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Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake with graham cracker style crust. Easy Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake to please everyone. Gluten-free with gluten free crust. Soy-free Recipe.
I made this cheesecake over Thanksgiving and I think I have found my favorite holiday dessert. It is creamy, lightly tangy, pumpkiny, spicy and all things holiday, fall and dessert. Its lighter, creamier and spicier than a pumpkin pie and oh so good. This has just the right amount of pumpkin and the cheesecake flavor balance which I like much more.
Its a simple recipe. Blend the pumpkin with soaked cashews, non dairy yogurt sweetener and pumpkin pie spice. Bake to set, then chill until ready to serve. Serve with whipped coconut cream, or vanilla ice cream or califlornia cabin (its a fabulous flavor from local Seattle vegan ice cream shop frankie and Jos). Make this cheesecake for a party or for yourself as you might not want to share!
This is a simple pumpkin cheesecake. You can make it fancier by swirling in some pumpkin puree (+ some sugar and cornstarch), or making an additional layer of plain cheesecake (cashews + non diary yogurt + lime + sugar). Graham cracker style crust or ginger snap, both work amazingly with the pie. The pictured crust is gluten-free vegan graham cracker style.
More holiday Desserts from the blog
- Chocolate Pecan Pie GF
- Chocolate Pumpkin Tart with Almond Crust. GF SF Grain-free.
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Pie. GF No Bake
- Classic Baked Pumpkin Pie with Rustic Crust. Cashew-free SF
- Dark Chocolate Silk Pie. GF SF
- Sweet potato Pie Bars. GF option
Giveaways!
Its the month of Giveaways to thank you all for being around, liking and trying out the recipes!
I am giving away 2 Print copies of Vegan Richa‘s Everyday Kitchen on Goodreads here,
I am also giving away my favorite Skillets (Ecolution and IKO Ceramic) that you often see in the videos! They are Teflon-free and amazing for making my recipes. You can enter those giveaways on my Instagram and facebook.
More to come in the following days. If you bought any of my books, pick up the Bonus Recipe Bundle here!
Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
Makes one 9 inch pie pan, 8 inch will work too
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup non dairy yogurt, (I use plain or vanilla kite hill almond yogurt)
- 1/3 cup cashews, , soaked for atleast an hour
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 to 4 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch, or arrowroot or potato starch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 to 1.5 tbsp lime juice, (depends on your preference of tang)
- 1 Pie crust of choice (vegan), parbaked, use gluten-free pie crust if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Blend the cashews and yogurt until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. You might need to scrape the sides depending on the blender as the mixture is thick.
- Taste and adjust sweet and spice (it gets slightly sweeter and spicier on baking). Pour into prepared pie crust. I use graham cracker style.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely, then chill for a few hours for it to set well. Slice and serve with whipped coconut cream or ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely the best pumpkin pie ever and so easy to make! My non vegan family and friends loved it too.
Yay! So good to hear.
I made this recipe yesterday and I will say that it didn’t taste the way I hoped it would. I wonder if it was the yogurt I used. I used Trader Joe’s unsweetened cashew yogurt, which I picked because it tastes so similar to Kite Hill. But upon baking this, letting it cool and trying it, I felt like the pumpkin flavor was too subdued in comparison to the tang. The tang was really strong, sharp and came as more of an unpleasant aftertaste, whereas with traditional cheesecake, the tang is more subtle, well rounded and blends with the flavor of whatever cheesecake you’re eating. Do you recommend a possible replacement for the yogurt?
Oh no. I think non dairy yogurt jsut vary so much with brand and even batches. Same brand diff batch sometimes is way tangy while other times is more on the bland side. Was the yogurt tangy before baking? I think omitting the lime juice with a tangy yogurt would reduce the flavor for future. Or also using more cashew and less yogurt.
For this current one, You can add another layer of just thickened pumpkin purée with spices. Kind of like pumpkin caramel. That will add more pumpkin and hopefully balance the tang
So, after trying this dessert the next day, I feel like the tang reduced a lot. I also heated it up a little. Is it possible that waiting for this to set overnight changed something? Either way, it tastes more balanced now. I might still try your recommendation though because that sounds good. Thank you!
This looks so good! If adding the top layer, does it get added after you he initial bake?
No, everything is baked together. I use store bought graham cracker crust.
I made this yesterday and it’s our new favorite pumpkin pie! I added the plain layer and swirled it in. Beautiful.
Awesome!
Richa, wow and yummm!
I’m thinking of making one or two for a class party . . . only it’s 3 – 4 hours from when I leave home until I’ll serve them.
Will they need aggressive chilling in a cooler with lots of ice? Or is it enough to keep them cool with a few freezy packs?
Yes in cooler will be just fine.
This turned out so amazing! I made it into bars using your pumpkin pie bar crust, and it was creamy and perfect! The right amount of seeetvsnd tang to end the meal!
Yay
I’m new in this kind of pies. Should I bake the crust first and then add the filling and bake again together?
No, I use the store bought already prepared graham cracker crust. Pour in the pumpkin pie mixture and bake together.
I had a crazy question…could garbanzos (or Burmese Tofu?) sub for cashews?
I really love your recipes. You don’t rely on questionable ingredients that could create health issues/allergies down the road and you are LOW FAT! I can always count on you to have the most balanced and healthy version out there.
Thank You
That would be a very strong flavor. I would use less cashews as blend them with non Dairy milk and add 1-2 tbsp more starch.
This recipe is so easy and hits that nostalgic pumpkin pie flavour with a bit of creamy and tang added. Delightful! We will be making it regularly, for a fall celebration dessert.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoy!
I made this for Friendsgiving and it was delicious! As I had other things to do, I used store bought pie dough. But the filling was just soooo yummy! It needed less time in the oven, I might have even overcooked it a bit, but without any harm to the taste. And I was really happy that the recipe did not call for a lot of sugar. I absolutely recommend this recipe!
Friendsgiving – how nice
Could I substitute Medjool dates for the sugar, and if so, how many?
7 soft dates should be sweet enough
I’ve been thinking of using this method to substitute for the sugar but I’m worried it won’t completely blend into the mixture. Is this a possibility to have bits of unblended dates throughout our should it completely blend through?
It will blend. I have a date sweetened pumpkin pie too!https://www.veganricha.com/gluten-free-vegan-pumpkin-pie/
Awesome!! Thank you!!
I’ve made this in the pie pan, and it turned out beautifully! The whole family loved it – even the members who aren’t the biggest pumpkin fans.
Would this recipe also work in a cheesecake pan?
Yes, it might need a few extra minutes of baking