount. With all the other ingredients the coconut is pretty drowned out. I have never detected it.
laura says
this looks awesome, can't wait to try! I used to make normal cheesecake as a rainbow-cake, by dividing the filling, colouring the different batches and pouring them on top of each other into the form. do you think this could work with that filling or is the texture not creamy enough?
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you. The mixture is pretty thick and creamy so I think coloured layers probably would work if you poured them on really gently. I bet it would be really pretty!
Emre says
Hi,
I'd like to make this cheesecake next weekend. I've tried countless recipes, but nothing came close to a real cheesecake. This recipe sounds interesting, so I'll give it a try. I'm not sure about the Tahini, tho. Mine tastes very bitter and intense. I like the flavour in hummus, but I don't know about cheesecake. Will it blend in or does your Tahini taste different than mine?
Skhdzb says
Pretty delicious!! I recommend using about half of the lemon zest
Amber says
I made this and the ingredients didn't fit in my blender and really gave it a workout. It smelled strongly of vinegar and there was far more filling than to fit a 9" pan. It wasn't creamy or sweet at all.
I followed the recipe to a T, so I'm unsure what went wrong.
A Virtual Vegan says
Sorry you didn't have a good experience. It's a shame because this is such a popular recipe and usually gets fantastic feedback.
If you have a smaller blender, when making larger capacity recipes you need to blend up the mixture in two parts. I work with a standard sized blender and can only account for that in my recipes. Everything you are blending in this recipe is really soft so it shouldn't be hard work for your blender. It sounds perhaps like yours isn't powerful enough for recipes like this or that you were trying to blend too much at once and it couldn't cope.
If you only used the stated amount of vinegar and used apple cider vinegar then it shouldn't smell strongly of vinegar. It smells tangy because that's how cheesecakes should be but not vinegary. Did you use a different type of vinegar or use a different amount?
As for it not fitting in the pan, it needs to be a deep springform pan suitable for cheesecakes. Shallow pans wont have the capacity needed. I have a deep 9 inch springform pan and everything fits in it perfectly every time.