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Tangy, bright and ultra-creamy, Homemade Lemon Curd!
Lemon Curd is great on biscuits, pancakes, pound cake, angel food cake, muffins, or just about anything!
Ingredients needed to make Lemon Curd:
- whole eggs and one egg yolk
- granulated sugar
- salt
- fresh squeezed lemon juice
- unsalted butter
- lemon zest
How to make homemade Lemon Curd:
- First zest the lemons and set aside. Juice the lemons and strain out the pulp and seeds.
- Next whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, sugar, salt and lemon juice in a heavy bottom saucepan. Add the butter and lemon zest.
- Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the curd thickens.
- Blend briefly with an immersion blender for a silky smooth consistency.
- Cool, cover, refrigerate and serve!
If you’re been with us for a while, you probably know we have a small lemon obsession.
Lemon desserts are some of the best ever! Lemons make the best pie, blondies, macarons, and one of the easiest desserts in the world, Lemon Posset.
Try our Pink Lemonade Recipe for a delightful and refreshing summer beverage.
Don’t miss this Lemon Curd Pound Cake with Limoncello Glaze, too. What a treat.
Lemon Ice Cream with a blackberry swirl is so good, you’ll want to keep a batch in the freezer all summer.
Squeeze lemon into your marinades and on your salads. You can also rub lemon juice on your hands to remove onion or garlic aromas. LOVE me some lemons!
Another popular and incredibly delicious dessert is our Lemon Cheesecake. This show-stopper is topped with our homemade lemon curd adding plenty of extra tangy lemon flavor. So good!
This is an easy lemon curd recipe that comes together in minutes.
If you’ve got extra lemons, don’t let them go to waste. Make a batch or two of this easy lemon curd and share a jar with your favorite friends or family. They’ll love you for it!
Made with just a few simple ingredients you probably have on hand already: sugar, salt, eggs, butter, lemon juice and lemon zest. The curd cooks up in about 10 minutes making it great for a quick topping for just about anything.
Take care when zesting your lemons:
What if your lemons are not very juicy?
Warm lemons juice much easier than cold. Don’t be afraid to microwave the whole lemon for about 15 seconds to warm it up. Repeat if needed until the lemon is slightly warm to the touch.
Also, to get the juices flowing firmly roll the lemon on a hard counter top or work surface under the palm of your hand. Don’t push too hard, but let it know who’s boss. After you roll a few times, the lemon should soften. Now you’re ready to squeeze out every last drop!
Lemon Curd tastes like a crustless spreadable pie filling!
Since originally posting this luscious Lemon Curd way back in 2011, it’s become a staple in our house. It comes out perfect every time. Give it a try and you’ll be hooked too!
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Homemade Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- 2 whole eggs, and 1 egg yolk lightly whisked
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- dash of salt
- ¾ cup lemon juice (about 4 large lemons)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
- zest of 2 lemons
Instructions
- Zest two lemons and set aside. Juice 4 lemons or enough to make ¾ cup juice. Strain pulp and seeds before measuring.
- In a medium heavy bottom saucepan whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, sugar, salt and lemon juice until blended. Add butter and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the curd is thickened and coats the back of the spoon.
- For a silky smooth texture, blend briefly with an immersion or stick blender.
- Cool for at least 10 minutes then cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve over cake, muffins, pancakes or waffles!
Stephanie
How long does it keep?
Tricia Buice
Hi Stephanie. This lemon curd will keep for a week if stored properly. You can also freeze it with great success. Enjoy!
Rhonda
Amazing lemon curd and so easy. Have made it twice in two weeks. Found recipe when I made the blueberry lemon icebox cake, also made that twice. Serving lemon curd tonight in sugar cookie cups. Thanks so much for both recipes. My friends will love you when they receive their gifts of lemon curd or icebox cake…or both!!
Tricia Buice
Thank you so much Rhonda! We really appreciate the feedback. I love lemon curd 😁
Laura
Taste is wonderful. I ended up with some egg bits despite stirring constantly. Wonder if the double boiler method would help.
Tricia Buice
Thanks for trying the recipe Laura. You can use a double boiler method if you want to use an immersion blender at the end. Enjoy!
Margaret
You can also strain the curd while it is hot to get rid of the egg bits.
Rosanne
Approx how many cups does this recipe makes?
Tricia Buice
Hi Rosanne! This recipe makes about 2 cups of curd. Enjoy!
Nickoli
Instructions unclear. The egg cooked at the bottom of the pan.
Tricia Buice
Sorry you didn’t care for this lemon curd Nickoli. What part of the instructions did you not understand? If you stirred constantly while cooking the mixture, there should not have been any cooked egg at the bottom.
Jess
This was SO simple and SO good! I made it as a cheesecake topping and I really could have just eaten it by the spoonful. Anyone else in the process of making, it does take several minutes to thicken up. Mine was nearing a boil by the time it started to thicken. Anyways, turned out perfect texture, wonderfully smooth.and creamy. It reminded me a yellow starburst!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Jess! We’ve been making this curd for years and just adore it. So much lemon flavor in every spoonful. Thanks for the feedback 🙂
molly
I just made this for the second time and both batches came out perfectly–better than any I’ve tried from the store. You just can’t beat fresh and homemade! 😀 Not to mention it’s incredibly easy. I didn’t bother with the stick blender the first time, but after trying it with the second batch I’d say it’s worth the little extra effort for a creamier result. This would be a great gift.
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Molly! I completely agree 🙂 We appreciate you making our recipe 😉
Amy
Can you freeze this!
Tricia Buice
Hi Amy. Yes you can freeze lemon curd. I wouldn’t keep it longer than a month or two at the most, however. Enjoy!
Norma
Looks delicious and I must make for the first time in my over seventy years.
Tricia Buice
I hope you love it as much as we do Norma! Enjoy!
Paul
Delicious. Just applied to your Lemon Cheesecake recipe and the flavors are amazing!
Can you freeze the curd? How long is it good for in the fridge?
Tricia Buice
Hi Paul. Yes you can freeze lemon curd. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week – perhaps 10 days. Enjoy! So happy you tried both recipes 😉
Basia
Just made it today as a filling for blueberry tarts, OMG amazing! Just one question, how long can this stay in fridge?
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Basia! Lemon curd will keep for a week to 10 days in well chilled. Enjoy!
Elaine R
I really like the taste of it mine didn’t thicken as much as I wanted not sure why!
Tricia Buice
Hi Elaine – maybe cook just a little longer? It thickens a lot when chilled so not sure if this comment was posted before it had a chance to set up. Thanks for trying it and for commenting!
Margot Lilley
Can it be used to make the filling for lemon meringue pie
Thank you
Tricia Buice
Hi Margot. It’s a little too sweet for pie filling and it doesn’t set up that thick. Here’s a link to a great lemon pie filling you may like: Easy Lemon Pie with White Chocolate Curls. I combined lemon curd with cream cheese for our Fresh Fruit Tarts – so good! Hope you find what you’re looking for 🙂