Vegan Cinnamon Coconut New York Style Cheesecake. This cheesecake is dairy-free, oil-free, gluten-free and to die for. It is creamy, rich, smooth and made with only 8 ingredients!
Ah, New York style cheesecake. One of the best desserts known to man….and to my tummy. I knew I needed to create a vegan one. This is the easiest Vegan New York Style Cheesecake ever. You don’t even need an appliance to make this! No soaking cashews, no freezing, nothing.
First, I have exciting news I’ve been dying to share with you all! The Vegan 8 had it’s first magazine feature….an international magazine feature, that is! My blog and 2 of my recipes were featured in the popular Vegan Health & Fitness Magazine in the May/June issue, with Jason Wrobel on the cover. If there was ever a featured I’d want to be in, it is with him on the cover! He is amazing and the first vegan chef to have his own cooking show on the Cooking Channel.
To say I was excited, would be an understatement. My blog is featured on pg 64 in Nutrition expert, Monica Parodi’s column, and my recipes are full page on pages 66-67!
You can purchase one at Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods, Sprouts, etc.
Now, back to this Vegan New York style cheesecake….the firm, dense, yet somehow fluffy texture you get in a New York style cheesecake, is what I love so much. This vegan cheesecake is nut-free, oil-free, tofu-free, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free.
VEGAN CHEESECAKE MADE WITH COCONUT BUTTER
No cashews, oil or tofu in this baby, like you typically see in vegan cheesecakes/desserts. Coconut butter is the secret ingredient to this wonderful creation. Note, it is NOT the same thing as coconut oil. Coconut butter is the whole coconut meat shredded and processed into silky smooth butter, whereas coconut oil is just the fat separated and just taste like greasy oil. Do not use oil in this, it will not give the same result, at all. I make my own coconut butter, super easy and fast.
One of my most popular desserts on my blog is my Raw Vegan Cinnamon Spice Cheesecake Tart (the one featured in the mag). It is absolutely delicious and incredibly easy to make. It requires several hours freezing time though. I wanted to create another totally different version that didn’t require any freezing and it also be NUT-FREE!
WHY I LOVE COCONUT BUTTER
If you haven’t noticed after following my blog for awhile (or are new to it), I love coconut butter. My 3 Ingredient Fudge is made with it and it has been a huge hit. It gives so much more flavor than just coconut oil and is much less greasy. It also is a secret ingredient to how I made the perfect brownie .
This Vegan New York Vegan Cheesecake tastes like a baked one and the crust is a hefty, oat crust with flavors from coconut butter, cinnamon and maple syrup. I wanted a nut-free crust and I have to say, I LOVED the oat crust/coconut butter combo because it didn’t taste raw…like the nut-based ones do.
It is different than a traditional French style cheesecake that is more creamy and light. I love that too, but this one is fantastic and is the same kind of texture of the dairy-filled cinnamon cheesecake I used to make on holidays or for friends, but contained dairy and eggs!
Can’t wait to hear what you think of this Vegan New York Style Cheesecake! Leave me feedback below after you make it!
Other Vegan Cheesecakes:
Cinnamon Coconut New York Style Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) fine oat flour use gluten-free if needed
- 4 1/2 tablespoons (90g) pure maple syrup or agave
- 3 tablespoons (45g) melted liquid coconut butter, NOT coconut oil!
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (23g) apple juice or water
- 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Cake
- 1 cup (240g) melted liquid coconut butter, NOT coconut oil!
- 3/4 cup (180g) coconut milk, room temp
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) pure maple syrup or agave, room temp
- 2 tablespoons (30g) fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons (10g) pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
NOTE
- As noted above, it is crucial that the liquid ingredients are all at room temperature when adding to the melted coconut butter for the cake. Otherwise, the coconut butter will sieze up if the liquids are cold. Also, coconut butter is not the same thing as coconut oil. Coconut butter is dried coconut that is processed into a liquid, whereas coconut oil is just the fat extracted, and will not give the same texture result.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- First, prepare the crust by adding the oats to a food processor (or use storebought oat flour) and process into a fine flour. I add 2 cups of oats and process for 2 minutes until it is finely ground. Measure out 1 1/2 cups and add to a bowl.
