The Best Lemon Curd
Buttery and smooth, this lemon curd starts out sweet and then blasts your tastebuds with unmistakable, sharp lemon. This is an easy recipe (no tempering) and is perfect to use as a spread, in cookies, cakes and pies.
Lemon curd: it’s creamy like a custard, but has that zing that only comes from a deliciously tart lemon. It’s a mixture of eggs, butter and lemon juice & zest. You’ll usually find it near the jams in the store, sealed in a jar but it’s never, ever as good as homemade. You can spread it on toast, pancakes, french toast, scones, english muffins, etc. – it goes well with most breakfast (and dessert!) dishes.
Lots of fruits can be made into a curd, especially those with a sharp flavor (lemons, limes, grapefruit, pomegranate) but you can also make a blueberry, raspberry or orange curd and these usually have some lemon added to them to give it an edge.
Recipe origins & why this lemon curd recipe is unique (and the best)
The roots of this recipe come from when I made the filling from this french lemon tart. I thought it a wonderful filling but I wanted to create a curd that used whole eggs instead. Partially to avoid any eggy taste but also save myself some separating. I then spent a few months (and maybe 100 lemons?!) figuring out the right balance of juice/sugar/butter/eggs.
This is unique because of its use of whole eggs but also because I use a considerable amount of lemon juice to make it very sharp (equal in volume to the sugar!). I add cold butter after the curd cooks, so that it incorporates slowly (a trick I learned years ago after reading an interview with a pastry chef – I can’t find the link now!) and it makes the curd silky smooth.
Why this recipe for lemon curd is the best:
- It’s very easy to make: there’s no tempering of eggs involved, no beating sugar and eggs together. Everything is either whisked or stirred.
- It doesn’t taste like eggs! Because it uses whole eggs there’s none of that residual eggy taste in the curd and instead, it’s really just a blast of lemon.
- It’s smooth AND sharp: because it is made with quite a bit of lemon juice this has all the tart, bright sharpness of fresh lemon. But it’s also unbelievably smooth, thanks to the right amount of butter and a unique preparation method.
Recipe Ingredients
Eggs: Whole large eggs, no need to separate.
Lemon: Since we’re using a lot of zest, either buy organic lemons or give them a good wash before you zest to remove any residual chemicals that might be on the peel. How many lemons you’ll need for the juice depends on their size and how juicy they are.
Butter: Unsalted butter, this is important! We’re already adding salt to the eggs (where we need it) so we want to avoid there being too much in the curd over all. American or European butter is fine (but European, with its slightly higher butterfat content, would be lovely here).
Sugar: Granulated sugar, fine or organic. You might wonder if you can reduce the sugar here but I wouldn’t as sugar contributes to the consistency and texture just as much as taste.
Salt: Just a pinch, salt has a magical quality of allowing other flavors to blossom. It’s also important here to break up the egg whites. I use fine sea salt; don’t use table salt which is very ‘salty’ in taste and will set the flavor balance off.
How to make my Best Lemon Curd
Prep
Crack all the eggs into a bowl – it’s ok if they are cold. Doing this a bit earlier helps them warm up before they hit the heat.
Set a bowl over a sieve, the butter will go in the bowl but not quite yet.
Into the pot you’ll be cooking in, add the sugar. And then zest the lemons right into the sugar.
Rub the sugar and zest between your fingers, this helps release the zest’s oils and brings out that lemon flavor even more. Don’t skip this step, since we’re sieving out the zest later on we want to get as much flavor from it as possible. Rub until the mixture is like wet sand.
Juice the lemons, you can do this over a scale right into the pot or measure out a full cup. Then pour it into the sugar and mix.
Now whisk or beat the eggs with the salt, I think a fork works well here to break up all those little white bits but an immersion blender is even better. Beat it like you would eggs for an omelette or scrambled eggs, really well – all those little white bits you see unmixed will cook just like that (separate from the curd) and we want as few as possible. Pour the eggs into the pot with the sugar and lemon, and whisk well.
Cook
Set the pot over low heat, have a rubber spatula and stir it as it cooks. If you want to be precise (and since you’ve used six eggs and a whole bag of lemons it would be prudent to be so) use a thermometer for this step.
After about 5 minutes over the heat and while you’re stirring constantly, the curd will begin to thicken on the bottom. Once it reaches 165-170 F and you note that it covers the spatula without running completely off, it’s done, take it off the heat.
Slice the butter into the bowl and set the sieve back over it.
Now pour this mixture over the sieve (use a bigger one than mine, this was too much work!) and work it through into the butter. The goal is to remove the zest and any little bits of white egg that didn’t get broken up. We do this so that we’re left with a very, very smooth, almost translucent curd.
