This vegan cheesecake is the best ever! It’s rich and creamy and topped with a salted caramel fudge sauce. So much like the ‘real thing’ you will hardly believe it.
I am so excited to share this recipe for vegan cheesecake with you. It is so good, sensational really.
Topped with a salted caramel fudge sauce and some sprinkled sea salt it is the perfect contrast of salty and sweet with creamy and smooth.
So, this vegan cheesecake is definitely not my first go when it comes to making vegan cheesecakes. From the first time I made a vegan cheesecake (in around 2009) I fell totally in love, because honestly it’s better than the ‘real thing’.
The only caveat? It’s a little pricey. The ingredients, while quite simple, can get a little expensive.
So it’s probably not what you’re going to make every other week but it’s rich as heck so that’s another reason you’re probably not going to make it every other week.
Of course if you love a good cheesecake then also check out our delicious baked cheesecake recipe!
How To Make No-Bake 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.
- Spray an 8-inch round springform pan with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add macadamia nuts, pitted dates and dessicated coconut to a food processor and process into a sticky dough.
- Place into the prepared springform pan and press down firmly into a pie crust. Place into the freezer to set while you work on the filling.
- Add soaked cashew nuts to a blender jug along with water, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla and blend until very smooth.
- Pour this out over the top of the crust in the springform pan and smooth down with the back of a spoon. Place into the freezer to set (around 4-6 hours).
- When the cheesecake has set completely, remove it from the springform pan and place onto a cake stand while you prepare your salted caramel topping.
- For the topping, mix together melted coconut butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and sea salt.
- Spread it out over the top of your cheesecake, add a few sprinkles of sea salt over the top and a few macadamia nuts to decorate and you have the perfect cheesecake.
- Let the cheesecake thaw on the countertop for around 30 minutes or so before serving.
The Caramel Fudge Topping
I was at first going to make a vegan dulce de leche for the topping, but at the last minute, had a change of heart.
I was thinking, why cook a topping when you’ve got this whole no-bake thing going on, why go and stand over a hot stove just for the sauce?
So I decided on a salted caramel fudge topping made from melted coconut butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and sea salt and it turned out to be the perfect topping.
Recipe Tips
Soak your cashews. It’s important to soak your cashews for this recipe. Ideally, soak them overnight. Place them in a bowl, pour over water, cover and leave them to soak overnight. Then drain and rinse before using.
The reason it’s important to soak them first is that you use a ton of cashews for this cheesecake filling, once all your filling ingredients are in the blender jug your blender will be almost ⅔rds or even ¾ of the way full. It would be very tough for a blender to handle that much volume unless it’s an easy blend. So make it as easy as possible with soaked cashews.
If you happen to forget to soak them, then all is not lost. Place the cashews in a bowl, pour over boiling hot water from the kettle and leave them to soak for at least an hour for this recipe. Soaking in hot water reduces the time needed. But any less than an hour will not be adequate because of the volume of cashews that you need to blend.
Be patient. The hands on time for this recipe is actually really short, a bit of processing, a bit of blending, a bit of stirring, really it’s too easy! The time consuming part is waiting for it to set, which takes quite a few hours in the freezer, and you need it to set completely before you remove it from the spring form pan. So you need a bit of patience with this pie, but otherwise it’s really easy and fun.
Vegan Cheesecake Q&A
Walnuts work extremely well for the crust too. Walnuts or macadamias are my usual favorites for a nut/date crust, but nut/date crusts are actually really flexible and forgiving, you can try other nuts or a combination of nuts and it will usually work well.
Yes you can! I like it because it creates delicious flavor and texture but I have definitely made pie crusts without coconut, you can simply leave it out or add more nuts to compensate.
Coconut butter is really the key ingredient in this caramel sauce. And just to be clear it’s nothing like any other nut butter and it’s also nothing like vegan butter. So you can’t switch it for either of those. If you can’t get coconut butter, you could switch the topping to something else completely, or you could make your own coconut butter from dessicated coconut (also known as finely shredded coconut or sweetened coconut flakes).
