• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Gluten Free Stories - Comfort Food Recipes for Different Dietary Requirements
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Resources
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About
    • Recipes
    • Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Dairy-Free Recipes

    Dairy-Free Custard

    Jul 24, 2023 · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This Dairy-free custard offers a deliciously creamy, silky, and indulgent dessert option for those with dairy or lactose intolerance, without compromising on taste or texture. You can enjoy it on its own, or pour it over your favorite crumble.

    Vanilla Custard in a bowl
    Jump to:
    • 🌟 Recipe Overview
    • 💭 What is custard?
    • 📔 Ingredients & Substitutes 
    • 🥣 How to make this custard 
    • 🔖 How to make custard without tempering the eggs
    • 📖 Storage instructions
    • 👩🏻‍🍳 Expert Tips
    • 🍮 Ways to use this recipe
    • 💬 FAQ
    • 🍰 More Dairy-Free Desserts
    • Recipe

    🌟 Recipe Overview

    • Only 6 ingredients 
    • Offers two methods to make it (with and without tempering the egg)
    • Creamy with a pourable consistency,
    • It can be served hot or cold over ice cream, cakes, brownies, tarts, and pies.

    💭 What is custard?

    Custard is a culinary preparation where the eggs are blended with milk or cream. The traditional custard uses dairy products to make it and is usually thickened using only eggs. However, there are also many recipes that use cornstarch to help thicken the custard. 

    Custard comes in different forms from creamy to pourable (creme anglaise). You can also find custard in various set desserts such as creme caramel, creme brulee, or flan.

    📔 Ingredients & Substitutes 

    Ingredients for dairy-free custard on a Grey stone background

    Soy Milk. You can use any plant milk of choice, however, I've had the best results with soy milk due to its mild flavor.

    Egg. Most custard recipes use only egg yolks, however using the whole egg gives the custard a creamier structure. If you would prefer to use egg yolks, you can substitute the egg for two egg yolks. 

    Vegan Butter or any plant-based butter will work here.

    Sugar. You can add more or less sugar depending on how sweet you want your custard.

    Cornstarch. The cornstarch helps to thicken the custard. If you need to make it corn-free, you can use arrowroot starch.

    Salt brings out the flavor in desserts so don’t skip on it.

    Vanilla Bean gives a stronger vanilla flavor, however, if you want to skip tempering the eggs you can use vanilla extract or paste. You can read more about this below.

    🥣 How to make this custard 

    STEP 1 - INFUSE THE MILK

    Into a pan add soy milk (or any other plant-based milk of choice), 2 tablespoon of sugar, vegan butter, salt, and vanilla. Add both the seeds and pod to the milk and then bring to a boil over low-medium heat.

    Just when it starts to boil turn off the heat and remove the vanilla pod from the mixture.

    Collage with two process photos showing how to infuse the milk.

    STEP 2 - MAKE THE EGG MIXTURE

    While the milk is cooling down, make the egg mixture.

    In a separate bowl mix the egg with 1 tablespoon of sugar and cornstarch. And whisk well, until you have a yellowy cream consistency.

    Collage with four photos showing how to make the egg mixture.

    STEP 3 - COMBINE

    Next, pour the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture in small amounts slowly and gradually into the bowl of egg mixture, whisking well between each addition. This helps prevent the eggs from cooking if you keep the mixture in motion while adding the milk.

    STEP 4 - THICKEN THE CUSTARD

    Transfer the mixture back to the pan and cook on low medium, whisking constantly until it starts to thicken. Make sure not to boil the mixture as this can ruin the custard.

    Collage with process photos showing how to cook dairy-free custard

    🔖 How to make custard without tempering the eggs

    If you don’t want to temper the eggs then you will need to use a vanilla paste or extract because that way you won't need to heat the milk to infuse it.

    This is how to make a dairy-free custard without tempering the egg. In a saucepan together the egg, sugar, and salt until the sugar dissolves. Next, add the starch with about ¼ cup of soy milk (or any plant-based milk that you are using). Whisk until the starch dissolves, then whisk in the rest of the milk.

    Place the pan over medium heat and cook while whisking constantly. As in the other method, make sure the mixture doesn’t boil. Whisk until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. 

    📖 Storage instructions

    You can store the custard covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

    A spoon of dairy-free custard

    👩🏻‍🍳 Expert Tips

    • If you are tempering the eggs, pour in the milk in small amounts and very slowly, to avoid cooking the eggs.
    • Make sure to not boil the custard because this can ruin the texture.
    • If you make a mistake and your custard turns lumpy you can save it by passing it through a fine mesh sieve.

    🍮 Ways to use this recipe

    • As is (like a vanilla pudding) topped with fresh berries.
    • Use it to make profiteroles.
    • As a base for a trifle.
    • Pour it over chocolate cake, brownies, crumble, or fruit tart.
    • For custard-filled donuts
    • Poured over Sticky Toffee Pudding or Christmas Pudding 
    Strawberries and a bowl of custard.

