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    Home » Desserts

    Dairy-Free Cheesecake (Baked, Vegan)

    Published: Aug 29, 2019 Updated: Nov 27, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Baked Cheesecake

    This baked dairy-free cheesecake is just as good or better than any baked cheesecake you’ve ever had. It’s creamy and cheesy and simply sensational! 

    Slice of dairy free cheesecake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    So you may have heard me whining on this blog about not being able to get dairy free cream cheese. Well…the other day when I was wondering around my local supermarket, imagine how excited I was to see some tofutti dairy free cream cheese!

    I was so excited that I basically bought their entire stock of it. And then got busy making baked cheesecakes. 

    I made a few before I got to the perfect consistency but oh wow, this cheesecake is exactly the consistency of the baked cheesecakes you know and love! In dairy free form. Yay!

    Of course it’s also egg free because hey this is a vegan blog! But it really doesn’t miss the eggs either. 

    If you love cheesecake then you’ll probably also love our no-bake vegan cheesecake and vegan pumpkin cheesecake. 

    Dairy free cheesecake in a white pie dish.

    How to Make Baked Vegan Cheesecake

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    The Crust:

    • I went with an old favorite here which is an oreo cookie crust. Golden oreos and vegan butter make the perfect crust for this cheesecake. 
    • Just add oreo cookies to the food processor and process into crumbs. 
    Two photo collage showing golden oreo cookies added to food processor and processed into crumbs.
    • Then add in melted vegan butter and process again until all the crumbs are coated with the butter. 
    Two photo collage showing melted vegan butter added to food processor and mixed with oreo crumbs.
    • Press down into a 9-inch round pie dish. 
    Golden oreo crust pressed down into a white pie dish.

    The Filling Part One:

    • The first part of the filling is to add coconut cream, the separated cream part only from a can of chilled coconut cream to a blender jug.
    • Add cashews and blend. 

    TIP:  This is very thick, so if you have a Vitamix, you’re all set. But if you have a weaker model blender, then the best thing to do will be to blend the coconut cream first, until it’s well blended, and then add the cashews and blend them into the coconut cream. 

    Cashews and coconut cream in a blender jug.

    The Filling Part Two:

    • Then you move on to the second part of the filling which is to add two tubs of vegan cream cheese (we used Tofutti) to the bowl of your stand mixer, along with caster sugar (also called superfine sugar), cornstarch, salt, lemon juice and vanilla extract. 
    • Starting at slow speed gradually increase speed until everything is well mixed.

    TIP: Be careful not to overmix. Don’t just leave the mixer running. 

    Two photo collage showing filling ingredients added to stand mixer and mixed.
    • Then (not pictured) add the coconut cream and cashew blended mix and lemon zest to the cream cheese mix and fold it in carefully.
    • Pour the filling over the golden Oreo crust and smooth it down.
    • Bake the cheesecake in the oven for 60 minutes at 320°F (160°C). 
    Two photo collage showing vegan cheesecake in a white pie dish before and after baking.
    • After the cheesecake has baked for an hour, turn off the oven and crack open the oven door. Leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool down slowly for another hour.
    • When it’s just finished baking it will be a little jiggly in the middle, don’t worry it firms up. 
    • After it finishes cooling in the oven, transfer it to the countertop and let it cool all the way down to room temperature and then move it to the fridge until chilled through and preferably overnight.
    • Add the topping and serve!
    Two photo collage showing the cooled and set cheesecake and then topped with golden oreo crumbs.

    No Water Bath

    We bake this cheesecake at a low temperature so it doesn’t need a water bath. In addition to the low temperature baking, we crack the oven door after it has baked for an hour and let it cool down slowly for another hour. Baking it slowly and then cooling it slowly like this, means you don’t get cracks in the top. 

    As you’ll see from my pic above, mine cracked a little on the top, but that was because I got a little impatient with the cooling process and cut it short. If you let it cool nice and slow then it tends to not crack. But this tiny little crack in the top isn’t enough to convince me to go to the effort of a water bath. Especially because the crack will just get covered with a cookie crumb topping.

    Dairy free cheesecake topped with crushed oreo cookies in a white pie dish.

    The Topping

    The topping is just crushed golden oreo cookies. The topping is completely optional and you don’t actually have to have a topping at all. 

    I’m just a fan of how it looks with all those cookie crumbs!

    Slice of vegan baked cheesecake on a white plate.

    Vegan Baked Cheesecake Q&A

    Can you make dairy free cheesecake in advance?

    It’s ideal to make this cheesecake in advance because you ideally want it to chill overnight in the fridge so it can firm up to the perfect consistency.

    Can this vegan cheesecake be made gluten free?

    The filling is already gluten-free, so to make this cheesecake gluten-free all you need to do is use a gluten-free vanilla sandwich cookie to make the crust.

    How long does dairy free cheesecake last?

    Keep it stored in the fridge and it will last around 5-7 days.

    Can you freeze vegan baked cheesecake?

    Yes you can freeze it! I froze a few slices and then thawed them in the fridge and they were perfectly delicious. 

    Slice of vegan baked cheesecake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    More Vegan Desserts

    1. Dairy Free Chocolate Cake
    2. Vegan Lemon Bars
    3. Vegan Chocolate Tart
    4. Vegan Mug Cake
    5. Vegan Nutella
    6. Vegan White Chocolate
    Slice of dairy free baked cheesecake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Slice of dairy free cheesecake on a white plate.

