This mouthwatering, easy vegan lemon curd recipe is bursting with zesty citrus flavour! It’s a sweet, tangy, creamy, smooth spread that’s bright and refreshing, plus, since it’s plant-based, it’s dairy-free and egg-free, of course. Enjoy your divine homemade lemon curd on toast, scones, and pancakes, or as a luscious filling for cakes, cupcakes, tarts, pie, and more!
Add the milk and cornstarch to a small bowl and whisk well until the cornstarch has combined with the milk. Set aside.
Add the sugar, and lemon juice to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk until all of the sugar granules have dissolved, roughly 3 minutes.
Give the milk/cornstarch mixture another mix and then add it to the pot along with the lemon zest.
Continuously whisk until mixture has thickened enough to coat a spoon, this will take roughly 6 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the vegan butter and turmeric, if using. Continuously whisk until the butter has melted and the turmeric has been incorporated into the mixture.
Allow the lemon curd to sit in the pot for 15-20 minutes. Whisk every few minutes during the rest time so it does not start to form a skin on top.
Pour the lemon curd into a jar and let it sit until it has cooled.
Place the lid on the jar and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it chills.
Notes
Please read all of the information, troubleshooting, and FAQ info above, as well as the notes below before making this recipe.
This recipe makes a little over 1 cup of lemon curd and can be doubled if needed. If doubled, the cook time will be 8 minutes.
If you want to use the lemon curd for pie, tarts or something else that would require the curd to be thicker, use 2 tablespoons (16g) of cornstarch instead of what's written in the recipe. This version firms up quite a bit so it's best to pour the cooled curd directly into the tart or pie shell and then chill it rather than chilling it in a jar.
Any type of unsweetened non-dairy milk can be used as long as it is unsweetened and unflavoured.
If you want to make your lemon curd without cornstarch, arrowroot starch (also referred to as arrowroot flour) can be used instead.
Only use freshly squeezed lemon juice, don't use store-bought bottled lemon juice. You will need roughly 2.5 medium lemons to get the amount of juice needed, more if your lemons are on the small side, and less if they are large.
You don't want the mixture to boil, but it will start to bubble towards the end of the cooking time. It will take roughly 6 minutes to thicken properly. No noticeable thickening will happen until around the 3.5-4 minute mark.
The vegan butter is optional if you prefer to have an oil-free lemon curd, however, adding the butter will result in a richer, smoother, and creamier curd.
Ground turmeric is also optional if you don't mind the curd not having a bright yellow appearance. See the images in the post for a visual of what it will look like without it. The turmeric flavour does not come through in the finished curd, only the colour will.
If you prefer to have a completely smooth curd with no bits of lemon zest, pass it through a sieve before chilling it.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight jar or container for up to 1 week. It cannot be frozen or the texture will change (see info above).
The nutrition info listed below is for 1 of 9 servings (each serving is 2 tablespoons) with the recipe made as written using unsweetened, unflavoured almond milk. Nutritional data is only to be used as a rough guide. Click here for more info on how nutrition info on this website is determined.