Be sure to scrape the bottom of the sieve for any remaining curd and then stir the curd and butter until the butter is fully melted and incorporated into the curd. Once it’s smooth and no butter bits remain, it’s done.
Pour it into a jar for storing in the fridge. When warm the curd is runny but as it cools it will thicken.
FAQ
What to do with Lemon Curd: Recipes that Use Lemon Curd
Besides the aforementioned breakfast spreads that use lemon curd, there are so many ways to incorporate it into baking and desserts (and I am an enthusiast of doing so as you’re about to see!). Of course, there’s lemon meringue pie but also…
- Lemon Curd Cheesecake
- Lemon Curd Stuffed Cookies
- No Bake Cheesecake with Lemon Curd
- Lemon Curd & Cranberry Tart
- Lemon Meringue Bars with Poppyseed Crust
- Pistachio Baklava Pie with Lemon Curd
- Lemon Meringue Strawberry Shortcakes
- Lemon Curd Chocolate Ganache Bars
- Brownie Lemon Curd Ice Cream Sandwiches
Lemon Curd is also very popular to use on pavlovas (in this recipe you could swap out the pomegranate curd), with cake (one variation I have for this Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake is to make a tunnel of curd) and even as a roll filling (think cinnamon rolls but spread lemon curd on the dough).
How to store lemon curd: Can you freeze it?
Once it’s done cooking, you can go ahead and pour it into a mason jar and seal it. I’ve read that it can last up to two weeks in the fridge but use your judgment (taste and smell) to see if it’s good. It’ll at least last a week.
Alternatively, freeze the curd in an airtight container. It’ll keep for months.
Can I halve this recipe?
Yup – half of all the ingredients. It might cook a little quicker so watch it carefully.
How do I bake lemon curd into a pie?
Once its done cooking you can pour it into a par-baked pie shell (that is, a crust that is almost fully baked) and bake it for another 10-12 minutes, until it doesn’t really jiggle when you wiggle the pan. Then chill it, it will firm up nicely after a few hours in the fridge.
Recipe for the Best Lemon Curd
The Best Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 240g or 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 200g or 1 cup granulated sugar
- zest of 6-8 lemons
- 113g or ½ cup cold butter unsalted
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
Method
- Place the sugar in a medium sized pot, and over it zest the lemons, avoiding the white pith.
- Rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers, this helps release the oils.
- Pour the lemon juice into the pot and gently stir it into the sugar.
- In another bowl, crack all the eggs and add the salt. Using a fork, beat very well (try to break up as many white bits as you can).
- Pour the eggs into the sugar and whisk well. Set the pot over low heat.
- Cook, stirring constantly until the curd thickens and registers 170 F on an instant read thermometer (or until it thickly coats a rubber spatula).
- Slice the butter and set it in a bowl. Place a sieve over it.
- Pour curd through the sieve into the butter to remove zest and any egg bits.
- Stir very well until butter is thoroughly melted and you have a smooth mixture.
- Pour the curd into an airtight container and store in the fridge. It should keep for about 2 weeks, longer if frozen.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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sooooo good! a few steps but easy.
The gal who hosts our weekly Mah Jongg game is from England and loves Lemon Curd…passionately! I have a wonderful Meyer Lemon tree which produced quite a crop this year. Your recipe was easy to follow the clearly written instructions. Thank you very much. I made three 8 oz. jars to begift her with tomorrow and even had enough to take her a small tasting container. Couldn’t resist…I tasted it and it is, as my English connoisseur says, “Devine!”
I’ve made many versions of lemon curd and this is hands-down the easiest and the best recipe! Thank-you Sam for your hard work and research!
Awesome! Just followed the recipe So delicious
Really liked how it cameout. Just the right amount of tartness
The finest lemon curd! Sam is the ultimate authority on all things lemon, so your search ends here – and as an added benefit, you can use whole eggs????
Can this recipe be doubled or tripled?
Made this to use in a drop cookie. Unfortunately I had to throw it out because it was way to sour and bitter from all the zest.
it sounds like you over zested the lemons and got too much pith which made the curd sour. Next time, avoid it and just get the outer yellow peel.
I am looking forward to trying your recipe. I lost my recipe book in a house fire five years ago, and the lemon curds I have made since have all had that vague eggy flavor you speak of. I am wondering if it is safe to can the curd instead of freezing for storing? Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I was fortunate to use lemons just picked from my tree.
Almost ate all of it by itself.
My first time making lemon curd. Its amazing!! Recipe directions were clear and easy to follow. Perfect balance of lemon tartness and creamy deliciousness. I had to stop my adult daughter from eating it straight from the bowl!!