Storing and Freezing
Keep your cheesecake stored in the coldest part of your refrigerator and serve it cold straight from the fridge. It must set in the freezer but thereafter can be stored in the coldest part of your fridge for around 5-7 days.
You can also store it in the freezer, in which case you will need to let it thaw at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. If you store it in the freezer then it will of course last much longer than if it is stored in the fridge.
More Delicious No-Bake Vegan Desserts
- Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Vegan Chocolate Tart
- Vegan Banoffee Pie
- Vegan Peanut Butter Pie
- Vegan Chocolate Pie
- Vegan Key Lime Pie
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 cup Macadamia Nuts (150g)
- ½ cup Pitted Medjool Dates (88g) Packed*
- 1 cup Dessicated Coconut (80g) Finely Shredded Coconut*
For the Cheesecake Filling:
- 3 cups Raw Cashews (450g) soaked overnight, drained and rinsed*
- ¾ cup Water (180ml)
- ¾ cup Maple Syrup (180ml)
- ½ cup Coconut Oil (120ml) Melted
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice (60ml) Freshly Squeezed
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Salted Caramel Fudge Sauce:
- ½ cup Coconut Butter (120ml) Melted*
- ½ cup Maple Syrup (120ml)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ tsp Sea Salt
For Decorating:
- Sea Salt
- Macadamia Nuts
Instructions
- Spray an 8 inch round springform pan with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add the macadamia nuts, pitted dates and dried dessicated coconut to the food processor and process until it starts to form into a sticky dough. It will start off crumbly, keep going until it starts to clump together in sticky clumps. Transfer to the springform pan and smooth it down into a pie crust. Use the back of a spoon to press it down into a neat flat layer. Place into the freezer to set.
- Take your soaked and rinsed cashew nuts and place them into the blender jug. Add the water, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract and then blend everything together until very smooth. Stop and give your blender a break as needed as this is a lot of volume to blend up. Pour this over the macadamia crust and smooth down with the back of a spoon. Return to the freezer to set completely – about 4-6 hours.
- When the cheesecake has completely set, remove it from the springform pan and put it onto a cake stand to do your topping.
- Add the melted coconut butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and sea salt into a bowl and stir it together into a caramel sauce. Spread this out over the top of the cheesecake, working quickly, as the sauce thickens and sets quite fast when in contact with the cold cheesecake.
- Decorate the cheesecake with sprinkles of sea salt and some macadamia nuts.
- Allow the cheesecake to thaw at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Once the cheesecake is thawed, keep it stored in the refrigerator or freezer*.
Video
Notes
- Walnuts work great as an alternative to macadamias for the crust.
- Half a cup of medjool dates (packed) is approximately 10 pitted medjool dates.
- Dessicated coconut is also called finely shredded coconut or finely shredded coconut flakes. It’s dried coconut that is shredded very finely.
- If you forget to soak the cashews overnight, then you can take a shortcut. Place the cashews into a bowl and pour over boiling hot water from the kettle. Leave them to soak for 1 hour. Soaking in hot water reduces the time needed for soaking. It is still more ideal to soak them overnight for this recipe though.
- The topping must be made with coconut butter and not coconut oil. If you can’t easily find coconut butter you can also make your own. It’s super easy and fun to make.
- Prep time does not include time spent setting in the freezer.
- If you know when you’re going to be serving this cheesecake, you can keep it in the freezer until you need to serve it and then let it thaw at room temperature and serve. From then on, if stored in the refrigerator, the texture can become a little softer, so you might prefer to let it firm up in the freezer again before serving.
- This recipe was first published in March 2018.
Nicholas says
I made this Cheesecake and took it to friends for lunch on the weekend. Everyone was amazed how good it was and how fabulous the flavors were. Even the Non vegans were raving about it.
Thank you we are all enjoying your recipes.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Nicholas, thanks for the wonderful review!
Ritika says
Hi,
Can I use clarified butter as substitute for coconut oil?
Alison Andrews says
I’m really not sure.
Lien says
Hi!
This cake looks amazing!
