Vegan Lemon Tart

From this easy vegan lemon tart recipe, you can expect a decisive lemon flavor and aroma, both in the crust and in the filling, a flakey crust and a creamy filling.

You can make the crust with little effort in about 10 minutes with sugar, vegetable oil, water, lemon zest, flour, and baking powder. It's dairy-free and without eggs.

You can make it in a bowl, you don't need a food processor, and there's no need to roll it out or to let it sit in the fridge. And your kitchen counter won't even get dirty!

For the filling, we use our beloved vegan lemon curd that you can whip together in 5 minutes. It's sweet, creamy, and lemony; we think you'll love it.

If the lemon curd is too tangy for you, replace it with our lemon custard filling.

Top the tart with fresh berries and lemon slices, and you are good to go! Your beautiful and delicious vegan lemon tart is ready in less than 45 minutes, excellent as a dessert for most meals or a delightful afternoon snack.

PS. In the recipe box below we'll show you how to make a crunchy base tart, and a soft base one. You pick your favorite; they are both delicious!

For the vegan tart crust

Flour

You can use all-purpose flour or half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour.

We haven't tested this with gluten-free flour, but we think it should work without problems.

Sugar

We used vegan white sugar.

You can replace it with organic brown sugar, coconut sugar, or other sugar.

Water

Plain cold tap water is best.

Oil

We like to use canola oil or sunflower oil for this recipe.

You can use any other vegetable oil that has a neutral flavor.

We don't recommend coconut oil or vegan butter for this recipe because it hasn't been developed for fats that are solid at room temperature.

Lemon

We grate the zest of one organic lemon in the pie crust to give it a wonderful lemony aroma.

Baking Powder

Baking powder helps make a light and flakey crust.

For the vegan lemon curd

Milk

We generally use unsweetened soy milk or almond milk.

You can use any plant milk of your choice, such as oat milk, rice milk, pea milk, etc.

You can also use coconut milk; however, in this case, the custard will be richer and have a mild coconut flavor.

Sugar

We use vegan white sugar. You can use any sugar you like including organic sugar.

We have not tried agave or maple syrup.

Cornstarch

Cornstarch is used to thicken the custard.

You can substitute potato starch for cornstarch. We have not tested this recipe with arrowroot flour, tapioca starch, or agar agar powder.

Lemon

To flavor the eggless lemon curd, we use the juice of about one lemon and its peel.

Equipment

Tart pan

For pies like this one is best to use a 9.5-inch (24 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom so that you can take the eggless lemon tart out of the pan without breaking.

Alternatively, you can make this in a pie dish; however, you won't be able to take the tart out of the pan.

You'll also need a small pot and a whisk to make the lemon curd.

For the vegan tart crust

Preheat the oven to 360°F or 180°C. Brush the sides and bottom of your tart pan with oil, then line the bottom with parchment paper.

To a mixing bowl, add flour, salt, and baking powder and mix them together.

To a separate bowl, add sugar, water, oil, and grated lemon zest and mix them with a spatula.

Add in the flour mixture, then with the same spatula, mix all the ingredients until they start coming together.

Compact the dough with your hands until you have a dough bowl without working it too much or kneading it.

Transfer the dough to the prepared tart pan and flatten it with the palm of your hand to cover the bottom and sides.

Cut off excess dough, if any.

Pierce the bottom and sides of the tart with a fork.

Bake the tart, empty without filling, at 350°F or 180°C for 18 minutes or until slightly golden on the sides and bottom, then take it out of the oven to cool down. Don't turn off the oven.

In the meantime, prep the filling.

For the vegan lemon curd filling

To a saucepan, off the heat, add milk, sugar, cornstarch, lemon peel (not the grated zest), and turmeric. Whisk until there are no lumps. 

Bring to a simmer on medium heat while whisking until the liquid becomes a thick and smooth custard.

Turn the heat off, add the lemon juice, and remove the lemon peel. Keep whisking for about a minute.

Pour the lemon curd into the tart crust and bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Then, take it out of the oven and let it cool down completely (it'll take about 1 hour).

Take the vegan lemon tart out of the tart pan and garnish it with fresh berries and thin lemon slices.

Crunchy lemon tart

This recipe is perfect for summer as it's light and refreshing. Bake the tart crust empty for 18 minutes until golden brown.

Let it cool down completely, then take it out of the tart pan and fill it with warm lemon curd. Spread the curd with the back of a spoon, then let it cool down for 1 hour and serve without baking the custard.

You can top this one with shapes made with dough scraps.

Italian lemon crostata

Italian lemon crostata is a lemon tart with a laced top. You'll need to double the dough recipe to have enough to make the lacing on top.

1. Make a double batch of the vegan tart crust by using the multiplication in the recipe card below.
2. Arrange half of the dough in the tart pan and pierce the bottom with a fork.
3. Fill the tart pan with lemon curd and spread it evenly with a spoon.
4. Roll out the remaining dough, then cut it into nine strips.
5. Lace the top of the tart with the strips.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F or 180°C for 40 to 45 minutes.
7. Let cool down completely - 3 hours - before serving.

Apple tart

A tasty and simple alternative to apple pie, our vegan apple tart is super easy to make with a few simple ingredients and plenty of apples.

Check out our apple tart recipe.

Blueberry tart

Our blueberry tart is so tasty, tangy, and incredibly easy to make. It's probably one of the healthiest yet super delicious desserts ever.

Check out our blueberry tart recipe.

Ricotta and chocolate chips pie

This ricotta pie is a classic Italian dessert that is creamy, tasty, and fulfilling. It's the Italian take on cheesecake, and it's totally worth it!

Check out our ricotta pie.

Strawberry tart

A light, bright, and beautiful dessert for the spring and summer when fresh strawberries are in season.

Check out our vegan strawberry tart.

Italian crostata

Another classic Italian dessert, crostata, is the perfect sweet treat to make with your favorite jam.

Check out our Italian crostata recipe.

Fruit tart with custard

The queen of summer tarts, this crunchy, creamy, and colorful fruit tart is our favorite tart in the world because it is loaded with plenty of fresh seasonal fruit.

Check out our vegan fruit tart recipe.

Make Ahead & Storage

Make ahead: we recommend making vegan lemon tart 3 to 4 hours ahead of time for best results. You can also prep the dough ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours, wrapped in plastic.

Storage: keep the tart on a plate, covered, in a dry corner of your kitchen for the first 24 hours. If you want to store it for longer, keep it in the fridge, covered in plastic. This recipe is not suitable for freezing.

If you love tangy and sweet lemon desserts, get new inspiration from these easy sweets:

• Easy vegan lemon cake
• Lemon pound cake with lemon glaze
• Blueberry lemon pound cake
• Easy Lemon muffins
• Vegan lemon bars
• 5-minute vegan custard

For many more easy dessert ideas, check out our desserts category page.

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