I love creamy dessert recipes, and when we don’t make vegan banana pudding for dessert, I like to make vegan custard. Custard is very close to pudding in texture, it’s a little bit thicker, and in a classic custard, eggs are used as a thickener. So a classic custard is not vegan, not only because of the eggs but also because of the cream, milk, and butter. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to make a delicious vegan custard recipe without eggs or dairy.
Ingredients and Substitutions
All you need to make an egg-free custard are four ingredients.
Cornstarch or corn flour – This is your binding agent. Don’t use tapioca flour or arrowroot flour. The texture won’t be as thick and creamy. Non-Dairy Milk – I found that high-protein plant-based milk gives a better texture, so I recommend soy milk for this recipe. However, the recipe will work with other milk, like oat milk, coconut milk, or almond milk, to cut the calories. Sugar – Or any natural sugar-free crystal sweetener for an egg-free sugar-free custard, try erythritol. Natural Vanilla Extract – for other flavors, use different extracts.
There are two optional ingredients I recommend using for color and texture.
Turmeric – It’s a natural Indian spice that has excellent anti-inflammatory properties. It’s also a great way to give any vegan dessert an egg yolk color without using food coloring. Vegan Butter – This is the best way to add an ultra-creamy texture to your vegan custard recipe.
How To Make Vegan Custard
Serving
After that time, remove the saucepan from the fridge and stir the mixture. It will be very thick and perfect for piping but if you like your custard thinner, whisk in an additional 1/4 cup of plant-based milk to thin it out. Serve the custard as a dessert on it’s own in small yogurt jars topped with:
Whipped Coconut Frosting or Vegan Whipped Cream Sliced Almonds Shredded Coconut
Or use the custard to drizzle on top of your favorite vegan cake or vegan dessert like this:
Vegan Lemon Pound Cake Vanilla Wacky Cake Vegan Birthday Cake Vegan Gluten-Free Brownies
Flavors And Add-Ons
You can add many flavors to this simple custard recipe by adding 1 or 2 teaspoons of natural extract. The best custard flavors are banana extract and coconut extract, or you can stir in 1/4 cup of mashed banana or strawberry puree.
Allergy Swaps
Here are some allergy swaps for you to try if needed.
Nut-Free – Use nut-free plant-based milk like soy milk, hemp milk, or oat milk. Gluten-Free – Pick gluten-free, dairy-free milk such as soy milk, hemp milk, or almond milk. Corn-Free – The recipe could work with arrowroot flour, but the texture is not as close to custard, so not my favorite. Sugar-Free – Any sugar-free crystal sweetener with a 1:1 ratio replacement to sugar works, including xylitol, allulose, or erythritol.
Storage Instructions
This vegan custard can be stored in sealed jars in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the custard. Simply thaw it in the fridge the day before serving. Below are my answers to your most common questions about this recipe.
More Creamy Vegan Dessert Recipes
Below are some more easy vegan dessert recipes for you to try.
