Dairy-free cheesecake seems like an impossible task, but this recipe came out so creamy and delicious, I plan on making this for my next holiday! The addition of chickpeas gives this cake a velvety texture, but you would never know they are in there.

I also used the technique I learned from Americas’s Test Kitchen for their Foolproof Cheesecake, and the same technique worked beautifully here to create a suede-like texture. It calls for baking the cake at a low temperature for several hours and then blasting it with heat to create a souffle effect. I tried this technique with a cup of chickpea brine instead of the eggs and it worked just as well.

This recipe is going to need 12 hours because it will need to chill, so it should be made 24 hours in advance. Dazzle your guests with this amazing Dairy-free cheesecake!

Dairy-Free Cheesecake

Cook Time

3 1/2 hours

Servings

servings

Ingredients

Crust

1 cup medjool dates soaked
3/4 cup walnuts
3/4 cup rolled oats
pinch salt

Filling

1 cup chickpeas drained
2 cups cashews soaked 4 hours or overnight
1 can full fat coconut milk
6 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup raw honey

Cook Time

3 1/2 hours

Servings

servings

Ingredients

Crust

1 cup medjool dates soaked
3/4 cup walnuts
3/4 cup rolled oats
pinch salt

Filling

1 cup chickpeas drained
2 cups cashews soaked 4 hours or overnight
1 can full fat coconut milk
6 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup raw honey

Instructions

Crust

Grease a springform pan with coconut oil. Line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper and then lock it into the pan.
Process all crust ingredients in a food processor into a fine sticky crumble. Press into the greased pan and form an even crust on the bottom with your hands. Set aside.

Filling

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. (An oven thermometer is helpful to maintain this low temp.)
Mix all filling ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor.
Pour the filling through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl. Use a rubber spatula to push it through and filter out any unprocessed bits.
Pour filling into crust and let set for 10 minutes to allow any air bubbles to rise to the surface. After 10 minutes, run a fork gently over the top to pop the bubbles.
Bake the cheesecake on the lower rack for 3 hours until set. Remove the cake from the oven and raise the temperature to 500 degrees. Return the cake to the oven and bake for an additional 4-8 minutes until it is evenly browned.
Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a small knife between the cake and the pan. Continue to cool another 3 hours. Wrap with parchment and refrigerate overnight until cold and set.
To unmold cheesecake, remove the sides of the pan. Slide a large spatula under the cake and remove the parchment. Transfer the cake to a serving plate.