The bottom layer of this pumpkin cheesecake is lightly flavored with lemon, while the top is pumpkin spiced; eaten together, they’re just plain heaven.
[Insert standard “this is not a fat-free recipe” disclaimer here. Geez, what was I thinking when I named this blog!]
I know most of you who celebrate Thanksgiving have already figured out your menus. I’m probably the only slacker who still doesn’t know what she’s cooking! I’m lucky, though. I’m going to my in-laws’ celebration which is essentially a huge pot-luck. We can usually count on there being some side dishes prepared vegan just for us, so I can get away with bringing just a dish or two.
At this point, I’m relatively sure that I’m making Bryanna’s Soy and Seitan “Turkey” and The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole. But I’m absolutely positive that I will be bringing this delicious dessert.
This vegan pumpkin cheesecake is without a doubt the most delicious dessert I’ve had in a long time. The bottom layer is lightly flavored with lemon, while the top layer is pumpkin-flavored without being heavy; eaten together, they’re just plain heaven. No, it’s not fat-free, but I challenge you to find a lower-fat cheesecake that tastes this good. But I warn you–you won’t be able to stop at just one piece of this luscious cheesecake.
2017 Update
Since I first posted this recipe, it has become our traditional holiday dessert. I make it for both my husband’s and my extended families’ Christmas celebrations, and I never have leftovers to bring home.
In recent years, we’ve made this cheesecake with Kite Hill plain vegan cream cheese, which has no added oil, and it works just fine. I no longer believe you have to use Tofutti brand cream cheese for the pie to turn out right.
For more of my favorite fall and winter holiday recipes, please check out my Thanksgiving archives.
Vegan Double-Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients
Cheesecake
- 8 ounces vegan cream cheese Such as Kite Hill Almond cream cheese or Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese non-hydrogenated version in the yellow container
- 12 ounces extra-firm silken tofu Mori-nu brand in aseptic package
- 1/2 cup agave nectar or sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Pumpkin
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree canned, not pumpkin pie mix
- 2 teaspoons rum optional
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar or natural sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg (so much better than pre-ground)
Crust
- 1 pre-made 8-inch graham cracker crust or oatmeal cookie crust
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Put the "Cheesecake" ingredients (cream cheese through vanilla) in a food processor and puree until completely smooth. It should be silky smooth–not chalky or lumpy.
- Remove a heaping cup of this mixture from the processor and spread it in the bottom of the crust.
- Add the "Pumpkin" ingredients (pumpkin through nutmeg) to the ingredients remaining in the food processor and process until well blended. Smooth it carefully over the white layer in the crust, heaping it slightly in the middle.
- Bake until the center is almost set, about 50-60 minutes. (Insert a toothpick. If it comes out liquidy and cold, give it more time, until the center is firm.) Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 3 hours. Serve to delighted guests. (Don’t tell them it’s vegan, and they won’t know!)
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
I hope all of you who celebrate it have a happy Thanksgiving!
Please pin and share:
Jen
Can you tell me what kind of silken tofu that you use in this – the refrigerated/water packed kind or the aseptic shelf stable? I am newly vegan and have a hard time knowing when to use which.
Thank you for your help!
Susan Voisin
I use the aseptic, Mori-nu brand of silken tofu. Hope you enjoy it!
Jen
This was the hit of my first vegan dinner party! Thank you so much. All of my non-vegan guests were shocked that it had no dairy! Proof that vegan does not mean bland or boring 🙂
Thank you for sharing! It is going on my thanksgiving list.
Frog
This recipe looks great and I’d love to make it for Thanksgiving this year, but due to various travels, anything I make for dinner has to be done ahead. How long does this recipe? Alternatively, do you think I could freeze it and then have the hosts pull it out to thaw that morning? Thanks so much.
Susan Voisin
I’ve never frozen it, so I don’t suggest doing that unless you do a test run before Thanksgiving. It could be made a couple of days ahead, but I hesitate to recommend keeping it any longer than that.
Frog
FYI, I did end up making two of these for our two TDay dinners. I baked them on Tuesday and they were eaten on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Both were fabulous. I can’t say how long leftovers would have lasted because there weren’t any.
The one thing to be aware of is to try to leave it uncovered in the fridge. When it was covered, a lot of condensation formed on top, even though they had been cooled completely. I used a paper towel to carefully soak it up and everything worked out, but in the future, I wouldn’t cover.
Thanks again for the fabulous recipe! I plan to make it again tomorrow for a xmas eve dinner.
Valerie
What crust did u use pls??im excited to do this!!
Susan Voisin
There’s a link to my oatmeal crust in the recipe, or you can use a storebought graham cracker crust.
