Baked Vegan Cheesecake. 8 Ingredients, No refined sugar. No prep and soaking needed. Perfectly creamy Date sweetened Cheesecake with Cashew butter. Easily Glutenfree with a glutenfree crust. Vegan Soyfree Recipe. Jump to Recipe
Vegan cheesecakes in restaurants and store bought have been more misses than hits. The texture generally is on point, its the flavor that can throw me off. I make variations of these cheesecake with fabulous results every time. I’ve had this baked cheesecake in the drafts for a while, so lets get to it!
The filling uses vegan yogurt and vegan cream cheese for amazing flavor and tang and some volume from the smooth cashew butter. Cashew butter means no soaking needed and no high speed blender needed! It is sweetened with dates and some coconut sugar and baked into a premade crust to a creamy delicious state.
Adjust the flavor and sweetness of the filling before baking! Bake into 1 large pie or mini cheesecakes with a simple almond crust or other other pie crust of choice. Serve with vegan whipped cream or ice cream, berries or a seasonal berry compote.
Ingredient choices for this Baked Vegan Cheesecake
- I use cashew butter instead of cashews as it just blends in more easily and reduces the prep time to soak the cashews for a few hours. Cashew Butter can be subbed with other smooth nut butters (peanut butter will add a very strong flavor so it will be a peanut butter cheesecake), Or you can use 3/4 cup soaked cashews or soaked macadamia nuts.
- The non dairy yogurt adds great flavor and lighter texture to the cheesecake. Without it the cheesecake filling is still creamy but denser. You can use more of the cream cheese and cashew butter instead.
- I use kite hill Vegan cream cheese since it has just a few wholesome ingredients and no additives and gives amazing flavor. Unfortunately cream cheese cannot be subbed out without affecting the flavor. You can make some vegan cream cheese at home using nuts and substitute that.
- I use dates for sweetening for a mild sweet flavor. They do add to the look of the cheesecake but can be easily subbed. They can be subbed with 1/3 cup sugar or maple syrup. If using maple syrup, do not add any additional water during blending. Dates can vary in sweetness, so adjust the filling sweetness with sugar before baking.
More Pies from the blog
- Chocolate Pumpkin Tart with Almond Crust. GF SF Grain-free.
- Chocolate Pecan Pie.
- 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
Step by Step Photos:
Assemble the filling ingredients. Add to a blender and blend until very smooth. Taste and adjust sweet and flavor. Pour into a prepared pie crust.
Bake for 35 mins. Chill then slice and serve.
Baked Vegan Cheesecake (Date Sweetened}
Ingredients
Crust of choice
- 1 prebaked pie crust. I use a gf graham cracker style crust , See notes for crust recipes and refined sugar free option
Cheesecake
- 1 1/4 cup (306.25 g) dairy-free yogurt (such as kite hill almond plain yogurt, vanilla will work as well)
- 1/2 cup (128 g) smooth cashew butter (almond or peanut butter can be used, peanut adds a stronger flavor)
- 6 oz (170.1 g) vegan cream cheese (such as kite hill plain almond cream cheese)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 - 3 tsp (2-3 tsp) lime juice (or lemon juice)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch (1.5 tbsp for a less set cheesecake)
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 11 soft dates , pitted
- 2 - 3 tbsp (2-3 tbsp) coconut sugar (or other sugar/sweetener)
- optional flavor additions: 1 tsp lime or lemon zest , a few drops of almond extract
Instructions
- Prep and par bake the crust of choice if you havent already. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F (180 C).
- Blend all the ingredients under cheesecake. Taste and adjust sweet and tang. The tang gets stronger with baking. Add a few tablespoons sugar if needed. Add 2-3 tablespoons water if needed for blending.
- Pour into prepared crust and spread with a spatula to even it out.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes(depends on the cream cheese brand, moisture content in the filling, choice of ingredients. The top should be set and center should not be liquid). Cool completely. Chill for 4 to 6 hours. Slice and serve with whipped coconut cream or vegan ice cream of choice with fresh berries or a berry compote.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hi! Quick question, what does the cashew butter or soaked cashews do for the cheesecake? Not a fan of any but butters so I’m wondering if I can omit or add something else.
*nut butter
Sorry
Can you use soaked cashews?
Hi! What sized pan should I use? Thanks in advance
8 or 9 inch
Hi Richa
I just want you to know I used this recipe with the almond crust and also added in one cup of fresh mango purée to the cheesecake for a family Christmas celebration. It was the very best cheesecake I’ve ever had and my family loved it! Thank you!
aweesome!
Turned out perfect!! I had to cook mine longer at about 50 min.
Aweesome!
Tried it & it came out great! Was easy & tasty. Hardest part was waiting for it to cool ha ha. I can see where this could be a very versatile recipe with different options/flavors. Yum, thanks!
Awesome! Thanks!
I’ve made this cake three times already and it’s just SO GOOD 😋 Thanks a lot for this amazing recipe!!
If I wanted to make cupcakes instead of a regular cake, how would you adjust the oven temperature?
Thanks! this is a cheesecake, do you want to make this in a muffin pan?
Yes, exactly!
you can add a bottom crust or line the pan and add the filling. Check at 20 mins, if its not liquidy in the middle. Bake for another 5 mins if needed. Then chill for an hour before removing fromthe pan. Store refrigerated.
Thank you so much for your quick reply! Love all your recipes 😍
Would arrowroot work in place of cornstarch?
yes
Can I remove the 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar to make it 100% date sweetened? Or add more dates? If using Deglet dates, how much should I put for the filling recipe? Does this hold its form at room temperature? Thanks for replying.
Yes you can. Just add 3-4 more dates and taste the filling after blending. Add more dates if needed and blend again.
I added a bit of sugar as the date flavor can start showing in the filling and i wanted a balance of cheesecake flavor and light sweet. But you can adjust it either ways with more or less dates and more or less sugar of choice during blending. And then bake
**I** read about (a mango pie recently)…
Hi-
Looks yummy!
I’ve read about mango pie recently and I’ve had mango on my mind! Do you think it would work to sneak some blended mango puree into the cheesecake filling?
yes definitely. See my pumpkin cheesecake https://www.veganricha.com/2017/12/vegan-pumpkin-cheesecake.html for reference and use thick mango puree instead of pumpkin puree! use less lemon and less spices.
If your mango puree is not thick, just simmer it for 5-10 mins to thicken and reduce moisture before using.
You can do about 3/4 cup thickened mango, 3/4 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup cashews or cashew butter, and 4 to 6 oz cream cheese. use dates or other sweetener
thanks for the recipe cooked one :p not gone as i expected but still i liked it
thanks! what was not expected?
Really excited to see a date sweetened recipe. I may sub pureed cashews for the cream cheese though so no extra trip to the store
thanks! add a bit more lime ans salt if you use cashews
Great idea. Thanks so much for your expertise and sharing your time ☝🏼
Would tahini work instead of cashew butter?
it would be a very bitter flavor profile, use soaked cashews instead
Very true