Saving Room for Dessert

Delicious easy-to-follow recipes for food lovers!

A jar of lemon curd on a plate.

Lemon Curd Recipe

5 from 19 votes

An intensely flavored lemon dessert sauce that tastes just like a crustless lemon pie! Great served with pancakes, biscuits, scones, pound cake and angel food cake.

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Our homemade Lemon Curd Recipe is practically fail-proof and great served on biscuits, pancakes, waffles, muffins or scones.

It’s also terrific slathered between layers of white cake, dolloped on Pound Cake, Angel Food Cake or stirred into tapioca pudding. Mix the curd with whipped cream and spread over crepes for an incredible treat.

This recipe makes about 2 cups of tangy, bright and ultra-creamy lemon curd. Homemade is so much better than store-bought!

Lemon Curd in a wide mouth jar with a spoon.


 

What is Lemon Curd? 🍋

Lemon Curd is a jam-like dessert sauce made in a saucepan with eggs, sugar, salt, fresh lemon juice, butter and lemon zest. It cooks quickly, keeps well for up to a week in the refrigerator and is freezable.

This easy treat has been my go-to lemon curd recipe for more than a decade. It’s a lovely lemon sauce that’s easy to make and tastes fantastic. Don’t buy expensive lemon curd when you can make your own at home for less… and eat it warm by the spoonful! Just saying 😁

A collage of ingredients used to make lemon curd like butter, eggs, sugar and lemon juice.

Ingredients needed to make Lemon Curd:

  • whole eggs and one egg yolk
  • granulated sugar
  • salt
  • fresh squeezed lemon juice (strained of pulp and seeds before measuring)
  • unsalted butter
  • lemon zest
A saucepan filled with butter squares, lemon juice and sugar.

How to make 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!
Overhead of a jar of homemade lemon curd on a plate with lemons in the background.

Our 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.

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!

A collage of photos showing desserts with lemon curd.

Lemon Tips 🍋

Lemon zest adds incredible flavor to many recipes. However, you must make sure you only zest the outer yellow layer of the lemon, and no white pith.

If you zest the white pith you’ll end up with a bitter aftertaste. For this recipe we recommend fresh, ripe organic lemons.

What if your lemons are not 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!

A closeup of a jar of lemon curd.

Since posting this luscious Lemon Curd 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!

A jar of lemon curd on a plate.

Lemon Curd Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 16
Course: Dessert Sauce
Author: Tricia
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5 from 19 votes
An intensely flavored lemon dessert sauce that tastes just like a crustless lemon pie! Great served with pancakes, biscuits, scones, pound cake and angel food cake.

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs lightly whisked
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 cup granulated sugar (222g)
  • dash of salt
  • ¾ cup lemon juice strained (6oz) about 4 or 5 large lemons
  • ½ cup unsalted butter cubed (113g or 4oz)
  • zest of 2 lemons (no white pith)

Instructions

  • Zest two lemons and set aside. Juice 4 or 5 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 thick and coats the back of a spoon, about 5-8 minutes.
  • For a silky smooth texture, blend briefly with an immersion or stick blender. Pour into a jar and cool. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Recipe Notes

  • Makes 2 cups (2 tablespoons per serving)
  • Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
  • Freeze lemon curd for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition

Calories: 113kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 23mg | Fiber: 0.03g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 224IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Lemon Curd is great on just about anything!

Lemon Cheesecake Recipe

A New York-styled lemon cheesecake with a sweet graham cracker crust, melt in your mouth filling and a nice zing from the tangy lemon curd topping.

View this Recipe

Lemon-Lime Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

A lime infused shortbread cookie filled with homemade Lemon Curd and topped with a simple lime icing – a real summer treat!

View this Recipe

Lemon Curd Ice Cream

A bright and creamy lemon ice cream with a thick swirl of tangy lemon curd.

View this Recipe

Granny's Pound Cake

Perfect every time – great toasted or served with fruit. Also freezes beautifully

View this Recipe

Originally published July 2011, updated July 2019 and March 2024

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4.79 from 19 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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74 Comments

  2. Rhonda

    5 stars
    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!!

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  6. Jess

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply

  7. molly

    5 stars
    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.

    Reply

    • Gwen

      4 stars
      I decided to try the recipe for lemon curd from Saving Room for Dessert because I have use many of Tricia’s recipe with great success. The flavour and smoothness is great but I wanted it to set a bit firmer. Mine is quite loose after cooling several hours in the fridge. It thickened while cooking and coated a spoon but I will try cooking it a bit longer tomorrow or I may have to resort to a bit of gelatin or cornstarch slurry. First recipe for curd I hav used the called for the butter added before the eggs, lemon and sugar cooked. May have changed the consistency of what I am used to.

      Reply

  10. Paul

    5 stars
    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?

    Reply

  11. Basia

    5 stars
    Just made it today as a filling for blueberry tarts, OMG amazing! Just one question, how long can this stay in fridge?

    Reply