Store-bought lemon curd doesn’t even deserve to share the same name as homemade. This from-scratch lemon curd is deliciously tangy, creamy, and sweet. You only need 5 ingredients and it comes together on the stove in 10 minutes! Lemon curd is perfect for scones, crepes, angel food cake, quick breads, pound cake, and so much more.
Let’s talk lemon.
- Are lemon bars your main squeeze?
- Is lemon blueberry cake your favorite dessert?
- Are you head-over-heels for lemon meringue pie?
If your answer is YES to all of the above, you’re going to flip for this creamy, dense, intensely flavorful spread. Homemade lemon curd is 1 million times tastier than store-bought, which is filled with ingredients we can’t pronounce and has likely been sitting on the shelf for too long. Spread the blissful homemade version on scones, biscuits, homemade English muffins, and so much more. This is the recipe you never realized you needed!
What Is Lemon Curd?
Lemon curd is a very rich dessert topping or spread. It’s buttery and sweet with intense tart lemon flavor—like a creamy lemon version of jam. Lemon curd is made from simple ingredients and comes together quickly on the stove. Lemon lovers, this is your jam.
Get it? Get it? 🙂
How to Make Lemon Curd
Here’s how we make DIY lemon curd. The full recipe and instructions are below.
You need 5 ingredients for lemon curd recipe: egg yolks, fresh lemons, sugar, salt, and butter. Each ingredient serves a critical purpose for thickening and flavoring. The egg yolks thicken the curd, just as they do in creme brûlée or butterscotch pudding. Use real lemons; you need both the zest and juice. The sugar supplies sweetness and structure, while the salt balances out the flavor. Add the butter after the curd finishes on the stove. Butter makes it super creamy.
Make lemon curd on the stove. Make sure you are constantly whisking as the mixture thickens—we’re talking about 10 minutes of whisking. The good news? That’s the only step in this recipe: whisking!
Use a Double Boiler
I strongly recommend cooking the lemon curd in a double boiler because mixing these ingredients over direct heat quickly leads to burning. Don’t fret! If you don’t have a double boiler, craft a makeshift double boiler by placing a heatproof glass bowl on top of a larger pot. (You can see my DIY double boiler in my brownie baked Alaska post!) Make sure the bottom of the top pot or bowl does not touch the simmering water. It’s worth repeating: lemon curd should never be cooked on direct heat.
Why Does My Lemon Curd Taste Metallic?
Lemon curd may have a metallic aftertaste if you cook it in a metal double boiler. It’s a result of the eggs and lemon reacting with the pan, but is easily avoidable! Use a non-metal double boiler (this one has a porcelain insert) or the glass bowl option I mention above (but make sure it’s heatproof glass, like Pyrex). While you’re at it, use a silicone whisk too!
Uses for Lemon Curd
There are so many ways to enjoy lemon curd. Here are a few suggestions:
- Enjoy on scones, muffins, buttermilk waffles, or whole wheat blueberry pancakes
- Use as a filling for crepes, lemon cupcakes, or lemon coconut cake
- Use as a topping for pound cake or pavlova (uses the egg whites!)
- Fill French macarons, choux pastry, or layer on strawberry shortcake
- Make a lemon berry trifle
- Spread on English muffins, homemade biscuits, toast, croissants
- Mix it with whipped frosting for the fluffiest filling in a citrus cake
- Top your classic cheesecake, lemon cheesecake, or easy cheesecake pie
- Stir in yogurt, cottage cheese, or spoon on ice cream
- Try it on gingerbread waffles (seriously, try this!)
- Use as a filling to add extra flavor to lemon blueberry cupcakes
- Fill your lemon thumbprint cookies
Lemon Curd
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (includes cooling)
- Yield: 1 – 1.5 cups
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You only need 5 simple ingredients for homemade lemon curd—and the recipe comes together on the stove in 10 minutes! If you know how to whisk, you can make this delicious spread.
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks (for thicker lemon curd, see Note on eggs)
- 2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- 1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice (about 2–3 lemons)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons (86g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 6 pieces
Instructions
- Fill the bottom pot of your double boiler with 1–2 inches of water. (Or use the DIY double boiler method listed in the notes.) Place on high heat. Once the water begins to boil, reduce to low heat to keep the water at a simmer.
- Place egg yolks, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt into the top pot of your double boiler. Using a silicone whisk, whisk until completely blended, then continue to whisk as the curd cooks. Constant whisking prevents the egg yolks from curdling. Whisk and cook until the mixture becomes thick, resembling the texture of hollandaise sauce, about 10 minutes. If curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk.