- Add the remaining "crust" ingredients and stir until a crumbly, wet texture forms. Line an 8 inch cake pan with plastic wrap, with it hanging over the sides. You can spray the pan first with nonstick spray and the plastic wrap will hold in place. (8 inch is best for a taller cake) Press the dough into the bottom of the lined cake pan, evenly and flat around to the edges. Place in the fridge.
- To prepare the cake, melt your coconut butter to a complete liquid if it is hardened. If using a new jar, the oil tends to separate from the coconut meat, so you must gently warm it up, remove the lid and heat in the microwave (15-30 seconds). I prefer to empty the jar into another large glass container, stir well until thoroughly mixed and store it this way. Heat a few more seconds as needed just until it's soft enough to stir until it fully melts. As you stir, the heat will melt it. It is important that it is a runny liquid when measuring, so the right texture is achieved. If using a batch you've used before, just gently melt in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, stir and heat again for a few seconds at a time until completely smooth and runny. Be careful about overheating it or it can burn. Make sure to measure it out at 1 cup after melted. Set aside.
- In a food processor, add the milk, syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and blend until smooth. Add the cinnamon and salt. Now, pour in the melted coconut butter and blend until completely smooth and thick like cake batter. Pour the batter into the prepared crust and place in the fridge to completely set. 1-2 hours should do it.
- Once set, just pull the cake out with the plastic wrap and slice. Top with coconut cream, cinnamon and strawberries, if desired. Keep cake stored in the fridge covered and it will retain the perfect shape that way.
This looks DELICIOUS! I can’t wait to make it sometime. Yummmm!
I’ve just made this but I forgot to re measure the coconut butter after I melted it so I think this is why it ended up with too much liquid in the middle! 🙁 it’s still nice though and I’m definitely keen to try it again! Thank you! 🙂
Lauren
Gahh BRANDI!!! I really need to make one of your amazing looking desserts soon–your recipes are all so unbelievably healthy and they look so stunning!! Q: do you usually buy coconut butter online or do you have a fav place in Houston to purchase this magical ingredient? 🙂
Thank you Erika!! I actually make my own…I provide the link and photo above in the post 🙂 It’s so ridiculously easy, just buy shredded undessicated coconut and process in food processor…here is my link to how I make it. https://thevegan8.com/2013/10/14/homemade-coconut-butter/
Congrats!!! Omg I luved this and will be making it again!!!
Wonderful Tiffany! I’m so glad you loved it! Thanks so much for letting me know!
This looks great! Love the pictures!
Thanks so much Megan!
Brandi, you are aaaaamazing! I’m always so impressed….no floored by your amazing recipes. I’m not surprised at all that you were featured in that magazine! Congrats. I’m sure that was so so so exciting! You are an amazing blogger, recipe developer and business woman. I’m so inspired by you!!!
I SERIOUSLY want to fill a pool with that cinnamon vanilla scrumptiousness and DIVE HEAD FIRST IN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WITH A SPOON! LOL!
You are such an inspiration with your creative and yummy 8 ingredients recipe! Congratulations on your magazine feature, Brandi!! Looking forward to more delicious recipes and exciting news from you! 🙂
Violet, you are a sweetheart! Thank you so very much for your kind words 🙂
Wow, this is a wonderful day for you and such great news!! You deserve to be in a magazine, your recipes are so yummy and the photographs are so professional looking! Congratulations!! I will look to see if we have that magazine in Canada, this would be a great one for me to pick up.. especially with your recipes in it! I love the look of this cheesecake, it’s incredible how it’s made with so few ingredients! xx
Thank you so much Barb! I really appreciate that! It is all so exciting to me and even more exciting that they loved my photos enough to use them in the magazine! The cheesecake has gotten wonderful feedback on Facebook and Instagram from others making it, so I hope you get a chance to make it, nobody would ever know it’s vegan, trust me! 🙂
I am SO excited for your magazine feature, that is HUGE!! Congratulations, you’ve earned it!! I feel like I am blog friends with a celebrity! ;). This cheesecake..HOMGAAH. It’s funny, before going vegan I wasn’t a cheesecake fan, but vegan cheesecake is life changing!
