Vegan lemon tart

This vegan lemon tart is a popular recipe that everyone will love. It's sweet, refreshing, and made with really simple ingredients that you already have in your pantry. You can make it with a soft crust or crunchy crust. We'll show you both.

It's nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free and suitable for people that follow a vegan lifestyle. You can serve it as a dessert after any meal, but also as an afternoon snack with tea or coffee.

On this page:

• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Equipment
• How to make a vegan lemon tart
• Tips
• Frequently asked questions
• Which one should I make?
• Storage
• Variations
• Recipe

What to expect: clear lemon flavour and aroma, both in the crust and in the filling. You can make the crust soft or crunchy, just by tweaking the cooking method. We will show you how to do that.

The base of this lemon tart is a vegan pie crust packed with lemon flavour. The crust is filled with a delicious dairy-free and egg-free lemon custard. The double lemon flavour in both the pie crust and the custard make this tart irresistible.

As you can see from the pictures, we made two vegan lemon tarts: one with a crunchy crust (Nico's favourite) and one with a soft crust (Louise's favourite). The ingredients are exactly the same.

The only thing that changes is the procedure. We'll show you both ways down below. But in any case, they are both delicious.

Ingredients & Substitutions

For the crust

• Flour: we tested all-purpose flour, bread flour, first-clear flour, and whole-wheat flour. They all work great!
• Sugar: we used white sugar. You can replace it with brown sugar, coconut sugar, or any other sugar, but for a crunchier crust stick to white sugar.
• Water: plain tap water is best.
• Oil: we use sunflower oil. You can replace it with any other vegetable oil that has a mild flavour. Refined oils are best for this tart as they have no flavour. I do not recommend coconut oil or olive oil.
• Lemon: the zest of 2 medium lemons. This will give a delicious lemon aroma to the pie crust.
• Baking Powder: we use it to make the pie crust lighter and more friable.

For the lemon custard

• Plant milk: we use unsweetened organic soy milk. You can use any plant milk of your choice, such as oat milk, almond milk, rice milk, pea milk, etc. You can also use coconut milk, but then your custard will taste like coconut.
• Sugar: we use white sugar. You can use any sugar you like.
• Cornstarch: this is used to thicken the custard, instead of the eggs.
• Lemon: we use both the juice and the peel of 2 lemons.

Equipment

• Pie dish: best if with removable bottom. We used one that is 10 inches (26 cm). Any between 9 and 10 inches will work.
• Zester or grater: for the lemon zest.
• Rolling pin.
• Whisk.
• Sieve.

How to make a vegan lemon tart

For the lemon custard

In a sauce pan off the heat, add strained lemon juice, soy milk, sugar and cornstarch. Whisk until there are no lumps. 

Now add the lemon peel (not the grated zest) and simmer while whisking over medium heat until thick and smooth.

Remove the lemon peel and set aside to cool while you prepare the crust. Stir occasionally to avoid lumps. If you want, add a pinch of turmeric to give it a yellow colour.

For the crust

Preheat the oven to 360F or 180C. In a bowl, add sugar, water, oil, lemon zest and mix with a spatula. Sift in the flour and baking powder all at once , then with the same spatula mix all the ingredients until they almost come together.

Transfer the dough to a worktop and knead with your hands for max 1 minute, just long enough to bring everything together into a smooth ball. Do not knead too much.

Add a little flour if the dough seems too sticky. Sprinkle the worktop with flour, then with a rolling pin roll out ¾ of the dough into a 4 mm thin disk.

Oil the pie dish, then dust it with flour, then transfer the dough into it and fit it snuggly pushing with your fingers. Cut off the excess dough and poke holes in the bottom and sides with a fork.

To make a soft-crust lemon tart

Fill the crust with the lemon custard and spread evenly with a spoon.

Roll out the leftover dough thinly, then with a knife cut 9 strips and place them on top of the tart. 5 in one direction, the other 4 in the opposite direction. Brush the strips with vegetable milk.

Bake at 360F or 180C for 40-45 minutes. We baked ours for 43 minutes, but baking time may vary depending on your oven and the thickness of the crust. Let cool completely for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

To make a crunchy-crust lemon tart

Bake the crust, without filling, at 360F or 180C for 15-20 minutes. The exact time depends on how thick it is and your oven. It should be lightly browned.

While the base is baking, roll out the remaining dough very thin, then with a small mold make little cookies with your favorite shape (we used stars) and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. 

Once the base is cooked, remove it from the oven and set aside to cool for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bake the cookies at 360F or 180C for about 8 minutes, until golden on top.

Just before serving, fill the base with the lemon custard. Place the cookies on top of the custard and there you have it. A delicious and crunchy vegan lemon tart to serve as a dessert or snack with tea and coffee. You can dust with powdered sugar if you like.

Please note that the crunchy-crust lemon tart will stay crunchy only for about 1 day. So not ideal to prep in advance. You can however, prep all the elements in advance, and then build the tart last minute.

Tips

• If you are making the vegan lemon tart with soft crust we recommend letting the tart cool down completely before eating it. The flavour will be richer and more intense.
• If you are making the crunchy lemon tart, you might have some leftover dough. You can use that to make delicious extra cookies.
• If your lemon custard gets lumpy after it cooled down, then beat it really fast with a whisk and the lumps will disappear.

Frequently asked questions

Which one should I make?

It really depends on your preference. The only thing to keep in mind is, the crunchy crust will only stay crunchy for about a day, before it starts absorbing moisture from the air and from the lemon custard.

So, if you want crunchy crust, my advice is to make the base, the custard and the cookies on top in advance, but then to build the lemon tart just before serving it. It only takes 2 minutes to build and it will taste so delicious.

To make the soft crust lemon tart, you should cook the tart with the custard in. The lemon tart with soft crust is easier to store for a couple of days.

Storage

Store our vegan lemon tart on a plate, covered, in a dry corner of your kitchen. You can keep it out for 2 to 3 days. To store it for longer, put it in the refrigerator, covered.

The flavour of the tart gets better the day after, but the crust will get softer if you store it in the refrigerator. This is true for both the soft and the crunchy lemon pie. We do not recommend freezing this dish.

Variations

Ricotta and chocolate chips pie

Vegan ricotta pie is an easy recipe made with a few simple ingredients. We make a sweet vegan shortcrust pastry as the base for the pie. We then fill it with a creamy, sweet, aromatic ricotta cream, mixed with dark chocolate chips and orange zest.

Strawberry tart

An eye-catching dessert that will wow your friends and family thanks to its popping colour and flavour. Our tart is made with a crunchy shortcrust pastry base, filled with a smooth and creamy vanilla custard, and topped with sweet fresh strawberries.

Mini apple tarts

The perfect treat for a mid morning snack, or for a cosy tea-break in the afternoon. They are pretty, crunchy, filled with fresh apples and raisins, and made with a delicious vegan shortcrust pastry that is super easy to make, and even easier to eat!

Easy crostata

Learn how to make an authentic crostata (jam tart), an authentic Italian dessert and breakfast idea. Fill it with your favorite jam, custard or berries and enjoy a crusty slice of Italian tart in the comfort of your own kitchen.

Fruit tart with custard

This beautiful and delicious fruit tart with lemon custard is a classic Italian pastry recipe that everyone loves. It's egg-free, dairy-free, and made with whole grain flour and plenty of fresh seasonal fruit.

Recipe