Vegan Pumpkin Crème Brûlée

An overhead image of vegan pumpkin creme brulee in a white ramekin topped with sugared cranberries.

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Creamy, no-bake, and easy-to-make vegan pumpkin crème brûlée with just a few ingredients—no tofu, no nuts! This silky, pumpkin-spiced custard is rich, velvety, and made with real pumpkin. And, of course, it’s topped with the classic, crackly caramelized sugar crust. It’s the perfect decadent dessert for the holidays or any time in the fall. This vegan treat is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and a must-add to your vegan dessert list.

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Chill Time4

Total Time4 18

Servings:

Author: Gwen Leron

Ingredients

⅓ cup (67g) sugar
3 tablespoons (24g) cornstarch (arrowroot starch can also be used, see note below)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups (300ml) unsweetened vegan heavy cream or vegan whipping cream (see note below)
¾ cup (180ml) unsweetened dairy-free milk (see note below)
⅓ cup (80g) unsweetened pumpkin puree (see note below)
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (see note below)
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted vegan butter (optional) (see note below)
8-10 teaspoons granulated sugar (for caramelizing the tops) (adjust as needed, see note below)

Instructions

Add the sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a medium saucepan. Whisk until combined and no lumps remain. You may need to break up any lumps with the back of a spoon.
Slowly whisk in the vegan heavy cream, dairy-free milk, and pumpkin puree until combined with the dry mixture. Scrape around the corners of the pot with a spoon to be sure no dry ingredients remain.
Place pot on medium-high heat and continuously whisk until mixture has thickened. It will start to thicken around the 6 - 6 ½ minute mark but cook for a full 8 minutes. When finished, it will be thick enough to coat a spoon. (See image above)
Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and vegan butter, if using.
Evenly divide the custard into five individual 4oz ceramic ramekins. Allow the ramekins to sit for 15 minutes to cool slightly.
After the 15 minutes have passed, place plastic wrap and lightly press it directly on the surface of each custard and place them in the refrigerator. Allow them to chill and set for at least 4 hours.
Remove from refrigerator and remove plastic wrap. Evenly sprinkle 1 ½ - 2 teaspoons of sugar on top of each dessert ensuring that the entire surface has been covered all the way to the edges.
Turn your kitchen torch on and hold the flame roughly 1-2 inches above the sugar. Using a circular motion, move the flame across the entire surface of the dessert. Don't stay too long in one area or the sugar will burn, move away as the sugar bubbles and turns a golden colour. Continue until all of the sugar has melted and has completely caramelized.
Let the desserts sit for a few minutes before handling, the rims of the ramekins will be very hot. Serve right away.

Notes

Please read all of the information above, as well as the notes below before making this recipe.
This recipe makes 2 ½ cups of custard in total. Divide into 5 ramekins for ½ cup servings or you can divide it into smaller ramekins for smaller servings.
If you want to make your crème brûlée without cornstarch, arrowroot starch (also referred to as arrowroot flour or arrowroot powder) can be used instead.
Use an unsweetened vegan heavy cream or vegan whipping cream that is meant to be a substitute for regular heavy cream or whipping cream. Silk, Country Crock, Califia Farms, and Violife are just a few brands that make vegan heavy cream. If you can't find any of these, you can use canned coconut milk (either light or full fat, shake it well!), but your dessert will have a coconut flavour, more if full fat is used, a little less if lite is used. You can also use an unsweetened barista blend milk but note that your crème brûlée will not be as thick and creamy.
Any type of unsweetened non-dairy milk can be used but make sure to use unsweetened, unflavoured milk so you have full control over the sweetness and flavour.
Use unsweetened pumpkin purée, don't use pumpkin pie filling. This will allow you to have full control over the flavour and sweetness of the dessert.
If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, use the following: ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg.
The vegan butter is optional however, adding it will result in a richer and even creamier pumpkin crème brûlée.
If you are using a wider ramekin than the ones in the picture, you will need more sugar to cover the entire surface of the dessert before torching it. If you are using something smaller, use less.
The custard can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Do not torch the sugar until you are ready to serve and do not refrigerate after you have caramelized the sugar.
The nutrition info listed below is for 1 of 5 servings (each serving is ½ cup) with the recipe made as written using silk heavy whipping cream, unsweetened unflavored almond milk, and no vegan butter. 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.

Nutrition