This Best Vegan New York Cheesecake is super creamy, absolutely delicious, and topped with homemade raspberry strawberry sauce! It’s an easy Vegan Cheesecake Recipe that is dairy-free, egg-free and the perfect dessert for anytime!
Vegan New York Cheesecake
Do you love cheesecakes? I personally can never get enough of them! I mean, a creamy dreamy cheesecake is always perfect – no matter which season or time of day, right? If you agree with me, I’m pretty sure you will love this easy vegan cheesecake recipe too! It is not only super simple to make with just a few ingredients, but it is also super delicious! Honestly, it tastes very similar to a real New York Cheesecake, even though it contains no eggs and no dairy!
Cheesecake water bath
Ever since I’ve shared my Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe I love to bake my vegan cheesecake in a water bath. It not only prevents the filling from cracking, but it also makes your New York cheesecake more moist because the water creates steam. If you’ve never tried it, you should definitely change that! It really makes such a big difference when you bake a cheesecake in a water bath!
How to make Vegan Cheesecake
Step 1: Prepare your springform pan
To make this baked vegan cheesecake, first of all, prepare your baking dish. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a springform pan and then line it additionally with parchment paper. I prefer to line both – the bottom and sides – with parchment paper for an easier removal but you could also only line the bottom.
Step 2: Vegan Cookie Crust
Then prepare the simple cookie crust. I used vegan butter cookies but you can use any kind of vegan cookies you want. Place them in a food processor and process them until you have finely ground crumbs. Transfer the cookie crumbs into a bowl, add melted vegan butter and stir to combine. Then, press the mixture into the bottom of your prepared springform pan and set aside while you make the filling.
Step 3: Vegan New York Cheesecake Filling
To make the vegan cheesecake filling, simply mix all cream ingredients until very creamy. I prefer mixing the cream cheese until creamy first. Then adding the remaining ingredients and mixing it again until it’s smooth and creamy. Finally, pour the cheesecake filling over the cookie crust, spreading out evenly.
Step 4: Cheesecake water bath
To make the water bath, wrap the springform pan in two layers of aluminum foil, making sure all sides are well sealed to avoid water coming in. Then place that in a larger pan and pour boiling water around the wrapped cheesecake pan as shown in the picture below. Bake the cheesecake for up to an hour, then turn the heat off and allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven as it cools.
This Vegan New York Cheesecake is
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
- Creamy
- Easy to make
- Delicious
- Perfect for anytime
Homemade strawberry raspberry sauce
This easy vegan cheesecake is topped with a simple homemade strawberry raspberry sauce. Actually, I couldn’t decide between making a strawberry sauce or a raspberry sauce. So I simply combined both and made a mixed sauce. Anyway, you could also use just strawberries or only raspberries to make the sauce if you like. Alternatively, you can also use another type of fruit, such as blueberries or cherries.
Which cookies for New York Cheesecake Crust?
As mentioned before, any crunchy cookie can be turned into a pie crust. Actually, you can mix and match crusts to suit your taste and imagination. For this vegan cheesecake recipe, I used simple vegan butter cookies but you can also use classic graham cracker or gluten-free graham cracker to make the crust. If they’re not sweet enough, just add a little maple syrup, agave syrup or another sweetener of your choice. Alternatively, you can also use sandwich cookies, such as Oreo cookies, as I did in my no-bake blackberry mousse tart or summer fruit cream tart.
Which vegan cream cheese?
Since there is vegan cream cheese made of almonds available here in Germany, I prefer using that in this recipe. Anyway, you’ll also find other vegan cream cheese products made of non-dairy ingredients such as tofu, cashews, coconut milk, and other ingredients. Alternatively, you could try using a mixture of drained non-dairy yogurt and vegan butter or a mixture of firm tofu and silken tofu which is easily available and adds a creamy consistency too. Just make sure the texture you create is similar to cream cheese or your cheesecake may get too liquidy.
Looking for more vegan cheesecake recipes? Then you may also like my
- Chocolate Cheesecake
- Strawberry Cheesecake
- Cheesecake with Cherries
- Or one of my Vegan Crumble Cheesecake Recipes
If you do try this New York 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!
New York Cheesecake Recipe
You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my new Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Cookie Crust
- 5,3 oz Vegan Cookies 150g
- 1/3 cup vegan butter 75g, melted
Cheesecake filling
- 30 oz vegan cream cheese 850g
- 1 14 oz can coconut cream 400ml, or another non-dairy cream
- 1 cup sugar 200g
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Raspberry Strawberry Sauce
- 5,3 oz frozen raspberries 150g
- 5,3 oz frozen strawberries 150g
- 2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp sugar or to taste
Instructions
Cookie Crust
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease an 8-inch (20cm) springform pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper (*see photos above).
- Add the cookies into a food processor and crush until fine crumbs. (Or place 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 to combine.
