Lemon Curd is so easy to make! This Easy Eggless Lemon Curd has just three ingredients and whips up in just 15 minutes!
Easy Eggless Lemon Curd
This lemon curd recipe is really just SO good!! Tangy and tart and velvety smooth ... pale yellow and lusciously lemon!
What is Lemon Curd Made of?
Traditional lemon curd combines fresh lemon juice, sugar, butter, and eggs. This shortcut recipe omits the eggs and butter and instead uses cornstarch to thicken the mixture.
How to Use Lemon Curd
Lemon curd is very versatile, you can serve it with cakes, cupcakes, bread, muffins, pancakes, crumpets, waffles, cream puffs, tarts, and cookies, and lemon meringue pies.
Making Lemon Curd with Butter and Eggs
This recipe is so easy to make, no butter and eggs required!
- sugar
- water
- cornstarch
- lemon juice (I used about 1 ½ lemons)
- lemon zest*
How to Make Eggless Lemon Curd
Mix cold water, sugar, and cornstarch in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat.
As the mixture comes to a boil it will turn thick like pudding.
Continue to heat while whisking another minute then transfer to a non-metal bowl.
Zest the lemons and then juice them until you have ¼ cup of juice, about two small lemons.
Add the zest and juice to the bowl and stir until its totally mixed. Allow the lemon curd to cool before using.
Store the lemon curd in the refrigerator for up to a week in an airtight container.
This lemon curd is perfect for these Mini Lemon Pies and Triple Lemon Cupcakes. You may also want to try my Key Lime Curd recipe too!
If you try this recipe, please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
Print
Easy Eggless Lemon Curd
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Lemon Curd is so easy to make! This Easy Eggless Lemon Curd has just three ingredients and whips up in just 15 minutes!
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cold water
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of lemon zest
Instructions
- In a saucepan, mix together the sugar, water and cornstarch.
- Bring it to a boil on low-medium heat and whisk constantly. This mixture needs to get fairly thick - almost like a thick pudding consistency.
- When the mixture thickens, reduce your heat to low and stir/whisk for another minute.
- Remove the mixture from the heat, place in a non-metallic bowl and add lemon juice and zest.
- Allow your lemon curd to cool and thicken at room temperature.
- Store in your fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Zest your lemons first, then juice them.
Keywords: eggless lemon curd, lemon curd
This recipe was originally shared April 2012 and updated with new pictures and additional information in October 2019.
Danni Baird @ Silo Hill Farm says
Oh I love lemon curd! I have a friend in England who first introduced me to it in a recipe she called "Bread and Butter Pudding", which was very similar to our bread pudding, but used lemon curd and golden raisens. It's delicious. Never made my own, but I might now!
Sara says
ooohhhh, this looks yummy, I'm anxious to see what you are planning to make with it! (besides eating it by the spoonful, which is exactly what I would do with it!)
Rachel says
Mmmmm. Now I need some scones!
Natural Mothers Network says
I love this idea and may well try it! Thanks for sharing!
Suzanne L. says
Thanks. I am allergic to eggs and I never considered an eggless version, only that I couldn't eat it.
Shiloh says
My mom used to make this, and I LOVE it! Now, if I can just get hold of some lemons.:)
Ann Copetti says
We eat it as pudding. Often with fresh fruit. I make it with all citrus, incl oranges, limes. Whatever I have an abundance of.
Melissa Riker says
Great idea Ann!
micki @ ADD housewife says
oh my. gosh. I see some delicious cupcakes in my future with lemon curd in the middle. I'm a new linky stalker... er follower 🙂
Sarah says
Ooo. Thanks for the recipe. My MIL made lemon crepes once using lemon curd and it was delicious. I am going to have to try your recipe.
Tamsyn says
Oh yum! I make lemon meringue cupcakes with lemon curd in them, but always worry about the curd going off because the meringue tops mean the cupcakes can't go in the fridge. This is the perfect solution!! Thank you 🙂
Nicola says
I fell in love with lemon curd when I tried it last summer. That stuff was straight from the jar so I bet I'd love this stuff. Great egg-free recipe - pinned!
Sue @ Cakeballs, cookies and more says
that sounds great, I hated making it the other way.
Jill @Two Yellow Birds Decor says
Wow! That sounds delicious! I have never had it, so I definitely need to try it! Thanks so much for sharing this as well at Thursday's Temptation.
Jill
Chrissy Taylor says
I LOVE lemon!!! Thank you for sharing this!!
