Vegan Lemon Mousse – Connoisseurus Veg

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This vegan lemon mousse is sweet, tangy, and irresistibly creamy — yet light and fluffy at the same time. Made with just a handful of ingredients, it’s an easy, elegant dessert that’s perfect for spring celebrations of all kinds.

Two cups of Vegan Lemon Mousse and a bowl of lemon slices.

The secret to the airy texture of this vegan lemon mousse is aquafaba — the liquid from a can of chickpeas. This stuff whips up like egg whites but keeps the recipe completely plant-based. It’s worked like a charm for me in other recipes like my vegan ladyfingers, and it did the trick this time as well! Combining aquafaba with rich coconut cream and lemon flavors creates a dessert that’s flavorful, rich and indulgent, but also light and fluffy.

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Ingredients You’ll Need

Below you’ll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.

Coconut cream. This product is sold in cans, usually right near the coconut milk at the grocery store. Make sure you don’t buy creamed coconut or cream of coconut. These are totally different products!
Powdered sugar. We’re using organic powdered sugar to keep the recipe vegan, since conventional sugar is often processed using animal bone char.
Lemon juice. You only want to use freshly squeezed juice here. Lemon is the star flavor of this dessert after all!
Lemon zest.
Lemon extract. Sold in the baking aisle, this will give the lemon flavor a little more umph!
Salt.
Yellow food coloring. This is optional, and just for looks. The lemon juice on it’s own will add some yellow color, but just a touch. If you’re opposed to food coloring, feel free to use a pinch of turmeric instead.
Aquafaba. Traditional lemon mousse is made with eggs, so were using one of my favorite egg substitutes for baking in this recipe: aquafaba. Sounds fancy, but it’s just the liquid from a can of chickpeas. If you don’t have chickpeas on hand, cannellini beans, navy beans, or any other type of white bean will work.
Cream of tartar. I mostly use this stuff in baking, in recipes like my vegan snickerdoodles, but in this particular recipe it works great as a stabilizer, helping to prevent the whipped aquafaba from falling.

How It’s Made

The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!

Step 1: Open up your can of coconut cream. Place the solid portion only into a large mixing bowl. You can discard the liquid, or save it for another use — coconut water is great in smoothies!

Whipped mixture of lemon coconut cream in a mixing bowl with electric mixer and spatula.

Step 2: Add powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, and a pinch of salt, then use an electric mixer to beat the ingredients just until they’re creamy.

Tip: Your coconut cream needs to have separated into liquid and solids for this recipe to work, so it needs to be cool. This may not be the case if your kitchen is warm. The day before making this, shake the can of coconut cream. If you hear sloshing, stick it in the fridge for a day or so.

Aquafaba whipped to soft peaks in a mixing bowl with electric mixer and spatula.

Step 3: Fit your electric mixer with the whisk attachment, then use it to beat the aquafaba and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. If you don’t have a whisk attachment, you can use the beaters — it’ll just take longer.

Aquafaba being folded into vegan lemon coconut cream in a mixing bowl with a spatula.

Step 4: Carefully transfer the aquafaba mixture to the bowl with the coconut mixture, then fold it in with a spatula. Be careful! You don’t want to disturb all those bubbles you created in your aquafaba.

Tip: Soft peaks means that your aquafaba mixture has reached a stage where peaks form in it when you lift the whisk from the bowl, but they are soft and will droop a bit. This should take four or five minutes to achieve if you’re using the whisk attachment, and ten minutes or longer using the beaters.

Step 5: Transfer your lemon mousse to individual serving dishes. Again, be super careful not to disturb the little bubbles that you’ve created in the mixture. Cover and chill until the mousse has set.

White wooden surface set with two cups of Vegan Lemon Mousse and lemon slices.

Step 6: Your vegan lemon mousse should be ready after about two hours. You can enjoy it alone, or top it with some vegan whipped cream and fresh berries. I also love to garnish mine with fresh mint leaves!

Leftovers & Storage

Store your lemon mousse in the serving cups you originally placed it in to set, covering them tightly with plastic. The mousse will keep in the fridge for three to four days.

Cup of Vegan Lemon Mousse topped with whipped cream, mint leaves, and raspberries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this recipe gluten-free?

It is. No gluten containing ingredients here!

I chilled my coconut cream and now it’s rock solid. What should I do?

Let it sit out at room temperature for up to an hour, until it softens up a bit. If your kitchen happens to be very cold, place it in a slightly warmer location.

Can I make this dessert ahead of time?

Yes! In fact, this recipe sets better if it’s made a day in advance. Just be sure to cover the serving containers tightly with plastic and chill them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them.

Can I freeze this dish?

I’m afraid not. Freezing will totally mess up the texture.

More Vegan Lemon Desserts

Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!

Cup of vegan lemon mousse topped with whipped cream, raspberries, and mint leaves, lemon slices in the background.

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