Homemade Vegan Lemon Curd is tangy, perfectly sweet and SO easy to make! Creamy and smooth, with no eggs. Perfect for scones, biscuits and other baked goods! 10 minutes is all you need.
If you are a lemon dessert kind of person, you are going to fall in love with this easy homemade lemon curd! It’s so creamy, rich, smooth and intensely flavorful. There are usually eggs involved in lemon curd, but it’s totally unnecessary. No one would guess this stuff is vegan!
I find myself licking it straight off the spoon, but you are going to want to put in on everything, from biscuits and scones, to pancakes and waffles, crepes and even in between cake layers!
How to make vegan lemon curd
It’s so simple to make! Simply add all the ingredients to a small pot:
- Almond/coconut milk, unsweetened
- Fresh lemon juice
- Lemon zest
- Sugar
- Cornstarch
- Vegan Butter
- Optional: turmeric or a few drops of yellow food coloring
- Tiny pinch of salt, optional
Warm over medium heat, whisking frequently until it thickens a bit.
Lemon curd will be quite runny and perfect for drizzling over baked goods right away, or stick it in the refrigerator for a thicker curd.
Special Tips & Substitutions
- Don’t cut back the sugar unless absolutely necessary, it will change the outcome. Sugar is needed both for sweetness and structure. Liquid sweeteners will not work the same.
- You must use fresh squeezed lemon juice AND zest, bottled lemon juice will not work.
- You can likely substitute another non-dairy milk as long as it is unsweetened and unflavored, but I like either almond or coconut milk best.
- Tapioca starch might be okay to use in place of cornstarch, but I haven’t tested it. Arrowroot could work as well.
More vegan lemon desserts
Vegan Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric or few drops of yellow food coloring, optional
- tiny pinch of salt, optional
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small pot and warm over medium heat, whisking frequently until the mixture thickens. It will take 5-10 minutes.
- It will still be quite thin and runny when warm, which is perfectly fine and you can serve it immediately if desired. For a thicker curd, refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight. Makes about 2 cups.
- Serve over biscuits, scones, pancakes, waffles, french toast, regular toast, english muffins, in crepes or as a layer in lemon cake. Enjoy!
Notes
- I tested the recipe with both unsweetened almond and coconut milk, and they both work well. Other non-dairy milks would likely work.
- I wouldn't skimp on the sugar in this recipe, as it provides structure as well as sweetness.
- The vegan butter could be left out if needed, but it provides a silky rich texture that will be missed!
- It keeps in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Thank you sooooo much Nora. This is absolutely delicious, and easy to make. As all your recipes, this is wonderful. Thanks again!!!!
You are welcome, Catalina! Thank you for your fantastic feedback and review! Happy cooking!
This is amazing! I’m trying to leave enough for the cake I’m making, but it’s so delicious!
I’m so glad you are loving the lemon curd! Thanks for your wonderful feedback!
This is insanely easy to throw together, and so good! We used it to top a vegan pavlova, and used every last bit! Will definitely be making this again.
Hi Kim. Thank you for your terrific feedback and review! How terrific that you love the lemon curd! Wishing you happy cooking!
Love the lemon cake. Would like to make the lemon curd, what can I substitute for cornstarch?
Glad you love the cake, Marlene. I haven’t tested it, but arrowroot might work, or tapioca starch. Hope you enjoy!
I made this hoping to use it between layers in a lemon cake, but it is so runny even after chilling fit overnight. Is there anything to do to thicken it up?
I’m not sure there is a way to thicken it at this point, sorry. But next time, if you make it with a canned full fat coconut milk, it should be much thicker. Or add a little more cornstarch and make sure you heat it up for long enough to thicken. Hope that helps!
The lemons curd was delicious, I added another teaspoon of baking powder to make it thicker. It thickened a little but when use on your lemon cake recipe it just made the cake soggy.
I like this recipe, very tasty & not fussy. ? Will this lemon curd work ok in a lemon ice cream or should I add a bit more thickener? Am currently thinking vegan ice cream would be nice.
I’m so glad you like it, Jodi! Yes, I think it would be a lovely addition to vegan ice cream. You could churn some of the curd right into a batch of homemade ice cream.
Can I use water? We don’t have a safe milk to use due to allergy. Occasionally use pea protein milk but try not to.
I haven’t tried it but possibly?
My granddaughters have an egg allergy, so I made this recipe with whole cows milk and it turned out beautifully! Thank you for the amazing and easy recipe.
I was amazed to find this recipe tasted exactly like “real” lemon curd. I’ve been trying to transition to a vegan lifestyle, and the hardest part for me has been finding ways to make excellent baked goods. I needed a lemon curd recipe for a raspberry lemon cake I was adapting, and this fit the bill perfectly. So delightful. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so happy the lemon curd was a hit, Lauralyn. It’s wonderful when we as vegans find a treat that helps us on our journeys 🙂 Thank you for your wonderful review and feedback!
I love this lemon curd! Followed the recipe using metric measurements (for some reason AU cup sizes is different), turned out perfectly!! It’s setting overnight to be popped into vegan pastry shells for vegan lemon tarts with candied lemon on top ??! Highly recommend!! ?
These sound so beautiful! I wish I could see a picture! Thanks for sharing your wonderful feedback and ideas!
I made this last week and it’s soooooo tasty! A little runny, but maybe I needed to simmer it for longer (or maybe a little more cornstarch). Lemon curd was always a favourite of mine, so finding an egg-free version that’s so easy to make is brilliant – thank you!
Hi Kathryn. I’m happy to hear you like the lemon curd! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
This is soooo yummy! It was easy and fast to make.
I added a couple drops of lemon extract. I ended up whisking in on the stove for 15 minutes. Once it was ready I put it in a jar and then the freezer for a couple of hours so it could firm faster for the cake.
I’ll use this recipe again!
I”m glad you found this easy and delicious! Thanks for sharing your great feedback and experience!
Can this be baked? Had an idea for a shortbread cookie bar and wondering if I could bake the lemon curd? I use homemade jam now.
I haven’t tried baking it yet, but I think it will be fine.
Can these be made ahead and frozen?
I haven’t tried it myself but I think you could likely freeze it. You may need to whisk it or blend it after it freezes and thaws, I’m not sure though.
Dianne,
I have an annual glut of lemons from my trees and so I’ve resorted to making this in large batches and freezing it in half pint jars. I take out a jar about an hour before serving it over blueberry pancakes and it’s still delicious. Just give it a bit of a stir to reconstitute the texture a bit. It’s also delicious frozen! Oh, and it’s also good made with bearss limes.
Sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Is this recipe something that can be “canned”? I’m wanting to make it for party favors in advance and have longer shelf life than 4-5 days. Thank you!
Hi Holly. Sorry, I haven’t tried canning the lemon curd before so I’m not sure that its shelf life can be extended.
Hi Holly. I was wondering the same thing. Did you try canning it and if so, how was it? Thank you!!
Love it! ❤️ OMG, so delicious and easy to make! Made with lime, now I want to make it with all my citrus fruit! Thank you for sharing!
You are welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing your review and feedback. Wishing you happy cooking!
Honestly, this is absolutely delicious. If you ever develop one, as good, with less sugar, I will be forever grateful.
Anyone try using a sugar substitute?