This vegan lemon curd is thick, rich, and bursting with tangy lemon flavor! It's easy to make with just 7 ingredients and perfect for slathering on toast, spreading on scones or stuffing a pie!
There's just something about lemon flavored sweets. They're like a blast of delicious sunshine in your face, which we could all use this time of year.
I have a handful of favorite lemony vegan desserts including my vegan lemon bundt cake, vegan lemon bars, and lemon cookies. I love them all!
But this vegan lemon curd is particularly special. It's so easy to make, and there's so much you can do with it. When you're not sure if you're craving a pie, some cookies, or cake, just make lemon curd. It works in or with all of the above, and more!
I've been keeping jars of this lemon curd on hand lately. It's super easy to whip up, and I can keep it in the fridge until a craving hits.
Let's talk about how this stuff is made!
Ingredients You'll Need
- Lemon juice. Use freshly squeeze juice! Bottled just won't cut it when it comes to infusing your curd with that fresh, bright lemony taste.
- Cornstarch. Conventional lemon curd recipes call for egg yolks, but cornstarch does the job of thickening our vegan version. Cornstarch makes an excellent egg substitute in all kinds of recipes for creamy sauces and custards. This lemon curd is no exception!
- Coconut cream. You can buy coconut cream in cans near the coconut milk at most grocery stores. If you can't find it, buy a can of full-fat coconut milk instead. Chill it in the fridge for a day, then drain off the liquid. The solid portion that remains is coconut cream.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar, as conventional sugar may be processed using animal bone char, so it's not vegan.
- Vegan butter. Most stores sell this near the regular butter. Look for brands like Earth Balance, Miyoko's and Melt.
- Lemon zest.
- Turmeric or yellow food color. This is totally optional. Just use it if you'd like to add some yellow color to your lemon curd. The vegan butter and lemon juice will yellow it up a bit, but without additional color it will be a bit pale compared to conventional lemon curd. I used three drops of Watkins Food Coloring.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by stirring cold lemon juice and cornstarch together in a small container such as a liquid measuring cup. Stir until the cornstarch dissolves completely.
Place the coconut cream and sugar into a small saucepan and set it over medium heat.
Tip: Your lemon juice must be cold in order for the cornstarch to dissolve. If you have trouble getting it to fully dissolve, stick the entire container in the freezer for a few minutes to cool the liquid down.
Whisk the mixture together as it heats up. The coconut cream should quickly start to melt, and the sugar will then dissolve into it. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
Pour the lemon juice and cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and quickly whisk everything together. Bring everything back up to a simmer.
The mixture should thicken up quickly once it starts simmering again. Be careful, as it can sputter once it gets thick! Now you can take it off of heat.
Whisk in the vegan butter, lemon zest, and coloring or turmeric if you're using it. Keep whisking until the butter completely melts and the ingredients are fully combined.
Let your vegan lemon curd cool, then transfer it to storage containers. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
Tip: This recipe makes a nice thick lemon curd! If you prefer a thinner texture, use less cornstarch.
Shelf Life & Storage
Homemade vegan lemon curd will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week. You'll notice that it thickens and turns opaque when chilled. You can loosen it up a bit by bringing it back to room temperature.
I don't recommend freezing your vegan lemon curd.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is!
Lemon curd makes an excellent filling for pies, tarts, cakes, bars and cookies, a delicious topper for ice cream, English muffins, scones, toast, pancakes, and waffles, crepes, French toast or scones. Use it as you might use other sweet spreads like jam. It's so delicious you'll want to eat it by the spoonful!
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice, chilled
- ¼ cup cornstarch (Note 1)
- 1 cup coconut cream
- ¾ cup organic granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter, cut into thin slices
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Yellow food coloring (Note 2), optional
Instructions
- Combine the lemon juice and cornstarch together in a small container. Stir until the cornstarch dissolves completely.
- Place the coconut cream and sugar into a small saucepan and set it over medium heat.
- Whisk the ingredients together as they heat up. Keep whisking to dissolve the sugar in the coconut cream as it melts. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Whisk in the lemon juice mixture. Keep whisking and bring the mixture back to a simmer. The mixture should thicken up quickly once it starts simmering again. Be careful, as it will sputter.
- Remove the saucepan from heat once the mixture has thickened. Whisk in the butter and lemon zest until the butter has completely melted and the ingredients are fully combined. Whisk in the yellow food coloring if you're using it.
- Allow the lemon curd to cool, then serve or transfer to airtight storage containers and refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
- This amount of cornstarch will give you a thick lemon curd that's suitable for pie and cake filling. For a thinner lemon curd, use less cornstarch.
- I used 3 drops of Watkins Natural Food Coloring. You could also use a pinch of turmeric.
- This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups of lemon curd.
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love lemon everything, thanks! looking for options with coconut cream bc of the high fat issues. Is it the cornstarch that thickens the mix, so we could alternatively use almond whipping cream or maybe whipped faba or ??
Correct - it's the cornstarch that thickens it! So it should work just fine with a lower fat variety of non-dairy milk. The curd just won't be quite as rich and creamy. I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try it!