Vegan Lemon Tart
Simple vegan lemon tart with a classic buttery shortcrust pastry and creamy eggless lemon curd filling. Light, zesty and uses only 6 key ingredients!
This lemon pie is perfect as a Spring dessert or when life simply throws you lemons! This tart also works well as lemon bars. Or if you prefer something lemony but reaaalllly creamy, check out my vegan lemon cheesecake recipe :).
Ingredients to make this vegan lemon tart
This tart uses common pantry ingredients! That means no cashews, tofu or agar agar powder! You will need:
- Plain all-purpose flour (a gluten free option is provided in the recipe card)
- Vegan butter, margarine or coconut oil
- Sugar, rice malt syrup or maple syrup (or sweetener of choice)
- Lemon juice and lemon zest. Fresh for the best lemon flavor!
- Thick coconut cream (not coconut milk)
- Corn starch / flour
The tart has a melt in your mouth shortcrust pastry and a smooth custard-like zesty filling. The coconut flavor in the filling is balanced out the high amount of lemon juice and zest.
Normally lemon curd or lemon custard gets its yellow hue from eggs so I added a pinch of turmeric instead.
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Making the pie crust
Simply add all the pastry ingredients (flour, butter and sugar) to a food processor or mixing bowl and mix until combined. You can roll out the pastry on a floured surface and transfer it to your tart pan. Alternatively you can press the pastry directly into your tart pan.
The pie shell will need to be baked for 10-15 minutes. However, this is the only baking you’ll need to do!
Making the vegan lemon curd filling
It’s very easy to make eggless lemon curd! Add all the ingredients (coconut cream, lemon and sugar) to a heavy-based medium saucepan. Whisk the cornflour before heating it to prevent it from clumping up. Then heat the mixture for 5-10 minutes until it’s a thin custard consistency.
The mixture will set quickly so pour it into your pre-baked pie crust.
Decorating the vegan lemon tart
The tart or pie is beautiful without any decorations! However, the tart can be decorated with:
- A light dusting of powdered sugar
- Fresh raspberries, strawberries or blueberries
- Thin lemon slices
- Whipped dairy free cream, such as coconut cream
- Flaked almonds!
If you’re feeling fancy, you can use this tart as a base of a vegan lemon meringue pie!
Substitutions
Yes, you can make the tart crust gluten free (the filling is already gluten free)! See the ratios in the notes of the recipe card below.
Yes. I’d recommend substituting the coconut cream with 315g dairy-free milk with 170g firm silken tofu. I’d recommend using soy milk, oat milk or almond milk for the best flavor!
Blend the ingredients together until smooth. Cook the mixture on the stove-top for 15-20 minutes or until it forms a THICK custard.
This coconut-free lemon tart creates a custard-like lemon filling which is softer than the one pictured.
See my other vegan lemon dessert recipes
Follow Rainbow Nourishments on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest, and subscribe via email to receive all of our latest recipes!
Vegan Lemon Tart
Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry
- 1 ¼ cups (155g) all-purpose plain flour, (note 1 for gluten free)
- ⅓ cup (75g) vegan butter or margarine
- 3 tablespoons (35g) granulated sugar, or coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30g) cold water, and more as needed
Lemon filling
- 1 ¾ cups (420g) thick scoopable canned coconut cream, (note 2 to make coconut-free)
- 1/4-1/2 cup (50-100g) granulated sugar, or to taste
- ~1/3 cup (80g) lemon juice and zest, or to taste
- ⅓ cup (35g) cornstarch / corn flour
- 2 tablespoons (30g) vegan butter or coconut oil, optional for texture
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of turmeric
- Pinch of salt, optional
To decorate (optional)
- Whipped dairy free cream
- Fresh berries
Instructions
To make the pastry:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease or line a 20 cm (8 inch) loose-bottom tart pan.
