A silky smooth and tart luscious lemon topping that tastes incredible on biscuits, pancakes, toast, muffins, yogurt, and ice cream. It also makes a fantastic filling in tarts, trifles, and pies.
Have you ever made Lemon Curd?
Much like pudding, lemon curd is traditionally made with eggs. That’s how it thickens up. As the title implies, this Vegan Lemon Curd does not contain any eggs or dairy.
And yet, this Vegan Lemon Curd is just as silky and smooth as traditional lemon curd. Pinky Swear.
Wanna know what the best part is? This sweet and tart lemon sauce tastes and looks incredible! If I could capture and bottle up sunshine, this is what it looks like. It’s dreamy. I love that it’s not overly sweet and it’s not overly sour. This Vegan Lemon Curd is the perfect balance between tart and sweet – it’s the yin and yang of lemon desserts.
But wait, there’s more!! Another great attribute of this Vegan Lemon Curd is that it only takes six ingredients to make! Six. Though you could make it with four. And you probably already have everything you need in your pantry – sugar, cornstarch, plant milk, fresh lemons, turmeric, and vegan butter. Though, these last two are completely optional. I’ll explain why in a moment.
Let’s focus on the corn starch. This recipe doesn’t call for much since this is a sauce – we just want to thicken it up a little. If you combine the cornstarch with the sugar before adding the milk or turning on the heat, you will have the most luxuriously smooth sauce. Once the milk is whisked in, you whisk in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Both of which, provide incredible flavor. You can use bottle lemon juice if you need to, but I recommend grabbing some fresh lemons. That way, you can use the zest from the lemon peel to brighten the flavor.
If you’d like to brighten the color, use a pinch of turmeric. It adds a wonderful lemony look. If you opt to forgo the turmeric, your lemon curd will still taste incredible. Instead of a bright lemony yellow hue, your lemon curd will just have a very pale translucent color to it. And this is one hundred percent okay. I’m just letting you know why I add a little turmeric.
The interesting this about turmeric is that a little goes a long way. And not all turmeric is the same color. Some are yellow while others are almost orange. The first time you make this Vegan Lemon Curd, I recommend you use a dash or 1/8 teaspoon of ground turmeric. That way, you’ll know how your turmeric performs.
But looks aren’t everything. I love the way this lemon curd tastes!
This Vegan Lemon Curd is made relatively quickly on the stove. Using medium heat, stir the sweetened milk and lemon combination until it starts to thicken. It will transform from a bubbly liquid to a silky smooth thickened sauce pretty quick – like magic.
Once the lemon curd is nice and thick, turn the heat off and stir in the butter or margarine. It lends to that silky smooth finish I keep telling you about. If you’d prefer not to add the butter, no problem! This lemon curd will still be delicious, it just may not be as smooth.
Now, you ask, what can you do with your mouth-watering Vegan Lemon Curd?
This Vegan Lemon Curd is fantastic as a topping, filling, spread, or by the spoon… It is delicious on biscuits, scones, pancakes, toast, muffins, yogurt, and ice cream.  But it’s also a great filling in tarts, trifles, parfaits, donuts, cream puffs, and pies. This Vegan Lemon Curd can be used as a scrumptious dip, too. Just about anything will work, but I’d recommend a neutral cookie, pretzel, or graham cracker.
The possibilities are endless!!
I hope you enjoy this Vegan Lemon Curd as much as I do. Please let me know how you use this luscious lemon curd!!
I’m just starting out and would love to see your results. Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Enjoy!!
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Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar*
- ¼ cup cornstarch**
- 1 cup unflavored unsweetened plant milk
- ½ cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- Dash of turmeric*** (optional)
- 2 Tbsp vegan butter (optional)
Instructions
- In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in the milk.
- Turn the stove on to medium heat. Whisk in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and turmeric.
- Stir occasionally until the lemon curd thickens, about 5-10 minutes.
- Turn off the stove, stir in the vegan butter (if using), and allow the curd to cool slightly.
- Transfer to a lidded container and store covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Notes
* I prefer using raw sugar since it retains minerals and nutrients, though it may lend a light natural brown hue to the lemon curd. The turmeric covers this up and bright yellow hue. I also like using ½ cup sugar, but you can use ¾ cup to 1 cup if you like sweeter lemon curd.
** You may substitute arrowroot starch for the cornstarch, if needed. It may change the texture and consistency though.
*** The turmeric is optional and is used solely for color. You can add just a pinch for a slight yellow hue, ¼ teaspoon for a vibrant sunshine color, or something in between. I used ¼ teaspoon.
Vegan Lemon Curd
Equipment
- stove
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar*
- ¼ cup cornstarch**
- 1 cup unflavored unsweetened plant milk
- ½ cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- Dash of turmeric*** optional
- 2 Tbsp vegan butter optional
Instructions
- In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in the milk.
- Turn the stove on to medium heat. Whisk in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and turmeric.
- Stir occasionally until the lemon curd thickens, about 5-10 minutes.
- Turn off the stove, stir in the vegan butter (if using), and allow the curd to cool slightly.
- Transfer to a lidded container and store covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
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