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, pastry cream, pumpkin pies in a jar, 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!
FAQ: Can I Make This With Other Citrus Fruits?
Absolutely! You can use this same recipe for lemon curd and swap the lemons for limes, grapefruits, or oranges. You can even use pineapple juice, just like we do for the layers of pineapple curd filling in this pineapple coconut cake or a make a cranberry version like we do in this cranberry curd tart.
Uses for Lemon Curd
There are so many ways to enjoy lemon curd. Here are a few suggestions:
- Enjoy on scones, muffins, buttermilk waffles, whole wheat blueberry pancakes, or a Dutch baby pancake
- 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 eclairs
- 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
- Fill your favorite cupcake recipe (see my How to Fill Cupcakes post for details on how and for flavor pairing inspiration!)
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 (85g) 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 you’d like to be precise and use a candy or instant-read thermometer, the temperature will rise to about 170°F (77°C). 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Reading through the comments I got a little concerned about how long it took to thicken up, but I stayed with it and turned up the heat under the double boiler a little. Mine thickened at 25 min and wow! Once it was finished with the butter I put it in a little Mason Jar in the fridge and it was setting up immediately. Serving tonight over some Meringue Nests for Memorial Day barbeque. Fantastic!
my lemon curd did not thicken, is it possible that I didnt cook it long enough and if so could i re cook it and would it thicken then
Hi Elaine, usually a thin curd just needs to be cooked longer; next time you could try putting it back over the double boiler to thicken the curd up. Or, if you wish to try this recipe again in the future, 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. Thanks for giving this one a try!
Living in Thailand for 6 years I have not come across lemon curd in the shops so I thought I would have a go at this recipe. Well I was amazed with the result and my Thai grand daughter loves it. Thankyou very much.
This is my go to recipe. I’ve made this multiple times, I have made changes to 1/2 cup lemon juice ..(I use some pulp). I use 2 tbl. Spoons zest and 1 3/4 sugar. Sometimes I will add 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract for a smoother taste. Sally knows how to get perfect results.. thanks Sally!!
Hi, what’s the best way to store this and how long will it keep for
Hi Diane, You can keep this in the refrigerator for 10 days. For longer storage, you can freeze the curd up to 3-6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying.
Would the thicker curd variation be thick enough to use as a cake filling?
Hi Tina! It can be spread on top of your cake’s filling (like how we do it for this lemon coconut cake).
Delicious!!
Would I be able to substitute a fruit puree for the lemon? Just for a different flavor.
Hi Dixie, we’ve only made a pineapple curd, but other readers have reported success using a variety of fruits. If you try anything, let us know how it goes!
I just made Cherry Curd using this recipe! I substitute the lemon zest with 1tsp vanilla extract and 1tsp almond extract. The lemon juice, I substituted with cherry juice from a jar of cherries. When I make it again, I will use a whole egg so it can be thicker.
This curd was AMAZING, however i had to whisk it for 25 minutes in order for it to thicken. So delicious though.
If your double broiler came to boil, then turned down to a simmer, you can add another egg yolk. I added 1/2 cup suger with zest to thicken .
Recipe was great! first time making curd and it was perfect for my cookies 🙂
Can I fill thumbprint cookie then bake with this curd
Hi Ali, yes! Enjoy!
I tried this recipe and everything went perfectly until I added the butter and it began to split even though I was still whisking. So disappointing to wast the ingredients
I made 3 versions of lemon curd today. This one is the best. Of note, using the whole egg, I turned down the heat for a very slow-cooking curd and prevent stringy pieces from the eggs. Also strained it.
I made lemon curd yesterday to top your divine lemon cheesecake. I pulsed the lemon zest and sugar in a food processor before adding to the pot. I liked the result. The curd was perfectly smooth and looked like yellow glass on the cheesecake.
I pureed the lemon zest into the lemon juice to have all the flavor with no zest pcs (I used a magic bullet)
I found a recipe for buttery cookies with lemon curd baked onto the center top. The recipe called for store bought lemon curd, which like you, I find horrifying. I don’t want the curd to run off the cookie, so should I use the thicker version of your curd recipe or would baking it take care of that. Thanks
Tastes wonderful. I had to cook the mixture for almost 20 min to get it to a thicker texture. I know it thickens more after it cools and sits but it was to thin still. Everything worked out perfectly. Thanks
This is such a delicious recipe. My second batch in a week. Love it with Greek yogurt, fresh blueberries and granola. Yummmmmy
As an Australian, I’ve made lemon curd 100 times using other recipes, but wanted to try this version because this website is usually reliable… This didn’t work! I’ve never made it with double boiler but decided to try it out. After 20 minutes still didn’t thicken. And then all of a sudden it was burning, and the mix was still runny. So sad to waste all those ingredients.
I used a Pyrex bowl over a pot to make a double boiler and whisked with a silicone spatula. Refrigerated overnight and it is absolutely incredible. Thank you!
So easy and so good! Turns out perfect everytime.
Hi! I made this for the first time last night. It’s beautiful in color and taste, but it is pretty runny still. Do you have tips for thickening it or best to start completely over?
Hi Emily, usually a thin curd just needs to be cooked longer – next time you could try putting it back over the double boiler to thicken the curd up. Or, if you wish to try this recipe again in the future, 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. Thanks for giving this one a try!
I loved this recipe and it tasted amazing! But where yours is like a lemon yellow, mine turned out like a very light yellow. What should I do to fix that?
Hi Lily! The color comes mostly from the egg yolks. Did yours seem pale? For an extra bright curd, you could try pasture raised eggs instead. Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I have made this 3 times and now I am selling it. I served it with lemon scones at a tea party. Easy and delicious.
Absolutely fabulous flavour! I made your no-bake cheesecake and made this lemon curd as a topper. It was SUCH a hit! Now I’m whipping up some of your blueberry scones to use up the rest!
Omg! This is delicious! My nephew literally ate it by the spoon!!(and he’s very picky with food) thank you so much Sally!!!!
The rind on my Meyer lemons sometimes retains a greenish tinge even though they’re full of juice. Is it ok to omit and still get a great lemon flavor?
HI Jan, you’ll miss a bit of flavor if you skip the zest. Keeping that in mind, you can certainly leave it out.
Great recipe ! I have made this for years, it truly is the BEST!
I mix all the ingredients in a separate bowl then add to the DB , to prevent any cooking of the yolks just in case they mistakenly get added first.
Hi, I’m looking forward to trying this recipe tomorrow.
Some homemade lemon curd I’ve had previously have been ‘gritty’, can you tell ne how I can be sure to avoid this happening please?
We’ve never had issues with this lemon curd turning out gritty. If you follow the recipe carefully, it shouldn’t be a problem!
Mine looks gritty too, at the bottom of the jar. Tastes great though, I am going to spread it on a pavlova meringue (made using the whites) then top with whipped cream and lemon zest
Is there a reason why you specify a silicone whisk? I don’t own one and don’t particularly want to purchase one. Thanks.
Hi Andi, lemon curd may have a metallic aftertaste if you cook it while using a metal bowl and/or whisk. It’s a result of the eggs and lemon reacting with the metal, but is easily avoidable by using silicone.
I used metal and it worked perfectly – no metallic taste.
I’m lucky if this lasts long enough to try it with anything else. It’s great solo. Remember this at Christmas. A pretty jar filled with curd! What a gift!