I am very excited to finally be sharing one of my most famous family recipes, creamy cranberry orange cheesecake!  

This cheesecake has been adapted from a family recipe that has been passed down for generations.  

What makes this cheesecake incredibly unique is it’s creamy and luxurious texture, paired with a graham cracker crust.  This recipe can be made into many variations but my absolute favorite this time of year is the cranberry orange variation!  It is phenomenal.

Why this recipe is Famous

Growing up, we would serve this cheesecake at almost every single party, dinner party, birthday etc!  

It was always such a hit that everyone would leave asking for the recipe.  It was one of those recipes that was so delicious and so unique that it became addicting.  

I recipe tested this variation to be gluten free and dairy free (vegan) for years until I finally nailed it.  I’m very happy to report it tastes exactly like the original version but this one is actually healthy, made without any refined sugar as well.

How To Make the Perfect Cheesecake Without Dairy

Perfecting this recipe certainly took some time and lots of testing to find the perfect balance.  To mimic dairy I find it best to create the perfect ratio of creamy, sweet and a touch of acidity.  

Using a base of vegan cream cheese for this cranberry orange cheesecake make it very authentic but cheesecake has a higher ratio of fat.  Good thing is since this recipe is dairy free and using whole food products the fats are coming from healthier sources like nuts.  

I recommend this brand for this recipe as it seems to be the most similar to the taste and texture of the Philadelphia cream cheese I originally used in the non-vegan variation. 

Adding things like plain vegan yogurt and lemon juice provides the acidity factor that you get with dairy.

What You Need for This Cranberry Orange Cheesecake:

• Plain vegan cream cheese

• plain vegan yogurt (I like this Kite Hill one or this Culina one best)

• coconut cream (from the can, I love this Thai Kitchen one)

• maple syrup (my favorite alternative to refined sugar and works great in this recipe)

• coconut sugar (this is sort of a secret ingredient that provides a richness and depth of flavor the cheesecake)

• arrowroot starch (a little helps to thicken the filling)

• vanilla extract 

• lemon juice

• zest of an orange

• Simple Mills toasted pecan cookies (gluten free and vegan and my favorite find to mimic graham crackers!)

• vegan butter (Miyokos is my favorite vegan butter I’ve used because of the taste and ingredients)

• cranberry sauce (this transforms into a delicious topping and it’s not very tart just FYI)

FAQs

Can I make this recipe with frozen cranberries?

Yes, you can make the cranberry sauce using frozen cranberries, just allow them to thaw first.

LOOKING FOR MORE RECIPES LIKE THIS?  

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Creamy Cranberry Orange Cheesecake (vegan, gf)

Justine Colbert

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 people

Equipment

• Blender
• 1 spring form pan

Ingredients

  

Graham Cracker Crust:

• 1 package Toasted pecan almond flour cookies Simple Mills brand, linked above
• 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
• 1/4 cup fine almond flour

Cheesecake Filling:

• 3 8 oz. plain cream cheese packages, dairy free I used Kite Hill brand for this
• 1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt I used Kite Hill and Culina brands for this
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1/2 cup + 3 tbs maple syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp arrowroot starch also known as arrowroot flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 orange, zested

Cranberry Sauce Puree

• 1 1/4 cup cranberry sauce find my easy homemade cranberry sauce linked above
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions

 

• Start by making your cranberry sauce puree. Combining cranberry sauce with maple syrup to a personal blender and blend until smooth and set aside. *You can find my easy homemade cranberry sauce recipe linked above*
• To a food processor, add in cookies and almond flour and pulse until it becomes very fine crumbs.
• Transfer to a bowl and add in melted vegan butter and mix together until well combined.
• Place crust mixture into a springform pan lined with parchment paper (it should come with parchment paper pieces) use your hands to press down until the crust is formed evenly on the bottom of the pan and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• To a blender, add all the cheesecake filling ingredients and blend until very smooth. You can stop as you go to check the consistency and use a spoon to push down ingredients (with machine off) if needed to make sure the filling is smooth and not lumpy.
• Pour the filling mixture onto the crust of the springform pan.
• Bake for 45 minutes and remove from the oven to cool.
• Once cooled, top with a cranberry sauce purée and place into the fridge to chill for several hours or overnight before serving.

Keyword cheesecake, cranberry orange cheesecake, creamy vegan dressing, dairy free, gluten free, vegan cheesecake

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