I always read reviews of a recipe before I decide which one to use. There was a reviewer who had said they changed the recipe this way and that. I LOVED that the author replied with something to the effect of “why comment if you didn’t actually make my recipe, you changed it” Yay. we all think it. You said it ❤ I knew right then this was a food blogger that had all my respect. THANK YOU for standing up for your recipe. It truly is amazing. Now to try some more of them 😊
Made this wonderful recipe with a mixture of Ponderosa lemons and Meyer lemons from my backyard garden. Easy to put together and turned out sublime. Thank you.
Followed the recipe exactly. The butter separated and the curd didn’t set.
Sorry it didn’t work out for you Stacey. If it didn’t set, my guess is that the curd wasn’t cooked enough, I’d use a thermometer to check that it reached 170 F as instructed. The butter separating could also due to the eggs in the curd not being cooked enough but also you need to really mix it in and slowly (which is why the butter isn’t melted going into the curd).
So delicious! This was my first attempt at making lemon curd. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfectly. I had 8 small lemons and used them all. If I close my eyes, I can imagine being back on the Amalfi coast!
aw wow, I love that it took you back to such a wonderful place and memory!
Easy. Delicious.
I came across this recipe 2 months ago and made it then. Absolutely hands down THE BEST lemon curd I’ve ever made! Silky smooth, wonderfully lemony and no egg taste. So imagine my horror when today I went to make it again but didn’t write the recipe down in my book and had no idea if I’d find it again. I did! I remembered the 6 lemons and 6 eggs and typed that in to search with fingers crossed lol. Voila! There you were! Never to be forgotten again it’s now in my book 😉
Thank you so much for this forever lemon curd recipe that will stay in my book for always!
I have a great lemon curd recipe that I’ve used for well over a decade. I am moving and already have the cookbook packed, so needed to find a good one to use. your recipe is superb! Just finished making it and couldn’t stop picking the spoon lol. Great, easy to follow instructions. I love the consistency and flavor. I did use half lemons and half oranges for what im going to be making with it, and I’m sure all lemons will be just as good. Thank you for the recipe!
Love your recipe and attention to detail. I ended up using 4 whole eggs and 2 yolks to get more of a balance between thickness and richness. I stirred and whipped like my life depended on it. It was a lot of work but the taste is beyond compare. Thank you so much!
This is hands-down the best lemon curd recipe I’ve tried. Crystal-clear instructions, flawless texture, bright flavor—Michelin-level detail. Instant keeper.
wow, that is so lovely to hear, thanks Lola!
I’ve made so many lemon curd recipes. They all had a metallic taste that drove me crazy. This is the first recipe with no metallic taste. It will be my go to recipe from now on. Excellent lemon curd!
Hi Sabriyya! That’s wonderful to hear! Not to take away from this wonderful recipe (;p) but if you had a metallic taste it could have been something to do with the pan or a metal bowl reacting with the acidity from the lemon juice.
Thank you for sharing. I followed step by step but somehow the result is not quite es expected. When did it go wrong? Temperature 170°C was reached but it was not as thik as I expected, I dod not want to ruin it, I took it out of the heat and carry on with your description, once it settles to cool down in the glass, it separates, I believe the butter is on top. The flavor is amazing but the consistency very disappointing. Do you ha e any idea how to correct this issue? Thank you.
Hello there, the recipe has you cook it to 170 F not C (equivalent to 77 C). It sounds like it was undercooked (despite the temperature confusion, hopefully that was a typo) since it didn’t thicken. I always recommend looking for both visual cues and indications from instructions; even if your thermometer read 170 F but it wasn’t thickening, you might not have been getting an accurate temperature (either aiming the thermometer in the wrong area, sometimes if you aim it at the pan it will show hotter than what’s in it, or something is off with the thermometer). The lack of emulsion might have something to do with the curd not thickening, you also need to whisk/stir it well.
I could have used a little riper lemons to get more zest but this batch turned out great!
I very rarely comment on recipes but I just have to share my thoughts on this one.
Can confirm… this is THE BEST lemon curd! 🙂 We love, love, love, lemon desserts and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE custards. Despite making a few different curd recipes over the years, we haven’t been riding that lemon curd train that so many talk about. The thing is, we want to, so why haven’t we made it a regular-ish thing in our home? Because the flavor was not the bright lemon we were after and we could always taste egg. We love eggs but that flavor doesn’t belong here.
I have been baking at home for more than 20 years and I learned long ago that I couldn’t trust any old recipe on the internet and, no hate, but in the early 2000’s I had enough bad experiences to begin to distrust blogs in particular. All this to say, for many years I’ve had trusted sources. I won’t mention names because I still love these sources but even their lemon curds tasted of egg.
This is my forever curd recipe. The flavor is so bright and fresh, it’s not too sweet, and I can’t taste the eggs. Hurray!! Now I can be part of that crowd that keeps it around and finds more every day uses for it. Thank you Sam!!
