Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake is luscious, creamy, and so easy! Make this amazing vegan dessert for holiday dinners packed with pumpkin spice flavor.
VEGAN PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE RECIPE
The moment I spot a yellow leaf, I start baking pumpkin recipes exclusively. I love this vegan pumpkin cheesecake recipe because it's great for parties but it's easy, too!
Keep it gluten free with a crunchy graham cracker crust surrounding a super flavorful and creamy pumpkin filling.
INGREDIENTS IN VEGAN PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE
Vegan graham cracker crumbs: I love the simplicity of a graham cracker crust. It's also packed with flavor! If you can't find gluten-free vegan graham crackers, you can also use your favorite cookies or even nuts in its place.
Vegan butter: You'll need a little melted butter to hold the crust together.
Sugar: Use granulated sugar for the crust and filling for that subtle sweetness.
Pumpkin pie spice: You can use a store-bought pumpkin pie spice or make your own with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
Vegan cream cheese: You can't have cheesecake without cream cheese! Look for vegan cream cheeses thickened with oat flour to keep it gluten free.
Coconut cream: If you are unable to find this at your local grocery store, you can buy coconut milk and place the can in the refrigerator overnight. The cream will separate and rise to the top. Scoop the cream leaving the water behind.
Pumpkin puree: When you're shopping, look for 100% pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. The added ingredients will leave you with a deflated cheesecake!
Cornstarch: This helps thicken the pumpkin cheesecake filling without gluten.
Vanilla extract: I love the extra richness you get in cakes and cookies from vanilla extract. It's so delicious!
Lemon juice: Without lemon juice, you wouldn't have the luscious texture of the creamy cheesecake. It also helps it retain its shape and add a slight tangy flavor, too.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you ASAP!
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE
- First, mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted vegan butter, sugar, and pumpkin spice spice in a bowl.
- Stir until it's thoroughly combined. This is for the crust!
- Then, pour the crumb mixture into a springform pan that's been greased and wrapped with aluminum foil. Press it evenly into the bottom. Bake the crust until it's golden brown and smells delicious. Let it cool.
- To make the cheesecake filling, beat the vegan cream cheese with an electric mixer for a few minutes until soft and creamy.
- Now, add the coconut cream, pumpkin puree, sugar, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, and lemon juice to the cream cheese. Mix until smooth.
- Next, pour the pumpkin filling into the springform pan, and smooth it out with a spatula. Set the wrapped pan in a deep baking dish, and carefully pour almost boiling water into the dish until it's about halfway up the pan sides.
- Bake the vegan pumpkin cheesecake until the outer edges are set but the middle still jiggles when shaken.
- Then, turn the oven off but leave the cheesecake inside! Let it cool slowly in the oven for about an hour. If not serving immediately, let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH VEGAN PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE
I could eat this pumpkin cheesecake with every meal. Have an afternoon snack or perfect fall dessert with a slice and a hot dirty chai latte.
If you need some sweetness for breakfast — trust me, I've done it — this oat milk latte is the perfectly creamy companion for this cheesecake. It's great after dinner, too!
IS VEGAN CREAM CHEESE GLUTEN FREE?
When you're working with a vegan and gluten-free baking recipe, you've got to double check all your ingredients.
Some vegan cream cheeses do have gluten, but I've found many that don't. Look for vegan cream cheeses thickened with oat flour or almond flour.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN CHEESECAKE IS DONE?
Unlike most baked goods, the toothpick trick won't work with this vegan pumpkin cheesecake. Over baked cheesecakes crack, and no one wants that.
To tell if your cheesecake is done, check the edges. You want the top edges to be set but still see a slight jiggle in the center when you gently shake it. Don't worry, the middle will finish setting as it rests.
Also, don't pull it out immediately! Turn off your oven and let the cake cool down with the oven. This helps avoid cracks, too!
MORE DELICIOUS FALL DESSERTS
Creamy desserts are the best. They're so rich! This vegan panna cotta is so chocolatey with no gelatin.
Did you know you can make perfectly moist peanut butter cookies in the air fryer? It's true! They're ready in just 7 minutes flat.
Looking for an easy midnight snack? There's nothing better than a vegan mug cake!
I made this white chocolate pumpkin mousse last year for Thanksgiving, and it was PERFECT. Everyone wanted more and it only took 7 ingredients and half an hour!
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Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
Ingredients
For The Crust
- 2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs gluten free and vegan
- ⅓ cup Vegan Butter melted
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
For The Filling
- 32 oz Vegan Cream Cheese Tofutti brand, softened (see note below)
- 1 cup Coconut Cream
- 1 ¾ cup Pureed Pumpkin
- 1 ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the bottom and outside of the pan with aluminum foil.
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted vegan butter, granulated sugar, and pumpkin spice spice.
- Stir until combined.
- Pour the graham cracker crust mixture into the springform pan and press to an even thickness on the bottom of the pan.
- Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes, until the crust is golden and smells fragrant. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, add the vegan cream cheese. Beat with an electric mixer until soft and creamy, 2-3 minutes.
- Then, add the coconut cream, pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Mix until smooth.
- Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Smooth with a spatula.
- Place the springform pan in a deep baking dish.
- Add very hot (almost boiling) water to the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the side of the springform pan. Carefully place in the oven.
- Bake at 350F for 65-75 minutes or until the outer edges are set but the middle still jiggles when shaken.
- Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an hour to let it slowly cool down. Remove from the oven and let cool down to room temperature before placing in the refrigerator to finish setting, at least 3-4 hours.
