What better way to make Mother’s Day, or any day, more special than with these decadent mini vegan cheesecakes. Unlike most baked cheesecakes, these are free of dairy and eggs. And this shortcut recipe uses a delicious new dairy-free find – Treeline Premium New York Style Cashew Cream Cheese!
Mini Vegan Cheesecakes with Dairy-Free New York Style Cream Cheese
Treeline’s new dairy-free cream cheese was love at first taste. The consistency is very creamy and smooth with a finish that tastes pure, buttery, and definitely rich. The flavor is also 100% there – mild, delicate, and both subtly savory and sweet at once.
It’s not a dead-ringer for dairy, but it’s, dare we say, better. And it works perfectly in recipes, like these mini vegan cheesecakes. In fact, it excels in baking since there aren’t any additives.
Treeline Cashew Cheeses Make it Easy to Celebrate Dairy Free
Though they are phenomenal everyday cheeses for personal recipes and snacking, Treeline Cashew Cheeses are dairy-free products worth sharing. We never hesitate to serve them to guests, dairy-free or not, and they actually make quite a beautiful spread. You can pair them with these single-serve mini vegan cheesecakes for a complete dairy-free “cheese” party.
And Treeline Cashew Cheeses fit almost every dietary need. They’re plant-based, vegan, and paleo-friendly with very simple ingredient lists. In fact, their New York Style Cashew Cream Cheese includes just Cashew nuts, filtered water, sea salt, lemon juice, and L. Acidophilus. That’s it! No gluten, soy, gums, thickeners, artificial preservatives, or oils (yes, no coconut or palm oil!).
Treeline products are available in about 3000 stores throughout the U.S. See their Store Locator to find where to buy it. If they aren’t in your local area yet, hang tight! Treeline is launching an online store in a matter of weeks, so they can ship all of their products direct to you.
This post is sponsored by Gardener Cheese Company, but the opinions, ideas, photos, and recipe are all our own. The photos and recipe were crafted by one of our lead recipe creators, Hannah Kaminsky.
Special Diet Notes: Mini Vegan Cheesecakes
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, optionally gluten-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.
- ⅔ cup dairy-free graham cracker crumbs (about 4 to 5 full sheet graham crackers)
- 2 tablespoons dairy-free buttery spread or coconut oil, melted
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 (6-ounce) container Treeline Cashew Cream Cheese
- ½ cup dairy-free vanilla yogurt alternative
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whipped coconut cream, for garnish (recipe below or here)
- Fresh berries, for garnish (optional)
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Set a 12-cup flexible silicone muffin pan on a baking sheet, or line 9 cups with cupcake papers.
- Put the graham cracker crumbs, melted buttery spread or coconut oil, and cinnamon in a medium bowl, and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Divide the graham cracker crumb mixture between 9 muffin cups, about 2 heaping tablespoons in each. Press firmly to evenly smooth the crust into the bottoms.
- Bake for 5 minutes.
- Put the cream cheese, yogurt alternative, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in your blender or food processor. Puree until completely smooth.
- Scrape the filling on top of the partially baked crusts, until each muffin cup is about ¾ of the way to the top. Add a splash of water to any empty muffin tins to create an easy “steam bath,” which will help keep the cakes moist and prevent the tops from cracking.
- Bake for 18 for 20 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers jiggle only a little bit when the pan is tapped.
- Let cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Carefully and gently pop the mini vegan cheesecakes out of the silicone mold or remove the cupcake liners from the tin.
- Top with whipped coconut cream and fresh berries, if desired.
More Details on Treeline Cashew Cheeses
Treeline New York Style Cashew Cream Cheese
Treeline Creamy Soft French-Style Nut Cheeses
Treeline Aged Nut Cheeses
25 Comments
These did not set up for me – is there supposed to be cornstarch in the filling to help it set up? Thanks.
No, there isn’t. What brand of cream cheese and yogurt alternatives did you use? The issue would be with those ingredients specifically.
I loved this recipe! I used the kite hill cream cheese and it turned out wonderfully. I also used ginger snap cookies for the crust which was nice as well. Thanks for this great cheesecake recipe.
Ginger snap sounds delicious!
I loved this recipe! I used the kite hill cream cheese and it tuned out wonderfully. I also used ginger sap cookies for the crust which was nice as well. Thanks for this great df cheesecake recipe, I’ve always loved cheesecake but can’t have it because I am lactose intolerant, and this one tastes just like the real thing!
That’s wonderful! So glad it worked out well for you Caroline.
Hi Alisa, love the combination of flavors and colors.looking healthy filling, and delicious. Will make it today and i hope my sweet family love it. Thanks for sharing.
Will these freeze well (minus the topping)?
They should, but I can’t say for all brands of cream cheese alternative. Some that are more on the emulsification side might not freeze as well. I haven’t tried freezing Daiya, for example (on their website it says not to freeze it). Treeline should freeze well since it’s nut based and doesn’t have any binders or other additives.
I have been looking for a dairy free cream cheese that works well in cheesecake!
This one should do the job Sandi!
I’ve never heard of this brand before. Their products look & sound amazing (as do these cheesecakes!). I’ll definitely be checking them out!
This is definitely one I think you will enjoy Kristen – very wholesome ingredients.
ohhhh Alisa. I’m looking at this on Mother’s Day in the evening, and thinking how much I would haved LOVED to have this! I just found Treeline on a recent shop to the US, and it’s one of my favorite vegan cheeses. Hopefully I’ll score the cream cheese soon!
It should land soon! I hope you had an amazing Mother’s Day Dreena, and that you get to enjoy these cheesecakes soon 🙂
If I can’t find Treeline cream cheese, is there another brand that works? Also, how would I convert this recipe into a regular 9 inch cheesecake? Want to make it for mother’s Day for my mom!
Each brand is made with such different ingredients (own unique tastes and consistencies) that we can’t guarantee the best results without testing them. In theory though, you should be able to use another brand. We haven’t tested this as a full-size cheesecake. I would probably double the recipe, and you might need to adjust the baking time.
The perfect single serve dessert for any occasion! They look delicious!
We think so too. Thanks Erin!
These look so good! Scott is always on the lookout for dairy-free cheesecake recipes that taste like dairy. New York style cheesecakes are his favorite. We’ll have to give these a try.
I think he’ll like these Sarah 🙂
Hi Alisa,
YUM! I love the combination of flavors and colors. Healthy, filling, and delicious. Can’t wait to try this for my kiddos. I know they will love it. What happens if i leave out lemon juice?
The lemon adds flavor, giving it more of that cheesecake light tang.
These are so beautiful! I do have a thing for mini desserts but these are a special kind of special! I’ve already looked for a place to buy Treeline and will definitely pop some in my cart next time I’m out!
Thank you Jules! I’m sure you are going to love Treeline. It’s got great flavor.