If you are a fan of citrus flavors you will love this lemon curd. It's the base of my lemon tartlets, lemon tiramisu, and lemon meringue pie!
This eggless lemon curd is TANGY. I've used more lemon juice than traditional curd recipes to give it a punchy citrus flavor.
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📖 Recipe Overview
- Minimal Ingredients - You only need 5 main ingredients, and an optional pinch of turmeric.
- Intense Lemon Flavor - With a high ratio of lemon juice, and zested sugar for an incredibly lemony taste.
- Perfect Consistency - Thick and creamy, it can served at room temp or heated for a runny consistency or chilled for a more set texture.
- Free From - Eggless, dairy-free, gluten-free, and made without coconut. You can also easily adapt the recipe to be soy-free by swapping it for another non-dairy milk.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
As promised, you only need a few simple ingredients to make this eggless lemon curd. Here's what to grab:
Ingredient Notes
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Fresh Lemons - Please steer clear from bottled lemon juice, it won't give that fresh lemon flavor. As we're also using the peel of the lemons, I recommend buying them organic if you can. Otherwise, look for unwaxed lemons and wash them well before zesting.
- Non-Dairy Milk - I use soy milk, but another plant-based milk such as almond milk or oat milk will work just fine.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar is best, as brown sugar or coconut sugar will affect the color and flavor. I don't recommend reducing the sugar either as it provides structure to the curd and balances the acidity of all that fresh lemon juice!
- Cornstarch - This is the secret to thickening lemon curd without eggs. You can swap it out for arrowroot starch at a 1:1 ratio.
- Vegan Butter - This is added for a silky texture, use block-style butter and not spreadable margarine from a tub.
- Ground Turmeric - This is optional, but just a touch will go a long way in getting that signature yellow color that's usually achieved with egg yolks.
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🥣 How To Make Vegan Lemon Curd
As mentioned, you're just a few easy steps away from the perfect lemon curd. Remember, the detailed printable recipe card is at the end of this page, but here are the step-by-images that you can use as a guide:
Step 1: Add the fresh lemon zest and sugar to a saucepan and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar. This helps to release the natural oils in the lemons for maximum flavor.
Step 2: Add the cornstarch to the pan, and whisk in until evenly mixed with the lemon zugar. Then pour in the lemon juice and plant milk and whisk well until there are no visible lumps.
Step 3: Cook the curd on medium heat (low heat if you're using a gas cooker) and continue to whisk the mixture until it thickens (around 10 minutes). Switch between a rubber spatula and whisk so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Once it coats the back of the spatula, stir in the turmeric and remove it from the heat.
Step 4: Add the vegan butter to a large mixing bowl and pass the lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl. Whisk until the butter has fully incorporated into the curd.
Step 5: Cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
Step 6: At this stage, you can use it in recipes, or transfer it to a sealed jar and store it for later.
🍋 Serving Ideas
The slightly sour lemon flavor will cut through the sweetness of your favorite vegan desserts, here are just some ways to use it:
- Spread over toast, biscuits, crumpets, cookies, or scones.
- Served with vegan pancakes or waffles.
- Flavor desserts such as vegan lemon tart, lemon cheesecake, lemon layer cake, limoncello tiramisu, lemon curd cake, and lemon curd ice cream.
- For topping vegan meringue nests or pavlova.
💡Recipe Tips
Fresh lemons only. Bottled lemon juice will not work; it also has an unpleasant, fake lemon flavor from oils and preservatives.
Whisk the cornstarch into the liquid ingredients well before heating. This is called making a cornstarch slurry and helps to prevent a lumpy curd.
Cook low and slow. If you're using a gas hob, the curd will cook and thicken quicker than with a convection or electric stove. So be careful to have the heat low on a gas cooktop so that it doesn't thicken too fast.
Alternate between a rubber spatula and whisk to stir the lemon curd whilst cooking.
If you can't find vegan butter, you can use coconut cream or thick full-fat canned coconut milk in its place. Just note that the consistency may not be quite as set as with butter.
💬 FAQs
In short, no. As well as balancing the acidity of the lemons and adding sweetness, sugar helps to create a rich consistency for your lemon custard.
Generally, eggs help thicken lemon curd, but cornstarch is the thickening agent used for this eggless lemon curd recipe.
It's important to cook the cornstarch properly and for the correct amount of time to activate its thickening properties.
Homemade lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools, so fear not if it isn't quite as thick as you'd like once made. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon while warm.
It will last for at least 2 weeks in an airtight jar in the fridge. If you plan on using it on the same day you can keep it out at room temperature in a sealed jar.
You can also freeze it for several months in a covered container and thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.
🍯 More Vegan Curds
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar *see note 1
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest freshly zested *see note 2
- 40 g (4 tablespoons) cornstarch or ground arrowroot starch
- 250 ml (1 cup + 2 teaspoons) lemon juice freshly squeezed *see note 3
- 160 ml (⅔ cup) soy milk *see note 4
- 50 g (1.75 oz) vegan butter block-style *see note 5
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric optional, for color
Instructions
- Prepare: Zest and then juice your lemons. Set a large mixing bowl and fine-mesh sieve aside for later.
- Flavor the sugar: Add the sugar and lemon zest to a saucepan and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar crystals feel "wet".
- Whisk in the ingredients: Add the cornstarch to the saucepan and whisk until evenly mixed with the sugar and zest. Then pour in the lemon juice and soy milk and whisk until completely smooth and there are no visible lumps.
- Cook: On medium heat (low heat if you're using a gas cooker) and continue to whisk the mixture until it thickens - this will take around 10 minutes. (*see note 6)Alternate between a rubber spatula and a whisk to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once the curd has thickened enough to coat the back of the spatula without running off of it, remove it from the heat and whisk in the turmeric.
- Sift: Place the cold vegan butter in the large mixing bowl and sit the fine-mesh sieve on top of the bowl. Pass the lemon curd through the sieve, using a spatula to squeeze it through if needed. Whisk it into the butter until smooth.
- Chill: Cover the surface of the lemon curd with plastic wrap, and let it cool slightly for 10-15 minutes, then transfer it to the fridge to cool for an hour.
- It will thicken while it chills in the fridge. Once chilled, you can go ahead and use it in other recipes, or transfer it to an airtight jar and refrigerate it until ready to use.
- Storage: It will last for at least 2 weeks in an airtight jar in the fridge. If you plan on using it on the same day you can keep it out at room temperature in a sealed jar. You can gently heat and melt it in a saucepan anytime you need a runnier curd consistency. You can also freeze it for several months in a covered container and thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.
Notes
- Granulated sugar: Some white sugar is not vegan, if in doubt use organic sugar.
- Lemon Zest: Use organic lemons if possible, otherwise use unwaxed lemons and wash and dry them thoroughly before use.
- Lemon juice: Use freshly squeezed, not bottled juice.
- Soy milk: Swap for another unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice. Almond milk and oat milk both work well.
- Vegan butter: You can swap this for coconut cream or thick full-fat canned coconut milk. Just note that the consistency may not be quite as set as with butter.
- Cook low and slow. If you're using a gas hob, the curd will cook and thicken quicker than with a convection or electric stove. So be careful to have the heat low on a gas cooktop so that it doesn't thicken too fast.
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*This recipe was originally published in April 2022. The recipe has since been improved with simplified instructions.
