Plant-Based Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gluten-Free Pecan Crust

This recipe for plant-based pumpkin cheesecake was posted here exactly seven years ago, to the date. But it became buried in our news archives. So today I’m giving the post a more user-friendly makeover and moving it to a permanent home in our recipe section. It was originally shared with us by my friend and prolific healthy cookbook author, Ali Segersten.

Ali got the idea for this plant-based pumpkin cheesecake from the Lemon Teascake recipe in her cookbook, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. She has since written two more popular books, The Elimination Diet and Nourishing Meals.

For the purest results, Ali makes her own pumpkin puree. But the pumpkin filling from your Jack-o-Lantern won’t be flavorful enough for this decadent, plant-based pumpkin cheesecake. Seek out those little sugar pie pumpkins, which are also abundant this time of year. They are perfect for this recipe, and nothing beats fresh cooked pumpkin puree. Nonetheless, you can substitute canned organic pumpkin in a pinch.

Special Diet Notes: Plant-Based Pumpkin Cheesecake

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.

Plant-Based Pumpkin Cheesecake

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

Serve this wholesome dessert at your next holiday celebration. Warm up some fresh cranberry sauce just before serving for guests to spoon over their slices. But be sure to keep the cheesecake covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Author: Ali Segersten of Nourishing Meals

Serves: 1 (9-inch) dairy-free cheesecake

Ingredients

Gluten-Free Crust:

• 1 cup superfine sorghum flour
• ½ cup arrowroot powder / starch
• ½ cup pecans, finely ground
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• 5 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling:

• ½ cup dry millet
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup cooked, mashed sugar pie pumpkin (can sub organic pumpkin puree)
• ½ cup raw cashews
• ½ cup maple syrup or agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. To make the crust, preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. (Trace the bottom of the pan onto the paper to form the size circle you need, and then cut with a scissors).
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sorghum flour, arrowroot, ground pecans, cinnamon, and sea salt. Add the coconut oil and cut it in with a whisk, your fingers, a fork, or a pastry cutter. Then add water and maple syrup. Quickly mix the dough with a fork and then form it into a ball.
3. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of your prepared spring form pan.
4. Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Let it cool completely.
5. To make the filling, rinse the millet in a fine mesh strainer under running water for a minute. Then place millet and the 2 cups of water into a small pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and cook for about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat.
6. Place the pumpkin, cashews, maple syrup, lemon juice, and spices into a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Then add the cooked millet and blend again, scraping the sides down as needed. Blend until very smooth.
7. Pour the filling into your cooled crust. Spread the top to even out, if needed.
8. Let the cheesecake set at room temperature for about 1 hour. Then cover it and refrigerate until it is completely set, at least 3 hours or overnight.
9. Release the cheesecake from the springform pan and slide it off onto a platter to serve.
10. Optionally serve with this homemade cranberry sauce, which is free of refined sugars (and pictured below!).

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Key Ingredients: Plant-Based Pumpkin Cheesecake