This is the Best Vegan Baked Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe with tips for the perfect cheesecake & step-by-step guide! It’s super creamy, ultra-rich, so fudgy and topped with a simple Chocolate Ganache! The Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake is dairy-free, egg-free, easy to make and the perfect dessert for all chocolate lovers!
Best Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe
I’m SO excited for today’s recipe. Because this is really the best Vegan Baked Chocolate Cheesecake I have ever made! It’s ultra creamy, rich in chocolate flavor and so delicious! Honestly, I can’t find enough words to describe its incredible taste! The texture is just amazingly smooth and it melts in your mouth with every single bite. And when you try it, you will know what I mean for sure.
Freezer Friendly Cheesecake Recipe
If you’ve followed me for a while, you may have noticed that I am one of the biggest cheesecake lovers ever! That’s why I share vegan cheesecake recipes so often and can never get enough of them. The great thing about cheesecakes is that you can easily freeze leftovers! So I don’t mind when I bake too much, haha!
Baked Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo crust
Since my No-Bake Blackberry Mousse Tart was so delicious with the simple no-bake Oreo crust, I decided to make the same Oreo crust for this chocolate cheesecake. It only requires two ingredients – Oreo cookies and melted vegan butter. However, you could also use other cookies with cream filling or chocolate graham crackers. Alternatively, you can choose to make another crust if you want.
How to make the perfect chocolate cheesecake
Start to grease your springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. That way the crust won’t stick to the pan so you will be able to remove the cake easily.
How to make Oreo crust for chocolate cheesecake
Add the Oreo cookies with filling into a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. If you don’t have a food processor, you could also put them into a freezer bag, push out the air, seal it, and crush them using a rolling pin. Then combine the crumbs with melted butter and stir until evenly moistened. Transfer to the prepared springform pan and press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and halfway up the sides. Place it in the freezer or fridge to firm it up while you make the filling.
Vegan Baked Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
The filling is also very easy to make. But before you start, make sure the ingredients are room temperature or the batter won’t come together smoothly and you’ll end up with lumps. So I recommend removing the cream cheese 30 minutes before you start.
Start with slowly melting the chocolate over a water bath. In the meantime, beat the cream cheese with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until smooth, and creamy. Then mix in sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and vanilla until combined, followed by the non-dairy cream and melted chocolate. Please also be sure to not overmix the filling to avoid creating any air bubbles. Mix every step just until combined.
Water bath Cheesecake
If you have never heard of baking a cheesecake in a water bath, I can assure you that it is not as scary as it sounds! I know anything that is unfamiliar sounds a bit weird at first, but the water bath method is very easy and necessary if you want a gently baked cheesecake. Actually, the water bath insulates the sides of your pan which often bake too fast and lower the temperature. So your cheesecake won’t curdle, or crack or get dry on the sides. rather, it will develop a silky smooth melt in your mouth texture. And that’s what we want, right?
How to bake cheesecake in a water bath
Wrap the outside of your pan from every angle in a double layer of aluminum foil to prevent the water from getting into the cheesecake. Then place the wrapped pan in another baking pan that is a bit larger than the wrapped pan. Pour about 1,5 inch hot water into the baking pan, place it in your preheated oven and bake according to the recipe.
How to cool Chocolate Cheesecake
It is important not to open the oven too early because cheesecakes don’t do well with abrupt temperature changes. So I recommend leaving the oven closed during the baking. After the baking time, turn off the oven and let it sit in there for another 30 minutes or one hour with the oven door cracked a bit. And do not worry if your cheesecake is still wobbly because it will firm up when it cools. So please don’t forget to refrigerate your cheesecake overnight before serving. Otherwise, it’ll be too soft.
Easy Chocolate Ganache Recipe
Once the chocolate cheesecake is chilled, you can make the simple but delicious chocolate ganache. Simply heat the non-dairy cream in a small saucepan until it just starts boiling. Place the chopped chocolate into a bowl and pour over the hot cream. Stir until chocolate is melted and ganache is well combined and smooth. Then pour it over your chilled cake. I also like to spoon a bit of the ganache around the sides, and let it drip off. But this is just an optional step, and totally optional.