Stacy
Susan,
Between this recipe and your lemon pie, I am thinking you could come up with an awesome vegan key lime pie. I would be so grateful to you if you did! I thought I’d tasted my last bite of that piece of heaven. If I can find the tofutti, I will try this one in the meantime.
Aimée
I am excited to try this recipe What do you think of date sugar? Can it be substituted in this recipe for either or both the agave syrup and brown sugar? Have you used it in baked goods? I have never used it but I briefly read that it doesn’t dissolve in baked goods like sugar. I also know about buying dates and soaking them in water and using the liquid. Would love to know your thoughts. Thank you!
Susan Voisin
I haven’t used it, and if there’s a chance that it won’t dissolve, I wouldn’t use it in this recipe. It’s supposed to be silky smooth, and I’m afraid date sugar might make it grainy.
Christen M.
I’ve never come across extra-firm silken tofu, just silken tofu soft. If I can’t find it at my local asian market, which should I buy… soft silken tofu or extra-firm regular tofu?
Thanks.
Susan Voisin
I would go with the soft silken if you can’t find firm. Try to drain or press as much water as you can out of it.
Susan Voisin
Also, by silken I mean the Morinu brand in the shelf-stable, aseptic packages, not the water-pack kind that has to be refrigerated. I can’t guarantee good results with other types.
Jenn
I used Nasoya in the water pack, extra firm. It came out perfectly still, I just baked it for an extra 5 minutes. I also just used my blender on puree and liquify (high speed of puree, for literally 30 seconds at the end).
Andrea R
I am wondering if the consistancy is altered at all by using the dry sugar in place of the agave, since one is a dry ingredient and the other wet. Have you made it both ways?
Susan Voisin
I prefer the agave because it is sweeter and it blends in more easily. But I’ve made it with sugar and it does work.
Laura Groves
Do you mean silken or extra-firm tofu?
Laura Groves
Never mind. Please delete. I didn’t read the comments 🙂
Susan Voisin
Glad you found the answer!
Jenn
I just made two of these for the first time. It’s also my first time trying vegan baking. I could live off these. I decided to try something pumpkin pie inspired because it is my favorite around this time of year. This recipe is amazing. A must try.
NadiaNYC
This was absolutely delicious! I used a vegan, gluten free pre made crust the first time, and made my own the second time. Also made some little mini versions in cupcake paper cups. I used the 8oz Daiya tub (original flavor). I also used the Trader Joes high protein firm tofu and had no issue. I have never seen happier non vegans. Thank you so much for this recipe!!
ATSL
Good to know it worked with the high protein firm tofu from Trader Joe’s, thanks for sharing the specific brands you successfully used.
Colleen
This is the best cheesecake ever!! I have made it several times now and have to stop myself from eating the whole thing. The first time I made it, I brought it to a vegan potluck and everyone kept asking me for the recipe. Thank you soooo much Susan!
Karen
My store had silken tofu and it has extra firm, but it doesn’t have extra firm silken. Which one would you recommend in that case?
Susan Voisin
I have only made this with the extra-firm Mori-Nu silken tofu in the shelf-stable box. Maybe someone else has used other kinds of tofu, so you might try checking the comments above.
Kay
I make this every year for Thanksgiving. It is absolutely delicious and so easy to make that my husband who doesn’t normally cook was able to figure it out and make it successfully. Quick question though, I only have firm silken tofu. Should I add extra cornstarch or do you think it will be ok?
Susan Voisin
Firm silken should be fine. I don’t think there’s that big a difference, so I would use the normal amount of cornstarch.
Stacie
This was, by far, the best vegan cheesecake I have ever had! It set up nicely and tasted perfect!!!! Thank you.
Jennfier
Have you had any luck freezing this? (or any vegan cheesecake for that matter)
thank you!
Susan Voisin
Sorry! I haven’t tried. I think it might work, but I wouldn’t test it on a whole cheesecake!
Kindra
How much sugar is in this?
Diane
Love love this cheesecake!! I just wanted to let others know if you can’t find silken tofu use soft tofu instead. I can’t find silken tofu where I live so I use soft tofu every time I make this and it turns out freaking fantastic 🙂
Dawn
I recently made this. At first I was frustrated because I could not find the extra firm silken tofu. Turns out that unlike other tofu, this can be carried on the grocers dry shelf since it does not need to be refrigerated. Also, Keebler was the only graham crust I found that does not have honey as an ingredient.
Results? No one believed that it was vegan. Making another this weekend! Thank you for the fantastic recipe!
kc
When you say ‘half a can of pumpkin’, what size can do you mean? Thanks!
Susan Voisin
15-16 ounces. 😀
kc
oops, just noticed it sasys “cup”, not “can”…
Susan Voisin
Ha! I didn’t even look at the recipe, just went to the pantry to check my cans of pumpkin to see how big they are.
