No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
This vegan no-bake pumpkin cheesecake is easy to make with wholesome ingredients and makes a wonderful holiday dessert.
If you’re looking for something other than pumpkin pie this holiday season, why not try this no-bake pumpkin cheesecake? The creamy cashew pumpkin filling is rich and decadent and is so delicious paired with the simple date and walnut crust.
Features
- Vegan (dairy-free), guten-free and refined sugar-free.
- No finicky baking is required!
- Made with wholesome ingredients you can feel good about.
- Perfect for Thanksgiving and other special occasions.
- Can be made in advance and frozen whole or in slices.
- Top it with whipped cream and caramel sauce for an epic dessert!
Ingredient Notes
This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.
- Dates: You’ll need to use soft, moist dates to make the crust. I like sayer dates or medjool dates the best but any work as long as they’re not overly dry. If you only have dry dates, you can soak them before use and we’ll cover that below.
- Walnuts: Use plain, raw walnuts with no added oil or salt. You can substitute pecans, macadamia nuts, almonds or a combination of those. You can substituted up to half of the walnuts for shredded coconut for a coconut crust.
- Cashews: Use plain, raw cashews with no added oil or salt. These will get soaked and used to make the cheesecake filling.
- Pumpkin Puree: Use plain, canned pumpkin puree. I like E.D. Smith or Farmer’s Market brands.
- Maple Syrup: You can substitute agave nectar for this if you like.
- Coconut Milk: Use good quality, full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream. I do not recommend using light coconut milk for this recipe or your cheesecake will be a bit icy rather than creamy.
- Coconut Oil: This is a key ingredient and helps achieve a firm but soft texture much like traditional cheesecake.
- Lemon: Adds the tanginess you’d find in a traditional cheesecake.
Instruction Overview with Photos
Before you Start: Soak the cashews in a bowl of water overnight or for at least 10 hours. I do not recommend skipping this step if you want a perfectly smooth and creamy cheesecake.
Step 1: Blend Crust Ingredients
Add the dates, walnuts, sea salt and vanilla to a food processor and blend into a crumbly but sticky dough.
You should easily be able to squeeze the dough into a little ball between your fingers. If it seems to dry, which can happen if your dates were dry, add 1-2 tbsp warm water and blend again.
Step 2: Press Crust into Pan
Dump the dough into an 8-9 inch springform pan and use your hands to firmly press it down and about 1-1.5 inches up the sides of the pan.
You can either press the crust into one thick layer on the bottom or work it up the sides a bit for a more traditional pie crust shape. Both are good!
Use your fingers to smooth out the edges of the crust.
Step 3: Blend Filling
Add all of the filling ingredients to a high-speed blender and process until it’s completely smooth and almost mousse-like.
Depending on your blender, this may a few minutes. Use the tamper to keep things moving or stop as needed to scrape down the sides.
Quick Tip: The filling is quite pale so if you’d like it to come out more orange like a pumpkin, add 1/4 tsp turmeric to add colour.
Step 4: Add Filling to Crust
Scoop the mixture into the prepared crust.
Use a spatula or spoon to smooth it as best you can. Place the entire pan in the freezer for 2-3 hours until firm throughout.
Quick Tip: As soon as it’s firm in the centre, it’s ready. This might take less than 3 hours. It might be good to go after 1-2 hours!
After the cheesecake comes out of the freezer, let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes then slice and serve.
Serving
- homemade or store-bought dairy-free whipped cream of choice
- vegan caramel sauce
- crumbled pecans or walnuts
- candied pecans
Alternative Crust Recipes
- Store-bought or homemade pre-baked pie crust.
- Pecan and maple syrup crust.
- Almond flour and pecan crust.
- Almond, date and coconut crust.
- Chocolate graham crust.
- Chocolate almond flour crust.
- Oat flour and almond crust.
Recipe Notes
- If you don’t have a blender, you can substitute 1.5 cups of raw cashew butter for the whole cashews.
- If you only have dry dates, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes then drain well before use, or use one of the other crust recipes listed above.
- Arrange pecans halves over top of the cheesecake in a pattern before freezing for a pretty presentation.
FAQs
Yes. If you can’t do walnuts, use pecans, almonds or any combination of the 3. This recipe can’t be made nut-free though since the filling is cashew-based and I can’t recommend anything to substitute the cashews with.
There are vegan no-bake cheesecake recipes made from vegan cream cheese or tofu, so do have a look online if you need a nut-free recipe!
Sure. Totally fine to use any 8-9 inch pie tin or you can use a square baking pan to make and make cheesecake bars.
If you’re not using a springform pan, I’d recommend lining the pan you use with parchment paper so you can easily lift the finished cheesecake out of the pan to slice.
Totally fine! If you can’t find pumpkin pie spice (though it’s easy to purchase online if you can’t find it in stores), replace it with 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger and 1/4 tsp each nutmeg, allspice and cloves.
If you’re missing allspice or cloves, no big deal, just use one of them.
Yes, this recipe is naturally gluten-free without the need for any substitutions.
Storing
- Servings: Makes 8 larger or 10-12 smaller servings. Slices shown in photos are if slicing a 9-inch cake into 8 pieces.