- Remove pan from heat. Whisk the sliced butter into the curd. The butter will melt from the heat of the curd as you whisk. Pour curd into a jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. (This prevents a skin from forming on top.) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Once cool, the plastic wrap can be removed.
- Refrigerate the curd for up to about 10 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, you can freeze the curd up to 3–6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Egg Separator | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester | Non-Metal Double Boiler | Silicone Whisk
- Thicker Lemon Curd: For thicker lemon curd, replace 2 of the egg yolks with 1 whole egg. This means you will use 2 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg. Keep the rest of the recipe and instructions the same.
- Lemon Juice: Do not use bottled lemon juice. Use fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
- Butter: You can use salted butter instead of unsalted butter. Simply omit 1/8 teaspoon salt in the recipe.
- No Double Boiler? No Problem! If you do not own a double boiler, you can simply place a small heatproof glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water—you will cook the curd in the top pot/bowl.
- No Straining: I don’t strain the lemon curd. The zest is very tiny and has been cooked, so you can hardly detect its texture. It’s really just there for flavor. However, feel free to run the finished lemon curd through a fine mesh sieve if you want to take the extra step.
Nice recipe! I was thinking about adding alcohol and dilute it, maybe with milk, to get some Lemon curd liquor, almost like an Advokaat. What do you think? I am little worried about the curdling…
Hi Rob! We’ve never tried anything like that, but let us know if you do!
I just tried it with some Kaffir limes and it worked nicely but their characteristic scent and flavour got kind of lost.
This is my favorite! So yummy! If i fill cupcakes so they require refrigeration? I feel like that dries out cupcakes. Thanks for all your delicious recipes.
Hi Sally,
I’ve never made Lemon Curd before but need to for an event this weekend. I want to try your recipe, since ALL your recipes are amazing. I have a question though. A friend says she beats the butter and sugar together first and then adds eggs. Then she cooks the mixture… She says this prevents little pieces of cooked egg. Have you ever tried this? I trust your opinion! Thank you!
Hi Theresa! We haven’t tested it that way, so we can’t speak to how that might work. In the method from our recipe, the constant whisking prevents the egg yolks from curdling or cooking. Let us know if you give it a try!
This was amazing (as usual with your recipes)! I did cut the amount of sugar and followed your instructions on how to make a thicker curd and used the left over egg yolks from your best vanilla cake recipe. I used this as a filling with you best vanilla cake with raspberry frosting and everything was amazing! Since I cut back on the sugar, next time I’ll probably cut back on the amount of lemon juice as well. Great recipe as usual! Thank you!
This recipe is the best! Thank you so much. Quick question- can someone pregnant eat this? Will the egg yolk be cooked enough? Thanks!
Can lemon curd be pressure canned or processed in a boiling water bath?
Hi Dan, many readers have canned this in the same manner you can a jam or jelly. We haven’t tested it though.
I have been making this in bulk for my friends and it is so amazing! Recipe was so easy follow and it tastes so good! Would highly recommend!
I was thinking about using some guava juice in the curd to make it a guava lemon curd, would that be okay? I also wanted to know if I could use coconut or vegetable oil instead of the butter, would that work? Do you have any tips?
Hi Sage, we’ve never tested a guava lemon curd, but it sounds delicious. Some recipes use coconut oil instead of butter, but we haven’t tried it ourselves. Let us know if you give either a try!
Hi, I’m new here my question is can you use lemon extract with fresh lemons. I don’t have enough lemons as for recipe that’s why I asked????
Hi Susan, unfortunately, fresh lemons are really the only option here. You need their volume of juice as well as their taste — lemon extract would be far too potent in the same amount. Let us know if you are able to give this recipe a try!
I just made this, first ever attempt. It took slightly longer in a Pyrex jug in a saucepan, and maybe didn’t thicken quite as much as hollandaise, but it’s currently cooling in a 350g jam jar(perfect size) and I’m pretty sure it will be perfect. Tastes great, looks great. Nice recipe thanks – and so good not to have to do my own weight conversions from cups 🙂
My curd didn’t set up very well. Too liquid for my taste, not the creamy look of yours. Is there a way to fix this?
Hi Laesha! Usually a thin curd just needs to be cooked longer – you could try putting it back over the double boiler to thicken the curd up. Make sure you continue to whisk to avoid any lumps!
I decided to cook it down in the microwave. I cooked it for one minute, stirred, did the same for 4 more times, it’s now perfect! Thank you!
I have a recipe that calls for lemon curd on baked salmon… I do not want sweet fish…does this sound right?
Hi Jan, we can’t speak to that specific recipe, but our lemon curd is sweet. We haven’t tried it on salmon or fish before.
Can this recipe be water bath processed, rather than frozen?
