I’ve had some good vegan cheesecake before, but virtually every recipe I’ve ever come across has used Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese. As this stuff is up there on the processed scale, I’ve been searching high and low for a Tofutti-Free recipe.

At first I tried this one from the Seitan is My Motor blog, but for the life of me I could NOT get my yogurt to strain. I poured it into a cheese cloth placed in a strainer…a day later nothing whatsoever had strained out and it was the same consistency. No idea if I’m doing something wrong or if Silk Live soy yogurt is just a freak of nature. There is no yogurt cheese in my future, it seems. Needless to say, after some intense Googling, I finally came up with my own recipe.

Tofutti-Free Vegan Cheesecake

A vegan cheesecake recipe without any processed vegan cream cheese necessary!

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust or make your own (depends how lazy I am)
  • 2 16 ounce packages medium to extra-firm tofu tofu (silken, if you can find it...I can't)
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 tbsp. grated lemon zest
  • 2 tbsp. almond butter or tahini
  • 1 tsp. almond extract
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 4 tbsp. soymilk

Instructions
 

  • Prepare graham cracker crust according to instructions.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
  • In your food processor, combine remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth.
  • Pour into pie crust and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Cool and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled and firm, at least two hours. This tastes better every day it sits, so I recommend letting it chill overnight before eating. Easy peasey.

I’ve tried adding some cashews and vanilla extract. I didn’t notice a difference with the cashews, but like the almond extract much more than the vanilla. I plan to play around with sweetners more, as I’d prefer to use something healthier than plain white sugar. If you try something different that works, let me know!

For a topping, try a mixture of your favorite berries, mixed with some agave nectar, lemon juice and your favorite jam simmered on the stove until most of the water has evaporated. Mmmm.

Another slice!
…aaaand the whole cheesecake from the spring-form pan!