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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.
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.
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.
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Easy Lemon Curd Recipe
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
- If your lemon curd curdles, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve.
- I use a Microplane Zester to finely grate the lemon zest so I don't have to strain the curd after cooking.
Nutrition
If you like this recipe, you might also like this Easy Lemon Raspberry Cake:
This recipe is delicious and so easy! I love that I can use whole eggs. Thank you!
Great recipe!
Thank you, Julia for the simple, easy and of course, really delicious recipe!
i made a jar last night and am planning to make more of this tasty goodness as gifts to friends.
Love & hugs from Malaysia!
Great recipe! I made it a couple of nights ago and loved it so much I made it again tonight. I like the small portion it makes. First time I had the stovetop temp too low and it took forever! Tonight I used med-low and it worked out better – I am sure each stovetop is different. Thank you for a smooth and delicious treat recipe.Â
I made this DELICIOUS lemon curd recipe yesterday and used monk fruit sweetener (I am diabetic) and cooked it in a pressure cooker for 3 minutes (after pressure is reached). No more standing there whisking while the mixture is heating!  I whisked the butter in (it was in the pressure cooker) and the lemon curd is perfect!!  The color is off because monk fruit sweetener is brown but talk about a great treat for a diabetic!!  Monk fruit sweetener is cup for cup with regular sugar so very easy to substitute in recipes.  LOVE THIS RECIPE and thanks for sharing Julia.  😀
Just made this with bergamote lemons because I couldn’t figure out what else to do with them. Very good, a bit unusual. Could make this curd with any kind of citrus I would think. Good, basic recipe.
Feedback on this recipe looks great (and the fact you can use the whole egg!)… what I want to do though is make “bulk” lemon curd, I’ve got a BOX full of lemons and happy to make and bottle lemon curd and give it away to friends and family. It is just a matter of multiplying the recipe by how many times I want to make? Or is it better to make the curd in smaller batches? I’ve trolled the web for how to make bulk lemon curd, but alas most recipes only make a jar or two. I want to make lots!
I have never tried to make more than one batch at once. You could probably double the recipe but after that, I think it might get tricky because of the constant whisking. Sorry, I can’t really help with your question! But if you give it a try it would be great if you can report back how it went!
Just made this recipe this morning to top a lemon cheesecake I made last night. It’s gorgeous and delicious and smooth. Thank you so much, it’s my first homemade lemon curd ever and it’s perfect!
Love this! Easy and perfect amount of tang and sweerness!
First time making lemon curd. This recipe was very simple to follow and tastes amazing!
I did have a little trouble with it not thickening while on the heat even though I left it on for way longer than recommended.
It thickened a little as it cooled though.
All up a great recipe, will have to try it again!