This incredibly easy 4 ingredient vegan creme brûlée is so creamy and lush, and tastes just like the French classic! No coconut milk and naturally nut-free! 

vegan creme brûlée in a pot

If you’re a fan of custard desserts, like vegan banana cream pie or vegan coconut cream pie, or you love French recipes (like these vegan croissants or vegan French toast!), then you’re going to love this vegan creme brûlée recipe!

What is creme brulee?

Creme brûlée is one of the most popular classic French desserts (creme brûlée literally translates to “burnt cream”). It’s a custard-based dessert with a creamy filling topped with a glass-like sugar caramelization on top. 

Unlike other custard recipes, creme brûlée does not use gelatin, like in panna cotta (check out this easy vegan panna cotta recipe that actually uses agar agar, arrowroot starch or cornstarch instead of gelatin!), creme brûlée uses egg yolks and corn starch to thicken its custard base.

It’s light, sweet, and full of vanilla flavor. Easily a very refreshing dessert that’s served as is or with fresh berries.

vegan creme brûlée pots

Why you’ll love this vegan creme brûlée instead:

Of course, classic creme brûlée is not vegan friendly, as it uses eggs and heavy cream. However, this creme brûlée without eggs tastes nearly identical to its more traditional counterpart. This vegan custard recipe is:

  • Creamy, light, and refreshing
  • Easy to make
  • Only 4 ingredients (and eggless, dairy free, nut free, and gluten free!)
  • NO coconut milk
  • Filled with sweet vanilla flavor 
  • Topped with a crunchy caramelized sugar glass 
  • Perfect for dinner parties or served as a holiday dessert (like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and more!)

You’re going to just love this no bake vegan dessert recipe.

Vegan Creme Brûlée Ingredients & Substitutions:

  • Soy milk: Using soy milk not only adds some protein to the vegan creme brulee, as well as keeping it low fat, but it also is a very thick dairy-free milk. An alternative is using oat milk, either homemade or store bought. I do not, however, recommend using almond milk, as it’s too thin. You can sub in a heavy cream, like So Delicious!’s vegan heavy cream.
  • Sugar: I recommend using an organic sugar, like Florida Crystals sugar, as it’s certified vegan and organic (and made sustainably!). You can also use a caster sugar, but it’s not necessary. For refined sugar free, you can swap in 3/4 cup of maple syrup. For sugar free, you can use an equal amount of granulated monk fruit. 
  • Vanilla extract: I also pair this with fresh vanilla bean seeds from a vanilla pod. 
  • Arrowroot starch: You can also swap in cornstarch (known as cornflour in the UK and Europe). 
Vegan Creme Brulee ingredients

That’s it! You really only need 4 ingredients to make this easy vegan creme brûlée!

Overview: How to make vegan crème brûlée without coconut milk

Here’s a quick overview for how we’ll make this vegan creme brûlée. The full recipe is found down below in the recipe card, however!

To start: Whisk together the ingredients in a sauce pan.

Heat the liquid until it thickens, much like a vegan custard. 

Vegan Creme Brulee filling in a pot

Cool the creme brûlée custard by pouring it into ramekins and placing them into the fridge to set for 4 hours, or overnight.

Vegan Creme Brulee set

Torch the creme brûlée by sprinkling sugar on top and using a culinary torch, like this one. 

Serve and enjoy!

What if I don’t have a blow torch?

If you don’t have a culinary blow torch, not a problem. You can also use the broiler setting in your oven! 

To do this, place the ramekins on a baking sheet and into the oven. Turn on the broiler, as well as the oven light. Only broil the vegan creme brûlée ramekins for a few seconds, until the sugar has completely melted and been to caramelize. You don’t want to burn the sugar!

vegan creme brûlée being served

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

creme brûlée Pinterest pin

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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vegan creme brûlée in a pot

Vegan Creme Brûlée (No Coconut Milk!)

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  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 2
  • Cooling Time: 240
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 4 hours 12 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: No bake
  • Cuisine: French
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

This incredibly easy 4 ingredient vegan creme brûlée is so creamy and lush, and tastes just like the French classic! No coconut milk and naturally nut-free!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup (60 g) arrowroot starch
  • 3 cups soy milk or oat milk*
  • 1 cup (200 g) organic granulated sugar, or monk fruit sweetener
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean seeds
  • 34 tbsp fine sugar, topping

Instructions

  1. Prep: Measure out all ingredients before beginning.
  2. Whisk: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the soy milk, arrowroot starch, 1 cup of granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla beans.
  3. Heat: Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat as you whisk. Once just boiling, reduce the heat to low, and continue whisking until the liquid begins to thicken, about 3-5 minutes.
  4. Cool: Once thickened, divide the creme brûlée filling into 3-4 heat-safe ramekins. Place the ramekins into the fridge to cool and set for 4 hours.
  5. Torch: Once the creme brûlée has set, sprinkle 1-2 tbsp of sugar over the tops of each ramekin. Make sure the sugar is covering the entire top of the creme brûlée filling. Use a kitchen torch to lightly heat the sugar at a 45 degree angle and a few inches away. Don’t heat the sugar with the torch close to the sugar, or you’ll burn the sugar.
  6. Serve: Once melted and caramelized, you can serve the vegan creme brûlée! Store any leftovers in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Notes

Soy milk: You can use soy milk or oat milk as your dairy free milk. Another alternative is a vegan heavy cream, like So Delicious! or Country Crock.

Sugar free option: For a sugar free option, you can swap in a granulated monk fruit sweetener, although it won’t caramelize on top quite like traditional sugar.

No kitchen torch? No problem! Simply use the broiler setting in your oven. Set it to 450F, and broil the ramekins in the oven for only a few seconds (use the oven light to make sure you’re not burning the sugar!).