Thank you so much Brittany, my friend!! I’m super excited!! LOL, no celebrity girl, I’m just a blogger obsessed with yummy vegan food is all 🙂
Oh my gosh Brandi, CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is so awesome!!! Ah, I want to get hold of that magazine now, I hadn’t heard of Jason Wrobel either (as I don’t have pay tv, sob) but he sounds pretty inspirational! I definitely want to try this gorgeous NY style cheesecake. The filling ingredients sound divine! Hope that this is the start of many more amazing things to come for you and the Vegan 8. You create wonderfully achievable, delicious recipes that demonstrate the fact that healthy eating and veganism doesn’t need to be overly complicated (contrary to popular belief… it continually amazes me when people say that they ‘don’t have time’ to eat well!). Love it xxx
You are so incredibly sweet Laura!! Yes, Jason is not only incredibly talented and have amazing recipes, but he is one hilarious dude! I have 2 favorite people I watch on tv, that would be him and Giada…I have been watching Giada for YEARS and even though she doesn’t hardly ever make vegan food, she is a real talent and totally inspires me in so many ways. You HAVE to try this…you will never know it’s vegan..it is rich and very, very filling. I love what you said too, “contrary to popular belief”, you are so right, there ARE lots of long, drawn out vegan recipes out there, but I just try to keep it as simple as possible and honestly, the recipes I make now are 10 billion times easier and tastier than before when I didn’t cook vegan, haha!
Oh WOW! I made this yesterday and it so totally rocks! I made my own coconut butter (who knew?!) and it’s lovely. I have a feeling that these leftovers won’t last long 🙂 Thanks, Brandi!
Thanks a million for the feedback Courtney, you made my day! So glad you loved it! Whoop! I admit, it’s my favorite cheesecake too now and I can’t wait to make other flavors now, stay tuned 🙂
Woohoo! Can’t wait for the variations 🙂
Okay, since you’re a creative genius! I challenge you to a GiGi-Approved Recipe Creation!!!
No wheat, dairy, gluten, sugar (including honey, syrups, etc), soy, nuts, fruit or eggs –
And GO! LMFAO!
Haha Gigi you are so funny! Ok, you are ON, girl! That’s a toughy though, I don’t use refined sugar, but I do use syrup….no fruit either??? Fruit is exceptionally healthy though! That really only leaves stevia then right? You use stevia if I remember correctly, right?
Yep, no syrups and no fruit – Fruit is healthy, yes, but I cannot eat sugar… And fruit is pretty much all sugar with some vitamins mixed in! I can have stevia, xylitol, erythritol… That’s pretty much it!! I can eat winter squashes too though – those are very low sugar fruits that my stomach does alright with in moderation!
Awesome, I will see what I can come up with 🙂
Oh my gosh! You just made my night. Finding a cheesecake recipe that is vegan but without nuts or soy being the primary ingredients seemed impossible. I cannot wait to try this!!!
Thank you so much Sheelagh! I agree 100%!! They all have nuts or tofu or GOBS of oil…..not this one! I can’t wait to hear what you think, please let me know!
This looks really good! I just discovered vegan cheesecake and will try this recipe!
Thank you Megan, I can’t wait to hear what you think of it!
Oh MY!!! You were so right when you said I would love this!! You know coconut butter is my LIFE! Getting ridiculously excited here.
And that oaty crust sounds super yummy too.
Aaaand, huge congratulations on the magazine feature. Sadly I can’t get that magazine here or I would totally be snapping up a copy.
I know, I was thinking of you when I was writing it up girl!! I’m a huge fan of coconut butter too, since I don’t use oil….tastes SO much better too 🙂 I really hope you get a chance to make it! The crust is my favorite crust so far, because it doesn’t taste raw and I love the flavor of oats.
Do you know if it can be frozen? I have a few of the girls over Fri night but don’t think we’ll be able to eat a whole cheesecake!
Sure, I don’t see why not, you would just have to thaw it of course to soften some before eating it. I wouldn’t freeze it the first time before serving it though, since the texture is best after setting up in the fridge, but I’m assuming you are referencing to what you girls don’t finish that night and freezing the leftovers, haha. I can’t wait to hear what you think! 🙂
Exactly. The leftovers will be for me so it doesn’t matter if they’re not as perfect 😉 Can’t wait for Fri now- hope everyone enjoys it.
Awesome! I can’t wait to hear. I hope it’s a big success like it was with my taste testers! Thanks so much Emma! xx
Holy moly Brandi, this was just as good as I’d hoped. Probably the best vegan cheesecake I’ve ever had. Seriously! My pals went crazy for it too.
