This post may contain affiliate links.Please read our disclosure policy.

This easy Lemon Curd recipe is super simple to make and tastes so delicious! A smooth and creamy lemon spread that makes a great filling for cakes and tastes heavenly spread on scones, muffins, or bread.

Close-up of a glass jar of lemon curd with a spoon in it on a white dishtowel. There are halved lemons and eggshells in the background.

This fool-proof Lemon Curd recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make and uses ingredients you already have at home! Made with lemons, butter, sugar, and eggs, this simple lemony spread is not only a great breakfast addition for lemon lovers but also a perfect filling for baked goods like cakes and cookies!

My Raspberry Lemon Curd Cupcakes are a perfect example! They are filled with lemon curd which makes them so yummy and bursting with lemon flavor. In this recipe, I add a spoon of lemony goodness before baking so the lemon curd will be a surprise after the first bite.

But this easy lemon spread tastes also great spread on toast, muffins, or scones! A perfect addition to an Afternoon Tea Party or to your next brunch with friends.

Top-down shot of a glass jar of lemon curd with a spoon in it on a white dishtowel. There are halved lemons and eggshells next to it.

How to make lemon curd from scratch

Making lemon curd at home is really simple. You won’t ever need to buy lemon curd at the store again! This recipe is fool-proof, takes less than 10 minutes, and makes about 1 1/2 cups lemon curd.

You’ll need a 2-quart saucepan, a whisk, a fine mesh strainer (if you want to strain the lemon zest after cooking), and a clean glass jar with an airtight lid to store the lemon curd. The eggs and butter need to be at room temperature so the curd will be easier to whisk together and smooth.

Whisk all the ingredients together in the saucepan over low-medium heat until the curd is thick enough to hold marks of the whisk. This will take about 6-8 minutes. You need to keep stirring continuously but after a few minutes, you’ll be rewarded with a smooth and silky lemon curd. The hardest part about this recipe is to let it cool, and not just eat it warm, out of the bowl, with a spoon.

A glass jar of lemon curd with a spoon in it on a white dishtowel. There are halved lemons and eggshells in the background.

[social_warfare buttons=”Pinterest, Facebook”]

Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you'll get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
4.98 from 99 votes

Easy Lemon Curd Recipe

This easy Lemon Curd recipe is super simple to make and tastes delicious! A smooth lemon spread that also makes a great filling for cakes and cupcakes.
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Total Time: 9 minutes
Servings: 1 jar

Ingredients 

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup butter, room temperature

Instructions 

  • In a small saucepan, combine sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and eggs.
  • Add the butter and cook over low heat, stirring continuously with a whisk, until the first bubble appears on the surface of the mixture and the curd is thick enough to hold marks of the whisk, about 6-8 minutes.
  • Strain the lemon curd through a fine-mesh strainer if you don't want the lemon zest in the curd. Transfer the hot lemon curd to a bowl or jar and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold, then take off the plastic wrap and replace with a lid.
  • The curd keeps fresh in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

Notes

  1. If your lemon curd curdles, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve.
  2. I use a Microplane Zester to finely grate the lemon zest so I don't have to strain the curd after cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 822kcal
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!


A glass jar of lemon curd with a spoon in it on a white dishtowel. There are halved lemons and eggshells in the background.

If you like this recipe, you might also like this Easy Lemon Raspberry Cake:

A slice of lemon raspberry cake topped with streusel on a white pate with a fork garnished with raspberries. There is a lemon, a white bowl of frozen raspberries and a glass serving platter with the rest of the cake in the background.

About Julia Foerster

Hi, I'm Julia! Born in Germany, I call Canada now my home and love to share my favorite dishes with you! Here you'll find hundreds of recipes, all made from scratch, with lots of tips and detailed step-by-step instructions.

You May Also Like:

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

107 Comments

  1. How much does this lemon curd recipe make in Cups – is your jar one 16 oz (2 cup) mason jar?
    Janet

  2. Made last night. Tripled recipe and actually did a combination of lemon, lime, orange, and red grapefruit. Just one of each of the first three and enough grapefruit to make a cup total. Turned out great! Very slight curdling but not too bad. Used for a tart and had 1 1/2 cups left over. Great and easy recipe!

  3. I just attempted to make this for the first time and followed the recipe closely I thought. When I removed the curd from the heat though the butter immediately separated from the curd and I had to stir it continuously as it cooled to reincorporate it. Do you know what I did wrong or how to prevent that next time?

    1. Just a suggestion, but I didn’t put the butter in the bowl while it cooked. I put it in after it was thickened, immediately strained it and then tossed in room temperature butter. It worked a treat.

  4. 5 stars
    Hi,

    Would not detract from your 5 star rating, but as I was using the end of a (very rainy season) was delicious but a bit thin. Lemons quite watery but needed picking to allow flower growth.

    Cornstarch did occur but a friend added an extra egg.

    As one tree yielded 40 kg+, can this be frozen or is it better to freeze the juice and make later?

    Simple, no double boiler etc. but necessary to whisk, not stir.

    Thanks for this,

    Ian

  5. This recipe promises to be a godsend!! I just made it for the first time and am delighted with the simplicity of the method and the flavour of the result. It’s also easy to scale up, which will come in handy for larger desserts…but in your experience, how big a tart shell would this original yield be able to fill? I’d guess six inches, tops, but I defer to those who have actually experimented with it! :)

  6. Thank you so much for posting this easy lemon curd recipe oh, I have tried probably at least five to six times now to make it and never really been happy with anything that I found that’s easy anyways. This recipe was perfect!

  7. Tried the recipe for the first time today and ended up with orange scrambled eggs instead. Could you please explain what I may have done wrong? Thank you!

    1. Sorry, this recipe didn’t work for you, Helen. Sounds like the mixture got too hot. You need to cook it over low heat and whisk continuously, this way the eggs don’t reach a temperature where they would scramble. Depending on what kind of cooktop you have (induction, electric, gas) keeping a constant low temperature might be a bit difficult but you can try turning off the heat after a few minutes. Hope this helps! – Julia

      1. So glad I decided to give it another try! I followed your advice, kept the temperature very low and stirred continuously. It turned out perfect! Thank you so much!!