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Rich and creamy vegan custard is so easy to make with only 6 ingredients and 10 minutes! This vegan baking staple is a delicious treat on its own or served with your favorite vegan desserts, like cakes, pies, and tarts. Bonus: it’s gluten-free and dairy-free, and the flavor is easy to customize.
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Easy and Dreamy 6-Ingredient Vegan Custard
Who says you need eggs and dairy to make show-stopping desserts? Our goal at PBOAB is to showcase quick and easy ways to make baking staples, like lemon buttercream and caramel sauce, without animal-based ingredients, and we’re doing it perfectly in this vegan custard recipe.
Custard is rich and creamy, like pudding, and classically made with lots of dairy and eggs. Thankfully, it’s easy to make a vegan version on the stove with simple plant-based ingredients, like non-dairy milk, cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla extract. Thanks to these substitutions, the dairy-free custard is healthier and lighter than the French classic but just as thick and decadent!
What really makes this easy vegan custard so special are the endless ways to enjoy it. Use it as a filling or topping for vegan pies, tarts, cupcakes, donuts, eclairs, or cream puffs; drizzle the custard over bread pudding, pancakes, or waffles; serve it as a sweet fruit dip at parties; or enjoy it on its own with toppings, like fruit and granola! There are no rules when it comes to indulging in this sweet treat.
Once you get a hang of the recipe, you can customize the flavor with fun add-ins. From plant-based chocolate to espresso to lemon, you really can’t go wrong.
The Ingredients and Substitutes
- Plant-based milk: Oat milk is the best non-dairy milk for vegan custard because it’s so creamy and has a neutral flavor. If you don’t have oat milk, feel free to use soy milk, cashew milk, or canned full-fat coconut milk (if you don’t mind a mild coconut flavor).
- Plant-based heavy cream: It’s the secret to extra creamy and indulgent vegan custard. Use a store-bought plant-based heavy cream or make your own by blending 1 cup of soaked cashews with ½ cup of water until smooth and creamy.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch or potato starch will help thicken the vegan custard. Arrowroot starch or tapioca starch do not work as well and won’t make the custard as thick and creamy.
- Sugar: We used granulated white sugar, but unrefined raw cane sugar or coconut sugar may also work well.
- Turmeric: A pinch of turmeric gives the custard a faint yellow color. It does not affect the flavor or texture, so feel free to leave it out if you want.
- Vanilla extract: For a sophisticated flavor.
What Could I Add to Vegan Custard?
Customize the flavor of your custard with any of these mix-ins:
- Espresso powder: Instant espresso powder gives the custard a coffee or mocha-like flavor that pairs perfectly with the vanilla. If you don’t have instant espresso, instant coffee will also work, but the coffee flavor will be milder.
- Fresh fruit: Stir in lemon or lime zest, or pureed raspberries or strawberries.
- Chocolate: Vegan chocolate custard is so heavenly, just like vegan chocolate pudding! Stir melted semi-sweet or dark chocolate into the custard and/or top the finished batch with vegan chocolate chips or chocolate shavings.
- Warm spices: Mix in a pinch of cinnamon, cardamom, or pumpkin pie spice for a warm and cozy flavor.
- Lemon: Swap the vanilla extract for lemon extract and stir in 2 to 3 teaspoons of fresh lemon zest.
- Food coloring: Stir in 1 to 2 drops of gel food coloring (we prefer gels over water-based because they won’t change the consistency) or natural food dye, like beet juice or matcha powder. Omit the turmeric if adding food coloring.
Treating yourself to a bowl of custard for dessert? Don’t forget the toppings! The possibilities are endless:
- Nuts or seeds: Take this topping to the next level by toasting the nuts/seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes. This brings out their natural oils, making them richer and much more nutty-tasting.
- Coconut: Sprinkle shredded coconut or coconut flakes on top of the custard.
- Sprinkles: Because who doesn’t love chocolate or rainbow sprinkles on top of their dessert?
- Fruit: Like fresh berries, sliced strawberries, banana slices, or a fruit compote.
- Whipped cream: Store-bought or homemade.
How To Make Vegan Custard
Keep scrolling to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and recipe instructions.
- Place all the ingredients in a blender. Blend on low speed until well combined and there are no lumps.
- Pour the custard mixture into a saucepan. Heat over medium heat and whisk continuously until the liquid thickens to your liking.