    💬 FAQ

    Can I freeze dairy-free custard?

    I don’t recommend freezing this custard as it contains cornstarch which can turn spongy when defrosted.

    How do I prevent lumpy custard?

    You can get lumpy custard if you don’t temper the egg properly or if you overcook the custard. To prevent lumpy custard you need to pour the milk into the egg mixture very slowly while whisking constantly and you need to cook the custard on a low temperature while also whisking constantly and make sure it does not start to boil.

    Can I add different flavorings?

    Yes, you can add different extracts like banana or coconut. I would recommend staying away from ground spices such as cardamom because they can make your custard texture gritty. If you want to use spices to flavor your custard it is better to use them in their whole form to infuse the milk mixture and remove them later in the process (like we did with the vanilla pod in this recipe).

    🍰 More Dairy-Free Desserts

    • Fudgy Dairy-Free Brownies
    • Dairy-Free Snickers Bars
    • Cherry Liqueur Chocolate Cups
    • Italian Hangover Cake

    Did you make this? Tell me about it! Leave a ⭐ REVIEW and COMMENT below!

    Recipe

    Dairy-free custard in a bowl

    Dairy-Free Custard

    Gluten Free Stories
    This dairy-free custard offers a deliciously creamy, silky, and indulgent dessert option for those with dairy or lactose intolerance, without compromising on taste or texture.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 25 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine British
    Servings 2 servings
    Calories 211 kcal
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1 cup soy milk*
    • 1 tablespoon vegan butter
    • 1 vanilla bean*
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 3 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

    Instructions
     

    How to make custard with the method of tempering the eggs

    • Into a pan add soy milk (or any other plant-based milk of choice), 2 tablespoon of sugar, vegan butter, salt, and vanilla. Add both the seeds and pod to the milk and then bring to a boil over low-medium heat.
    • Just when it starts to boil turn off the heat and remove the vanilla pod from the mixture.
    • While the milk is cooling down, make the egg mixture. In a separate bowl mix the egg with 1 tablespoon of sugar and cornstarch. And whisk well, until you have a yellowy cream consistency.
    • Next, pour the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture in small amounts slowly and gradually into the bowl of egg mixture, whisking well between each addition. This helps prevent the eggs from cooking if you keep the mixture in motion while adding the milk.
    • Transfer the mixture back to the pan and cook on low medium, whisking constantly until it starts to thicken. Make sure not to boil the mixture as this can ruin the custard.

    How to make diary-free custard without tempering the eggs

    • In a saucepan together the egg, sugar, and salt until the sugar dissolves. Next, add the starch with about ¼ cup of soy milk (or any plant-based milk that you are using). Whisk until the starch dissolves, then whisk in the rest of the milk.
    • Place the pan over medium heat and cook while whisking constantly. As in the other method, make sure the mixture doesn’t boil. Whisk until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
    • You can store the custard covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

    Notes

    • If you are tempering the eggs, pour in the milk in small amounts and very slowly, to avoid cooking the eggs.
    • Make sure to not boil the custard because this can ruin the texture.
    • If you make a mistake and your custard turns lumpy you can save it by passing it through a fine mesh sieve.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1gCalories: 211kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 6gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 427mgPotassium: 200mgFiber: 1gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 850IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 178mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword Dairy-Free Custard
    « Peanut Paradise Tropical Smoothie
    4-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome to Gluten Free Stories! I’m Stefani, the voice, writer, photographer, and recipe developer behind Gluten Free Stories. Here you can expect to find gluten-free recipes, as well as recipes for all sorts of different dietary requirements.

    More about me →

    Newest Recipes

    • a slice of no-bake gluten-free cheesecake
      Gluten-Free No-Bake Cheesecake
    • Tuna Pesto Spaghetti with parmesan cheese in a skillet.
      Tuna Pesto Pasta
    • A slice of gluten-free New York style cheesecake with strawberry sauce.
      Gluten-Free New York Cheesecake
    • Meatballs in tomato sauce
      Low FODMAP Meatballs

    Welcome to Gluten Free Stories! I’m Stefani, the voice, writer, photographer, and recipe developer behind Gluten Free Stories. Here you can expect to find gluten-free recipes, as well as recipes for all sorts of different dietary requirements.

    More about me →

    Newest Recipes

    • Green Tropical Smoothie in a glass
      Detox Island Green Smoothie (Tropical Smoothie Cafe Copy Cat)
    • Pasta sauce in a bowl
      Low FODMAP Pasta Sauce
    • A plate with banana oatmeal cookies
      4-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies
    • Peanut paradise tropical smoothie from above
      Peanut Paradise Tropical Smoothie

    • Home
    • About
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Info

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Accessibility Policy

    About

    • About / Contact
    • Work With Me
    • My Portfolio

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 Gluten Free Stories