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4.80 from 5 votes
by Marly
15
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This easy vegan flan recipe creates a creamy, smooth flan that’s easier to make than a classic flan. If you’re looking for a smooth dessert with a creamy caramel topping, this will be your go-to favorite!
Grab your forks (or spoons) and take a bite (or several) of this eggless Flan recipe. It’s made with dairy-free eggnog and made even creamier with cashews.
This vegan flan is a real show stopper!
Table of Contents show
What is Flan?
The classic flan recipe is not vegan because it’s usually made with both cream and eggs. However, it’s surprisingly easy to make flan vegan. In fact, I venture to say it’s actually EASIER to make vegan flan recipes than regular flan!
This simple flan recipe sets quickly and can be ready to serve within an hour. All you have to do is prepare the ingredients on the stove-top, pour them into your flan pans and refrigerate.
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Using soaked cashews creates a creamy base with a perfectly smooth mouthfeel
- Coconut sugar adds a caramel flavor to the flan
- Agar flakes make the perfect consistency without any added carbs.
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:
- Raw cashew — You can find raw cashews at health food stores or online.
- Plant-based milk — Use your favorite plant-based milk, like soy milk, almond milk, or cashew milk. Use vegan eggnog to make it a seasonal holiday flan.
- Coconut Sugar – Use coconut sugar or substitute brown sugar.
- Agar flakes — You can find agar flakes at health food stores or online.
- Nutritional yeast flakes — We’ll add a bit of flavor with these yeast flakes.
- Ground nutmeg
- Rum
How to Make Vegan Flan
- Place soaked cashews in a food processor or high-speed blender. Pulse for a few seconds. Add the plant-based milk and pulse until smooth.
- Add the brown sugar, agar flakes, nutritional yeast flakes, and ground nutmeg. Pulse for a second or two to combine.
- Pour this into a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the rum. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes, to allow it to cool slightly.
- Make the caramel topping by combining the ingredients in a separate saucepan and bringing it to a boil and reducing to a simmer. Cook until the sugar caramelizes and the sauce thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour this evenly in the bottom of two flan dishes.
- Pour the cooled flan mixture over the caramel.
- Place in the fridge for at least one hour, preferably two.
- To serve, use a butter knife to cut along the sides of the pan. Invert it over a serving dish. It may take a minute or so, but the flan will drop onto the plate. Sprinkle with additional nutmeg (freshly grated is a nice touch).
Marly’s Tips
Use almond milk to make this a soy-free flan.
How To Soak Cashews
Slow Soak Cashews
- Place cashews in a glass bowl and cover with water.
- Refrigerate and soak them for a minimum of four hours or up to overnight.
- Drain the soaking liquid.
Fast Soak Cashews
- Fast soak cashews by placing them in a saucepan.
- Cover them with water and then place it over medium heat.
- Bring it to a simmer (low boil) and cook for around 10 minutes. The cashews will become plump.
- Remove from heat and allow them to cool.
- Drain the soaking liquid.
Frequently-Asked Questions
Is Flan Vegan?
The classic flan recipe is not vegan because it’s usually made with both cream and eggs. However, it’s surprisingly easy to make flan vegan. In fact, I venture to say it’s actually EASIER to make vegan flan recipes than regular flan!
What is Flan?
A flan is basically a creamy custard dish with a caramel topping. It is usually a bit firmer than a standard pudding and is served on a plate where it stands firm with the caramel sauce dripping over the edge.
Does Vegan Flan Taste Like Flan?
Of course, the big question is does the non-dairy flan taste like, you know, a regular flan dessert? Well, if flan is creamy, rich, with hints of nutmeg and caramel, then this vegan flan is spot on!
Marly’s Tips
Use these expert tips to make this homemade flan recipe perfect every time:
- Experiment by adding a little more dried ginger to the mix. I love that stuff!
- Serve with vegan coconut whipped cream
- Sprinkle some crushed gingersnap cookies over the top
- You don’t need traditional flan dishes for this recipe, but they look nice.
More Vegan Desserts
If you’re into delicious vegan desserts,you’ll love these:
Vegan Coconut Cake
55 mins total
Vegan Strawberry Chocolate Cake
50 mins total
Vegan Pecan Pie
95 mins total
Vegan Oreo Cheesecake
380 mins total
Have some fun! As long as you follow the basics of this easy flan recipe, you can adjust the spices and events sweetness level to meet your own tastes. That’s the best thing about making things from home — you know exactly what’s in your food and you get to adapt the flavors to meet your needs.
Because it’s made without dairy milk, this healthy flan recipe is delicious for people with allergies too.
That’s it for this vegan flan.
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Vegan Flan
Grab your forks for this simple but elegant easy vegan flan recipe. It's made with only a few ingredients but lots of show-stopping flavor!
4.80 from 5 votes
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Spanish
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours hours
Total Time: 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 380kcal
Author: Marly McMillen
Ingredients
Eggnog Flan
- ½ cup raw cashew pieces soaked or quick soak*
- 1 ½ cups plant-based milk
- 1 tablespoon coconut or brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons agar flakes ** not powder
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon rum
Caramel Topping
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ cup plant-based milk
Instructions
Drain the soaked cashews from their soaking liquid. Discard liquid. Place soaked cashews in a food processor or high-speed blender. Pulse for a few seconds. Add the plant-based milk and pulse until smooth.
Add the brown sugar, agar flakes, nutritional yeast flakes, and ground nutmeg. Pulse for a second or two to combine.
Pour this into a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the rum. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes, to allow it to cool slightly.
In a separate saucepan add the caramel topping ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce to a rapid simmer. Cook until the sugar caramelizes and the sauce thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour this evenly in the bottom of two flan dishes.***
Pour equal amounts of the slightly cooled flan mixture over the caramel.
Place in the fridge for at least one hour, preferably two.
To serve, use a butter knife to cut along the sides of the pan. Invert it over a serving dish. It may take a minute or so, but the flan will drop onto the plate. Sprinkle with additional nutmeg (freshly grated is a nice touch).
Recommended Equipment
Food Processor
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
Notes
* Long soak: Place raw cashew pieces in 1 cup water and soak overnight in the fridge.
Quick soak: Place raw cashew pieces in 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer and cook until the cashews are tender about 5 minutes. Drain excess water.
I buy agar flakes at our local health food store or online.
You can use muffin tins for this, mini pie pans, or even any small bowls that have a gently outward slope.
For regular flan, I recommend using creamy plant-based milk, such as cashew milk or soy milk. SoDelicious Cashew Milk would be perfect.
Use all the ingredients above but substitute vanilla plant-based milk (see notes for suggestions on the best brands/varieties). Also, increase sugar to 1/3 cup in the flan.
Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 128mg | Potassium: 587mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 505IU | Calcium: 322mg | Iron: 3.5mg
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a rating below then tag @namelymarly on Instagram and hashtag it #namelymarly. I love seeing your creations!
This was a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. See our full disclosure for more information.
This post was originally published in 2016 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2020.