Jen
Thank you for this incredibly delicious recipe! I had a couple omni girlfriends over for lunch and they housed it! I subbed maple syrup for the agave, which was delicious and I didn’t have lemon so I added a few extra drops of vanilla. I made it in my blender and it was as easy as it is tasty. I’m definitely adding this to my thanksgiving table!
Susan
Can you make this with a traditional crust?
Susan Voisin
I don’t see why not. I haven’t tried it, so you probably should look at similar recipes to see whether the crust should be pre-baked or not.
Lacy
Can you use rum extract instead of rum?
Susan Voisin
Yes, but just add a little to taste.
Stephanie
Do you know if this is also gluten free or of a good recipe for pumpkin something that is gluten free and vegan?
Susan Voisin
This should be gluten-free except for the crust. I also have a great gluten-free pumpkin pie that forms its own crust, which you can find here: https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/10/and-answer-is.html
Carissa
I LOVE this recipe so so much! I’ve used it every year for the past 5 or 6 years around the holidays and will probably continue to use it every year for the rest of my life! Thanks Susan!
Colleen
I brought this to work last week and 2 guys asked for the recipe! No one here is vegan. I make this every Thanksgiving and Christmas!!
denise leach
I’ve made your mushroom seitan 3 times now, and it’s become our favorite of all seitans! It’s so forgiving, I’ve somehow mismeasured either dry or wet and had to sprinkle a lot more gluten to get the mix to biscuit dough texture. It was fine. I accidently shut the oven off midway and have no idea how long it baked. It was fine.
I add a good tablespoon of rosemary and thyme because they’re my favorite. Next time I’m going to add diced onions
SO moist and slices thinly with ease. Pair with anything, but for Christmas I made along with vegan scalloped potatoes with took almost as long to bake.
Many thanks for this and so many other wonderful recipes!
Christina
What size pie pan are you using for this? I noticed some folks ended up with extra filling, I wonder if it’s because they’re using a smaller pan? It looks fabulous!!
Hannah
I think I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving!
Do you think it’s be okay to use maple syrup instead of agave?
Susan Voisin
Yes I think it would be great.
Brenda
I would like to put a link to this recipe on my site, along with my own picture of the cheesecake. I saw your note that says, “Ask First,” so I am asking. Have a great day!
Susan Voisin
Thank you for asking! A link is always much appreciated. It’s copying and pasting the entire recipe to another website that I was trying to discourage. I look forward to seeing your photo!
Brenda
This is a delicious recipe! I would like to share it on my blog, with a link to your site. Thank you.
Susan Voisin
As long as you don’t repost the entire recipe, I would be honored to have you link to it here. Thank you!
Nicola
Made this yesterday with the oatmeal crust. Best thing I ever ate that had pumpkin in it. I usually dislike pumpkin pie, but I and my friends loved it.
Nicola
I’ve made this twice now and it’s the only pumpkin pie I’ve ever liked. Love it.
Nicola
And I just noticed that I left a comment here the last time I made it, but forgot!
Heather Clark
I’m very confused. When I look at the pictures, it looks like pumpkin is most of the dessert, but in the instructions, it says it’s only made with 1/2 C of pumpkin for the pumpkin layer. How does this work?
Susan Voisin
It’s more cheesecake than pumpkin. If you look at the ingredients, you’ll see that the cream cheese and tofu make up most of the filling. But pumpkin is dark so it makes the filling darker.
L Annette Jacobs
Looks yummy. Will try soon. Too late for thanksgiving but Christmas is around the corner.
Rebecca Cody
I made the double layer pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving dessert and we love, love, love it. I doubled the lemon juice, to give it a bit more tang. Now I’m thinking I’ll try making a version all from the cheesecake layer, and turn it into a key lime cheesecake by using lime juice – maybe 1/4 cup -and lime zest. I’ll look at my old sinful key lime pie recipe for a bit of further inspiration.
Brenda
Made this for Thanksgiving, and it was PERFECT!! Came out looking JUST like Susan’s photo!! Super yummy!!
katie
How could a half cup of pumpkin be enough?
Anne
I agree. The cheesecake layer almost filled the whole crust. I ended up adding more for about a cup of pumpkin and it still barely made a thin layer on the top of the pie. Cooling now dont know yet how it tastes. Next time i may use a whole can of pumpkin?
Leslie Caza
How does the pumpkin layer in the double layer pie set up firm with not cornstarch or the like?
Susan Voisin
It gets cornstarch when it’s mixed with the cream cheese mixture.
Kelly @ Our Little Organic Life
Have you tried this with gingersnaps for the crust? I’m thinking it will work well with the ginger/lemon combo, but wondered if you had tried it?
Susan Voisin
I haven’t, but it sounds delicious!