Vegan Cheesecake
This Vegan New York Cheesecake recipe is a creamy, classic cheesecake recipe featuring a blueberry topping. Imagine a vegan cheesecake that’s rich and dense, and full of flavor. This cheesecake is prepared with a buttery graham cracker crust and a delightfully creamy cheesecake filling.
I’ve also shared our scrumptious Vegan Oreo Cheesecake. It’s ooh-la-la delicious! And I’ve also made this Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake recipe because everyone needs a chocolate version!
Every slice of this vegan New York cheesecake is drizzled with blueberry sauce. Isn’t it just heaven on a plate!
I used to love cheesecake in my pre-vegan days, but I don’t miss it today. Not at all! Are you worried that means I’ve given up that delicious dessert?
No worries! I just make my own, including this copycat Cheesecake Factory vegan cheesecake recipe.
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- Graham Cracker Crust — The best base for any cheesecake is this Vegan Graham Cracker Crust
- Raw cashews — You won’t need to soak these cashews
- Full fat coconut milk — I look for cans of coconut with 12–15 grams of fat. Trader Joe’s or Sprouts Coconut Cream works here too
- Vegan cream cheese — I oftentimes use Tofutti’s because it’s easy to find and inexpensive. However, Daiya makes vegan cream cheese too
- Granulated sugar
- Cornstarch — We’re using cornstarch to help thicken this cheesecake
- All-purpose flour — To ensure a sturdy cheesecake, flour is added as a thickener too
- Vanilla
- Topping — I love having either Blueberry Sauce or Strawberry Purée on hand to drizzle over the top.
How to Make Vegan Cheesecake
This is a baked vegan cheesecake as compared to my Raw Vegan Cheesecake recipe, which is frozen. Either one is relatively easy to make. This one begins with the crust.
Step One: Graham Cracker Cheesecake Crust
Use the recipe to make the vegan graham cracker crust. Then press the crust into the bottom of a springform pan (or a pie pan if you don’t have a springform pan). Set this aside while you proceed with the filling.
Note: Use gluten-free graham crackers or cookies for the crust to make a gluten-free vegan cheesecake.
Step Two: Vegan Cheesecake Filling
The next step is to make the cheesecake filling. Use these steps:
- Pulse Cashews and Coconut Milk: Place the raw cashews and the coconut milk in a food processor and pulse in short bursts to break down the cashews. Continuing pulsing for up to a minute, until smooth and creamy.
- Add Cream Cheese: Add the vegan cream cheese and pulse again until smooth and creamy
- Add Remaining Ingredients: Pour in the sugar, corn starch, flour, and vanilla. Pulse for several seconds, up to a minute, until you have a nice, creamy mixture
- Pour: Pour the filling over the crust.
- Water Bath Step #1: Wrap the bottom of the pan in aluminum foil and place that in a roasting pan (to create a water bath)
- Water Bath Step #2: Place that larger pan in the oven and then pour water around the foil-wrapped cheesecake. (Watch the video to see instructions)
- Bake: Bake the vegan cheesecake for up to an hour until it’s done
- In-Oven Cooling: Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven for an hour as it cools.
Marly’s Tips
To make a gluten-free vegan cheesecake, do not add the flour to the filling. You can substitute a tablespoon of additional cornstarch or add 1 tablespoon of agar flakes.
You can top your vegan cheesecake with blueberry sauce, or make a strawberry purée to drizzle over the top.
Cheesecake Water Bath
I bake my vegan cheesecake in a water bath to prevent cracks in the filling. The water creates steam, therefore making the oven environment moister. It’s a super easy trick — watch our video to see how I do it.
If you feel intimidated by the idea of a water bath for your vegan cheesecake, you’re in good company. It concerned me the first time too. I love researching recipes and I found these great resources on making sure your cheesecake water bath doesn’t leak!
Reader Reviews
★★★★★
Allex
Made it a second time now for a birthday and the feedback was astonishing, to say the least… REALLY Fantastic recipe and so easy to do!
★★★★★
Sheila
I made this for friendsgiving and it was perfect. Thank you for this amazing recipe!!!
Frequently-Asked Questions
What is a vegan cheesecake recipe made of?
Vegan cheesecake is usually made with vegan cream cheese, and other ingredients such as tofu, full-fat coconut milk, cashews, a vegan graham cracker crust, and other tasty ingredients.
Can I use a chocolate topping on cheesecake?
If you’d rather have a chocolate topping to your vegan cheesecake, I recommend a simple chocolate ganache. Combine 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips with a half cup of vegan cream, like a rich creamer. Melt the chocolate together with the cream and then stir until it’s all combined.
Best Vegan New York Cheesecake Recipe
A New York Cheesecake is an ultra-creamy, tall cheesecake. That’s why this recipe represents everything that’s so exciting about a vegan diet. It’s indulgent, delicious, and so satisfying!
We use tofu in this vegan cheesecake, which adds texture and creaminess. Some vegan cheesecakes call for a lot of cashews. I use cashews too, just not too many. I think this combination of ingredients creates the best Vegan New York Cheesecake that’s creamy and delicious.
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Vegan New York Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 Vegan Graham Cracker Crust
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk* (read note below)
- 2 8 oz containers vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti’s)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 batch blueberry sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the vegan graham cracker crust. Press the crumb crust into a 9" springform pan. Distribute evenly across the bottom and up a little on the sides of the pan. Set aside.
