Looking for a dessert that’s rich, creamy, and totally dairy-free? These Coconut Custard Cups with Berry Sauce are about to become your new best friend. After years of creating indulgent yet wholesome desserts, I can confidently say this one nails it. We’re talking a decadent enough custard to make you feel like a dessert queen.

Perfect for dairy-free, paleo, or low-carb lifestyles, these custard cups are as satisfying as they are guilt-free. Coconut milk brings the creaminess, the berry sauce adds that fresh pop of flavor, and trust me, you won’t even miss the dairy. Plus, it’s naturally sweetened—because who says you need refined sugar to feel fancy?

And because I know you don’t have time for fussy desserts, these custard cups are make-ahead magic. Prep today, enjoy all week (or until you eat them all in one sitting, no judgment). You’re welcome..

Dairy Free Custard Ingredients

• Coconut milk - You’ll want the full-fat ones here. None of that light business for this custard. Trust me.
• Tapioca flour or arrowroot flour/starch - You can also use cornstarch for this, but the other two are paleo friendly.
• Granulated sweetener - I prefer using Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener if I need a granulated sweetener that isn’t full on sugar.
• Salt
• 8 egg yolks
• Vanilla extract
• 1 batch of Easy Berry Sauce
• Whipped cream or Whipped coconut cream (optional)

How to Make Coconut Custard

Spoon some custard into small serving dishes with a spoonful of Easy Berry Sauce. And a dollop of whipped coconut cream (if you're choosing to)

Whisk the coconut milk, tapioca flour, sweetener and salt in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until it's bubbly and has thickened slightly. Turn off the heat.

While whisking the egg yolks in a separate bowl, VERY slowly drizzle a ladle-full of the hot coconut milk mixture into the egg yolks. When it's fully incorporated, take that egg yolk mixture and while whisking, pour it slowly back into the pot with the rest of the coconut milk mixture.

Return the pan to medium-low heat and cook the custard until it's bubbly and has thickened even more.

Wash out the bowl you just used for the egg yolks. Remove the custard from the heat and pour it through a fine-mesh strainer back into the clean bowl.

Stir in the vanilla and let it sit for 15 minutes or until it's no longer steamy.

Press a piece of plastic wrap over the custard, sealing the top. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours until the custard is completely chilled and has set up even more.

How to temper egg yolks

Tempering egg yolks is just a fancy way of saying "adding them really slowly so you don't end up with scrambled eggs". 

The idea is to drizzle a little of the hot custard mixture into the egg yolks to warm them up slightly.

Then you can pour it slowly back into the rest of the hot custard mixture without ending up with scrambled eggs. It works beautifully and it gives such a richness to custards.

Then you strain the whole thing just in case a little big got scrambled. It's just for insurance.

Those clear blobs in my strainer up there are actually bits of tapioca flour. Sometimes it does that when it's heated up. Good thing we strained, eh?

Now it just needs to sit in the fridge for a while.

How to keep custard from forming a skin

The reason why I have a piece of plastic wrap stuck to the surface of the custard is to avoid the icky "skin" that forms on top when it's exposed to air for a long time.

Forming a tight seal with the plastic wrap helps a lot.

By the way, this custard keeps in the fridge for several days, so it's a great dessert to make in advance.

Now just drizzle some into a cute serving dish.

Like this mini trifle cup. Isn't it cute? I found mine at Walmart, but they sell them on Amazon, too.

I used it when I made the Lemon Berry Mini Trifles, too. Another variation on my trifle recipe. 

Add some of my Easy Berry Sauce (which is also great to make in advance!) and you've got the best little dessert in all the land.

I'm serious.

How to make Berry Sauce for Coconut Custard

Transfer to a lidded container and store for up to two weeks.

Put frozen berries, sweetener, and lemon juice in a saucepan with a little water and simmer until the berries have broken down and the mixture is “jammy” with a little sauce.

The only way you could make this better is by adding a dollop of whipped cream on top. 

But then it wouldn't be dairy-free. I'm fond of whipped coconut cream, but my kids are still staunchly against it. (Sometimes I do it anyway.)

You could simply add fresh berries to this as well and it would be spectacular. And a perfect little weeknight dessert!

How to make low-carb custard

If you're in the keto/low-carb camp, you can easily make this with some granulated low-carb sweetener like Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener.

I actually use that quite a bit, even though I'm not necessarily eating "keto". I do try to remove a lot of the refined sugar from my diet and monkfruit sweetener works really well in place of sugar most of the time.

If you don't want to use that, you can use coconut sugar, but it will turn the custard a golden brown color and give it more caramel notes. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it might not be what you want.

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