I have a tree full of Limes would I be able to use these instead of lemons
hi Ken! here you go https://buttermilkbysam.com/lime-curd/
Beautiful 👌
Thank you so much for all your hard work.
A triple batch made – perfect
So easy and so good! I’ve used this recipe a few times and the curd has come out delicious every time.
Worked perfectly.
This is the best curd recipe so far that I have tried . I used these fancy eggs from trader joe that have bright amber yolks and these mammoth lemons as big as my fists the result was a really balanced curd . 10 out of 10
Till now strawberry jam was my absolut favorite. From now on it will be your lemon curd! Fantastic!
Katrin from Germany
How long will this keep in the frig?
I usually cut sugar in recipes bc I dont like things too sweet, and I do love tart lemon things. I thought I’d try this recipe as written, and holy hell I’m glad I did. It’s perfect as is. Will def make again!
What’s the salt for? Maybe throwing it over the shoulder for good luck? I just left it out and I’ve always used just yolks in my curd so I used 8 yolks and no whites. I also made a slurry of cornstarch to thicken it just a bit since it is going to be used as filling in a cake.
Wondering why leave a comment when you didn’t actually make the recipe. Salt helps break up the eggs and it brings out flavor (recommended reading: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat).
Hi-
Can you please give a volume conversion of the amount of fresh zest this recipe calls for? It says “6-8 lemons” but my friend just grew some very LARGE lemons (bigger than grapefruit!), and I feel like 6-8 worth would be waaaay too much…? Thank you! 🍋 ✨
I cannot even imagine a lemon that big – amazing! I’d go for about 3-4 tablespoons of zest!
Beautifully smooth and very tasty results! Sped up instructions by whirring the sugar and lemon peels in food processor til liquidy. Also whirred up the eggs in processor before adding to sugar/zest mixture. Came out great! Very flavorful!
I don’t know why this recipe calls for whole eggs. It only takes a moment for the egg whites to cook and separate out and they add nothing. Separate your eggs just use yolks in this recipe is not too bad.
Seriously worth the zesting labor! 😂. This turned out AMAZING!! Thank you!
I used 4 medium eggs and reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup. I used the zest and juice from 8 seedless lemons … which produced anout 3/4 c. lemon juice. No need to strain. The zest adds a lot to the tasty lemon curd flavor. Turned out delicious.
Mine came out very loose. Is there a way to tighten it up to the consistency of a stiff pudding?
Lemon curd isn’t really supposed to have the consistency of a ‘stiff pudding’. If you want, you can add cornstarch or tapioca starch to make it thicker; about a tablespoon for the full recipe, whisk it in before cooking.
OMG I could eat the whole bowl. Just made it and it did take some time to zest and juice, but super glad that I did take the time to do it. Super easy to make. I always worry about scrambled eggs, but this recipe and method were PERFECT. I plan to put this in a mini phyllo shell for 4th of July and try my hand at making candied lemon for a garnish. I’m also planning on making orange, strawberry and blueberry curd for 4th of July. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
The first time I made this recipe I doubled it and it turned out fantastic! Every time after that it has turned out perfectly each time as well. Tart, sweet, creamy, smooth, very lemony that describes this lemon curd to a tee.
This is the recipe I will be using from now on. It is great on regular things like berries, yogurt, and for special occasions. I make it as often as possible now, my daughter also makes it. We love the lemon flavor!!
Awesome Recipe..!!
I haven’t tried yours yet, but I made one with Marta Stewart’s recipe that uses Cream if Tarter in it, explanation she gave was something about it brings out the lemon flavor and you are more satisfied because it doesn’t leave you wanting more, used lemonade exampe more lemon taste without feeling dry mouthed. I sprinkle a little Cream of Tarter into a pitcher with a dash of salt try it.
My first time ever making curd, and Sam’s recipe was so easy to follow. And this recipe is delicious!!
The lemon curd was easy to make, perfectly tart, and so delicious! I used it as filling and topping for a lemon velvet cake (https://divascancook.com/lemon-velvet-cake-recipe-homemade-cream-cheese-frosting/) and it was amazing!
I made this today and I decided to use lavender sugar to make it, to add an extra delicious floral note to the curd. Although I ran it through a sieve several times there were still little bits of the lavender buds that made it through to the final product, but it tastes sooo good and it hasn’t even cooled completely yet! LOVE that I can use the whole eggs so there’s no waste!
This turned out excellent. Had no idea it would take hours stirring the lemon curd on low to reach 170 degrees.
What a fabulous recipe Very easy to make, and as long as I take my time, it is really perfect, every time. 5 stars!
Going to try this with my triple berry trifle, for Easter dessert!
Never made lemon curd before; great recipe……made it 4 times for a spring party…..perfect every time.
