Lemon curd is a one-pot, six-ingredient, 10-minute recipe. Sweet and tart, silky and creamy, you can spoon eggless lemon curd straight up from jar to mouth, but it’s even better on toast, cakes, pastries, and more.
Lemond curd is easy. It barely takes any time or technique to make. And don’t get me started on its uses. They are endless. Use it on toast, cookies, pop tarts, as a lemon tart filling, cakes, scones, or pavlova.
FYI, it's not the dairy curd you’re thinking about. It’s a pudding-sauce-spread-like treat that is rich, buttery, and intensely lemony!
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What is lemon curd?
Lemon curd is a thick, creamy spread or filling made from lemon juice, sugar, butter, and egg yolks. The dessert topping originated in England, where it’s more commonly called lemon cheese.
So, can it made without eggs? Yes, yes, it can. My lemon curd recipe is without eggs. It has a smooth texture and an intense, tangy, citrusy flavor thanks to lemon zest!
Why you'll love it?
You won’t believe how easy it is to make!
It’s 100 times better than store-bought lemon curd.
Endless ways to use from bread to cookies.
Ingredients
Lemon juice: Use fresh. Not bottled for the absolute best flavor.
Milk: You can use any kind of milk; I'm partial to whole milk, but plant-based options work great too if you want to make the lemon curd vegan!
Sugar: I opted for regular granulated sugar, although caster sugar would be an equally excellent choice.
Cornstarch acts as a stabilizer and thickener. It helps give the curd a smooth, creamy texture and prevents it from being too runny or thin.
Butter gives the curd richness and silkiness. If you’re using unsalted butter, unlike me, add a quarter teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
Turmeric is only for color. It adds no flavor to the lemon curd. If you don’t have it in your pantry and still want that pop of yellow? Use food color. Or omit it. Both turmeric and food color are completely, completely optional.
How to make eggless lemon curd?
Step 1: Zest a lemon. Remove the seeds, and then juice it.
Step 2: In a small saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, and a pinch of turmeric (more on this later).
Step 3: Add milk and lemon juice, and on low heat, cook the mixture, stirring constantly.
Step 4: When the eggless lemon curd thickens, starts to bubble, and gains a custard-like consistency, take it off the heat.
Step 5: Whisk in butter until melted.
Step 6: Strain through a metal sieve, into a heat-proof bowl, to get a velvety, silky-smooth curd.
Step 7: Cool the curd in the refrigerator and then transfer to a sterilized jar.
Final step: Store in the fridge. Serve and savor!
Pro tips
- Invest in a microplane. It’s a great way to zest lemons. Through a grater works too.
- Stir the lemon curd without eggs constantly. You don’t want it to get burned.
- Take the curd off the heat before you add the butter.
- When do you know it’s time to take the curd off the heat? When it begins to coat the back of your spoon and has a pudding-like texture.
- If you relish the lemon zest in every bite, there's no need to strain the curd.
- Cover the surface of the lemon curd with cling wrap before you refrigerate so the curd doesn’t form a skin.
How to use lemon curd?
Lemon curd is commonly used as a topping or filling for desserts such as tarts, pies, and pastries. Likewise, in yogurts, on ice creams, and in between layers of cake, it brings a lot of tang to any recipe. My suggestion? Try it as lemon curd tiramisu or:
- Crepe filling
- Cupcake topping
- Pound cake garnish
- Cheesecake topping
- Filling for donuts
- Thumbprint cookies filling
More quick recipes
Half the joy of cooking is sharing it with others. That’s why I’m always eager to hear from you. So go right ahead and drop a comment or reach out on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook. I hope you love this lemon curd as much as we do!
📖 Recipe
Easy Eggless Lemon Curd Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Milk I used whole milk
- 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup Lemon juice, from 5 lemons
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Lemon zest
- 1/8 tsp Turmeric, for color Optional
- 2 tbsp Butter I used salted butter
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, turmeric, and lemon zest.
- Add milk and lemon juice. Mix well.
- Cook on low heat, whisking continuously until the mixture is thick and bubbly and coats the back of a spoon.
- Take it off the heat and whisk in the butter.
- Strain through a sieve into a heat-proof bowl, to get a silky smooth lemon curd.
- Cover with plastic wrap on the surface of the curd to prevent skin from forming.
- Refrigerate until cold, then remove the plastic wrap. The curd will thicken as it cools.
- Transfer to an air-tight container or jar. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
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