This vegan gingerbread cheesecake is the perfect impressive dessert for your Christmas parties! Made with just 6 healthy ingredients, gluten free, and fruit sweetened.
Happy Friday, friends! We’re already at the end of gingerbread week, and we’re going out with a bang. A rich, indulgent, creamy, cheesecake bang.
Before we talk vegan gingerbread cheesecake, let’s recap. If you missed the two previous recipes from this week, we’ve been totally focused on gingerbread, the QUEEN of all Christmas flavors. Step aside, hot cocoa, sugar cookie, and mint (GROSS), gingerbread will forever reign supreme for holiday baking.
We started gingerbread week with rich, ooey gooey chocolate chip gingerbread bars. So easy to throw together, but still so sweet and satisfying. Plus, the gingerbread + chocolate combination will seriously blow your mind. Next, of course we had to do vegan gingerbread cookies. These cute little guys are a Christmas eve tradition for us and I couldn’t be happier to have a go to, reliable, delicious recipe. Sweet, spiced, and so fun to decorate with whatever your lil heart desires!
Which brings us to our final recipe for gingerbread week, vegan gingerbread cheesecake. Talk about a mic drop. Spatula drop? I freaking LOVE vegan cheesecakes. They’re really easy, with no baking required, and they come out so luscious, rich, and creamy, every time. Plus, they’re so pretty and impressive, making them a great option for holiday parties.
Ingredients for vegan gingerbread cheesecake
- Raw almonds: raw almonds are the base of the crust for the cheesecake, and they’re super nutrient-dense and a great healthy fat source.
- Medjool dates: dates give both the crust and the filling sticky, caramel-like, totally natural fruit sweetness.
- Raw cashews: you’ll soak the cashews in water which helps them blend into a super lush, rich and creamy filling.
- Pumpkin pie spice + ground ginger: these spices help bring out the classic gingerbread flavors.
- Blackstrap molasses: molasses is a must for anything gingerbread.
- Water: a bit of water helps blend all the filling ingredients together.
Tips for making vegan gingerbread cheesecake
- Start with the crust, then move on to the filling. First you’ll blend the almonds and dates in the food processor, and press that slightly crumbly, sticky mixture into the lined pan, and freeze. Then, you’ll rinse the food processor and then blend the filling ingredients until smooth and creamy. Spread the filling on top of the crust, and then freeze again to set.
- Be mindful of the filling amount. If you’re using a standard food processor, this will be a lot of stuff in there at once. If you’re worried that it’ll be too full, split all the filling ingredients in half, and blend twice. More work, yes, but at least it won’t be a mess from overdoing it if you have a smaller blender/food processor.
- Freeze overnight to set. Freezing makes for easier slicing when you want to serve. I’d make sure to freeze it at least 4-6 hours before attempting to slice, so plan accordingly depending on when you want to serve. Take it out 20 minutes before you want to eat so that it can soften up again.
I decorated my vegan gingerbread cheesecake with a few gingerbread men, which I absolutely loved the look of. But it’d be fine all on its own! You could also get some vegan whipped cream (which comes in those canisters now, SO cool), or even drizzle it with a bit of vegan yogurt or chocolate! So many delicious options.
This cheesecake is out of control rich, creamy, and so decadent. The gingerbread flavor is super powerful, in the best way. The sweet, cookie-like crust, topped with the lush cheesecake is so satisfying. This is Christmas in a slice of cheesecake.
Drooooooooling.
Xo,
Sara
Vegan Gingerbread Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups raw almonds
- 15 medjool dates
Filling
- 2 cups raw cashews, set in a bowl of water to soak for at least 2 hours, then drained
- 15 medjool dates
- 1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Combine the crust ingredients in the food processor for about 5 minutes, until it's slightly sticky and crumbly.
- Press the crust into the bottom of a springform pan, and set in the freezer to chill while you make the filling.
- To make the filling, put the cashews, dates, spices, molasses, and water in the food processor and mix until totally smooth and creamy. It should take about 5-10 minutes, and you may need to stop and scrape down the sides halfway through to make sure everything is incorporated.
- Pour the filling on top of the crust and put it back in the freezer to set overnight so that the slices are easier to cut when serving.
- Before serving, set the cheesecake out at room temperature for about 15 minutes so it can soften up a bit. The crust is delicate and may crumble a bit, so just be careful when cutting. The first slice is always the most difficult, so if that one's a bit messy the rest will be easier.
- Store leftovers in the fridge or freezer.