I’m impressed with this recipe. It was my first time making lemon curd and the instructions were very clear and easy to understand. It turned out perfectly, exceeding my expectations. The lemon curd was the highlight and saving grace of a disaster birthday cake I made.
Great to be able to use the whole eggs Would have preferred it to be a sharper lemon flavour
It gets sharper after a night or two in the fridge!
I m impressed with your recipe and detailed instructions! I love that it uses the entire egg, turned out fantastic! I will definitely make this again!
So happy to hear it Robin!
Hi Elaine: I try to use the least processing that’s safe and do multiple tests before I give it away with appropriate caveats, just in case. So far, people aren’t experiencing problems with spoilage, consistency, color and flavor with heating the curd to the recommended temp and simply sealing them ‘hot’ and cooling them on the counter. I tested each one to assess closure.
I did find that prep time is at minimum 3-4 x longer for all of the fruit curd recipes. Perhaps my prep time will improve with practice. I’m using my own organic meyers and find that they need a good scrubbing first to remove mildew. I use 2 cups of very hot water and 1/4 – 1/2 C organic white vinegar, scrub with a brush until clean and rinse well. The hitchhiker was evidently gone without obvious aftertaste. I’d like to hear other opinions, experiences etc.
Great info in this recipe, great result first time and 2nd time. Many thanks!!
Since our California Meyer lemons come and go fast, I discovered ways to freeze juice and zest without changing the character of the product. Great for baking projects in the off season 🍋
SO YUMMY!!!!
I made this lemon curd recipe. It was tart smooth, creamy. Wonderful I mixed it with blueberries in a parfait and served it with a little whipped cream on top. It was delicious.
that sounds SO good!
Delicious! I needed lemon curd for a lemon blueberry focaccia and this is perfect! I can’t wait to try your orange curd recipe next.
lemon berry focaccia sounds so good!
Reviews are amazing but I haven’t made it yet, I am getting ready to Wednesday or Thursday. I am wondering if I can can this because I have a lot of people I would like to give a jar to at my work. Do you know or does anyone?
I love it when a recipe turns out as promised. Beautiful lemony curd. Easy recipe to follow. thank you
Super delicious and easy to follow recipe I was able to easily double it and it turned out great.
double?! I LOVE IT!
Absolutely delicious!! Best recipe ever!! Family and friends raved!!
Can you can this?
the internet tells me you can (quick google search) though I’ve never tried it. I usually keep mine in the freezer for longer storage!
Im trying it next weekend! stuffed French toast with lemon curd? beautiful recipe, hope I can do it justice.
I made this lemon curd to put on top of scones at an afternoon tea. The curd was fantastic. My guests and I loved it. This recipe is a keeper!
So good to hear about my favorite recipe! thank you Michelle =)
Lemon Curd…..just like it used be at my Grandmothers house……perfect and yummy !
I’m going to be making Cannoli’s with a Lemon Ricotta filling. I was wondering if this Lemon Curd would be fine to fold into the filling considering it stiffens up once it cools or would it make it runny?
Hmm, I think it depends how thick you want it. The curd recipe here is not quite as thick as pudding; if you add a tablespoon of tapioca starch before it cooks it will make it thicker.
Best Lemon curd ever ! Thank you !
easy, fast, just follow directions to the T…. delicious…… I would give more stars if there were any…… thank you
Thank you so much for what I believe is the best lemon curd I have ever tried. It’s exactly as you said and so delicious. I like the method of mixing the zest with the sugar and no cornflour to thicken the curd. Most importantly of all there was no metallic taste – yay! This is my go to recipe now – thank you!
Incredibly easy, quick, and DELICIOUS! My mom had never made any curd before, but once I did it, I convinced her with this recipe how simple it was. Excellent way to use up citrus over the winter; I might do it again with lime. I also only added 6 tbsp butter and honestly would be fine cutting even more as it was a bit rich after adding the butter for my taste. Everyone loved it though, and for a crowd I’d keep that butter.
Absolutely delightful! I may or may not have been licking the sieve afterward.
Amazing, so delicious,
So good! It literally tastes like a Lemon starburst (My favorite flavor). I cooked this in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water, and I used a silicone whisk. It turned out perfect without any metallic taste. Thank you.
I plan is to make this I hope this weekend. I have a question since I have never mad curd. I was looking at other recipes. Most of them say to cover with plastic wrap and to make sure to press it in the top of the curd. So it will not get a crust like film. Do I need to do this? I have no jar to put it in.
Nope, just keep it in an airtight container. Once you want to use it you can stir it. It doesn’t really get that pudding-like skin.
So good! I used lemons off of my own lemon tree and it turned out amazing. I could eat it by the bowlful.
I am jealous of your lemon tree!!
