Boiled Custard
A crowd-pleasing vegetarian built around whole milk, eggs and white granulated sugar — roughly 60 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for saucepan and pan. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
Diet: vegetarian — no meat or fish, based on every ingredient listed below.
Contains: Dairy Egg
Allergen labels are informational and may not cover cross-contact; verify every package and consult a qualified professional for medical dietary needs. Diet labels are derived from the ingredient list on this page — how we verify diet and allergen labels.
Food-safety and allergen information is general, not medical advice. Follow current guidance from your local food-safety authority, verify product labels, and seek qualified advice for allergies or health conditions.
How to make it
- Heat the milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until steaming and small bubbles form at the edges, but do not let it boil.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and salt together until smooth and pale.
- Stir the cornstarch into the water to make a smooth slurry, then whisk it into the egg mixture.
- Whisking constantly, slowly pour about a cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture to temper it, then pour everything back into the saucepan.
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon and reaches at least 71 C (160 F) for food safety, about 8 to 10 minutes; do not let it boil or it may curdle.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, then strain through a fine sieve into a clean bowl for a silky texture.
- Serve warm, or press plastic wrap onto the surface and chill until cold before serving.
You'll use: Saucepan · Pan · Whisk · Steamer
Ingredient substitutions
- Milk
- any unsweetened plant milk · ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
- Eggs
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (baking) · 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water per egg
- Cornstarch
- 2 tbsp flour per 1 tbsp cornstarch (as thickener)
Tips & common questions
How long does Boiled Custard take to make?
About 60 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 7 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of milk?
Try any unsweetened plant milk. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Boiled Custard vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat, fish or shellfish, so it is suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheese for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Adapted recipe — rewritten in our own wording from an open-licensed community cookbook, not yet independently kitchen-tested by Consomee. How we source, test & correct recipes.
Boiled Custard is adapted by Consomee from the Wikibooks Cookbook, rewritten in our own wording and used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo: Custard a-boiling (4235800499).jpg by Andrea Moed from San Francisco, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.