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This Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake is an easy no-bake dessert, with hints of Fall flavor. It’s naturally-sweetened and dairy-free, and you don’t need any special equipment to make it!
What is Vegan Cheesecake made from?
Classic Vegan Cheesecake is made from either cashews or tofu, but this recipe uses cashew butter as the base, so you don’t have to break out the food processor.
Tip: I recommend using raw cashew butter in this recipe, so that your cheesecake doesn’t taste like roasted cashews. You can make homemade cashew butter in just about 10 minutes if you can’t find raw cashew butter at your local grocery store.
No-Bake Almond Flour Crust
In keeping with the no-equipment theme, this crust is made with almond flour, so you can stir it together in just minutes!
I add molasses and ground ginger to give this crust a “gingerbread” flavor, but you can omit those if you’d rather have a more plain, straight-forward crust. Either way, it’s delicious.
I use a 7-inch spring-form pan for this recipe, which keeps the filling and crust thick. If you only have a larger pan, keep in mind that the overall cheesecake will be more flat in appearance.
Tip: To guarantee your dessert will easily come out of the pan, line the pan with a square of parchment paper. Spray the pan lightly with oil first, then press the parchment into the pan. The oil will keep it in place, so it doesn’t move around later.
Why You’ll Love It
This Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake is:
- Naturally sweetened
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
- Ultra-creamy
- and super easy to make!
This recipe is a great way to use up any pumpkin puree that you might have leftover from another recipe. If you need to use up even more pumpkin, try my pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin smoothie, or pumpkin spice latte recipes.
Be sure to serve this vegan pumpkin cheesecake chilled, because it will become soft quickly at room temperature. You’ll need to freeze it initially, until firm, and then you can transfer it to the fridge later if you’d like a softer texture.
Serve with coconut whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon for an extra-pretty presentation.
Ingredients
Gingerbread Crust
- 1.5 cups blanched almond flour (172 grams)
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (31 grams)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (28 grams)
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses (16 grams; optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (2 grams)
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
- 1 cup raw cashew butter (273 grams)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (136 grams)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (168 grams)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (54 grams)
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (4 grams)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (5 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (2 grams)
Instructions
- Lightly spray a 7-inch springform pan with oil, then press a square of parchment paper into the bottom. To make the crust, stir together the almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, molasses, ginger, and salt. Press it firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- In the same bowl to prepare the cheesecake filling. Stir together the cashew butter, pumpkin, maple syrup, coconut oil, pumpkin spice, lemon juice, and salt. Mix until totally smooth, then pour it into the pan, over the crust.
- Smooth the top with a spatula, then place the cheesecake on a flat surface in the freezer to chill until firm, about 2 to 3 hours.
- When the cheesecake feels totally firm to the touch, remove it from the pan and slice. Serve chilled for the best texture; it will melt if you leave it at room temperature for too long, but after it's firm you can store it in the fridge if you'd prefer a softer texture. Leftovers can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months when tightly covered.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake, please leave a comment below and let me know how you like it! And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too. We can all benefit from your experience!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite Fall dessert? Baked Apples, French Silk Pie, and Sweet Potato Pie are my family’s favorites!
Hi Megan, This is such a treat! I am a huge cheesecake person; I could always find space after meal to have a slice. I never tried raw deserts as it always appeared to me that they must be much less ‘real’ and yummy than the ones we have been accustomed to have since childhood. But this looks too good to skip. I am so going to give this a try! Please tell me where can I get the cashew butter? I think I will leave making my own to the next time. I don’t want to experiment too much at first not to get discouraged by the difficulties that may arise. I loved the side notes of yours, you convinced me straight away in favor of carrots and cashews combo. I am thinking that maybe if not a crust I might try to prepare some sauce to go with it. Have you any recommendations? Would chocolate sauce be too boring?
Move over chocolate cake! This recipe was divine. Definitely my new favorite on your website. The only thing I would have changed is using Saran Wrap instead of greasing the springform pan. I will be making this again.
What is in the pumpkin pie spice mix? We dont have it here where i am in Australia?
Amazing, tanks so much. I had to try this right away and didn’t have all he ingredients so I used butternut squash for the carrots and used a mix of cashew butter almond butter and coconut oil about 1/3 of each I also doubled the recipe but did not double the honey and it was very sweet for me. Can’t thank you enough 🙂
This looks really good!
I wanted to try it out real soon, so I wondered if I could use peanut butter instead of the cashew butter? I love the taste of peanut butter, but I was wondering if you think it wouldn’t be a good replacer in this recipe? Thanks!
I doubt it will taste much like cheesecake with the peanut butter, but a creamy peanut butter pie would probably be tasty! (I’d omit the lemon juice, too)
I guess I’ll have to get some cashews then! 🙂
Thanks for your help.
Hi Megan! I was wondering if I could substitute the cashew butter with any other nut butter for example hazelnut butter? Thanks!
Cashews do help with the cheesecake flavor, but I’ve heard that macadamia nuts may work okay, too. Hazelnuts would probably make for a hazelnut-flavored cheesecake, so maybe you could add some chocolate to make it a nutella-style cheesecake. 😉
That’s sounds like a really cool idea Megan!! I can’t wait to try it! I’ll tell you how it goes once I made it! Thank you soo much! <3
Wow!!! This is the best “cheesecake” ever. Plus I found it right on time too, my family brought home real cheesecake and I really felt deprived by not having any. Luckily there was some raw pumpkin cheesecake in my freezer! Thanks for the delicious recipe(:
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
I’m obsessed! What books to you recommend for a raw – detox diet, and why cashews?
I use cashews because they are very soft (making a smooth cheesecake-texture when you blend them) and have a very neutral-flavor. I tried using almonds before, and it just wasn’t the same! If you are avoiding cashews, you might try brazil or macadamia nuts instead? (and then let me know how it works!!) 😉
I highly recommend reading The Raw Food Detox Diet, by Natalia Rose. It’s a life-changing book!!
Holy cow this looks good! Just found your site thru OSG and looking forward to trying out your recipes! 🙂
That looks absolutely delicious. I would have never thought to use the carrot pure but I cannot wait to make this. Your dog is adorable as well. 🙂