I’ll start with I’ve never made curd before. I grow veggies and fruits in her North Carolina EVEN two types lemons ! I store grains , rice , dried fruits and other disaster preparidness items. I was looking for a large batch curd recipe to make with my lemons, to freeze and to be made with Ovaeasy whole egg crystals which are real egg freeze dried. I saw many recipes all making about the same amount, about 2 cups. I did see a few using the whole egg and went with yours because it took 6 eggs. I did not find a recipe using my Ovaeasy egg crystals, which does have a 6 egg amount measure. I took a chance and zested 6 lemons half varigated lemons and half Meyer and I used my already frozen lemon juice thawed. I’ll juice the 6 zested tomorrow as I’m making Pork Piccata with capers lemons and Bucatini pasta. The curd came out fantastic. I’ll double it next time. It is setting up in the refridgerator now. I have no doubt it will thicken, as I make omelets that no one would be able to tell the difference from a fresh egg omelet. If thick enough I’m going to make a lemon tart in a shortbread press-in crust for Christmas Day to go with the Beef Wellington and Green Bean Almondine. Knowing your recipe works with Ovaeasy egg crystals could be a benefit to many others. Also I have an electric stove 🤬so avoided the microwave recipes because I wanted to be able to watch the process using the dried eggs. I was able to go to 4 on my stove top . The number 5 is medium. Thank you !
Worked great, used Presidents Choice vegan butter(due to dairy)
Ok. I admit I second-guessed this process a lot. Whole eggs? A whole stick of butter? Then, IDK, it doesn’t seem to be thickening up -then it suddenly did. This is the best lemon curd I have ever made. It makes a lot, and it sweet, then bam! Bright, lemony finish. Wow. Bravo!
I just made this recipe. It has to be the smoothest, tastiest and most decadent lemon curd that I have ever made. Throw in the fact that it is easy, and it is a no brainer!
hiya! has anyone experimented by making this with dairy free butter? or does anyone have any insights on doing so? thanks 🙂
Excellent recipe! I love that you can use the whole egg. I doubled it and it turned out perfectly.
This is my second time making this. First I used it in mini tart shells topped with a raspberry and it was loved by everyone! This time I’m pouring it over a log of goat cheese topped with pistachio nuts. Served with wheat thin type crackers, it’s ridiculously delicious! Great recipe!
This actually made about a quart of a beautiful Lemon Curd. My only problem is what is to make with it!
I have yet to try this recipe, but years ago I made a batch of lemon curd, bottled and sealed, and stored it in my pantry cupboard. it sat there, forgotten, for almost a year.
I was nervous to open it, but surprisingly it was absolutely perfect!
Subsequent batches i have kept in the fridge for several months with no spoilage.
so I don’t
This is the best curd ever, using all the egg and not just the yolk, highly recommended.
Haven’t made it yet sounds wounderful
Tasty!
You meant doubled not halved right?
Absolutely wonderful!
This lemon curd recipe really lives up to its name! I just made a batch, and it’s the perfect balance of tart and sweet. It’s going to be my go-to for filling cakes and topping scones. Thanks for sharing such a foolproof and delicious recipe!
love to hear it! Enjoy 😀
Excellent lemon curd, Looks beautiful & yum
I accidentally added an extra egg. It was still great and very easy. Thanks for posting it.
Easy to make and tastes delicious!
It will be my only recipe from now on.
Turned out excellent and so darn easy. I cut the recipe in half as I didn’t want wasted ingredients if it didn’t turn out. Two tips that worked very well for me. I put the sugar and lemon zest in my mini processer and gave it a good whirl added to pot. Then I also beat the eggs in the mini processer . Worked great at getting eggs well blended. Many thanks for sharing your method.
First time making lemon curd, came out perfectly and tasted perfectly sour yet sweet. I used it to make a white cake with cream cheese frosting and lemon curd for a friend’s birthday dinner. Thank you for easy recipe!!!
ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS RECIPE. Perfect consistency, tang & sweetness.! Thankyou for sharing!
This is wonderful and I am making two more today for a family gathering.
Thank you
Easy and delightful
Just made this & it’s wonderful! I did add a teaspoon of my homemade vanilla extract at the very end – it seems to round the flavors just a scosh without taking away from the bright sweet lemony goodness of the curd.
Lemon Curd … This turned out amazing, thank you. Delish ????
My curd came out runny even though the thermometer read 170 degrees.
it thickens as it cools, hopefully you’ll see better results after a chill!
I love trying new recipes and when I found this one everyone loved it. Now I am having all my friends and family asking me to make them one. This is one of my favorites. I made an angel food cake, cut in half and scooped out some of the cake and filled it with the curd. Wow! Thank you so much.
Absolutely fantastic!!!!! And so easy to follow, thank you!!!!!