Definitely going to be trying out some flavour variations.
Emma you MADE MY DAY girl!! Not only am I thrilled that it exceeded your hopes and expectations, but you sharing your GORGEOUS picture of it on Instagram was so sweet and really increased my followers! I cannot WAIT to make a chocolate version and God knows what else pops in my head, haha! I need to make your hummus bites…they’ve been calling my name all week. 🙂
I can totally understand how excited you feel about your feature in a magazine – and you should be proud! Great job, girl!
Thank you so much Annie!! xx
Congratulations on the feature Brandi! i love that the cheesecake is full of coconut goodness and not cups of cashews!! and i heart cinnamon vanilla anything and everything!
Thank you so much Richa! Yeah-I actually do not like a strong cashew flavor, it has to be covered up really well, and my hubby can’t have them, so this cheesecake idea was a must and the best I’ve made thus far. The easiest by far too, no Vitamix needed, no soaking nuts!
Brandi, you are SUCH a rock star!!!!!!! Congrats on the magazine feature–that’s so, so exciting!!!! You totally deserve it because this new blog focus of yours is totally genius and I know how much hard work you put into every single aspect of it–from the design to the amazing recipes. I have yet to buy coconut butter, sadly, but once I do I will definitely be trying this!! In the meantime, I’m really curious to try this raw oat crust! Thank goodness for the raw part because I will not be doing any baking this summer 🙁
Thank you so much Erika, you are just the sweetest EVER!! I appreciate all the compliments! Girl, you can make your own coconut butter if you don’t want to buy it or order it, seriously, just add shredded coconut to a food processor and run it for a few minutes until it’s liquid, that’s it! Oh, and the crust is way better to me than the nuts kind…the oats combined with coconut butter makes it firm and setup like a baked crust. The entire thing doesn’t taste like a raw dessert to me at all because of the texture. 🙂
Congratulations Brandi, I can’t say I am surprised because I am not. I knew you were destined for greatness. From the very beginning I had a feeling I would be seeing you in magazines or in the book store. The cheesecake is wonderful as are all of your recipes.
I tried to sign up but it did not send me a confirmation email, I followed you through wordpress, Not sure what to do about that, I tried it 3 times and each time the message is that I need to confirm through an email which I never got, it isn’t in spam or junk folder either,
Scratch that comment, the email was delayed. I confirmed.
Glad you got it, thank you Suzanne!
You have always been the biggest supporter from day 1 Suzanne and that means SO much to me, you have no idea!! I appreciate all of your kind words more than you know! It is super exciting, I must say. The cheesecake tastes super rich….does not taste vegan at all!
Brandi, congratulations on being feature in the magazine! Skweeeeeee – I’m so excited for you! You deserve the recognition, lady. Your blog is amazing. I must admit – I don’t follow many healthy blogs but I keep coming here because I think you’re incredible and everything you make knocks me off my chair. Like this cheesecake – it looks just as rich ‘n creamy ‘n indulgent as normal cheesecake but I CAN’T believe it’s made with those simple, good for you ingredients! Another admission: healthy versions of dessert kind of freak me out because I am so used to the traditional full-fat full-gluten recipes. I have a huge stack of your recipes that I’ve printed out because I want to try them and this one is going to the top of the pile. You’ll be the first person to ever inspire me to try a good-for-me recipe and I thank you. Keep doin’ what you’re doin’, girl!
Nancy, you just rock sister!! That means SO MUCH that you keep following my blog. Thank you very, very much. I swear on my life, this cheesecake does NOT taste healthy…honestly, it is high calorie and very rich, so yeah, it tastes just like a cream cheese filled one. I only eat a few bites at a time, not a whole slice. You seriously should try it, if you like coconut butter, I think you would be pleasantly surprised! 🙂
Pinning♡♡
Congratulations on the magazine spread! that is absolutely amazing but well deserved. Waiting to here you say you have created your first cookbook too….;-)
Love this recipe – looks devine
Aww thank you Cindy!! Hope so, one day!
Congrats on your magazine feature! That’s so exciting! 🙂
This cheesecake looks YUMMY! Pinning to make it later.
Thank you so much Meredith! I hope you love it.