- Mix all the pastry ingredients in a medium size bowl or food processor. If the mixture is too crumbly, add extra water and mix until it becomes a pliable dough. If the mixture is too wet, add a little more flour and mix again.
- On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the pastry into a thin circle about 5 mm (1/4 inch) thick.
- Transfer the pastry to the tart pan and press it against the base and sides to form a crust. Trim off the excess. If there are any holes, patch it up with the remaining pastry. Prick the bottom with a fork to let hot air escape when baking.
- Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes, or until the pastry is slightly golden. Allow the pastry to cool in the tart pan.
To make the filling:
- Add all ingredients to a medium-size saucepan and whisk to disperse the corn flour.
- Bring to medium to high heat for 5-10 minutes while whisking constantly. The mixture should thicken quickly and coat the back of a spatula. If there are any lumps in the mixture, blend using a stick blender.
- Quickly pour the mixture into your baked tart shell and smooth the top if necessary. Allow the tart to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
To serve:
- When the tart is firm to the touch, decorate as desired. Serve immediately!
- The tart can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Best to keep the tart without berries on top otherwise they will leak.
Notes
- For a gluten free vegan lemon tart, use 2/3 cup (65g) almond meal/flour and 2/3 cup (105g) gluten-free flour blend which has xantham gum. Press the base directly into the tart pan, rather than rolling it out.
- For a coconut free lemon tart, substitute the coconut cream with 1 1/4 cups (315g) dairy-free milk with 170g firm silken tofu and increase the cornstarch to 1/2 cup (60g). Blend all of the filling ingredients until smooth and cook the mixture on the stovetop for 15-20 minutes or until it forms a THICK custard. The coconut-free lemon tart is more soft and custard-like than the one pictured.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
In one place, you say to bake crust 5-10 minutes, but in Instructions it says 10-15 minutes. Which?
I’m in the USA. A tablespoon here is different from a tablespoon in Australia. If using USA tablespoons, will it effect the recipe?
Sorry about the confusion with the bake time! The crust needs to be baked for 10-15 minutes.
I use US measurements for all my recipes. You can see this with the tablespoon measure for the water where 2 tablespoons is 30g of water. Australian tablespoons would be 40g of water. Enjoy!
My mixture split while cooking. Any ideas why that would happen?
Hi Mia, this can happen if you accidentally overheat the mixture. But you can fix it by using an immersion blender or cooling the mixture and mixing it very very well.
One of the EASIEST recipes I’ve ever made. My question is: could this be frozen after it’s set?
Hi Melissa, I’m so so glad to hear! I haven’t tested it but from experience, I think the filling will separate if you freeze then thaw it. Hope that helps!
Lovely lemon tart that I made in Bologna Italy for my flat mates!! Tried other recipes from your blog as well and all turned out great! Lots of love!
Hi Stella! Aw that’s really amazing to hear!!! And I’m so happy you’ve made and enjoyed some of my other recipes too 🥰. Thanks so much for your ongoing support, I appreciate it so much x
Missed the part about using less flour if using GF flour so I needed a little more water. Skill level here on my end is less than beginner and this was so easy and pretty!
Hi Jenna, it sounds like you troubleshooted your pastry well! But glad that you found the tart easy enough to make!! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
How did you get the tart do yellow, when it’s coconut cream which is white?
Mine is very White .
Hi Anne, the turmeric powder makes the tart yellow. If you add the turmeric at the beginning, it turns even more yellow after you cook it.
Can this be made the day before?
Yes! I would just avoid placing any decorations or fruit on the tart until a few hours before serving.
Hi, I love the recipe and have done it with the tofu and almond milk. Also I used maple syrup. I’m just wondering if it should have been and third of a cup of lemon juice and a third of a cup of lemon zest? Thx for the recipe.
Hi Jenny, I’m so glad that you enjoyed the tofu/milk version! With the lemon, it’s meant to be 1/3 cup of lemon juice and zest combined. Hope that helps!