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 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 to avoid any eggy taste and 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.
Lemon Curd 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 Sam’s Best Lemon Curd
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. 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.
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.
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 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
A quick, easy recipe that results in a buttery smooth, sharply tart lemon curd.
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Yields: 750 g of curd or about 2 ½cups
5 from 66 votes
Print RecipePin Recipe
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 butter unsalted
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
Method
Place the sugar in a medium sized pot, and over it zest the lemons.
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 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 until butter is thoroughly melted.
Pour the curd into an airtight container and store in the fridge. It should keep for about 2 weeks, longer if frozen.
Notes
Recipe makes 2 1/2 cups or 735g of lemon curd.
Easily halved for a lesser amount!
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77 comments
Rate + Review
What do you think of this recipe?
5 from 66 votes (25 ratings without comment)
This is wonderful and I am making two more today for a family gathering.
Thank youReply
Easy and delightfulSee AlsoLemon CurdNational Center for Home Food Preservation - National Center for Home Food PreservationAttention Bakers: Buy a Jar of Lemon CurdAngel Food Cake (Light & Fluffy) - Sally's Baking AddictionReply
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.Reply
Lemon Curd … This turned out amazing, thank you. Delish ????Reply
My curd came out runny even though the thermometer read 170 degrees.Reply
it thickens as it cools, hopefully you’ll see better results after a chill!
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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.Reply
Absolutely fantastic!!!!! And so easy to follow, thank you!!!!!Reply
Delicious and easy to follow recipe, it’s a winner for me 🙂Reply
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!Reply
I always run out of freezer space. Can I water bath can this?
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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.
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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.Reply
It was so delight and delicious, tangy and semisweet
I used a little less sugar and turned out very good
Thanks!Reply
absolutely love to hear this Prima =)
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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.Reply
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).
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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.Reply
Best ever lemon curd recipe!!Reply
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.Reply
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…Reply
Ahh, you already know how much I LOVE this recipe so I’m thrilled that you finally made it and loved it too!
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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!Reply
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
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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.
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That sounds delicious, hope those folks enjoy the cheesecakes!
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I want to make this for our farm community. If I triple your recipe does this definitely call for 18 whole eggs? tiaSee AlsoAngel Food CakeReply
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.
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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 familyReply
I’m SO happy to hear it!! Thank you for trying it =)
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First time ever making lemon curd and this was Excellent!!!Reply
This so so delicious and smooth. Im currently making Instantpot yogurt that this will pair beautifully withReply
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 troubleReply
ABSOLUTELY amazing – so easy and delish. Could just eat it all by itself.Reply
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
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Thrilled to hear this 😀
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Easy!! And so good. I’m wondering if I can freeze ‘‘tis in an ice cream maker.Reply
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
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easy and just incredibly deliciousReply
😀 😀
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Hey there
Is it really necessary to use the seive?Reply
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.
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Hi! About how many tablespoons is the zest of 6-8 lemons? I have 2 trees and each lemon is a different size! Thanks!
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about two tablespoons I’d say!
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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>Reply
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!
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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.Reply
love that you made the rolls too!! thank you nicole
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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!Reply
lool this made me =D thank you so much!
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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!!Reply
thank you! I hope you try the cookies too! one of my favorites
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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.Reply
skipping the egg separating really saves time. I’m glad you liked it!
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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. 10/10Reply
wow. i am honored!!
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Best lemon curd! Sam knows best on anything lemon so look no further – and as a bonus you use whole eggs????Reply
aw thank you Emily!! i do love my lemon bakes
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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!Reply
it does freeze well! I make several batches when lemons are in season in jan/feb and then freeze to use throughout the year
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Just made this and it is so good!!!Reply
so happy to hear it!
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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!Reply
ah gwen, i love that you’ve used it in other recipes of mine!
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Gwen, that’s amazing to hear – so happy you used it in two of my recipes too 😀 😀
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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.Reply
lool your boyfriend and i have that in common, delicious by the spoonful!
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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!Reply
thrilled to hear that someone loved that balance!
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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!Reply
oh gosh, thank you so much ana!
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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 jarReply
this makes me so happy!!!
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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 …Reply
Gah, that makes me so happy Shelley!
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incredible! delicious…be ever so patient. so worth the time.
thank youReply
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! 😋Reply