- Transfer the mixture into your prepared springform pan and press firmly into the bottom of the pan. Set aside while you make the filling
Cheesecake filling
- In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Then mix in coconut cream, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and lemon juice. Beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the cookie crust, spreading out evenly.
- Wrap the outside of the pan with a double layer of aluminum foil, covering the bottom and the sides. Place the wrapped pan in a larger baking pan and pour in about 1,5 inch of hot water (*see photos above). Place in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour.
- Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for another hour. Then open the oven door and allow to cool to room temperature. (Don’t worry if the cheesecake is still wobbly because it will set in the fridge.)
- Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and, carefully, remove the foil. Place in the fridge overnight to set completely before removing from the pan.
Raspberry Strawberry Sauce
- in a pot, thaw and puree the fruits. Add the sugar and bring to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in a little water, then stir into the fruit puree. Bring to a boil again while stirring, and cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened. Let cool as it will thicken up more.
- Serve your cheesecake with the sauce and enjoy! 😊
Notes
- Please read my text for further information about this recipe, such as which cream cheese, which cookies etc.
- If you don't find non-dairy cream in the store, you can chill 2 cans full-fat coconut milk overnight, then scrape the solid cream off the top, discarding the liquid.
- If using fresh fruits to make the sauce, you may need less corn starch.
- Keep the cake loosely covered in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
IF YOU HAVE PINTEREST, YOU CAN FIND ME HERE AND PIN THE FOLLOWING PICTURE, IF YOU LIKE! 🙂
©Bianca Zapatka | All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you for supporting biancazapatka.com!
Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. You can find more information here.
I’m worried my cheesecake is underdone. It is chilling now overnight. If it is underdone should I put it back in the oven for 20-30 minutes? The filing tastes delicious!
Hi Bianca, can I use full-fat coconut milk instead of vegan cream cheese?
Or can I use simple tofu?
You can try it but it won’t be as creamy. I recommend checking out my other cheesecake recipes which you can surely make with tofu like this mandarin streusel cheesecake.
I haven’t tried this yet but I think this will not work.
Hey, this recipe looks absolutely perfect! My one question is, is the coconut flavor apparent? I want to make this for my family but they are not very large fans of coconut. If you can taste the coconut, what cream would you use instead? Vegan sour cream, silken tofu, a homemade cream of almonds perhaps? Thank you so much!
The chocolate flavor will definitely overpower the coconut so you can’t taste it! 🙂
Loved this recipe! Made it half the size at first but enjoyed it so much I’d definitely make the full batch next time! Everyone wanted more!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much! 🙂
Most delicious vegan cheesecake ever!
Love her recipes♥️
Thank you so much! 🙂
I must say that this cheesecake is absolutely incredible! I made it last night and my cheesecake loving husband was thrilled!! I am already thinking about other flavors/possibilities. It was well worth the time. Thank you!
Hi Gina, so glad you love this cheesecake! Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! 🙂
Lots of love to you! ❤️
I think I ruined my cheesecake. I bought the can of coconut cream and used it as is, without putting it in the fridge as I saw those notes after the fact. I let it cool down in the oven. Then opened the oven as recommended. When I went to take the foil off and put it in the fridge, there was a lot of liquid in the foil, but it wasn’t from the water bath. I assume it’s the coconut cream. The cheesecake also seemed very jelly like. It’s in the fridge now and I really feel like I ruined it. I guess we’ll see in a few hours. Yours looks amazing though.
Hi Nicole, I guess the water is just the steam which develops during the cooking process. I recommend removing the foil carefully to prevent the water from dripping onto the cheesecake. Then pat dry any excess water with a kitchen paper. Cover the cheesecake with a clean kitchen towel and chill overnight until it has completely set. 🙂
(I forgot to rate the recipe in my last comment) 😅
Ok, thank you, love! 😀 <3
Amazing recipe! And so easy and well explained.
I usually don‘t like cheesecake that much, but this one‘s different.i think It tastes very fresh because of the berry sauce! My whole family fell in Love
So glad you love this recipe! Thanks for your amazing feedback! 🙂
Hi. I am going to be making a baked cheese cake for the first time. I just wanted to ask how do you know when a cheese cake is cooked.
Hi Kay, the surface must be set and slightly golden-brown but when you follow this recipe exactly, it’ll be perfect! 😉
This was fun and simple to make and it tasted amazing! I even took it to a family Christmas event the second time I made it and they thought it was “real” cheesecake.. they couldn’t tell the difference. Thank you for creating and sharing this recipe. 😊
Hi Alyssa, so glad you liked this vegan cheesecake! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Hi Bianca,
Do I just use the thick part of the coconut cream or the whole tin. Sorry if it seems a silly question but I’ve never made a vegan cheesecake before.
Thank you.
It’s okay I found it in your notes, sorry, i must have missed them before when reading. I look forward to making this for Christmas.
