Serves 8 to 10
This Pumpkin Cheesecake was among our favorites in Vegan Pie In The Sky! All those autumnal spices with lots of pumpkin flavor and an irresistible pecan crunch topping. It’s so delicious, it makes you feel a little funny. And don’t worry about serving this to even the biggest tofuphobe, they will not complain one bit.
While there are perfectly adequate vegan cream cheeses available in supermarkets, we wanted to come up with a cheesecake formula made with pantry-friendly ingredients, for a few reasons.
One is consistency: different brands will produce different results.
For another, some vegan cream cheeses contain hydrogenated oils. We want to bake with accessible real foods.
Also: the cost. For one recipe, if you’re talking 3 tubs of cream cheese, when all is said and done you’ve just spent a good 25 bucks on a single cheesecake. Ouch! This way, even if you do spend 25 bucks, you have ingredients that will last you awhile and make lots and lots of cheesecakes.
And lastly, well, we just think it tastes better! We worked for months and months to develop the smoothest, creamiest and richest vegan cheesecake base possible. The ingredients we landed on were soaked cashews, coconut oil, banana and silken tofu. The end result is firm but creamy, easy to work with and a dessert that’s a little difficult to not steal bites of. That’s only a bad thing if you care that by the time the guests arrive there’s already a sliver missing.
A few recipe notes before embarking on your vegan cheesecake adventure!
~For the crust, vegan graham crackers can be hard to find. If you can’t find them, you can either make your own, or use gingersnaps. We baked a few of these with gingersnaps and they were amazing!
~Soak the cashews overnight to make quick work of the recipe. You can cover them with plastic wrap if you’re afraid that your kitty will get to them.
~Although this recipe is for a fancy marbled cheesecake, you can skip that step if you’re pressed for time or would just rather not do it. Just mix everything in the filling together instead of dividing the batter and swirling.
~You can use either water packed silken tofu or the vacuum packed kind (like Mori-Nu.) If using Mori-Nu, extra firm silken works best.
For the crust:
1 1/4 cups of finely ground graham crackers or gingersnaps
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons melted non-hydrogenated margarine, melted coconut oil, or canola oil
1 tablespoon plain soy or almond milk.
Filling:
1/2 cup whole unroasted cashews soaked in water for 2 to 8 hours or until very soft
1/4 cup mashed banana (about half of 1 medium-sized banana)
1 12 to 14 oz package silken tofu, drained
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons coconut oil, at room temperature
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 3/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon nonhydrogenated margarine *or* coconut oil
Pinch of salt
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Make the crust:
Preheat oven to 350F and lightly spray a 9 inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a mixing bowl, combine the crumbs and sugar. Drizzle in the oil or melted margarine.
Use a spoon to blend the mixture thoroughly to moisten the crumbs, then drizzle in the soy milk and stir again to form a crumbly dough.
Pour the crumbs into the pan. Press firmly into the bottom. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until firm. Let the crust cool a bit before filling. Keep oven on 350 to bake the cheesecake.
Make the topping:
In a mixing bowl use a fork to mash together brown sugar, margarine, and salt until crumbly, then fold in the chopped nuts and stir to coat the mixture. Set aside until ready to use.
Make the filling:
Drain the cashews and place in a blender with the banana, tofu, sugar, brown sugar, coconut oil, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, orange zest, and sea salt. Blend until completely smooth and no bits of cashew remain, a food processor or strong blender should be able to get the job done.
Set aside 1/2 cup of batter. To the remaining batter, add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and blend until smooth, then pour it into the crust. Randomly spoon dollops of the reserved batter onto the cheesecake. Poke the end of a chopstick into a batter blob and gently swirl to create a marble pattern; repeat with the remaining dollops.
Bake the cheesecake for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove cheesecake halfway through baking and sprinkle on the topping. Return to oven to continue baking. Cheesecake will be done when the top is lightly puffed and the edges of the cake are golden. Remove it from the oven and let cool on a rack for about 20 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to complete cooling, at least 3 hours or even better if overnight. To serve, slice the cake using a thin, sharp knife dipped in cold water.
Duuuuuuuuuuude! I made this for Christmas, and everyone was swooning! It turned out absolutely amazing. I used all-natural ginger snaps for the crust and it’s a keeper for every year ahead!
This is a great recipe. I have made this couple of time. Always a hit. Thanks!
This pie is cooling on my counter right now. I can’t wait to try it tomorrow!! This is the 3rd pie I’ve made in a week from Vegan Pie in the Sky. YUM YUM YUM.a
I have a question about the graham cracker/cookie crusts. I have made a ton of these pies with these crusts but have so much trouble getting them to come out of the pie plate when sliced. I made the most beautiful grasshopper pie to bring to an event and it was mutilated because no one could scoop out a slice with any crust coming with it. I was left with a plate full of chocolate crust and no more filling! This also happened with the boston cream cake pie. Help! how can I keep my crust in tact with the pie? I tried lots of spray, tried less spray… Nonstick pie plate?
I will be honest and state I have not tried this, but I am considering it and adding a tbsp of apple cider vinegar. It sounds strange, but ACV is perfect for adding a cheesy tang without using actual cheese.
i have made this twice now, and the second time i subbed almonds in the topping because we had them on hand and i had spent the grocery budget for the week and couldn’t afford the pecans! it turned out great. both times i also added about 1/4 cup of the filling to the topping, to make it mix together a little more i guess, and we really liked the outcome. thanks for another great recipe – i’m so excited i just got Vegan Pie in the Sky in the mail and can’t wait to start making delicious treats from it!
