This sweet summer dessert is perfect for wowing friends and family at your next al fresco gathering. Plus, all of your dinner guests should be able to partake, since these delightful lemon pudding frozen desserts are free of dairy, egg, gluten, nuts, and soy, and are even vegan!
These Vegan Lemon Pudding Frozen Desserts are Simply Cool Treats
This recipe was shared with us by Chef Jason Wyrick of The Vegan Taste, a vegan meal service. He suggests garnishing the molded desserts with fresh mint and berries, but he prefers small and light fruit, like wild blueberries. Here are a few other quick notes.
- Starch: If you need corn-free, you can substitute arrowroot starch for the cornstarch. Tapioca starch might also work well.
- Milk Beverage: We prefer coconut milk beverage for this recipe, but Chef Wyrick uses soymilk. Just note that soymilk can curdle when boiled. You can use your favorite milk beverage, but if your lemon pudding curdles, thickens oddly, or is too thin, the culprit is your milk beverage.
- Citrus: Don’t feel limited in flavor. You can use tangerines or other flavorful fruits in the citrus family in place of the lemon. Simply omit the lemon extract if you don’t have it or it doesn’t suit the flavor.
Special Diet Notes: Lemon Pudding Frozen Desserts
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian, and top food allergy-friendly. Just be sure to choose the milk beverage that suits your dietary needs.
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 cups vanilla dairy-free milk beverage
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 2 lemons) (can sub lime juice)
- 1½ tablespoons lemon zest (can sub lime zest)
- 1½ teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup small or sliced berries (optional)
- Add the cornstarch to a medium saucepan and whisk in about ¼ cup of the milk beverage, until the starch is dissolved. Whisk in the remaining milk beverage and sugar.
- Place the pan over medium heat and cook, whisking often, for about 7 minutes, or until the mixture thickens but does not boil. Whisk vigorously as it gets thicker so that the mixture is smooth.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into a medium bowl.
- Immediately whisk in the lemon juice, zest, and extracts until smooth.
- Pour the pudding into freezer-safe molds.
- If using, place the berries into the mold, allowing some to submerge.
- Freeze the puddings for 5 hours or overnight.
- Allow the puddings to soften a little on the counter, about 10 to 15 minutes, before serving.
- Keep leftovers frozen.