This no-bake Vegan Creme Brulee is a decadent dessert made with just 8 simple ingredients! The easy vegan vanilla custard is topped with caramelized sugar and served in individual ramekins or one large dish.
This Vegan Creme Brulee recipe is all about decadence. Featuring an egg and dairy free vanilla custard and a caramelized sugar crust, this is one vegan dessert you and your guests will be raving about.
You’ll be surprised at just how easy it is to make, too. There’s no baking required and you only need 8 ingredients! Simply make the custard on the stove, leave it to set in the fridge, then torch the sugar on top to form a crackly crust. Crack it open with a spoon and enjoy!
What is creme brulee?
Creme brulee is a light, pudding-like dessert made with two layers: (1) a vanilla custard base and (2) a caramelized sugar crust on top.
The custard, traditionally made from eggs, cream, sugar, and vanilla, is heated on the stove, poured into individual ramekins, and baked in the oven. To finish, granulated sugar is sprinkled on top and caramelized with a kitchen torch to form a hard crust. Crack into the crust with a spoon, then scoop and enjoy.
Vegan creme brulee has the same basic qualities and flavors as the classic. However, it’s even easier to make because the custard is left to set in the fridge and doesn’t need to be baked. The dairy and egg free ingredients aren’t as heavy as real cream and eggs, but the results are just as light and creamy as the original.
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Soy milk – Make sure it’s unsweetened so the dessert doesn’t turn out overly sweet. You can also use almond, cashew, or oat milk if you don’t want to use soy milk.
- Coconut milk – Use a can of full-fat coconut milk, not coconut milk from a carton. If you have an aversion to coconut products, you can use vegan cream instead. Country Crock’s plant cream works, as does cashew cream. You could simply use more soy milk but the custard won’t be as rich and creamy.
- Cornstarch – To help thicken the custard. You might be able to use arrowroot starch as a substitute, but I haven’t tested it.
- Granulated sugar – You need granulated sugar to help sweeten the custard and to form the caramelized sugar crust on top. According to Bon Appetit, the best kind of sugar for the creme brulee topping is simply granulated sugar. This is because the small granules melt easily and become golden, which tells you that the crust is almost fully caramelized. You may not get the same visual cue if you were to use coconut sugar or demerara sugar.
- Turmeric – Egg yolks in a traditional creme brulee give it a subtle yellow hue. A pinch of turmeric will mimic this same color without affecting the flavor. You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to.
- Salt
- Vanilla extract – Or you can simmer a scraped vanilla bean and the seeds in with the custard for a stronger vanilla flavor.
How to make vegan creme brulee
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
You need 4 to 6 small ramekins to make individual servings of creme brulee. For a more casual, scoop-it-yourself presentation, make it in one large baking dish, like a pie plate or casserole dish.
To start, whisk the milks, cornstarch, sugar, and turmeric together in a saucepan on the stove. Heat over medium-high heat and stir it constantly until it starts to thicken.
Take it off the heat as soon as it’s thick, then stir in the vanilla.
Immediately pour an even amount of custard into the ramekins or baking dish. Place a layer of plastic on top, lightly pressing it onto the top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming.
Transfer them to the fridge to set.
Once the custard is set, sprinkle an even layer of granulated sugar on top of each serving. Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar until it’s golden.
Serve it right away, either as-is or with berries on top, and enjoy!
Helpful tips
- This recipe moves fast! Have all of your ingredients, dishes, and tools ready to go before you get started.
- Stirring the vanilla extract into the custard when it’s off of the heat will help you avoid cooking out the decadent vanilla flavor.
- The custard needs to set in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours. For the best results, leave it overnight.
- Try to distribute the granulated sugar into an even layer that fully coats the custard cream and reaches all the way to the edges. This way, the sugar will easily turn golden rather than melting or burning the custard.
- Continuously move the torch in a circular movement as you caramelize the sugar or else you might burn the sugar.
- Torch the sugar right before serving – no earlier! If you leave it too long or refrigerate the creme brulee, the caramelized sugar will melt into the custard and you’ll miss out on that beautiful crackly top.
Frequently asked questions
I haven’t tried making creme brulee without a kitchen torch, but you could try placing them under the oven broiler for just a few minutes to help the sugar caramelize. Make sure you’re using heat-proof ramekins or dishes, and watch them very carefully.