We still have to try and make it but I was wondering if we can use something else instead of macadamia nuts? Maybe almond nuts?
Thank you!!
Alison Andrews says
Walnuts work great instead of macadamias.
Tommy c says
Hi. Your banoffee pie is amazing and healthy and this is delicious too, but can you recommend a way of having less maple syrup /sugar in this please as we eat it all the time?! Thank you
Alison Andrews says
Hi Tommy, sure you can just reduce the amount of maple syrup, just make sure the mix still tastes good to you but reduce it as much as you like.
Yvonne Olman says
I am trying the recipe today and will use date syrup instead of maple syrup
Tamsin says
Hi Alison,
Thank you for your recipe, a very good alternative for dairy intolerant people! Unfortunately, my cashew filling turned out a bit lumpy. I’m guessing my blender isn’t powerful enough for this type of task. What brand of food processor/blender do you use?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Tamsin, we used a Vitamix blender for this recipe, which is very powerful.
Jan Mortimer says
Hi Alison,
Could you use Pecans for the base it’s just I have a bag of them cause I made pecan nut butter so thought I could use them?
Alison Andrews says
Sure! 🙂
Connie says
So I made a few mistakes because I was using another recipe for the base and I actually put it in the oven too and baked it, but I also forgot to add the water. I freaked out but it came out beautifully anyway. Even firm enough to slice nicely.
Alison Andrews says
So glad it worked out! Thanks for the great review Connie!
celeste arzuaggah says
A M A Z i N G !!!! ❤️ ???? ???? WOW !!!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Celeste!
celeste arzuaggah says
YOU ARE THE BEST ! ! ! ❤️
Flóra says
Hi!
Can I use roasted unsalted cashews?
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, it’s not as ideal as you will then have a roasted flavor which is a competing flavor. You can do it, but it won’t be as ideal as raw cashews.
Maggie says
It’s quite a nice recipe for a healthy/raw style cheesecake, very coconuty and went down well at the office! It tasted nice but the caramel sauce was not like the picture. Mine was very pale yellow colour like the cheese cakey bit. How did you get yours to go so orange please? Thank you 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Hi Maggie, the maple syrup and vanilla when mixed in makes it go the lovely color. You can also check it out in our vegan caramel sauce post. However, the coconut butter does need to be melted and stirred so it’s properly mixed as well.
Joan says
Can I replace the coconut butter with something else
Alison Andrews says
Hi Joan, there isn’t a replacement for this particular type of caramel, but you could do a different topping altogether. Our vegan pumpkin cheesecake has a caramel topping with totally different ingredients to this one. 🙂
Catharine Dean says
Hi, I’m making this for a Christmas lunch and I was wondering, can make the caramel sauce in advance and just pour it on when you take the cheesecake out of the freezer for serving or does it need to go back in the freezer to set further ? I’m not very good at baking so apologies if this is a silly question 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Hi Catharine, yes you can do it that way if you like. The caramel sauce does tend to set when cold so you may need to heat it up again (a few seconds in the microwave usually does it!) before you pour it over so that it is pourable if you want to do it that way. 🙂
Catharine Dean says
Thank you. This tastes amazing !!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thank you! 🙂
Kellie Stowe says
HI,
I made this for thanksgiving dinner tonight. It tasted amazing, but, it did melt. The Cake came out the consistency of a puree. It melted all over the plate. What did I do wrong? I soaked the cashews overnight, pulled them out, and dried them with a paper towel. I think I could have gone without the extra water.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kellie, it should be frozen up to about half an hour before serving otherwise it does get melty.
Tina says
Does this have a strong coconut flavor? It looks delicious but I do not like coconut.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Tina, it doesn’t to me, but since you don’t like coconut it might still stand out to you, so if you do make it rather use a different topping and omit the coconut from the crust. All the best! 🙂
Miguel says
Hi. If I do not have a springform, can I use another dish or pie crust pan?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Miquel, it will be a lot more difficult to slice it without a springform pan, but I think it would also work, it would just need to be a pretty deep pie dish as this cheesecake is quite high and springform pans are high on the sides.