Making vegan custard with cornstarch means there are going to be some lumps left behind. To help them dissolve, whisk the mixture continuously for at least 5 minutes. Lumps may also form once the custard starts to cool but whisking the custard again or quickly blitzing it in a blender will help them dissolve.
- Serve the dairy-free custard right away or transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for later.
Vegan custard is delicious served warm, at room temperature, or after chilling in the fridge. Are you planning on serving the batch directly from the stove? Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes first.
FAQS
Traditional pastry cream (crème pâtissière) is made with dairy milk, flour, and eggs, and is used to stuff pastries, like eclairs, donuts, and fruit tarts.
Yes, vegan pastry cream and vegan custard are essentially the same thing. Custard tends to be a little thinner and pudding-like, while pastry cream has a thicker consistency so it’s sturdy enough to be added to baked goods.
Nope! A pinch of turmeric gives the vegan custard a light yellow color to mimic classic French custard, which gets its color from egg yolks.
Top Recipe Tips and Notes
- Just keep stirring: Egg-free custard needs to be constantly whisked as it’s heated on the stove to prevent lumps from forming. Lumps can also form when the custard is cooling, so it’s a good idea to stir it every so often while it cools on the kitchen counter.
- Use unsweetened oat milk: Sweetened non-dairy milk will make the custard too sweet. If all you have is sweetened milk, reduce the white sugar by 1 to 2 tablespoons.
- For a thicker consistency: Only use ¾ cup of vegan milk to make a thick and creamy pastry cream (this is best for dessert tarts and stuffing into pastries).
Serving Suggestions
- Serve it in a bowl with the toppings you love and eat it with a spoon like pudding.
- Layer the custard in layer cakes or use it as a topping for chocolate cake.
- Put out a bowl at parties and serve it with fresh fruit for dipping.
- It adds a creamy contrast when served with warm, roasted peaches or an apricot crisp.
- Stuff the custard in pastries, like vegan donuts, croissants, eclairs, or cream puffs.
- Use it as a topping on vegan pies or a filling for vegan fruit tarts.
- Drizzle it over your favorite vegan brownies.
- Add a dollop on top of a bowl of vegan ice cream or sorbet.
- Swap the nut butter in this summer fruit pizza for the custard.
- Drizzle it on top of pancakes or waffles.
- Swap the vegan yogurt in a parfait for the custard and top it with granola.
- Garnish your baked oatmeal with the custard.
- Top your bread pudding with some vegan custard.
Storage Instructions
Once the custard has cooled to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. It also freezes well for about 3 months.
The leftover custard is delicious straight from the fridge or you can gently warm it in a saucepan on the stove. Keep in mind that the custard will thicken as it cools, but you can thin the texture by stirring in a splash of plant-based milk.
More Sweet Treats
- Super Simple Chocolate Mousse
- Banana Parfait
- Mixed Berry Ice Cream
- Banana Cheesecake
- Vegan Date Caramel Sauce
- Thai Mango Sticky Rice
Photos by Alfonso Revilla
Vegan Custard
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup of plant based milk (oat is best for its neutral flavor)
- 1 cup of plant-based heavy cream
- ½ cup of cornstarch
- ¼ cup of sugar
- ¼ teaspoon of turmeric
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- To a blender pitcher, add all of the ingredients. Blend on the lowest setting for 10 seconds until all of the ingredients are fully combined and there are no lumps. Blend for more time if lumps are still present.
- Add the mixture to a sauce pan and whisk continuously for 5 minutes until the liquid thickens. Keep whisking until the desired custard texture is achieved.
- Eat immediately or transfer the custard to an air tight tupperware and store it in the fridge to enjoy cold.
Notes
- Just keep stirring: Egg-free custard needs to be constantly whisked as it’s heated on the stove to prevent lumps from forming. Lumps can also form when the custard is cooling, so it’s a good idea to stir it every so often while it cools on the kitchen counter.
- Use unsweetened oat milk: Sweetened non-dairy milk will make the custard too sweet. If all you have is sweetened milk, reduce the white sugar by 1 to 2 tablespoons.
- For a thicker consistency: Only use ¾ cup of vegan milk to make a thick and creamy pastry cream (this is best for dessert tarts and stuffing into pastries).
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Thick and creamy delicious custard!
Yessss! the texture comes out so nicely!
such a yummy custard recipe!
Right?! So sweet and perfect for so many things!
love this sweet treat!