Leading up to last Christmas, me and my boyfriend had been constantly dreaming and talking about creating a dairy free eggnog cheesecake recipe. Who doesn’t need a good healthy cheesecake recipe in their life?

To prepare, we did a decent amount of googling to see what was out there already for dairy free eggnog cheesecake recipes and sadly there wasn’t much.

So we figured we would start with a regular eggnog cheesecake recipe and swap everything out that had gluten or dairy. It was a bit of a shot in the dark whether it would work the same or not, but it appears to have turned out just fine! In fact, it turned out friggin’ amazing.

Product brands I recommend for this recipe

For consistency and for the best end result, these are the product brands that I recommend using for this dairy free eggnog cheesecake recipe. However, if you can’t find these specific ingredients, I suggest some alternatives below in the recipe substitutions for variations section.

• So Delicious holiday nog (vegan and dairy free eggnog) 
• Wholesome organic golden sugar
• Earth Island (Follow Your Heart) dairy free cream cheese
• Kinnikinnick gluten-free graham cracker crumbs
• Earth Balance soy free vegan butter
• Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour

Recipe substitutions or variations 

Vegan eggnog: if you aren’t able to get So Delicious Holiday Nog (which is made from coconut milk), you can substitute it directly for Califia Farms Holiday Nog (which is made from almond milk).

Vegan cream cheese: if you aren’t able to get Earth Island (Follow Your Heart) cream cheese, you can substitute it for Violife cream cheese or Tofutti cream cheese as well. Just keep in mind that swapping out the cream cheese could create differences in the consistency of the end product.

Organic golden sugar: you can also use regular white table sugar, granulated cane sugar or coconut palm sugar.

Gluten-free flour: you can also use any other brand of gluten-free flour blend, or even just straight rice flour or cassava flour.

Gluten free graham cracker crumbs: you can use any other brand of gluten-free graham cracker crumbs, or if you are not intolerant or allergic to gluten you could also use regular graham cracker crumbs made with wheat flour. If you can’t find the crumbs but you can find the crackers, you can crumble them yourself.

Vegan butter: you could substitute this for any other vegan butter alternative or spread. I have only tested this recipe though with oil-based butter alternatives, so I can’t say whether a cashew or nut based vegan butter would work with this recipe. Let me know though if you try it!

Recipe pairing ideas 

This eggnog cheesecake recipe is absolutely fantastic on its own, but if you want to add some additional flavour and garnish, I recommend topping it with:

Whipped coconut cream (by So Delicious): don’t feel like you have to get fancy and pipe it onto your cheesecake (although you could if you have the time and desire to!). Simply scoop some on top right before serving. It comes frozen, so make sure to thaw it ahead of time. Or, if you like it similar to an ice cream consistency (it’s also super good like that!), you could serve this coconut whipped cream frozen on top of your cheesecake.

Fresh ground nutmeg (or dried): If you have whole nutmeg, you can grate a little bit onto the top of the cheesecake for garnish and extra flavour. If you don’t have whole nutmeg, ground nutmeg looks and tastes great as well!

Recipe FAQs

Can this recipe be made vegan?

You can make this cheesecake vegan by omitting the two eggs and adding the equivalent of two egg replacements. I haven’t tested this out though, so if you try it let me know! 

If you prefer to stick to a tried and tested vegan recipe, try this vegan eggnog cheesecake recipe by Addicted to Dates. It looks amazing and the photos are absolutely gorgeous. 

Should it still jiggly after baking it for the recommended cooking time?

Yes, after at least 1 ½ to 1 ¾ of an hour baking time, this dairy free cheesecake is fully cooked through and done, even though it is still going to be a bit jiggly. This is normal. After you have cooled the cheesecake on the counter for at least one hour, it will harden up on its own. After refrigerating it for serving, it will get even more firm.

Does this cheesecake freeze well?

This cheesecake freezes very well. Just make sure that you take it out of the freezer and keep it in the fridge for at least 12 to 24 hours before serving. Serve chilled.

Do I have to use a springform pan?

You can use a different baking dish for this cheesecake recipe if you don’t have a springform pan, however just be aware that your end product won’t look as clean and neat when you serve it. The springform pan is really what allows the cake to maintain its shape after the outer sides of the pan have been removed.

Can you cut and serve it before it’s fully chilled?

I don’t recommend cutting and serving this cheesecake before it has had ample time to cool on the counter and then in the fridge. Because it hardens up as it cools, cutting it prematurely will mean making a bit of a mess of the cheesecake. I can tell you this from experience haha!

If it’s just you eating it and you don’t care, then giver! But if you are serving it to guests, you might want to wait. 😆

Do I have to wrap the springform pan in tin foil?

Wrapping your springform pan in tinfoil is a really important step and prevents the butter in the cheesecake crust from dripping onto the bottom of your oven and creating smoke.

After you have completely baked it though, you can remove the tinfoil and place the pan on a cooling rack on your counter with some fresh tin foil or parchment paper underneath. It will still drip a little bit as its cooling.

Looking for more healthy holiday recipes? 

Check out my AIP ginger molasses cookie dough bites, dairy free baileys and dairy free eggnog rice pudding recipes.

I hope that you enjoy my healthy cheesecake recipe as much as I have enjoyed it lately (like, soo much haha)! Let me know what you think in the comments below. 

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