How to serve Chocolate Cheesecake
If you don’t want to make the chocolate ganache, you can serve it as it is. Alternatively, you can also add whipped coconut cream or a scoop of icecream on top of your slice. However, this chocolate cheesecake is so rich, creamy and chocolatey that you won’t need anything to serve it with.
This Best Chocolate Cheesecake is:
- Vegan (dairy-free, eggless)
- Rich
- Fudgy
- Smooth
- Creamy
- Chocolatey
- Easy to make
- Made with Oreo Crust
- Topped with chocolate ganache
- So delicious!
- The Best Chocolate Cheesecake
Looking for more Vegan Cheesecake or Chocolate Recipes? Then you may also like my:
- Best Chocolate Banana Bread
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Snickers Cake
- Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake
- Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Brownie Swirl Cheesecake
- Best Vegan Brownies
- Best Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake
- Vegan Cheesecake with Cherries
- Or one of my favorite Vegan Crumble Cheesecake Recipes
How to freeze Cheesecake
As I mentioned before, this chocolate cheesecake is freezer friendly! Simply wrap single slices in foil tightly twice. Then place in a freezer ziplock bag. To thaw, simply place the unwrapped cheesecake in an airtight container in the fridge overnight. And please do not heat it in the microwave or oven, or it will melt.
If you try this Best Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe, please leave me a comment below letting me know how it goes! And if you take a picture of your recreation and share it on Instagram, please make sure to tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka , so I won’t miss your post! Happy baking!
Vegan Baked Chocolate Cheesecake
You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my new Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Oreo Crust:
- 16 Oreo Cookies 180g
- 1/4 cup vegan butter 60g, melted
Chocolate Cheesecake
- 9 oz bittersweet vegan chocolate 250g, chopped
- 21 oz vegan cream cheese 600g, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar 135g
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder unsweetened
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup non-dairy cream 180ml, or coconut cream, at room temperature
Chocolate Ganache
- 5,6 oz vegan chocolate 160g, chopped
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp non-dairy cream 200ml
Instructions
Oreo Crust
- Preheat your oven to 340°F (170°C). Grease an 8-inch (20cm) springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Wrap the outside of the pan from every angle in a double layer of aluminum foil.
- Add the Oreo cookies with filling into a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. (Or put them into a freezer bag, squeeze the air out, seal the bag, and crush cookies using a rolling pin.)
- Combine the crumbs with melted butter and stir until evenly moistened.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared springform pan and press firmly into the bottom of the pan and a bit less than halfway up the sides. Place in the freezer or fridge to firm up while you make the filling.
Chocolate Cheesecake
- Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt over a water bath, stirring occasionally.
- In the meantime, beat the cream cheese with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Then mix in sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and vanilla until combined. Add the cream and melted chocolate lastly and stir until smooth and creamy. Please make sure to mix just until combined.
- Place the prepared wrapped pan in a larger baking pan. Fill in the cheesecake filling. Then pour about 1,5 inch of hot water into the baking pan. Place it in your preheated oven and bake in the water bath for 1 hour.
- Turn off the oven and let the cake sit in the oven for further 30-60 minutes with the oven door cracked. Don’t worry if the cheesecake is still wobbly because it will set as it cools.
- Then, remove the cake from the water bath and place on a wire rack. Carefully, remove the foil, run the tip of a knife around the sides of the pan. Cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge overnight before removing from the pan.
Chocolate Ganache
- Heat the non-dairy cream in a small saucepan just until it starts boiling. Place the chopped chocolate into a bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted and ganache is smooth.
- Pour ganache over your chilled cake. Place in the fridge until ganache is set.
- Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Instead of cream cheese, you could use 520g non-dairy quark (it's drained non-dairy yogurt) + 80g vegan butter or margarine. Make sure to check out this blog post about how to drain yogurt.
- If you don't find non-dairy cream, you can chill 1 can full-fat coconut milk overnight, then scrape the solid cream off the top, discarding the liquid.
- Keep the cake loosely covered in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months. Please read my text about how to freeze cheesecake and more tips for cheesecake success!
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First time I’ve made a vegan cheesecake and this recipe is a must! 😍 I made it with plain tofu and silken tofu and works just fine. Also I used dark chocolate with sugar so next time I’ll add less sugar but other than that, it’s a bomb! I’m looking forward for New York style vanilla cheesecake 🤤🖤
So glad you love this recipe! Thank you so much for your feedback and for sharing your version regarding silken and firm tofu! 🙂 Hope you’ll enjoy my new york cheesecake, too! <3
Just amazing! Made it for me as a birthdaycake 🙂 Love your recipes and looking forward to receive the book :-).