Thank you for this luscious recipe. I made this for a mixed (you know what i mean) group, and it was loved by all; a HUGE success. And how much did I enjoy informing the satisfied participants, after they’d wolfed down their portions, some on seconds, that it was a vegan recipe? Very much, indeed. Sorry there was no time for photos, as mine looked almost as nice as yours. Many thanks!
I would really love to make this! My only issue is that I don’t like pumpkin. Crazy I know (or so everyone tells me), any suggestions for a good sub?
Sure, use mashed banana.
W.O.W. I bow to you and say thank you Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Topping Recipe Goddess.
Aside from eating such deliciousness the next best thing was revealing the non-dairy ingredients midway through eating it … hehe. It’s starting to become my favourite part of a meal: the horror, the disbelief, and finally the acceptance that it really is just too good 🙂 The only problem is finding pumpkin puree in Australian shops – I had to make my own after trying three different supermarkets. Suggestions anyone?
Hi! I am planning on making this for Thanksgiving this year but was wondering if there was anything I could substitute the banana with since I am allergic to bananas. Thanks!
P.S. I can’t wait to make the rest of your recipes as well!!
I am also allergic to bananas and dairy, and I would love to have cheesecake again! So If you have any great subs for the Banana that would be so great. I am so looking forward to trying this recipe!
Use like 1/4 cup more pumpkin.
Have you ever made this recipe with stevia. My husband is diabetic and I don’t want to feed him the sugar.
The picture looks absolutely delicious. I really want to try it.
I really do love your blog.
I cannot have tofu/soy and was curious if you could use a cashew cream instead??
Thanks so much! Your recipes are awesome. So glad to have you in Nebraska!!
So my friend and I made this today to get into the Autumn spirit and firstly, I will say it is wonderful. There is a little hitch though, it’s a little oily. We followed the instructions and everything came out a little oily. Any tips?
All I could taste in this was the orange and lemon, which wasn’t bad but I wanted more pumpkin flavour!
Have you ever tried this pumpkin cheesecake recipe using sweet potatoes? Or do you have a good sweet potato pie recipe?
I made this bad boy for my 2-year-old’s birthday party. Huge hit! It’s so rich you can serve about 20 people with it. I agree with one comment that it seemed a bit oily — I used coconut oil. Next time I’d just cut back on that. I also used ginger snap cookies ground up the blender for the crust which worked great. Wonderful recipe!
I just baked this and have to say my house smells AMAZING! Thanks for posting this. I live in rural Idaho and finding vegan cream cheese is all but impossible. looking forward to feasting on this on Tofurkey day along with your wild mushroom roast with a morel mushroom vegan demi glace. You are AWESOME!
How long do you think this will stay good for? I doubt it will be around for any longer then a week but I was not sure.
Thanks again,
i’m trying this for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait!
I have this baking in the oven right now – the filling was delish raw! However, looking back over the recipe, I realize that I accidentally doubled the cashews!!! Hmmmm, I guess that will just make it extra creamy? Here’s hoping the texture comes out ok!
Any possible subs for the cashews? (allergy)
I’ve done it with 1/3 cup coconut cream instead.
This was incredibly delicious! I have been making pumpkin cheescakes for years for my boyfriends firehouse Thanksgiving dinner, and this was the first year we have been vegan. I found this recipe, and tried it yesterday. Wow! It was gobbled up with numerous compliments and no one was the wiser it was dairy free! Thank you!
Wow, absolutely amazing and super easy! I even made the gwam crackers for the crust. Thank you for making our Thanksgiving for us and our “meat-eating” parents.
so yummbo. A friend has been bugging me for a year to make this again, but she chooses inopportune moments (such as when we go to stay in a friend’s cabin). It’s her surprise birthday lunch on the weekend so I’m finally doing it again.
I think I’ll sub out the banana as I could taste it last time and I just want the pumpkiny goodness. And I’ll probably go easier on the coconut oil as that was a bit strong last time.
FYI, I steamed pumpkin rather than using canned, and just left it soaking in a little maple syrup and water over night in the fridge…. I’ve never seen canned pumpkin over here in Australia.
Can Cashew butter be used in place of the cashews?( I don’t have a very good blender.)
Made this for Thanksgiving, amazing! Couldn’t stop picking off the topping. Didn’t taste like cheesecake to me exactly, but it was creamy and rich and delicious nonetheless.
Mine didn’t look like that at all…and it didn’t all fit in the pie crust….I wonder what I did. What consistency should it be?
Did you use a springform pan as the recipe says?
This was my first time baking with coconut oil and so I may have done something wrong, but when I baked the crust, oil oozed out of the springform pan and out into the bottom of the oven. When baking the actual cheesecake, I had to put a pan under it, and the cheesecake came out of the oven basically swimming in coconut oil on the pan. Does anyone have any idea what I did wrong?
I made this and it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. I streamed and pureed some pumpkin instead of using canned, and used rice flour instead of corn starch. Looked and tasted perfect, thanks!
Has anyone experimented with softening cashews in a pressure cooker? It would allow one to make this recipe without have to plan a night in advance…
Made this yesterday! Soo good. It reminded me of the sweet ricotta used to make sicilian sweets (eg “cassata siciliana”). YUM!