No Bake Caramel Apple Cheesecake

This vegan cheesecake recipe combines the flavors of apple pie and caramel in one delicious easy dessert. I have refined this recipe a lot over the last few years and am finally happy to say that it is (in my biased opinion) the best caramel apple cheesecake recipe!

It's loosely based on my vegan pecan pie cheesecake and vegan banoffee cheesecake recipes, with a creamy filling, no-bake crust, and homemade vegan caramel sauce.

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Jump to:

• 📖 Recipe Overview
• 🍎 Ingredients Needed
• 🥣 How To Make Caramel Apple Cheesecake
• 🍏 Variations
• 💬 FAQs
• Pin
• 🍰 More Vegan Cheesecakes
• No Bake Caramel Apple Cheesecake
•  

📖 Recipe Overview

• Delicious, creamy, and smooth
• Full of apple pie flavor with the creamy tanginess of cheesecake
• Completely eggless and dairy-free
• No-bake and easy to make
• Easily adapted as gluten-free
• A guaranteed hit with vegans and non-vegans alike

🍎 Ingredients Needed

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Ingredient Notes

• Vegan cookies: The easy crust for this apple caramel cheesecake requires store-bought vegan cookies such as gingernuts, Biscoff, digestive biscuits, or vegan graham crackers. You can also add some optional sea salt.
• Pecans: Together with the vegan cookies, pecans form the crust of this recipe. 
• Vegan butter: This binds the base of the cheesecake together as well as giving it a delicious buttery flavor.
• Ground cinnamon: This adds spice and flavor to the gingernut biscuit base of the cheesecake. 
• Vegan cream cheese: I usually use violife, as this is readily available here in Ireland. But you can use any vegan-friendly cream cheese that’s available to you.
• Cashews: These are a common ingredient for vegan cheesecake recipes, and that's because they offer that distinct tangy flavor and creamy consistency found in traditional cheesecakes. Cashews also help to give structure to the filling which is usually found in eggs, they act as a thickening agent when blended with the other ingredients.
• Apple puree: Or unsweetened apple sauce, is what creates a delicious fresh apple flavor for the cheesecake filling. 
• Pure maple syrup: This is what sweetens the filling, you can add less maple syrup if preferred as there is already some sweetness from the apple puree and coconut sugar. 
• Vanilla extract: No cheesecake recipe is complete without this.
• Coconut oil: As it solidifies when chilled, coconut oil helps to set your vegan cheesecake.
• Coconut sugar: A touch of coconut sugar adds a slightly caramelized flavor to the apple cheesecake filling. 
• Apples: I personally prefer red or pink apples for this recipe. The best ones are Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Fuji, and Braeburn.
• You'll also need sweetened condensed coconut milk, brown sugar, vegan butter, and sea salt to make the caramel topping. 

🥣 How To Make Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Step 1: No-bake cookie crust

First up is the cookie crust for your no-bake caramel apple cheesecake. This part is so easy, you'll simply blitz the dry ingredients (cookies, salt, and cinnamon) in a food processor until finely ground. Then add in the vegan butter and blend until the mixture sticks together to form a dough consistency.

Next press the dough into the base of a lined cake tin. You can use a flat bottomed glass or cup measure to flatten it down so it's nice and even. 

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Step 2: Apple cheesecake filling

For the vegan cheesecake filling, you'll need to soak the cashews to soften them. I go into more detail about the reasons for this in this guide to vegan cheesecakes. Add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blitz until smooth and creamy.

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Transfer the mixture to the cake tin and tap the tin on the counter to knock out any air bubbles. Place in the freezer to set for at least 4 hours or overnight if possible.

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Step 3: Vegan caramel sauce

The caramel sauce for this cheesecake is based on the caramel sauce in my vegan banoffee cheesecake recipe. 

Simply add all of the caramel ingredients to a saucepan (sweetened condensed coconut milk, brown sugar, vegan butter, and sea salt) and simmer on medium heat whilst stirring. Place your candy thermometer in the caramel and stop stirring. Continue to simmer until the caramel sauce reaches 105°C (221°F).

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Step 4: Sauteed apple topping

While the caramel is cooling to room temperature, prepare the apple topping for the cheesecake. Melt together the sugar and vegan butter and gently cook the apple slices for a few minutes. You want the apples to be slightly softened but not mushy.

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Step 5: Assembling the cheesecake 

Pour the caramel sauce on top of the cake, you can reserve some to serve alongside your cheesecake. Arrange the sauteed apple slices on top of the caramel and top with chopped pecans. 

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🍏 Variations

• Apple puree: If you don't have access to apple puree or sauce, you can make your own homemade unsweetened apple sauce. 
• Sweetened condensed coconut milk: You can also use vegan sweetened condensed oat milk.
• Gluten-free option: Swap out the biscuits for gluten-free cookies or with more pecan nuts.
• Vegan cream cheese: This can be swapped out for coconut milk. Use full-fat canned coconut milk that’s been refrigerated overnight and use only the thick part from the top of the cans.
• Refined sugar-free caramel: To make a slightly healthier vegan caramel sauce, simply blend the following ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth (5 pitted Medjool dates, ⅓ cup maple syrup, ⅓ cup cashew butter, and ½ tsp sea salt).

💬 FAQs

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🍰 More Vegan Cheesecakes

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