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.
Marsha Robinson says
Perfection...!!
Izabela says
Amazing!!
Pam Stenquist says
I do not have maple syrup, but I I have agave. Also, I want to bake individual portions in cupcake liners, what do you think?
A Virtual Vegan says
It has never been tested with agave but I would think it will technically work. However maple syrup has a much better flavour. It plays a big part in making this recipe taste good. I personally wouldn't use agave instead.
As for cupcake liners I'm sure that would be fine as long as they are resting in a muffin pan, but as I haven't tried it I don't know about timings. You will need to bake until the edges have set and the centre just jiggles a tiny bit. I would guess probably about 20 minutes but it's so hard to tell without having tried it.
Hope that helps!
Cecilia says
Do you think this would turn out well if I used sunflower seeds instead of cashews? My child is allergic to them...
A Virtual Vegan says
I don't know. It would technically work if you soak them first, but I don't know how the flavour would be. It's not something I've ever tried.
Wendy says
Does it tastes like coconut?
A Virtual Vegan says
No it doesn't.
Cathy Klovski says
Sooooo, I ran out of tahini! Help! I have used white miso in other recipes but I worry about the stronger taste of the miso over powering it all.
Thank you.
Cathy
A Virtual Vegan says
Don't use white miso. If you have some natural cashew butter use that instead, or just omit it.
Evie says
Don’t let the liquid filling fool you!
After 50 mins in the oven it will come out perfect, solid and creamy!
Great recipe!
Campbell says
Amazing! This is my go-to cheesecake recipe! I made this for a teenagers birthday party and they all loved it and had no idea it was vegan! Best cheesecake I have ever had! It is so easy to make and it is such a crowd pleaser! You need to try this recipe!!!
Brianna says
I am definitely trying this recipe! It looks amazing! I usually use great northern white beans instead of chickpeas, because I think they tend to be creamier and less “beany.” Do you think they would work in this recipe? ?
A Virtual Vegan says
I've never tried it with great northern beans so I'm not sure how it would compare. It gets great feedback as it is though. Hope you enjoy it whatever you decide!
Caryl says
This would make a great chocolate cheesecake with some cacao powder added to the mix!
A Virtual Vegan says
I do plan to make an adapted chocolate version one day!
Caryl says
That’s great. Until you do, I’m going to experiment myself ?
Carol says
Thinking the same thing...and curious how. Cocoa powder? Added sweetener for the cocoa powder?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes probably cocoa powder just added in. Probably a tiny little bit of instant coffee or espresso powder as it enhances the chocolatey flavour. It might need some extra sugar to balance out the bitterness. With this recipe it's easy to taste the mixture in the blender and adjust it though. You could also maybe half the batter and add cocoa to just one half then swirl them together. Hope that helps!
Tami says
Would you be so kind as to figure out how to make this in an instantpot? I LOVE my instantpot! Thank you !
A Virtual Vegan says
I won't try it in an Instant Pot. The biscuit base would end up really soggy with it being steamed/pressure cooked. It really wouldn't be at it's best. Sorry!
Rebecca says
This will be my first cooked cheesecake too!! But I'm wondering if coconut thickened cream (ingreds: coconut, native starch, live vegan cultures) would work instead of coconut cream in this? Would it still set in the oven or would it be a runny mess?
Thank you
A Virtual Vegan says
You need to use full fat canned coconut milk for this to get the right texture. Hope you enjoy it!
Kyla says
My first cooked cheesecake!!!!!!
I'm so happy!!!!! I've done raw ones a few times but this looked simple enough for me to be adventurous enough to try.....it smells gorgeous and I can't wait to try it I'm waiting impatiently for it to cool down ?
Thankyou so much for the recipe ???
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm excited for you! Hope you enjoy it!
Nicole says
Hello! This is a great recipe, I chose it because most cheesecake recipes can get fairly expensive with buying store-bought imitation cream cheese. I just made this and I’m noticing that I can still taste the tahini. I’m using sesame king brand, and it has no seasoning it’s just pure ground sesame. I used less than 2 tablespoons and it’s still fairly noticeable. Is this normal? With the recipe be affected if I didn’t use it at all next time?
A Virtual Vegan says
You can safely omit the tahini or reduce it.
kenna says
if i wanted to make this a pumpkin cheesecake, would i just add a can of pumpkin pie filling or puree and add extra sugar?
A Virtual Vegan says
If you add extra wet ingredients to this it might affect how it sets. I haven't tried it so I don't know how much pumpkin you would be able to get away with before it affected the setting/texture. I do have this pumpkin caramel though which is really great with this cheesecake. That could be an option to make it pumpkin-y without risking it not working. instead! https://avirtualvegan.com/vegan-pumpkin-caramel-sauce/
Chantel Shaw says
Thx for the great recipe; I'm anticipating making it, but first I have a question. What exactly is the ACV for & can it be omitted to suit a vinegar-free diet?
A Virtual Vegan says
The ACV is there to give it a tartness like a cream cheese made cheesecake has. You can omit it though. It won't affect it too much.
Bons says
Never seen so many cracks on a cheesecake. I'll continue working a thing it, using this recipe as a starting point. It's at least edible...
A Virtual Vegan says
I very rarely get cracks on this cheesecake when I make it myself and if I do it's just a tiny one. I have also never had any other reports of this from anyone else and this is a very popular recipe. Here are some things that can cause cracks so you might be able to deduce what went wrong:
Over-baking - I think this is probably the most likely culprit here especially as you say there were a lot of cracks. If it over-bakes it dries out and then it is inevitable that it will crack. It needs to be removed when it still has a wobble. If it goes past that point it is over-baked.
Too high a temp while baking - All ovens vary in temperature a little. There is a chance that yours runs a little hotter than it should. You can pick up an oven thermometer pretty cheaply. They are a really useful tool. I check my oven frequently so I know that the temperatures I give here in my recipes are accurate.
Opening the oven while the cheesecake is cooking - Drafts and temperature changes can cause cracks.
Not lining the pan with parchment paper - As the cheesecake cooks it shrinks and pulls away from the sides. If it isn't lined well, the tension can cause splitting and cracks.
Cooling too quickly - Did you refrigerate it before it had cooled completely?
Hope that helps!
Sheree says
This is an amazing vegan chesscake! The best recipe I have tried. And you would never guess that it has chickpeas in it!
Melanie McDonald says
Thank you so much! I'm really pleased you are enjoying it!