Delicious and easy to follow recipe, it’s a winner for me 🙂
Yummy and I’m super impressed with how it doesn’t smell or taste eggy, like when you make lemon bars with egg whites. Great instructions and ease of making! Thanks for all your efforts experimenting and sharing!
I always run out of freezer space. Can I water bath can this?
Hi there, I’m not sure how the two are related… If you want to make the lemon curd in a double boiler (because your pots are possibly reactive to the acid) then that works fine, it will just take longer.
Oh my gosh I just made this and let me just say, WOW! It was my first try at a curd and I’m so happy I picked yours to make. Now I need to try ALL your curd recipes.
It was so delight and delicious, tangy and semisweet
I used a little less sugar and turned out very good
Thanks!
absolutely love to hear this Prima =)
Very good. I have a flat top electric stove. It just seems to take at least 39 minutes to make. I am assuming that gas stoves have different times.
You’re a patient one Mary Lou! It could be that my ‘low’ on gas, is higher than your ‘low’ on electric, but yes I do think the cook time has a lot to do with the heat type, temperature and the pan material (a heavier pan will take longer to heat for example).
Perfect lemon curd. This was my first time making lemon curd. I just followed the directions and it was great. As I cooked it there was no change in consistency until 152 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temp. it suddenly thickened. I continued to cook and whisk until 165 degrees Fahrenheit and decided that it was done. I strained it to remove the zest and what little of the curd that clung to it. A rubber spatula helped to push the curd through the seive. I didn’t see much, if any, eggy bits in the seive. It made a nice thick curd. I put the zest from the seive into a container and froze it. I’m thinking lemon poppy seed bread with all of that delicious zest. It still had lots of good flavor left in it.
Best ever lemon curd recipe!!
I made it today. This recipe is delicious. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out smooth and velvety. The flavor is spectacular. I’m using some of it today for a lemon cake, and can’t wait to try some slathered in a bagel with cream cheese.
This truly is the best lemon curd! It’s super silky and smooth- I could barely stop eating it by the spoonful! 🙂 It is very lemony, so keep that in mind when baking with it. I love tart things though, so it was right up my alley! I’m going to be making this a lot more this summer…
Ahh, you already know how much I LOVE this recipe so I’m thrilled that you finally made it and loved it too!
I haven’t tried this yet, but will, because, as said before, many recipes only use yolks, and also use cornstarch, which give it an undesirable texture and taste, so this does look like the best recipe, and easy at that.
But I am writing because I just saw a recipe for no-churn cheese ice cream, which sounds weird, but calls for lemon curd and cottage cheese. I just bought two containers of Marscapone cheese, which I love, but have trouble finding ways to use, so I’m going to try that in place of the cottage cheese, and maybe add a little agave to the marscapone, with lemon curd swirls throughout. Sounds good doesn’t it?
Thanks for the recipe!
I discovered your website yesterday and am already on my second project. Hard to resist. However, I would like to point you to a very unique way of making lemon curd which is the hands down best method. I have tried them all, from Modernist Cuisine to the tried and true egg yolk extravaganza. Check out Phil Fanning’s lemon meringue pie at Great British Chefs. He uses the entire lemon, pulp and all, to make his curd. So uses very little butter, no eggs, mostly lemons. It can’t be beat as he includes very little fat to compete with the lemon flavour. cheers
Just made this but cut it in half since I’m making mini cheesecakes for an order. I love it! It was so easy to make. Definitely keeping this one.
That sounds delicious, hope those folks enjoy the cheesecakes!
I want to make this for our farm community. If I triple your recipe does this definitely call for 18 whole eggs? tia
Hi =) Yep that’d be 18 eggs! How much curd do you intend to give out? The recipe will yield about 2.5 cups so if you triple it, you’ll have quite a lot of curd.
This is my first time making any fruit curd. I am so glad this recipe came up first when looking for one. It’s so delicious! This is going to be a regular for our family
I’m SO happy to hear it!! Thank you for trying it =)
First time ever making lemon curd and this was Excellent!!!
This so so delicious and smooth. Im currently making Instantpot yogurt that this will pair beautifully with
This worked out beautifully. I was skeptical but gave it a whirl because my lemon tree is ladened with lemons and I need to get rid of them. I’ll be putting my old recipe aside bevause the double boiler + a ton of egg yolks is just too much trouble
ABSOLUTELY amazing – so easy and delish. Could just eat it all by itself.
I am AMAZED!!! Really didn’t give much hope for this recipe… nothing this simple could work, right??? WRONG!!! Most Excellent! Now going to try Blueberry( cornstarch has a tendency to separate, going to use tapioca) AND Raspberry!! Thank You
Thrilled to hear this 😀
Easy!! And so good. I’m wondering if I can freeze ‘‘tis in an ice cream maker.
