Creamy, custardy pumpkin creme brulee – made without any heavy cream or eggs!
A rich pumpkin custard base hides beneath a hard shell of caramelized brown sugar…
This pumpkin creme brulee takes pumpkin season to a whole new level.
The recipe was inspired by one of the more unusual recipes on my site, the Avocado Crème Brulee.
As much as I love them, sometimes I get bored of just posting about chocolate and coconut and peanut butter all the time!
While an equal-sized serving of traditional creme brulee can have as much as 50 grams of fat, 20 grams of sugar, and more calories than an entire meal, this delightfully lightened-up recipe lets you indulge in the luxuriousness of creme brulee without all the added sugar and empty calories.
Plus, you get a serving of vegetables at the same time – even pumpkin haters will love this recipe!
Or maybe they won’t.
No worries in that case… I will gladly eat theirs.
To Make The Pumpkin Creme Brulee:
Combine the ingredients until smooth, spoon into oven-safe ramekins, and smooth out the tops.
If you are impatient or just really hungry, feel free to forgo the traditional creme brulee topping and simply eat the pumpkin custard as-is.
However, adding the burnt brown sugar really elevates the deliciousness of this creamy pumpkin dessert.
There’s no need to go out and buy a blow torch.
If you don’t have one, simply place the vegan creme brulee on the top rack of the oven, closest to the broiler, and watch carefully so the brown sugar caramelizes into a hardened shell without burning to a crisp.
Close your eyes, and think about how much better this tastes than a boring old pumpkin spice latte.
Pumpkin Creme Brulee
Creamy Pumpkin Creme Brulee
Print This Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pumpkin or sweet potato puree
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- just over 1/16 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/16 tsp each nutmeg and cloves, optional
- pinch stevia OR 3 tbsp sugar of choice
- 2-3 tsp coconut sugar or brown sugar (Omit if you want a sugar-free version)
Instructions
For best results, be sure to use full-fat coconut milk, not lite or coconutmilk beverage. Either by hand or in a blender, combine all ingredients except the optional brown sugar until completely smooth. (For smoothest results, use a blender.) Spoon into oven-safe ramekins or small dishes, and smooth out the tops. Before serving, if desired, sprinkle about 1 tsp brown sugar per dish evenly over the top. Then set as close to your oven’s broiler as possible and broil OR use a blow torch to burn the sugar. If broiling in the oven, it only takes 5-10 minutes, so watch it carefully and rotate after every 3 minutes.
Link Of The Day:
Clean Eating Almond Butter Fudge
Marina @ A Dancer's Live-It says
SO much better than a pumpkin spice latte for sure!! This looks incredible Katie, I usually don’t go for creme brulee because they’re too heavy for me, but I LOVE your ingredient list so I’ll be making this! 🙂
Cindy says
Is there a substitute for the coconut milk-I’m allergic to coconut!
Whitney says
Maybe try a different dairy-free milk, like cashew or almond, and add some of Katie’s cashew cream to give it some creaminess/body? I don’t know if it’ll work, but I hope that’s helpful.
April Niver says
I like to use oat milk. I think it has a thicker viscosity than other plant-based milks. Cashew is also thick.
Yvonne says
I can’t wait to try this! Do I still put it in the oven if I’m using the blow torch?
Julie Dove says
Nope!
Ashley says
I keep waiting for pumpkin to go on sale, but it doesn’t seem to be happening. I’ll have to keep an eye out for a good price; this recipe needs to happen 🙂
Susan Robbins says
These are absolutely delicious! I’m a health coach, and my clients are either paleo or AIP style of eating. Love that this recipe works for all. I, personally am AIP, with an egg allergy, and creme brulee was a fave. Thank you for this! I shared with my clients, and the feedback from them after making it is fabulous. This will be made for Thanksgiving at my house for sure!
Kelly says
I made this Saturday night for a potluck I was attending. I didn’t brulee it; I presented it as a pumpkin pudding/custard. My only problem was once I mixed up the custard ingredients it was more liquid like and not at all like a pudding or custard. So we froze the mixture and it did thicken somewhat. It tasted great! But was more drinkable rather than spoon-able!
Laura says
I had the same results. I’m thinking we should drain off the excess liquid from the coconut milk and just use the solid?
Tammie Sokoloff says
I just made it and had the same problem…perhaps there’s a direction step missing…like perhaps we’re supposed to bake it first???
Sandra says
I wanted to leave my feedback in case it can be helpful: My results came out perfectly thick like a thick pudding so the recipe definitely does work as written.
It may be a difference in the thickness of your coconut milk as different brands can have different amounts of fat. When I opened the can, my coconut milk was already thick like pudding.
By the way, my guests loved the recipe! It was a nice healthier alternative and was especially appreciated by a guest who was gluten free and couldn’t have the pies.
Sandra says
I think it depends on the thickness of the particular can of coconut milk you use. My pudding came out nice and thick when I made this, but in the past with other recipes I have gotten cans of coconut milk that are too thin to even make coconut whipped cream. If it’s helpful, I used Thai Kitchen Organic brand of coconut milk.
Mark says
This was my first time (making and eating) creme brulee. I liked how light it was. I expected it to be heavier-ish. Thank you very much!
Kapoche says
What’s the degree I should be using?
Sandra says
You don’t bake it but use the broil setting on your oven, which is around 530 degrees I think and you have to put it near the top.
Jen S says
Maybe the recipe should say coconut cream instead of coconut milk. I used coconut milk and like the other people, it was too runny.
Caryn says
Mine was super thick!
Caryn says
This was EXCELLENT!
I know it’s after Thanksgiving but I saw the photos and just had to make it. Oh it was a good decision indeed 😉 🙂
Caryn says
I’m going to try it next with sweet potato!
Cassie Autumn Tran says
I’ve never liked creme brulee, but I’ll admit that pumpkin creme brulee actually sounds quite tasty!
Suzanne says
I made this recipe exactly as printed, minus the sugar on top, so did not blow torch it. It certainly retained the liquid consistency, although I used full fatted coconut milk. I prefer a coconut milk that does NOT have fillers like guar gum. I was also puzzled, as there was no mention of setting it in the refrigerator, especially if one is not torching it on top (no sugar version). Soupy! Next time, I will try it only using the coconut cream that separates on top of the can.