There are three main reasons why I wanted to share my recipe for Easy Vegan Lemon Curd today.
Reason 1: because it's super yum. The best reason of all! Do I need more reasons than that?
Reason 2: Mother's day is coming up and this would make a gorgeous homemade gift. This vegan lemon curd requires only 6 ingredients and takes 10 minutes to make! Pour this into a fancy jar and tie a little bow or serve as a luxurious addition to breakfast in bed or a very special dessert. Oh la la!
Reason 3: I'm planning a trip to England and I wanted to celebrate with this classic English treat. Yay travel!
This easy vegan curd is the perfect combination of tart and sweet. It's wonderful for spreading on pastries such as my Super Easy Vegan Croissants, or serving with muffins, waffles, scones, pancakes, or French Toast. Or for dolloping on non-dairy ice cream, adding it to vegan yogurt parfaits, spreading between the layers of my vegan vanilla cake. Or just eating directly out of the jar by the spoonful (I don't judge) because who can resist the mixture of perfect velvety texture and tangy flavors? This vegan lemon curd is a welcome dairy-free addition to any special occasion.
Did you see the part that said I was planning a trip to England? I just booked tickets to London with my amazing boyfriend, Adam, woot woot! Even though I have dual citizenship (Canadian and British), I've never been to England before and I couldn't be more pumped about it! We will be spending time in both London and Brighton, so let me know in the comments what vegan restaurants I should go to, vegan shops, or other fun attractions I must see. I will be celebrating my birthday while I'm there so let me know if there is something really special I should do. Excited!
If you want to come along with my travels, make sure to follow me on Instagram @itdoesnttastelikechicken where I will be posting about much of my trip.
Back to my easy vegan lemon curd...
How to Make Vegan Lemon Curd:
Start by zesting and juicing your lemons.
Now, in a small pot or small saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Mixing the sugar and cornstarch first will just help evenly distribute the cornstarch so that no lumps form. Now mix in the non-dairy milk (soy or almond milk will suffice), lemon juice, lemon zest, and pinch of turmeric.
Put over medium heat, whisking frequently, until the curd thickens, about 5 minutes. You may need to whisk vigorously as it thickens to ensure a smooth curd.
Remove from heat and pour into a heat safe container to cool. Enjoy warm or store in the fridge for up to 1 week. It will thicken more as it cools.
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
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Easy Vegan Lemon Curd
Servings: (makes about 1 cup)
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Ingredients
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup plant-based milk, (such as soy or almond)
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, (about 2 lemons)
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest, (from about 1 lemon)
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric, (optional for colour)
Instructions
- In a small pot, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Now mix in the non-dairy milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and turmeric. Put over medium heat, whisking frequently, until the curd thickens, about 5 minutes. You may need to whisk vigorously as it thickens to ensure a smooth curd.
- Remove from heat and pour into a heat safe container to cool. Enjoy warm or store in the fridge for up to 1 week. It will thicken more as it cools.
Pa says
Hello! How long can this curd sit out for? I’m planning to use it as a filling for my Macarons and they would be sitting out for around 4-6 hrs. Will it be okay as there’s no eggs in it?
Sam Turnbull says
I think it should be fine. Enjoy!
Lori says
Hello! I am a baker but this was First time making a vegan curd. Recipe worked out well thickened nicely with a nice lemony taste (I used Meyer lemons instead) however I am finding it to have a bit of a corn starchy after taste and tongue feel. Is this normal ?? I’m going to give it another shot but make a corn starch slurry first with the lemon juice. But just wondering if it’s perhaps something I missed or did wrong. Thank you!!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Lori, I've never had that happen before, perhaps it needs a little more cooking?
Radhika says
I dont have lemons but I have oranges. Can I just switch out with oranges or do I have to adjust the recipie, and if yes how? Thanks!
Lindsey says
Thanks for posting this. Worked perfect for us. Spot on delicious. 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Thrilled you enjoyed it!
