Vegan Custard (homemade recipes and good brands)

 

This simple homemade vegan custard (The Veg Space) is super-simple to make, with just a few ingredients (plant milk/cream, sugar and vanilla). Plus turmeric to make it yellow (not too much or you’ll make curry custard!)

Keep custard away from pets, due to plant milk, vanilla and nutmeg etc. Read more on food safety for people and pets. 

Just bin acidic scraps that could harm compost creatures (rhubarb, citrus, tomato and alliums – onion, garlic, shallots, leeks, chives). For tinned ingredients, fully remove lid or pop ring-pull over holes before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped. 

Once you’ve mastered the basic recipe, you can vary things up. You can stir through melted squares of chocolate to make chocolate custard, turn it into a boozy custard for Christmas puddings with a little rum. Or even add more cornflour to make a vegan pastry cream, to pipe onto fancy cakes.

Oat or soy milk make the best thick creamy custards (don’t use rice milk!). Sweetened soymilk means you won’t have to use too much sugar either.

Did you know that custard is most popular in China? Apparently people living there go crazy for this dessert. It’s also popular in Italy, where people often eat custard-filled pastries for breakfast.

Homemade Vegan Brandy Custard

This vegan brandy custard (Doves Farm) uses sugar, vanilla and plant milk with cornflour, then adds in some brandy for festive recipes (you can sub with spiced rum, if preferred).

What you need for vegan custard 

• Plant milk gives body and creaminess. Soy and oat usually make the creamiest vegan custard because they have more natural thickness. Almond can work, but it’s thinner. Coconut drink is also quite light. If your milk looks watery, you may need a touch more thickener.
• A thickener (usually cornflour) turns sweet milk into custard. It thickens as it heats, then firms up more as it cools.
• Sugar sweetens, but it also softens the flavour of starch. A pinch of salt makes everything taste more rounded.
• Vanilla is the classic custard flavour. Add it at the end so it stays fragrant.
• A little fat (vegan butter or coconut cream) adds gloss and a richer mouthfeel. It’s optional, but it helps.

Here’s a simple shopping list for about 4 servings:

• 500 ml plant milk (soy or oat for the creamiest result)
• 25 to 35 g cornflour (see thickness note below)
• 50 g caster sugar (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 to 2 tsp vanilla paste)
• Pinch of salt
• Optional, 10 to 15 g vegan butter or 1 tbsp coconut cream

For soy-free, use oat milk. For nut-free, use oat or soy and avoid almond. For gluten-free, cornflour is usually fine, but check custard powder labels if you use it.

Choosing thickener: cornflour, custard powder, or agar

A simple rule of thumb helps:

• Pouring custard: use about 25 g cornflour per 500 ml milk.
• Spoonable, thick custard: use about 35 g cornflour per 500 ml milk.

One key tip saves a lot of stress: always mix cornflour with cold milk first, because it clumps on contact with heat.

Flavour ideas that still taste like proper custard

Vanilla is the heart of it, but small twists can suit different puds.

Try one of these:

• Vanilla extract or paste (stir in at the end)
• A vanilla pod (warm the seeds in milk early, then remove the pod)
• Lemon zest (add early while heating the milk)
• A tiny pinch of turmeric for colour (optional, and very little)
• Cinnamon (warm it in the milk, then strain if you used a stick)
• A splash of rum for adults (stir in off the heat)

How to make vegan custard step by step 

This method works with most plant milks. The main trick is gentle heat and steady whisking. Think of it like building a sauce, not boiling a drink.

1. Measure and split the milk. Pour about 100 ml cold plant milk into a bowl or jug. Keep the remaining 400 ml for the pan.
2. Make a smooth slurry. Add the cornflour to the cold 100 ml milk. Whisk until you can’t see any dry bits. It should look like thin cream.
3. Warm the main milk. Put the remaining 400 ml milk in a saucepan. Add the sugar and a pinch of salt. Heat on medium until it’s steaming and hot to the touch. Don’t let it boil hard.
4. Temper the slurry. Take the pan off the heat for a moment. Slowly pour a splash of the hot milk into the slurry while whisking. Keep going until the bowl feels warm and the mixture looks very smooth.
5. Return everything to the pan. Pour the warmed slurry mix back into the saucepan. Whisk as you pour, so it blends straight away.
6. Cook gently and whisk often. Put the pan back on medium-low heat. Whisk constantly at first, then whisk very often once it starts to thicken. After a few minutes, you’ll feel resistance. The custard will coat the back of a spoon, and you’ll see slow bubbles breaking the surface.
7. Cook out the starch taste. Once it thickens and bubbles gently, keep it on the heat for 30 to 60 seconds, whisking the whole time. This step stops that raw, floury taste.
8. Finish for flavour and shine. Take it off the heat. Stir in the vanilla. If you want a richer custard, add the vegan butter (or coconut cream) and whisk until glossy.
9. Serve or chill. Serve hot for crumbles and sponges. For cold custard, pour it into a bowl and chill. It will thicken as it cools, so make it slightly looser than you want at the end.

If you’re unsure, stop cooking when it looks like thick double cream. It will firm up as it stands.

Troubleshooting: too thin, too thick, lumpy, or grainy

• Too thin: Keep whisking on low heat for another minute or two. If it still won’t thicken, mix 1 tsp cornflour with 1 tbsp cold milk, whisk it in, then simmer gently.
• Too thick: Whisk in warm plant milk, a splash at a time, until it loosens.
• Lumpy: Blend briefly with a stick blender, or push it through a sieve.
• Grainy or separated: The heat was too high. Turn it down, whisk steadily, then add a small knob of vegan butter to help it come back together.

Don’t boil custard hard. High heat makes it catch, and plant milks can split.

Ways to use vegan custard 

Vegan custard earns its keep fast. Pour it over apple crumble, sticky toffee pudding, jam roly poly, or a warm slice of fruit pie. It also works well with sponge cake, especially if you add berries on the side.

For something a bit retro, spoon it into a trifle, or use it with profiteroles if you’ve found a good vegan choux. Cold custard is lovely with fresh fruit too, like strawberries or sliced bananas, because it’s creamy without being heavy.

Just Wholefoods Vanilla Custard Powder

Natural Vanilla Custard Powder is the next best thing, if you don’t want to make homemade custard from scratch. Just mix with plant milk and natural sweetener, then thicken on the hob, and pour over your favourite desserts or vegan jelly. 1 pack (100g) makes 5 pints (20 servings).

Made with real vanilla and natural colours of curmeric (turmeric) and annatto.

Homemade Vegan ‘egg custard’ Tart

This vegan custard tart (Rainbow Nourishments) is a healthier plant-based and animal-kind version of one of England’s favourite sweet snacks. Also popular in Portugal, egg custard is also apparently the favourite food in China!

Keep fresh dough away from children and pets.

After making your 3-ingredient shortcrust pastry (to avoid palm oil in ready-made versions), you make the filling with coconut cream, cornflour and a little turmeric (not too much, you don’t want curry egg custard!) A little kala namak (Indian black salt) gives things an eggy flavour and smell.

Then of course the dish is sweetened up with plant milk, vanilla (use real, not fake) and sugar (or maple syrup). You can use this filling to make Anthea’s vegan vanilla slice.  Make your own vegan puff pastry to avoid palm oil in ready-made versions.