Yes, this vegan creme brulee recipe is naturally gluten free.
You can place some fresh berries on the bottom of your ramekins before pouring in the custard. Or, to make vegan chocolate custard, whisk ¼ cup of cocoa powder in the saucepan with the rest of the custard ingredients.
The custard in the ramekins or baking dish can be left covered and in the fridge for about 3 or 4 days. Only add the sugar coating on top right before serving.
Want more decadent vegan desserts?
- Vegan Chocolate Mousse
- Vegan Coconut Cream Pie
- The Best Vegan Cheesecake
- Vegan Meringues
- Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie
Vegan Creme Brulee
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 13.5 ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric, optional
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3-5 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Get out 4-6 small ramekins. You can also make this in one large dish, like a pie dish or small casserole dish. Set aside so you are ready to go.
- In a medium saucepan, add the soy milk, coconut milk, cornstarch, sugar, turmeric and salt. Whisk very well until all the lumps are gone.
- Turn the heat to medium-high heat and whisk constantly as it warms. The watery mixture should start to thicken. This can take anywhere from 2-8 minutes. Once it thickens, remove it from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Immediately pour the mixture into the ramekins and cover with plastic wrap, touching the custard so a skin doesn't form. Place the ramekins in the refrigerator to chill for 4 hours or overnight.
- Once chilled and set, sprinkle each ramekin with a little sugar and use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar. For best results, completely cover the top of the custard with sugar for even caramelization.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- May use almond, cashew or oat milk instead of soy if needed. You could use sweetened, but it might be extra sweet.
- Make without coconut: You can substitute a vegan cream for the coconut if you want. Country Crock’s plant cream works, or cashew cream. You could simply use more soy milk but it won’t be as rich and creamy that way.
- Tapioca starch or arrowroot might work in place of the cornstarch, but I haven’t tried it. I’m not sure the texture will be quite the same.
- Turmeric is optional and just for color, otherwise it will be quite white.
- If you don’t have a kitchen blow torch, use the broiler on your oven to caramelize the top. It won’t work quite as well as a blow torch, but it will work if needed.
My nephew requested Cream Brulee ( not vegan) as his birthday treat so I had to do a deep dive into this topic as I had never made it before. Finding your vegan recipe was game changer. I used Bird’s custard power instead of cornstarch and it was the yellow colour needed without tumeric. So excited to be able to eat a vegan treat instead of having to miss out on the birthday fun.
It is possible to also freeze the vegan creme brulee? Or the texture will be ruined? And if it’s possible, for how long would it last?
Hmm I’m not quite sure about freezing it. I have a feeling it would change the texture and make it not so great. But I haven’t tested it to know for sure.
Forgot to click the stars when rating this awesome recipe! Ten stars if that were possible!
Thanks for your fabulous feedback!
Made this for a birthday celebration and everyone loved it! So easy to make that we will not keep this for special occasions only, but for any me we want a yummy treat! Thanks Nora!
You are welcome! Glad you loved the recipe!
So good! The texture is silky and the subtle flavor is just right (without the sugar topping.) I covered my custard dishes with saran wrap but didn’t touch the surface, and no skin formed.
Hi Karen. I’m glad you loved the flavor! Thank you for your great feedback and review!
Would oat milk work with this ?
Yes it will! It may make the brûlée sweeter.
Delicious recipe, and super easy! I recently bought a kitchen torch specifically for making vegan creme brulee and this is the first recipe I’ve tried.
Fortunately, i didn’t need to impress anyone with presentation because it seemed to separate after being torched. Maybe i torched it too long, since I made it in one big pie dish, so it got too warm. Maybe i didn’t let it thicken enough in the pot. Maybe i left it on the heat too long. Who knows? It was still super tasty! Next time I’ll try individual ramekins.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the creme brulee! The torch may have warmed the custard too much. The trick is really in having a good layer of sugar on top of the custard, then torch. If the torch is directly on the custard, it will start to melt. So maybe try more sugar next time! And individual ramekins do tend to be easier to work with. Hope that helps!
Nora, you’re the best!
Out of all the online recipes and cooking help I get yours is consistently the clearest, most concise , and leads to a delicious result!
Would I be able to add a splash of liqueur for flavoring without changing the texture?
I think you could add a little and have the texture be just fine. Sounds good!