Vegan Lemon Curd

Zesty, sweet and delicious: This Vegan Lemon Curd is a delicious staple to use in Vegan Baking, pour-over cupcakes, muffins, pies or simply use as a spread on top of a freshly toasted slice of sourdough. Divine!

Vegan Lemon curd is a great staple recipe to add to your repertoire! The curd is deliciously sweet and naturally zesty, making it perfect for a variety of tangy recipes, such as Vegan Lemon Pie.

Personally, I love everything zesty, so it's only natural for me to share a simple vegan lemon curd recipe with you all! Don't be alerted though - the lemon curd is not sour, but simply the perfect combination of sweet and zesty. It tastes wonderfully refreshing and is great for a variety of delicious recipes.

Ingredients and Tips

This vegan lemon curd is super easy to make and you just need the following ingredients:

• Vegan Butter: I like to use Flora Plant Butter (the unsalted kind!) for recipes such as this one.
• Fresh Lemon Juice: For best results use freshly squeezed lemon juice for your vegan lemon curd.
• Coconut Milk: Adds the wonderful creaminess to this lemon curd.
• Vanilla Essence: not essential for creating vegan lemon curd, but I highly recommend adding a little bit of vanilla to create a divine and more interesting flavor profile for your curd.
• Powdered sugar: I love to use powdered sugar for vegan lemon curd. It simply melts into the mix perfectly and doesn't leave a grainy texture.
• Cornstarch: We use cornstarch to thicken the vegan lemon curd in this recipe. You can adjust the amount of cornstarch to adjust the curd texture you're looking for
• Agar-agar: Agar is made from an algae and commonly used in vegan baking as a replacement for gelatine. In this lemon curd recipe, the agar-agar helps thicken the mixture and give it a more jelly-like texture. Agar can be very strong, so only small amounts are needed in recipes. For best results for your lemon curd, use the Agar-agar powder, not the flakes.

For easy swaps and replacements, please check out the notes below.

How to make Vegan Lemon Curd (Step-by-Step)

This recipe for vegan lemon curd is really simple to make. You basically just need a non-stick saucepan, a whisk and an air-tight container to store your homemade lemon curd in. Please read all the detailed steps for making lemon curd below before getting started.

Step 1: Combine ingredients

To get started with your vegan lemon curd recipe, place a medium-size saucepan over low heat and combine the butter, fresh lemon juice, coconut milk, vanilla essence, and powdered sugar.

Heat the mixture and stir regularly with a whisk until the dairy-free butter and sugar have dissolved.

Step 2: Create a cornstarch slurry

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and agar-agar powder with a little liquid. You can use either water or plant milk for the best results. Add only just enough liquid to dissolve the cornstarch and create a thick slurry.

Stir or whisk to ensure there are no chunks left in the slurry.

Step 3: Thicken Vegan Lemon Curd

Carefully pour your cornstarch/agar slurry into the saucepan.

Continuously stir to and heat the mix on low heat until the lemon curd begins to thicken. Cornstarch and agar-agar both need heating to be 'activated', so ensure not to rush this step. It should usually take about 5-10 minutes to reach a thickened texture.

Once the mix begins to thicken, remove the saucepan from the heat and pour your vegan lemon curd into an air-tight container or use in a recipe of your choice.

How to use Lemon Curd

Lemon curd has a variety of delicious uses. If you need some ideas, here are some tasty serving recommendations:

• Baked into a lemon pie or tart
• On freshly toasted bread
• Drizzled over muffins
• On pancakes or waffles
• Added to buttercream for cake and cupcakes
• On freshly baked scones
• On toasted English Muffins

Variations and Simple Swaps

• Butter: For best results I recommend using vegan butter, such as the unsalted Flora Plant Butter in this recipe. You can also use other brands of plant butter or simply replace it with thick coconut cream.
• Lemon Juice: For the most delicious and zesty results, use freshly squeezed lemon juice for this Vegan Lemon Curd. If you don't have any to hand, the recipe will also work out with store-bought lemon juice - but always go fresh if you can!
• Coconut Milk: Simply replace with your favourite plant milk! As it's likely to be less thick and creamy, you might have to add a little extra cornstarch to get the same texture for your lemon curd.
• Agar-agar: This is really needed for the best texture. However, if you're in desperate need for Vegan Lemon Curd and don't have Agar-agar to hand, replace it with an extra tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken your curd.
• Powdered sugar: swap for caster sugar if needed, but ensure to stir thoroughly so it fully dissolves and doesn't leave a grainy texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

You might also enjoy these recipes:

If you have any lemons left over from making this lemon curd, try my Vegan Lemon Cookies! They are zesty & fresh at the same time and a beautiful afternoon snack. Or how about my Pistachio Loaf with Lemon & Cardamom? 😍

 © Romy London / Romina Callwitz | All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images and content without prior permission. If you wish to re-publish this recipe, please get in touch via email. Thank you so much for supporting romylondonuk.com!

*Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. You can find more information in my Privacy Policy.