    Dairy Free Cheesecake

    This baked dairy free cheesecake is just as good or better than any baked cheesecake you’ve ever had. It’s creamy and cheesy and simply sensational!
    5 from 23 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Baking, Dessert
    Cuisine: American, Vegan
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 542kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    For the Crust:

    • 28 Golden Oreos
    • ⅓ cup Vegan Butter (75g) Melted

    For the Filling:

    • 1 ¼ cups Canned Coconut Cream (300ml) hardened cream only from a chilled 14 ounce (400ml) can, chilled in the fridge overnight
    • 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g)
    • 16 ounces Dairy Free Cream Cheese (450g) We used Tofutti brand
    • 1 ⅔ cups Caster Sugar (330g) Superfine Sugar*
    • ½ cup Cornstarch (64g)
    • ½ tsp Salt
    • 5 Tbsp Lemon Juice
    • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
    • 2 Tbsp Lemon Zest

    For the Topping (Optional):

    • 6 Golden Oreos Crushed
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C).
    • Add the oreo cookies to the food processor and process into crumbs. Melt the vegan butter and then add to the processor and process again until all the crumbs are coated with the butter. Spray a 9-inch round pie dish* with non-stick spray and then press the cookie crumbs down into an even layer. Set aside while you prepare your filling. 
    • Take the can of chilled coconut cream from the fridge and open the can. Scoop the hardened cream that has risen to the top into your blender jug, leaving the watery part behind. Add the raw cashews and blend until smooth. If your blender is not powerful (like a Vitamix) then blend the coconut cream first, and then add the cashew nuts and blend them in. Set aside. 
    • Add the two tubs of dairy-free cream cheese to the bowl of your stand mixer, along with the caster sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Starting at slow speed gradually increase speed until everything is well mixed. Be careful not to overmix, it just needs to be mixed in, don’t leave the mixer running. 
    • Add the coconut cream and cashew mix along with some lemon zest to the cream cheese mix and fold in. 
    • Pour the filling over the crust and smooth down.
    • Bake for 60 minutes. 
    • After 60 minutes turn off the oven and crack open the oven door leaving the cheesecake in the oven to cool down slowly for an hour.
    • When it’s finished baking it will be a little jiggly in the middle, this is perfect. 
    • After cooling in the oven, move it to the counter and let it cool down to room temperature and then move it to the fridge until chilled through. It’s ideal if you can leave it overnight. 
    • When it’s completely chilled through and firmed up then add the crumb topping and serve!

    Notes

    1. Golden Oreos. You can switch the golden Oreos for a different vegan cookie if you prefer.
    2. Coconut cream. The hardened/separated cream from one 14 ounce can of coconut cream will usually equal about 1 and ¼ cups (300ml). If you have to replace the coconut cream in this recipe with a different cream then this is the amount you would use.
    3. Caster sugar. If you can’t get hold of caster sugar (superfine sugar) then you can use regular granulated white sugar instead.
    4. Pie dish. Our pie dish is 9-inches round and 2 and ½ inches deep. It needs to be a deep pie dish to fit the volume of this cheesecake. You could also use a 9-inch springform pan.
    5. Make it gluten free: The filling is already gluten-free, so to make this cheesecake gluten-free all you need to do is use gluten-free sandwich cookies (or other gluten free cookies) to make the crust.
    6. Storing and freezing: Keep it stored in the fridge and it will last around 5-7 days. It’s also freezer friendly. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 542kcal | Carbohydrates: 62.7g | Protein: 5.5g | Fat: 30.3g | Saturated Fat: 12.5g | Sodium: 421mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 40.6g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Samantha says

      December 24, 2022 at 4:01 am

      I’m going to make this for Christmas. Do the cashews need to be soaked overnight?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        December 29, 2022 at 9:47 am

        We didn’t soak them first.

        Reply
    2. Jen says

      November 14, 2022 at 10:28 am

      Absolutely love this delicious vegan cheesecake recipe! Have made this several times already and it always comes out perfectly – like many other recipes we have tried from your collection. Thank you so much for sharing!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 14, 2022 at 10:31 am

        Thanks so much Jen! So happy to hear you love the recipe!

        Reply
    3. Katie says

      September 10, 2022 at 4:57 pm

      I made this with rice flour instead of cornstarch, as I’m very allergic to corn and it was still fabulous. What a great recipe!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        September 15, 2022 at 10:32 am

        I’m so glad to hear it worked out great! Thanks for sharing Katie!

        Reply
    4. Bradley Toll says

      July 18, 2022 at 1:57 am

      I don’t use corn starch, so I’m hoping arrowroot powder will work just as well. I’ll let you know!

      Reply
    5. Liezl says

      April 18, 2022 at 11:55 am

      Hi, I was just making this but we had a power outage 30min into baking that lasted 2.5 hours! Any idea what I can do now when the power comes back? (Loadshedding in South Africa 🤯)

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        April 19, 2022 at 8:45 am

        Oh no! I would just continue baking it when the power comes back on and hope for the best!

        Reply
    6. Kim says

      July 19, 2021 at 3:07 am

      Can you make ahead, then freeze?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 19, 2021 at 11:52 am

        Yes sure. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

        Reply
    7. Carla says

      March 29, 2021 at 4:02 pm

      I want to make this recipe & don’t have raw cashews. Could I use soaked roasted cashews in place of the he raw cashews?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 30, 2021 at 10:09 am

        You can, the roasted flavor will come through a bit though.

        Reply
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