Vegan Lemon Curd

5 from 8 votes

Learn how to make delicious vegan lemon curd at home in under 10 minutes, without eggs and with just six ingredients. You can use this curd to bake up all kinds of goodies, from tarts to cakes, or you can smear it on a piece of toast, vegan scones or vegan pancakes.

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Total Time10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: (approx. 2 tablespoon per serving)

Calories: 70kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Equipment

Small saucepan

Ingredients

3 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
Zest of 1 lemon
1½ tablespoons tapioca starch (can use corn starch. Use 1 tablespoon starch for a runnier, more spreadable curd and for cake toppings)
½ cup oat milk (Soy milk is fine too. Almond milk would work at a pinch but is not as creamy)
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegan butter
¼ teaspoon turmeric

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place the starch in the saucepan with the lemon juice and zest and turmeric and whisk. Slowly trickle in the milk, whisking as you do that, to make a smooth mixture. If you add the milk all at once you might have trouble breaking up the lumps, so always trickle it in slowly.
Add the sugar and the butter, cut into pieces, to the saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium low heat and stay right by it, whisk in hand. Whisk it a few times as it heats up.
As soon as you see bubbles appear on the sides of the saucepan, begin whisking the curd. It will start to thicken at this point, and will progress really fast once the curd comes to a boil, so don't walk away.
As soon as the curd is thick enough to form a ribbon when you drop it from a spoon turn off the heat. Pour into a container.

Notes

A tablespoon and a half of starch make a thicker curd that works great in tarts. A tablespoon of starch makes a runnier but still thick and viscous curd that is wonderful as a spread for pancakes, waffles, toast, etc. and as a topping for a cake.
In the image comparison in the recipe post above you will see that the lemon curd on the left is made with a tablespoon of tapioca starch and the one on the right is made with a tablespoon and a half. As you can see, the one on the right is more opaque and thicker. Both taste great.
One thing to keep in mind is that the curd will thicken further as it cools down, so it's best to leave it just a bit runnier than you'd like it when you turn off the stove.

Nutrition