So glad you enjoyed my vegan chocolate cheesecake! Have fun with my cookbook! 🙂 <3
Hello! I just bought a 9 inch spring foam pan. Will it still work or do I need to go back out and get an 8 inch?
Hi Lisa, I think it’ll work too but the cheesecake will be slightly thinner. I suggest adding 3-4 more of the cookies for the crust. Hope you’ll like it! 🙂
Would you have an alternative for the Oreo cookie crust? Would like something with less sugar as to avoid buying these commercial type of cookies. Thanks in advance.
Hi Danielle, you can make a homemade chocolate pie crust with this recipe. If using a large tart pan (no mini tarts) I suggest to blind-bake with dried beans or chickpeas to prevent the crust from collapsing. Let me know if you tried it 🙂
Hello! I would like to ask,
a) why do we use oreo cookies? Aren’t the supposed to be non-vegan?
b) are the oreos used as wholes or only the dark cookie part (without the cream)?
Hi Christopher, Oreo cookies do not contain any dairy ingredients or eggs so they’re supposed to be vegan. In this recipe, the Oreos are used as wholes (including the cream filling). Hope you’ll enjoy it! 🙂
Def 5 stars ⭐️ I left a ove 💕
Thank you! 🙂
Can u use tofu instead of vegan cream cheese / quark? Do I have to add vegan butter if I use tofu? And what would be the weight of the tofu ud recommend?
Hi Joanne, unfortunately I haven’t tried the recipe with tofu yet, so I’m not sure how it turns out. You can find a vegan cheesecake recipe with tofu here, so maybe you could try that filling (without the blueberries) plus adding the chocolate and cocoa? Let me know, if you tried it 😉
I made this last week to celebrate the start of The Great British Bake Off and I can honestly say it’s the best cheesecake I’ve ever baked or eaten! I made it for my whole family (none of whom are vegan or even veggie) and it got demolished. I also used granulated canderel and dark low sugar chocolate to make it suitable for my brother (type 1 diabetic) and it still worked fine if anyone else needs to cut the sugar down:) Just use 65g of canderel instead of the sugar. It’s also just great fun to make – I love using the water bath!
Thank you so much for such an amazing recipe – it’s been added to my recipe bank to be brought out whenever I need to impress!
I’m sure you could use xylitol or erythritol. I make all my cake sugar free and they come out great (I usually use half the amount of sugar needed in the recipe). They are processed sugars, but are not artificial like aspartame and are of course good for diabetics:)
Yes, that’s a great tip! I also like to use coconut sugar or chocolate made with coconut sugar 🙂 Thank you for sharing this!
So glad to read that you liked the recipe and that you could also make it diabetic-friendly for your brother! Thank you so much for sharing your tips and for your feedback <3
Hi! Can I make mini cheesecakes with the same recipe using a muffin tin?
If so, what should the baking time be, and also then can I avoid keeping it in the water bath?
Hi dear, unfortunately, I haven’t tried it yet so I’m not sure about the baking time but feel free to give it a try. Let me know how it turned out 😉
And I forgot to rate the recipe, of course it deserves 5 stars, so thankful for this one..
You’re so sweet! Thank you 🙂
This recipe is perfection, baking is not one of my strongest point but this recipe turned into havenly delicious vegan cheesecke looking and tasting just like the one Bianca did. Easy to make yet so tasty.
So glad to hear that! Thank you 🙂
Looks amazing! I would really want to try it although It’s really hard to find non dairy cream… And at the same time I would rather not to use coconut cream (not a huge fan of the taste of coconut). Could you please recommend what kind/brand of non dairy cream you use?! Is there a link you can put to purchase it online maybe?! Thanks a lot 😊
I linked the non-dairy cream in the ingredient list. You can simply click on the word 🙂
I can definitely recommend Alpro single cream:) It’s easy to find in most supermarkets and worked a treat. Definitely give the recipe a go – it’s amazing!!!
This cheesecake is making me drool! Love chocolate so much! 🙂
Thank you, Ela 🙂