For the Vegan Cheesecake Filling:
- Place the raw cashews and the coconut milk in a food processor. Feel free to use the same one you used for the crust. Pulse the food processor for several seconds to break down the cashews. Open the lid and stir down any ingredients that might have risen to the top of the bowl. Now pulse for several seconds, up to a minute, until smooth and creamy.
- Add the vegan cream cheese and pulse again until smooth and creamy.
- Next, add the sugar, corn starch, flour, and vanilla. Pulse for several seconds, up to a minute, until you have a nice, creamy mixture.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F while the filling settles for a few minutes.
- When the oven is ready, pour the cheesecake filling into the prepared crust.
- Wrap the bottom of the pan in aluminum foil, being sure to cover the bottom half of the pan. Place this in a roasting pan and pour hot water around the bottom of the pan. This is a water bath and it will prevent the cheesecake from cracking in the middle.
- Bake the cheesecake for 60 minutes and then turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven for up to another hour (or until it's cooled). Remove from the oven and allow it to cool before placing it in the fridge. I recommend refrigerating the cheesecake for at least four hours (or even a full day) before slicing and serving.
For the Blueberry Topping:
- Prepare the Blueberry Sauce as the recipe indicates.
- Serve each slice with Blueberry Sauce.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Enjoy!
This post was originally published in 2018 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2020.
This cheesecake is delicious! Not too sweet at all. I’m not a sugar snob though, like some. I processed biscoff sandwich cookies with a little melted “butter” for the crust. Used Miyoko’s plain cream cheese because it is nice and sour. Not sure if I’ll keep it in the oven to cool next time because it got a little hardened and overdone and it cracked anyway. Was most likely the fault of my oven. This recipe is so going into my favorites.
Is it possible to use firm toffu instead of vegan cream cheese?
Hi Gabriele. Thanks for your comment. If you don’t have any vegan cream cheese, I think you could make do with firm tofu. However, I would probably add a teaspoon of something like apple cider vinegar to give it a little tang, similar to cream cheese. I hope this is helpful!
This recipe is way too sweet. Next time I will cut the sugar in half. It definitely needs lemon noise and I used eggs as my main need was a lactose free cheesecake. If it had not been so sweet would have been very good
Hi, I cannot find the video for the recipe.. Can you please send me the link?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Lit. I sent the link to the video. Thanks!
Made it a second time now for a birthday and the feedback was astonishing, to say the least. Lots of friends and family don’t give much on vegan foods except me. All faces were quite sceptic, even disappointed and averse early on I told them it’s vegan, the color wasn’t that shiny.
But when they ate it, it seemed to blow their minds! First time I thought some just wanted to be nice but after all many asked to give them the recipe and ate 3 pieces and more.
My little twists were like adding a shot of 50 grams of rice milk (different cheese package size in good old Germany) to give it more fluid while it’s more ‘cheese’, used a bit of maple syrup and less brown sugar and the secret of organic lemon zest and ~ 4 to 8 tblsp. of the lemon’s juice
REALLY Fantastic recipe and so easy to do!
This recipe is way too sweet. Next time I will cut the sugar in half. It definitely needs lemon noise and I used eggs as my main need was a lactose free cheesecake. If it had not been so sweet would have been very good
Do you have a recipe to make my own cream cheese? Toffuti is not readily available here.
Hi Suzanne,
I’m not sure where you are, but you can order vegan cream cheese online as well. Here’s vegan cream cheese from Vegan Essentials. I do have a recipe for a cashew-based vegan cream cheese. I believe this recipe requires more of a studier cream cheese in order to get the same texture.
I’m not dairy free but half my family is so I know what actual cheesecake tastes like. This tastes awesome and is the closest one I’ve had to normal cheesecake! I added a little lemon juice to it to get a little twang and will definitely add a little more next time. However, my cheesecake turned out a grayish color instead of that nice golden beige color. I used Trader Joe’s vegan cream cheese. Any way I can get it to be that prettier golden color?
Hi Marie! Thanks for your comment. I’m so glad to learn you liked this recipe. I love the addition of some lemon juice and I might even add that as a note or optional ingredient. There does need to be a bit of a twang to a cheesecake. I’m not sure what would cause the cheesecake to look gray. Nothing in the ingredients of this recipe would cause me to think it would turn that color. I have to wonder if it’s not the TJ’s vegan cream cheese. We have a TJ in KC, but it’s not very close by so I don’t go there often. However, the next time I’m there, I’ll grab a couple and try making this cheesecake with it. See the sacrifices I make for you! 🙂 I almost exclusively use Tofutti’s because their texture and flavor for me, is the closest to dairy cream cheese. I have experimented with adding just a touch of nutritional yeast flakes for both color and adding a little bit of that “eggy” flavor. I would try just a teaspoon at a time because a little goes a long ways. Hope this is helpful!
Does this cheesecake have a coconut taste to it?
Hi Sam, Even though the recipe uses a whole can of full-fat coconut milk, I don’t detect a coconut flavor to it. I’ve served it to many people and asked them this question and everyone has agreed that it doesn’t have a coconut taste. Hope that’s helpful!
This cheesecake recipe is absolutely divine! If I double the recipe, do I bake it for the same amount of time or the same time listed above? Thanks! 🙂