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.
Anna says
I am really looking forward to trying this recipe. I would love to try making the crust without the desiccated coconut though. Can you recommend a substitute? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
You can leave it out. 🙂
Kate says
I’ve made your vegan pumpkin cheesecake which was amazing! Excited to make this, too. Any chance you have a candy-cane Christmas version?? Thanks for the recipes!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Kate, hope you enjoy it! We don’t have a candy cane cheesecake, but we do have other peppermint recipes on the blog like ice cream and fudge and cupcakes if you do a search. 🙂
Gilly Stephenson says
I made this on Friday for a treat over the weekend. It is an incredible bake and I am useless at baking! Me and hubby ate half, can I refreeze the other half for another weekend? PS Sorry I winged it with cocoa butter replacement for the topping and it was fine.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Gilly, this is what I usually do. I put it back in the freezer to store there.
Dana says
I made this cake and it turned out to be so delicious!! Recommended
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Dana!
Han says
Hi can I use another nut Instead of cashews for the filling ?
Alison Andrews says
Slivered or blanched almonds or macadamias may work but the texture will be different.
Buffy says
Made this twice, once as I should and the other with a few cool changes. It is awesome and so easy to make!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for the great review Buffy!
Talia says
Hi Alison, is there anything you could replace the dates with for someone who’s not a fan?
Thanks! 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Hi Talia, you could try leaving them out altogether, or you could make a different crust altogether, like a crushed cookie and vegan butter crust.
Antonia Mathers says
If I cant find coconut butter could I use cacao butter?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Antonia, no they are very different things. You can make up your own coconut butter though from dessicated coconut (finely shredded coconut).
Kimberly says
So very good and came out just like the photo! Thank you ❤️
Alison Andrews says
Yay! Thanks Kimberly!
Alon says
This looks fantastic, just wondering (as I have with other cashew recipes) is the weight / volume of the cashew before or after soaking?
Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Before! 🙂
Mark Scott says
Brilliant recipe, was the caramel sauce supposed to be more runny though?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Mark, so glad you enjoyed it! The caramel firms up as it cools, which is why it makes a pretty firm caramel layer on top in the end. If it’s too firm to spread on top of the cheesecake properly then you can warm it up (10 seconds in the microwave) and then it will be runny again.
Gabrielle Fuller says
This cheesecake is amazing! I made it without the caramel sauce on top just because it would’ve been too sugary, but it still tasted wonderfully. Thank you so much for making this recipe x
Sophia says
Would it be possible to use coconut manna instead of coconut butter?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sophia, as far as I know it is the same thing. 🙂
Jules says
Could you make this with a biscuit type base using Lotus biscoff biscuits or similar rather than the nut and date base?
Alison Andrews says
Absolutely! It would be delicious!
Megan Laurie says
Hi there! Just tried this recipe tonight and it was easy peasy so thank you! And also thank you for putting the gram weight in as well, although.. my cashews weren’t nearly as blended as yours, yours looks far creamier! Any tips on how to counteract this? Only had a small blender.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Megan, it can be quite a bit harder to get them completely smooth in a small blender that is less powerful. However, you can try doing it in smaller batches and blending for longer.
Charlotte Ingle says
I made this with an Instant Pot blender and it turned out so creamy! I also made your recipe for coconut butter minus the coconut oil. Just processed unsweetened coconut until it turned into butter. My son and I think this is a great cheesecake! Best vegan cheesecake we’ve found. Thank you for providing the recipe!!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Charlotte!
Sky says
Hiya!
Could i boil the cashews for 10 mins instead of leaving them to soak for the night?
Alison Andrews says
Yes that should work fine! As long as they are softened so they blend easier that’s all you need.
Rosie says
???? thank you for this recipe. I am curious as to why you don’t use coconut cream like other recipes that I have seen. Thank you.