Bonnie and Trish @ Uncommon says
I LOVE lemon flavored goodies and this looks amazing! So glad that you shared it this week!
Take care,
Trisha
Erin Alldredge says
You had me at eggless!
Seaweed and Raine says
I'm not sure that this would last very long in my house. Oh YUM! And best of all, if you use proper cornstarch, it's totally useable by those that are gluten and dairy intolerant! 🙂 Well done!
Mindie Hilton says
I love lemon, this sounds like a tasty spread.
Lindsey says
I love lemon curd. Definitely will have to try this!
Sass - aka - Kathy says
De-licious! Gotta try it out!
Heather Kinnaird says
Definitely going to try this today!
Rachel {BubblyNatureCreations.com} says
Oh I want to try this!!! Thanks for sharing! xoxo- Rachel
ButterYum says
Ooooo! I've made lemon curd with egg yolks, and I've made it with whole eggs, but I've never made it eggless. Definitely going to give this one a try. Lovely blog!!
🙂
ButterYum
Kristen says
This is pretty much making me drool. I have a little blog, I am going to share this with my FB fans if that is ok?
The Answer Is Chocolate says
Oh this looks yummy! Your lemon series is awesome!
cupsbykim says
This look super good! Thanks for sharing it and the cupcakes at Sweet & Simple Sunday!! Hope to see you back next week!
Nilofer says
i am not sure what i did wrong, but mine is runny. its not quite thick. I am not very sure what you meant by boiling it till its thick like a pudding. I boiled it for quite a long time but it never got as thick. is it possible for you to do a video?
Thanks!
Carol Dorrington says
Can I use this as a cake filling and can I freeze the cake for a few days
Iarya says
I am anxious to try this because I love lemon stuff but a lot of lemon curds taste "eggy" like scrambled eggs with lemon and I just don't like that at all.
As for people having a bit of trouble getting it thick, well all thickeners must come to a boil to reach their best thickening but you cannot boil cornstarch for long periods of time. If you have a problem with it being thick, then make a slurry of equal parts cornstarch and water and over medium heat add a teaspoon at atime till you reach the thickness you want.
Crystelle Boutique says
That sounds easy enough that even I could perhaps make that.... 🙂
THANKS MUCH!! 🙂
Charlene Adams says
I USED TAPIOCA FLOUR IN PLACE OF CORNSTARCH IT WORKED PERFECTLY.
THANKS FOR THE RCIPE.
Keri says
Thanks for letting me know, Charlene - that is a great substitute!!
chacha says
Tapioca starch is ARROWROOT and I used it to make this lemon curd and no problem.
Keri says
Awesome - thanks for stopping by and letting us know that it worked like a charm 🙂
Deb L. says
Tapioca starch, aka tapioca flour, is definitely NOT the same thing as arrowroot. Arrowroot starch comes from the arrowroot plant, and tapioca comes from cassava root. Per the Joy of Cooking explanation, when using arrowroot to thicken in place of cornstarch it is "less likely to thin out if overheated." Maybe the other comment stating she was unable to get it to thicken was because she cooked it too long. Apparently, arrowroot loses effectiveness relatively fast so buy in bulk in small quantities. I use it as an ingredient for my homemade baking powder (1:2:2 b. soda/cream of tartar/arrowroot) and my homemade deodorant. I like the idea of arrowroot vs. cornstarch so no GMO.
brigitte says
Its so good and lemony and thanks so much for the recipe
Rye Geoff says
I made one batch with two tablespoons of lemon juice concentrate and a second batch with the concentrated juice and splenda. Both turned out great! Thanks for the simple and awesome recipe!
Dar says
This is terrible. It never got thick and tastes like chalk. Don’t waste your time!
Melissa Riker says
I'm so sorry you had a bad result, I have added it to my list to troubleshoot, I've never had a problem with it not tasting tart or failing to thicken.
Cynthia Bliss says
It did not thicken. I thought that I had miss measured the ingredients, so I did it again. Nope, it still didn’t thicken.
★
Melissa Riker says
Hmm, I've never had that happen Cynthia, I'm so sorry. I'll add it to my list to recreate and troubleshoot.
abe says
hi! thanks for the recipe. I tried it and noticed I needed more water or else the mixture turned into hard candy. adding water and bringing it to a boil again solved the problem. tastes delicious!
Tara says
Unfortunately, it didn't thicken after adding the lemon juice and zest. It was thick before that...now it's just like a soup 🙁