This Vegan Cheesecake is topped with a creamy pumpkin mousse and crunchy candied pecans. It has all the pumpkin pie flavors we all love and the creaminess and richness of a not-so-traditional cheesecake. All vegan, dairy-free and can easily be made gluten-free!
If you can read vegan cheesecake with pumpkin mousse and candied pecans and don’t drool a little bit, you’re a super-human. We make it to somewhere around pumpkin mousse before the cravings start. This recipe will definitely be making it to our Thanksgiving table!
We’re sure that once you see how easy it is and get a peek at the photos that it’ll be a “must make” for you, too!
Ingredients in Vegan Cheesecake
Raw Cashews: The base of this delicious no-bake vegan cheesecake is made from the ground-up soaked cashews. Soaking the cashews gives the cheesecake the creamy, super-rich texture traditional cheesecake is known for.
Cinnamon and pumpkin spice: A touch of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice brings in the fall flavors everyone loves.
Pumpkin puree: The pumpkin mousse has the same cashew base but with a good amount of pumpkin puree folded into it, which makes it light and reminiscent of pumpkin pie, which we absolutely love by the way! Don't you?
Ginger-snap cookies: We made the crust by grinding up ginger snap cookies (you can also try gluten-free ginger snaps) for a touch of spice, and some melted coconut oil to hold it together.
How to Make a Vegan Cheesecake
Soaking Cashews: Start by soaking raw cashew. This will the base for the cheesecake
Crush the cookies for the crust: we used ginger snaps for these cookies for extra spice, you other cookies you may like. Once crushed add some coconut oil to form the crust
Making the cheesecake base: Process the soaked cashews with the spices, and coconut oil until creamy and spread over the crust.
Make the Pumpkin Mousse: with pumpkin puree, soaked cashews, maple syrup, and spices. Spread it over the cheesecake.
Create your crunchy topping: we used a pecan topping on the recipe below or you can use our candied pecans recipe
Other Thanksgiving Desserts We Recommend
- Vegan Pumpkin Mousse
- Cranberry Pear Pie
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Candied Pecans
- Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- Ginger Snap Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Mousse Cashew Cheesecake
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie Ice cream
- Bourbon Pecan Pie
- Lemon Infused Almond Milk Custard
DID YOU LIKE OUR VEGAN CHEESECAKE RECIPE WITH PUMPKIN MOUSSE?
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Pumpkin Mousse Cashew Vegan Cheesecake
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 1 7-inch cheesecake 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Pumpkin Mousse Cashew Vegan Cheesecake has all the pumpkin pie flavors we all love and the creaminess and richness of a traditional cheesecake. All vegan, dairy and gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups cashews
- 2 ½ cups boiling water
- For the crust:
- 12 vegan ginger snap cookies (if the cookies are small use 16 cookies instead. See note 1)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- For the filling:
- ⅓ cup plus 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup sweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
- ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- For the pumpkin mousse:
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 2-3 tbsp maple syrup (to taste)
- 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For the pumpkin cheesecake topping (you can skip this step and use our candied pecan recipe instead)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ¾ cup roughly chopped raw pecans
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
- ⅛ tsp salt
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a heat-proof bowl. Add the boiling water, let them soak for 30 minutes and drain them
- In the meantime, prepare the crust for the cheesecake. Place the cookies in the food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the melted coconut oil and pulse until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a 7-inch springform pan (see note 2). Press it down, so it covers the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate until it’s ready to use
- To prepare the filling, combine the drained cashews, brown sugar, melted coconut oil, almond milk, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon in the food processor or high power blender. Pulse until smooth, scraping the sides occasionally. Transfer to a bowl
- To prepare the mousse, take ⅔ of a cup of the cashew mixture and place it in a separate large bowl. Using a spatula, fold in pumpkin, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon, until well incorporated
- To assemble the cheesecake, spread the plain cashew mixture over the prepared crust. Spread the pumpkin mousse on top and freeze for 2 hours. Remove it from the freezer and refrigerate until ready to use. Sprinkle the topping on top of the pumpkin cheesecake right before serving.
- To make the pecan topping, mix all the ingredients, except the coconut oil, in a medium bowl and mix until well coated. Heat the coconut oil in a small skillet, add pecan mixture, and cook over low heat for 7 minutes, stirring often. When done place them on parchment paper and let them cool
Notes
- If you want the pumpkin cheesecake to be gluten-free use gluten-free ginger snaps.
- A 7" springform pan is pretty small. If you use a bigger pan, you may need more cookies for the crust and the cheesecake won't be as tall.
- It's better to make this cheesecake at least one day ahead of time to give it time to set in the freezer and refrigerator.
This post was originally published on November 18, 2016. We have updated the images and added some other useful information, so this recipe is a success for you!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Freezer time: 2 hours
- Category: dessert
- Method: no bake
- Cuisine: vegan thanksgiving
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛ slice
- Calories: 379
- Sugar: 27
- Sodium: 56
- Fat: 22.3
- Saturated Fat: 8.5
- Unsaturated Fat: 11.5
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 41
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 7
- Cholesterol: 0
Sarah Zanger says
This looks amazing
★★★★★
Vicky and Ruth says
Thank you!