Trishna says
So excited to surprise my bf with this. We're transitioning to vegan and but lemon meringue has always been his favorite dessert.
For the nondairy milk, do I need to specifically use a sweetened and/or vanilla variety for best outcome?
Sam Turnbull says
I always cook with "original" non-dairy milk so I can control the sweetness to my own taste preference. If you are looking for a lemon meringue pie recipe I have a recipe for that in my cookbook. ENjoy!
Alex Abraham says
I haven't actually made this yet, but all the comments are really encouraging, but could I ask, instead of turmeric, do you suppose I could use a tiny drop of yellow food colouring instead?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, that should work fine. Enjoy!
Alex says
Yup, I made it, and used a capful of yellow colouring instead of turmeric! It's Egg-sactly the right colour (do you see what I did there? 😉 and tastes divine! I topped the pie with aquafaba whisked up into peaks and it's amazing!! Great recipe. It thickened up, no problem, but as others have said, it may take a little longer than the recipe states. It just depends... on goodness know what - but it works brilliantly!
Linda says
Hi Sam,
Could you please you let me know how much in grams is the 1/2 cup measurement.
I would love to make the lemon curd but someone has had difficulty with it thickening.
I am in the UK and cup measures that I have found here all seem to vary and I am concerned that the precise tablespoon size wouldn’t be compatible with what over here seem random sizes.
Sorry to trouble you with this as I enjoy reading your recipes, but have always found cup measures stop me actually trying them out .
Have a great holiday.
Thanks, Linda
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Linda, you can just click on the "metric" button which is directly below the list of ingredients and it will convert for you. This feature is on all of my recipes 🙂
Debbie says
I have so many lemons.....Can you freeze the lemon curd??
Sam Turnbull says
Generally freezing cornstarch-based sauces isn't recommended, but you could try some more of my lemon recipes to use up those lemons. Enjoy!
David Whitaker says
You could try arrowroot to thicken instead of cornstarch, as it is freeze-thaw stable. Try an Asian market to source arrowroot.
Cathy Coelho says
Can I make this using rice milk instead of soy or almond milk. My granddaughter is allergic to both nuts and soy, as well as other things?
Sam Turnbull says
Absolutely! Enjoy 🙂
Liz says
Hi! I'm making vegan lemon and with lemon curd as the filling, can I make this days in advance, will it be just fine?
Sam Turnbull says
Yep! Store it in the fridge and it should keep for several days without problem. Enjoy!
Molly Willoughby says
This is a cool recipe but mine didn't thicken at all; I cooked it a lot and even added some xanthan gum! But yeah maybe i'll add coconut cream or more gum because I cooled it overnight and it's still liquid.
Sam Turnbull says
Did you make sure to add the cornstarch? Cornstarch thickens sauces when cooked which is what gives this the correct consistency. 🙂
Judy says
You can increase the amount of cornstarch. Easy Peasy.
Jean says
This was great!! I used it as filling inside a cake. If you make this and it did t thicken you did not heat it enough!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it, Jean!! 🙂
CarolineW says
We had my four year old’s birthday party at a local park from 10-12, so the kids wouldn’t be out at the hottest time of day. I made a brunch buffet and used the lemon curd as part of a yogurt parfait bar. I put out plain coconut and almond yogurt with granola, blueberries, strawberries, mango and the lemon curd. The kids loved being able to self serve and many of the parents commented it was the best kid’s party food they had ever seen!
I had made a triple batch, so the leftover curd went to my neighbor’s potluck. I sliced a loaf cake really thin and had strawberries and blueberries with the curd to put on top. It was a hit there too.
Sam Turnbull says
Wow! What a wonderful brunch idea! I'm so happy you loved the curd as an addition 🙂
CaraKir says
OMG I just made this for a vegan pie and its amazing I switched out the lemon for calamansi (a native citrus fruit in the Philippines) and it tasted so good. Added a bit of coconut cream to the curd to make a good pie filling☺️
Sam Turnbull says
Sounds delicious! So happy you enjoyed 🙂
Dawn says
AMAZING!!! My goodness! This curd is so delicious it fooled my husband. He was shocked to find out this recipe was vegan. It will be a my new standard to go with scones, shortbreads, or cookie filling.
Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!! Love that! So happy you love it so much, Dawn 🙂
carol says
The next batch of lemons I bought were so different to my previous ones. The new ones are very very sour, whereas the previous were much sweeter. So I suppose that would make the difference in the amount of sugar needed in the recipe. The good thing is that this lemon curd is always good whether sweeter or less sweet.
Sam Turnbull says
Great to know it's always enjoyed!
Sasha says
This works really well I added a bit too much turmeric as it looked really pale but the deep yellow colour comes when it cooks. Next time I will reduce the turmeric as there was a slight taste. I had some natural extract so added two tsp of that. I might reduce the sugar next time too for a bit more lemony tang. Really delicious though, thanks
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, turmeric tends to darken when cooked 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
carol moss says
Me again. I'm going back to the original tablespoon of cornstarch as with the rounded tablespoon it was a bit too thick when cold from the fridge. Great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Glad you're enjoying it!
Carol says
I love this recipe and have made it 3 times now, only I changed the amount of sugar to half, i.e. quarter of a cup of sugar; the cornstarch I made into a slightly rounded tablespoon and I used only half of the one eighth teaspoon turmeric. My mother used to make the non-vegan lemon curd and I remember it very well. I am so happy to have this vegarn recipe now. I changed the amounts of the ingredients not for health reasons but because in my opinion it turns out much more like the original lemon curd this way.
I needed silken tofu to make a lemon frosting for a cake but silken tofu has disappeared from the stores where I live for a long time. This lemon curd was the perfect solution that saved the day. Thanks so much.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you love it and were able to make it your own, Carol 🙂
Sheri says
I was looking for a quick, non-dairy desert and this was perfect. I used this card to fill cup cake size vegan crusts. Worked well.
I used Stevia instead of sugar, 1/1, and it turned out good. I had to triple/quadruple the recipe to fill the 12 crusts.
Thank you. Can't wait to try it with vanilla ice cream!
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed!
Mona says
I've been cooking/baking for decades; prepared both the lemon curd and coconut whipped cream, and BOTH failed miserably. Lemon curd never thickened at all, passed it off as "lemon sauce". Whipped cream was a total fail, and if it had been successful, tasted like nothing but coconut (used Trader Joe's Coconut Cream, followed recipe precisely, as always) Ended up having to use real whipped cream, mixed it with the "lemon sauce" to create cake filling (for a party with over 30 people...)
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Mona, cornstarch is the thickener in the lemon curd, did you perchance substitute that with something different? I'm wondering because there are no other comments where someone had trouble with it thickening...
Anne says
For me the trick to get it to set was getting it to a boil, it thickened instantly. Took longer than 5 minutes, but oh my what an amazing result!
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed it, Anne 🙂
Sheri says
I just finished making this in two batches for the first time. My "guess" is you did not get it hot enough and whip it long enough. I whipped it on boiling for almost 2 minutes and it worked!! I believe had I done any less it wouldn't have set up.
Just my humble opinion, hope it helps.
Aimee B. says
OMG, thank you for this lovely easy recipe, Sam!! This was awesome! I made it today to use up some lemons I'd bought. I ended up using it as a filling in mini phyllo tarts, which I topped with coconut whipped cream. They were perfect and went together super quick. Definite keeper!. You're the best!! XO
Sam Turnbull says
Aww yay!! Thrilled you loved it so much, Aimee 🙂
Lauren says
Great recipe! If you're in the mood for some good cocktails in London, check out Old Bengal Bar near Liverpool Street, they are amazing in there! They have the loveliest outdoor garden with heated seats and blankets, every time i'm in London I find time to go for a Singapore Sling there 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Thanks for the tip!