Notes
- I used canned coconut cream in this recipe. If you are unable to find this at your local grocery store, you can buy coconut milk and place the can in the refrigerator overnight. The cream will separate and rise to the top. Scoop the cream leaving the water behind.
- The brand of cream cheese is important and can play into the final product. We have tried this recipe with Daiya and Kroger brand cream cheese and the results were runny and not solid. Tofutti is the better brand for this recipe, followed by Trader Joe's vegan cream cheese.
- If you cannot find gluten-free vegan graham crackers, you can also use your favorite cookies or even nuts in its place.
- Be careful when you are making your water bath for the cheesecake. The water will be very hot.
- If you do not want to make this recipe with a water bath, keep in mind that the top of the cheesecake may split and the sides will rise while the top falls a bit as it cools. It will still taste quite delicious though. To help prevent cracks, do not open the oven to check on the cheesecake. Just turn the oven light on to check on it. Large temperature swings will cause the cheesecake to crack.
This cheesecake looks so creamy and I love that it's dairy free! Can't wait to try it.
Love how creamy this cheesecake turns out! So delicious!
I'm so ready for all things pumpkin spice, and this is on my baking list! It looks unbelievably creamy and decadent.
I am a NY cheesecake fan but this is SO good, I think it will become a staple at my house. And no dairy makes it a winner for my DF wife.
How far ahead can I make this and can it be frozen?
Hi Becky! I haven't frozen this particular recipe yet, but I have frozen similar vegan cheesecake recipes (not pumpkin) and it froze well! I froze individual slices. The cheesecake is best within the first 3-4 days, so I probably wouldn't make it more than a day ahead, however if needed you could probably squeak out two days ahead but the quality may go down some. 🙂
Well, I am immensely disappointed in this recipe. I literally followed it exactly. No idea where I went so wrong as to have the whole thing turn into liquid after 75 minutes baking and 60 minutes sitting in the hot oven after it was turned off. I can't help but wonder if it sucked up all the water I was instructed to pour into the pan it was sitting in even though I covered the bottom and sides of the cheesecake pan in a double layer of foil. Now I have a very expensive and elaborately created pumpkin soup! So sad because I was so very excited to find a recipe for vegan pumpkin cheesecake that did not use cashews and actually used cream cheese. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I am putting this thing in the fridge overnight and then will see how it is then. If it's still soup, then to the freezer it goes in the morning...
Hi Heather, I am so sorry to hear this 🙁 There could be a few things that could make it take a turn for the worse. My first guess would be the cream cheese, Vegan cream cheese can be tricky and often times water. We have used the tofutti brand and also trader joes and it was worked well. We have tried Daiya, VioLife and a kroger brand of vegan cream cheese and it was mega liquidly and didn't get solid. The double layer of foil should have done the job to prevent any water from being soaked up, but I hear what you are saying and yes somehow the water may have been soaked up. The coconut cream is also tricky, making sure you don't get the extra liquid, but that shouldn't really make the entire thing soupy 🙁 I am hoping that it did firm up for you in the fridge overnight. I am very sorry that it didn't work for you, we have made it several times with tofutti (worked great) and several other tests with other branded cream cheeses (that didn't work well). Using a different sized pan could also change the outcome. Thanks for coming back and letting me know about the fail. I'd love to help troubleshoot more, could you share what brand cream cheese and what brand coconut cream you used. If you used coconut cream did you chill it over night and use only the solid part? Thank you in advance! Happy Thanksgiving
Thank you for your response! I think I know what went wrong now that you mention it. I did use Daiya cream cheese and trader joe's coconut cream which wasn't as thick as it used to be in the past. I don't remember the recipe saying to use a specific brand when I was making it but I see that it now does! I did refrigerate it overnight and it solidified fairly well, though quite soft. I noticed after refrigerating the cheesecake that the liquid on the top was actually a layer of separated oil which was weird. I froze it and it set even better. The cheesecake was edible however and after peeling off the solidified oil I served it! Haha! I still think it tasted great. I'm going to keep the recipe and try it again with the Tofutti cream cheese and thicker coconut cream. Thanks for helping me troubleshoot!!! 🙂
You are so welcome, we had tofutti in there as a rec but not all the info. After you wrote, I got supplies from a few stores and made several batches testing the other cream cheeses because I felt super horrible. I wanted to make sure that that Tofutti still stood up great, sometimes brands change the formula on us and it really messes with things, but it still stands up great. Trader Joe's worked decent but Daiya, Kroger brand and the Mikos brand didn't stand up well at all. Glad it was edible but man you had to "work" for it! Sorry it ended up that way for you! I appreciate you coming and letting me know. Hope you have a great holiday season!
I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving and it was delicious! I used tofutti brand and I made sure that the coconut cream was solid. I followed the directions and ingredient exactly as written. It can be tricky with the water bath but I followed them exactly. It turned out great. I had it in my fridge over night and it set up nicely! I wouldn't try it with any other brand of cream cheese, its not worth risking it with the cost of ingredient. Use tofuitti!
Hi Lanette, so glad you made it and you enjoyed it for Thanksgiving! Thanks for coming back and letting us know!
This turned out good but I would make it 2 days ahead and refrigerate longer. Had a bit of a tang to it but was a big hit at thanksgiving.
Hi Debbie, Thanks for coming back to leave a comment. Glad you enjoyed it and it was a big hit at Thanksgiving. Sometimes that dairy free cream cheese can give off a tang 🙂
Can the pureed pumpkin be fresh pumpkin? I assume i would need to cook it first?
Hi Kellie,
Sounds like a wonderful idea to try this time of year. I have not used fresh pumpkin yet. Let me know how it works.
-Alysen