I haven’t tried freezing it as is but I’ve mixed it into a vanilla base and churned it and it didn’t work as well as I thought ;p
easy and just incredibly delicious
😀 😀
Hey there
Is it really necessary to use the seive?
Hi, yes it is! The sieve removes the zest (which if left can make the curd sour) and the egg bits which would ruin the smooth texture.
Hi! About how many tablespoons is the zest of 6-8 lemons? I have 2 trees and each lemon is a different size! Thanks!
about two tablespoons I’d say!
This was so incredibly delicious, I made a half batch for the Lemon Curd Cheesecake but now I wish I had made more just for snacking. Very excited to review the cheesecake and meringue bars after a dessert party tonight!
My only concern is that when I strained the bits of cooked egg out, I also strained all the delicious lemon zest out as well… I used cheesecloth because I don’t have a fine mesh sieve. Is there another way to keep the zest? Does the metal sieve remove the zest also>
because you’re rubbing it in to the sugar and cooking it, you already get the flavor from the zest and it’s ok to sieve it out cos it’s done it’s job!
So so good, and, as someone very inexperienced with curds, so easy to make! The flavor is beautiful and the texture is incredibly smooth and nice. I loved this in the lemon rolls and on its own, and will make again and again.
love that you made the rolls too!! thank you nicole
I dream of this lemon curd. It is the absolute best and worth every effort!! I am going to say I made it for my mom’s dessert for Mother’s Day, but really it’s because I wanted to eat it. Can’t get enough!
lool this made me =D thank you so much!
So smooth! So tart! So delicious! I agree that this is the perfect lemon curd and I love that it uses the whole egg. I can’t wait to try using it to make Buttermilk By Sam’s Lemon Curd Cookies! I’m drooling already!!
thank you! I hope you try the cookies too! one of my favorites
I was making the lemon cheesecake recipe and to be sure that I had enough curd I decided to use Sam’s recipe rather than my typical microwave style from another blogger and it was amazing! Much easier than what I’d worried over and not a massive time commitment.
skipping the egg separating really saves time. I’m glad you liked it!
I’ve made every big name lemon curd on the internet , Sam’s is perfection. Perfect amount of tart (I.e. VERY), perfect consistency and super easy. 10/10
wow. i am honored!!
Best lemon curd! Sam knows best on anything lemon so look no further – and as a bonus you use whole eggs????
aw thank you Emily!! i do love my lemon bakes
Spectacular flavor!!! The perfect balance of sweet / tart! I did sieve it twice to get ALL the eggy bits but if you had a smaller mesh sieve than I did that wouldn’t be necessary. This also froze better than other curd recipes I’ve made / bought so if you are going to try the curd filled cookies https://buttermilkbysam.com/lemon-curd-stuffed-cookies/ this would be perfect!
it does freeze well! I make several batches when lemons are in season in jan/feb and then freeze to use throughout the year
Just made this and it is so good!!!
so happy to hear it!
Love this recipe. So far I’ve used it for the lemon curd stuffed cookies and lemon rolls on your site and they were both out of this world good.. I love how much juice this recipe uses bc I have a lemon tree and there is only so much lemonade you can drink!
ah gwen, i love that you’ve used it in other recipes of mine!
Gwen, that’s amazing to hear – so happy you used it in two of my recipes too 😀 😀
Made this for the Lemon Cheesecake recipe, and it tastes amazing. So easy to make and delicious, that my boyfriend wanted to eat it with a spoon. I could imagine it tastes great in ice cream too, so definitely will give that a try.
lool your boyfriend and i have that in common, delicious by the spoonful!
This recipe was super easy and has the BEST lemon flavor of any lemon curd I’ve made. Sam gets the perfect balance of sweet and lemony tart. Highly recommend!
thrilled to hear that someone loved that balance!
Holy cow! This is the best lemon curd I have ever made! It’s perfectly lemony and doesn’t have that overly eggy taste. Love it!
oh gosh, thank you so much ana!
This stuff is AMAZING. It is absolutely perfect as is. I have used this base to make all kinds of tropical fruit curds. Seriously so good straight from the jar
this makes me so happy!!!
I made the lemon curd and it is the creamiest/satiny curd I have ever tried, not to mention a perfect flavor balance … wow!
Thank you! Next, on to the lemon curd cheesecake …
Gah, that makes me so happy Shelley!
incredible! delicious…be ever so patient. so worth the time.
thank you
Not only was the product absolutely delicious, but the detailed steps made the process just as enjoyable 🥰 I was afraid to attempt to make curd before, but these instructions gave me the courage I needed! I’ve used this to make the Lemon Curd Stuffed Cookies, Lemon Meringue Bars and I’ve even eaten it plain with a spoon because it’s just that good! 😋