- Storing in Fridge: Store whole or in slices in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Storing in Freezer: Store whole or in slices in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Storing: Can be stored whole or in slices. I like freezing in slices so I can pull as many servings as needed at a time but if it’s for a larger gathering and you’re making it in advance, I’d suggest freezing whole and then letting sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving.
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
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No-Bake Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 10
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This epic vegan pumpkin cheesecake is easy to make with simple ingredients and makes a wonderful alternative to baked pumpkin pie for the holidays.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 cup (220 g) packed, soft pitted dates
- 1.5 cups (225 g) walnuts
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Pumpkin Cheesecake
- 2 cups (300 g) raw cashews, soaked overnight or at least 10 hours
- 3/4 cup (180 g) canned pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup (150 g) maple syrup
- 1/3 cup (80 g) full-fat canned coconut milk (shake very well if using fresh can)
- 1/4 cup (45 g) melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Soak the cashews overnight or for at least 10 hours in a bowl big enough to completely submerge them. When you’re ready to make the cheesecake, drain and rinse them before proceeding with the recipe.
- Add the walnuts, dates, vanilla and sea salt to a food procecesor and blend into a crumbly be sticky dough you can easily pinch together between your fingers.
- Line the bottom of a 8-9 inch springform pan with parchment paper (lining optional) then firmly press the dough into the bottom of the pan and about 1-1.5 inches up the sides. Use your fingers to smooth the edges. Place in the fridge while you make the filling.
- Add all of the filling ingredients to a high-speed blender and start blending on low. Use a tamper if needed to keep things moving. As it starts to blend, slowly increase the speed and blend until it’s completely smooth and very creamy. It should be almost mousse-like. The filling is quite pale so if you’d like it to come out more orange like pumpkin, you can add 1/4 tsp turmeric to add colour.
- Pour the filling mixture over the prepared crust. Smooth the top the best you can using the back of a spoon or spatula.
- Place the whole pan in the freezer for at least 2 hours to firm.
- Remove from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
- Slice and serve immediately, with whipped cream and chopped pecans, if desired.
Notes
Servings: Makes 8 larger or 10-12 smaller servings. Slices shown in photos are if slicing a 9 inch cake into 8 pieces.
Storing: Store whole or in slices in the fridge for up to 1 weeks or freezer for up to 2 months. Can be stored whole or in slices. I like freezing in slices so I can pull as many servings as needed at a time but if it’s for a larger gathering and you’re making it in advance, I’d suggest freezing whole then letting sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving.
If you don’t have a springform pan, it’s totally fine to use any 8-9 inch pie tin or you can use a square baking pan to make and make cheesecake bars. If not using a springform pan, I’d recommend lining the pan you use with parchment paper so you can easily lift the finished cheesecake out of the pan to slice.
If you can’t find pumpkin pie spice, replace it with 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger and 1/4 tsp each nutmeg, allspice and cloves. If you’re missing allspice or cloves, no big deal, just use one of them.
Adapted from my No-Bake Mango Lime Cheesecake.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 452
- Sugar: 27 g
- Sodium: 124 mg
- Fat: 21 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 9 g
I followed the recipe exactly. It was easy and turned out perfectly. It was a great thanksgiving dessert. Thank you for the recipe
Awesome! I’m so happy it was enjoyed! Happy Thanksgiving.
Wow! This was my first time making a vegan cheesecake and this recipe is a keeper. One of my (non-vegan) friends said he preferred it to the original. I froze it in slices and ended up giving some to my landlord as part of his holiday gift! Thank you for your creative recipes!!
I’m so glad you gave it a try and it was a hit! Vegan cheesecakes are so much fun to make, aren’t they? Thanks for the kind review and I’m so glad to hear it was enjoyed by all.
This is one of my favorite desserts on the planet! So easy to make an absolutely delicious!
I really want to try this!! I have a couple of questions before I do, though. Does this have a strong coconut flavor? I usually find coconut milk and oil so overwhelming, just giving the dish a strong coconut flavor (I really don’t like coconut. I’ve just started tolerating the milk, and typically I add other milks as well to cut the flavor) — does that happen in this recipe?
Also, I’ve been trying to keep the glycemic index of my foods relatively low (it’s been as boring as it sounds), so is there any substitute for the dates in the crust ? And, I have powdered monkfruit sweenter — would that work in place of the maple syrup? If so, how much should I use?
Thank you!!
I don’t find it has any coconut flavour. It doesn’t use that much coconut and the rest of the flavours overpower it. That being said, you can always use a refined coconut oil to be sure it doesn’t lend any coconut flavour. You can’t do much about the milk though since this recipe needs the specific qualities of the fats in coconut milk or cream. Unfortunately, I can’t think of a low-glycemic replacement for the dates…raisins or dried figs might be ok but they’re both similar to dates. You could Google a low-carb crust recipe and combine that with this filling though if you wanted to try it! As for the maple syrup, the recipe is developed for a liquid sweetened so I’m not sure how it would work with a powdered sweetener since 1/2 cup of liquid is a fair amount to replace. Liquid monk fruit sweetener would work though! Thanks and best of luck.