Okay, thanks for letting me know! 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Bianca , I have an old oven and I’m concerned one hour will not suffice for the baking time . It typically let things bake longer than recommended because of my oven being old and not working as well. What time would you recommend for the cheesecake ? Silly question , I know. Just figured I would ask the pro. Thank you
Hi Linda, I highly recommend buying an oven thermometer because it’s much easier if you know your oven when it comes to baking. I would maybe bake the cheesecake in the oven for about 20 minutes longer. Just make sure to store in the refrigerator overnight to make sure it is completely set. Let me know how it turned out! 🙂
Followed the recipe to the T and it came out beautiful. After cooling on the counter for 2 hours, it looks liquify. This sets up overnight so be scared. The texture is everything. It’s even better than Daiya Brand cheesecake. IMHO. Thank you for a perfect recipe. Keeping and sharing!
So glad your cheesecake came out perfectly. Thank you for your feedback! Lots of love, Bianca <3
I used your recipe for the cheesecake portion of my layered pumpkin pie cheesecake and it was very yummy. Was making the cheesecake for people at work and they can’t have gluten or soy and are vegan. The taste was not so different from the original. Thank you
Hi Jessica, thank you so much for your feedback! So glad that you enjoyed this vegan cheesecake! 🙂 Lots of love, Bianca <3
Hi Bianca,
You new York cheesecake looks delicious! I was wondering if instead of baking it in a water bath can you bake it normally?
Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Hi Tiffany, baking in water bath ensures that the cheesecake bakes through more evenly. It not only prevents cracks but it also makes a perfect creamy cheesecake consistency! You can bake it normally but I totally recommend baking it in water bath. Let me know how it turned out when you tried the recipe 🙂
So so yummy
Thank you 🙂
Hi 😊 this looks delicious. I’m going to make it but I need your opinion about some Changes.
I can’t have regular sugar or corn.
Can I replace sugar for the filling and syrup with maple syrup or you think the color will change drastically ? And instead of cornstarch can I use arrowroot?
Also “ simple vegan butter cookies “ are name of the cookies that used or you meant that we use any vegan butter cookies? Thanks in advance 😊
Hi Chana, I suggest using regular sugar but no syrup. Instead of cornstarch, you can use arrowroot – That’s totally fine! And yes, you can use any butter cookies! 🙂 Have fun trying the recipe 🙂
Thanks for your replay 😊. I was going to do it but unfortunately can’t have regular sugar. There is something call monk fruit in drops. Or lacanto sweetens. Had you ever heard about that ?
Hi Chana, I’m very sorry but I’ve never heard of that. Anyway, feel free to substitute regular sugar with another sweetener 🙂
Sorry 😐 it’s me again. I did a raw cheesecake a couple weeks ago . It was good but the crust was to sticky. (Dates,,walnuts and a pinch of Salt) I would like to use your crust instead … it’s your crust crunchy or sticky ? Do you think I have to bake it or just put it in the frizzer like I did with the raw cheesecake crust that I used? I bought graham crackers. Thanks
Hi Chana, the cookie crust is super crunchy when you bake it in a 350°F (175°C) preheated oven for about 8 minutes, then let cool completely! If using graham cracker you may need adding a little sugar or syrup to sweeten, about 3 tbsp or to taste. But if the recipe calls for an unbaked crust like this new york cheesecake recipe, you don’t need to prebake the crust. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it! Let me know how it turned out! 🙂
Wow so classy and mouth watering cake. i loved it and please keep posting tempting cakes because i am learner of making new and different cakes.
Thank you so much! So happy that you like my vegan cake recipes 🙂
This is the best cheesecake recipe I have ever tried! always so excited to try out your recipes Bianca thank you!
Emily @GlowingPlants
xo
Thank you so much! I really love this vegan baked cheesecake recipe. So glad that you liked it too! 🙂
Hi, I’m going to try this for a party this weekend!!
I was wondering if I can use coconut milk instead of coconut cream? Or will I not get the same results?
Also, does the coconut cream have to be refrigerated before adding it in?
The ingredients for the cheesecake filling should have room temperature as they combine better that way.
Coconut is too watery, so I recommend using only that thick coconut cream part that you can scrape off when you chill a can of full-fat coconut milk overnight. Hope you’ll like it 🙂
Looks so yummy! Love a good vegan cheesecake. 🙂
Thank you, Ela! 🙂
Hi there. I am also in Germany, and was wondering what brand of vegan cream cheese you used 🙂
Thanks!
I prefer to use Simply-V cream cheese 🙂
I had to come see this post as soon as I saw your photo on Instagram because OMG! These photos are so gorgeous and this cheesecake looks to-die-for! I am in love with this creation. You knocked it out of the park with this one!
Thank you so much, Nisha! So happy that you like the photos 🙂 Sending much love <3