Hi Eileen, many readers have canned this in the same manner you can a jam or jelly. We haven’t tested it though.
I believe your lemon juice measurement is incorrect. It only made about 1/2cup. I had to start over. I made the same recipe with 2/3 cup of lemon juice. It still only yielded about 1 1/2 cups.
However, thank you for the tip about the double boiler and the silicone whisk. Very helpful.
Paula
Yum! Just made this lemon curd having never made any type of curd before and it was a breeze and tastes delicious. Followed the recipe as written only using my metal whisk, as I don’t have a silicone one, and my makeshift double boiler aka glass Pyrex bowl over saucepan.
Beautiful! Worked great.
This is the best thing I’ve ever made. I like the 2 yolks + 1 whole egg version. I made another site’s blackberry curd and it was too thin, this will be my go to! Just replace the same measurement of lemon juice with other fruit puree!
My freezer is full of egg whites from curd binges, time to make your angel food cake or maybe some Italian meringue, hahaha.
I cooked this delicious lemon curd as you had listed the recipe… it was my time making this and I found it easy and DELICIOUS!!! Thank you…
If I want to double the recipe, does it affect the cooking time at all? 🙂
Hi Alexa, you can make double batches of this lemon curd, and cooking time should be about the same. Enjoy!
I absolutely love this lemon curd. I’m thinking to use this recipe to make lime curd to use in macarons. Do I just replace the lemon juice with lime juice? I’m actually going to do your mini key lime pies and put a macarons on top. Oh, and I absolutely love ALL your recipes. You are my go to for almost everything 🙂
Hi Lara! You can definitely swap the lemons for limes to make this into a lime curd.
I just made your lemon curd using home grown lemons and our own hens eggs. WOW! Used to love lemon curd as a kid and I’m busy revisiting that addiction! Thank you definitely a keeper.
I did temper the eggs by heating the lemon juice and stirring it into the eggs a little at a time then added the sugar and lemon zest. Only used about half the quantity of zest as I didn’t want it too “chewy” but you definitely need to put some in.
Hi Sally,
I’d like to freeze several jars of this lemon curd and then use as a sauce for pancakes/crepes and desserts. How can I turn frozen lemon curd into a sauce? My family doesn’t like lemon curd mixed with whipped cream. They like a noncreamy lemon sauce. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Emily, You don’t need to mix this lemon curd with whipped cream. You can simply freeze it (see recipe note) and then thaw it in the refrigerator before using.
Thanks! It is too thick to use as a sauce how would I make it a thickish pancake syrup from a frozen curd?
Tried for lemon – amazing Will this work for an orange curd or does it need modification?
Hi Hayden, You could make orange curd! We recommend using at least *some* lemon juice with the orange juice. Reducing the sugar will prevent the curd from thickening, so that’s why we recommend a little lemon juice.
What about a raspberry curd?
Hi Cynthia, We haven’t tested a raspberry curd but let us know if you try it!
Great Recipe!
This is definitely NOT going to last 10 days in the fridge. It’s sinfully delicious and easy to make. I followed the recipe to a T. The only step I added in was crushing the sugar and lemon zest together (to help release the oils ) before adding everything else in. It took a little more than 10 minutes on my temperamental stove but it’s fantastic. Thank you for the recipe.
Ingredient list was good and flavor was good, but temp for finished curd should be included in instructions. 10 mins at a simmer was not enough time for my curd to come together. I also had to increase heat slightly. It took closer to 16 mins. to reach a temp of 165-170 Farenheit.
Tip for salvaging- if you have taken curd off heat (before adding butter) after 10 mins and it still looks foamy or layered, simply bring water back to simmer in your double boiler and reheat slowly and carefully until curd comes to at least 165 Farenheit. I found my curd thickened quite nicely at this temp, but I have also read temp should be between 170-180 degrees Farenheit. Add butter after curd reaches temperature.
You can also reheat slowly if you have already adding butter as well if you are needing it to thicken up some more.
I made this recipe for Mother’s Day gifts and it came out great! I’m wondering if it would work to make this with dairy free butter like Earth Balance? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Emily, we haven’t tried this recipe with any dairy-free alternatives, but you can certainly give it a try. If you do, please let us know how it goes!
I’m all set to make this but I don’t have a silicone whisk, can it still be done?? Love your blog and posts ❤️❤️❤️
I did this, and the result was great! Was a bit skeptical as last time I made it felt like a lot of steps. It was easy breezy, lemon squeezy. I know I can make other curds based of this recipe – substitute the lemon juice for orange, lime, passion fruit or pineapple. But in case of berries, would you be able to advise any substitutions? Or how to make it? Thank youu
Hi Ines, we haven’t tried a berry curd, but let us know if you give it a go!