Honey Lemon Curd
Meet the perfect lemon curd recipe. This classic lemon curd is made even better with honey, and it's so easy to make—no straining required!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
I’m feeling a little on edge today, quite literally. We’re teetering on the brink of spring (cloudy, windy, 68 degrees, and I can’t stop sneezing!). My deadline for cookbook production is coming right up. The suspense of closure is getting to me, and I spend too much time daydreaming how I’m going to use my newfound free time.
I think I’ll go to India for a month to become certified in yoga. Just putting that out into the universe.
This lemon curd is perfect for this moment in time, as citrus is still in season and bright colors start popping up around us. In fact, it’s the very same shade of yellow as the daffodils I picked up from Trader Joe’s and the forsythia blooming along the fences in my neighborhood.
The curd is tart, but sweet, with extra flavor since it’s sweetened with honey instead of plain sugar. It’s a seasonal treat that stores well in the freezer for later, in case you want to bottle it up and savor it over the next couple of months.
This curd is both simple and fun to make, with no straining required thanks to the preparation and cooking method. It goes through several distinct phases on its way to becoming so utterly creamy. I can imagine that it would be fun to make with kids around to watch as the lumpy, curdled-looking mixture slowly smooths into luxurious gold liquid, and finally, right at the brink of boiling—it condenses into the most perfect curd you’ve ever seen. Just like magic.
Uses for Lemon Curd
- Spread onto shortbread, sugar cookies, graham crackers (shown) or ginger/molasses cookies.
- Top quick bread, gingerbread, pound cake, olive oil cake, cupcakes, scones, pancakes or muffins.
- Swirl into yogurt (or add a layer to parfaits), dollop onto ice cream or mix into vanilla frosting
- Use as filling for tarts or sandwich cookies.
Honey Lemon Curd
Meet the perfect lemon curd recipe. This classic lemon curd is made even better with honey, and it’s so easy to make—no straining required! Recipe yields 2 cups of curd.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced into ½” cubes
- ⅓ cup honey
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- ⅔ cup fresh lemon juice (from around 4 large or 8 small lemons)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the cubed butter and honey. Starting on a low speed and working up to higher speeds, cream the mixture until fluffy. I used a handheld mixer for this.
- While beating the mixture, slowly add the egg yolks and eggs. Then, add the zest and lemon juice to the bowl and blend again. It will look curdled at this point, but don’t worry!
- Pour the mixture into a medium-sized, non-reactive saucepan (stainless steel or enameled cast iron should work great). Cook over medium-low heat while stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon (it’s important to stir constantly throughout the cooking process, which will take somewhere between 10 to 20 minutes).
- Once the mixture starts looking smooth and shiny, slowly increase the heat to medium. Continue cooking until the mixture has thickened and your spoon meets resistance as you stir, which happens right at the brink of boiling. Once the mixture is trying to boil, cook for about 15 more seconds while stirring constantly, then remove from heat. The curd will thicken up more as it cools.
- Let the curd cool before transferring it to an airtight container and screwing on a lid. Store in the refrigerator for about 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. The curd doesn’t freeze solid, so you can scoop out as much as you want right from the freezer!
Notes
Recipe adapted from my blood orange and Meyer lemon curd recipes, which was originally adapted from the Green Market Baking Book and Fine Cooking’s foolproof method for lemon curd.
Why buy organic? It’s generally ok to use non-organic citrus as long as you’re just using the fruit or juice. Since the outsides of the fruit are often treated with chemicals, it’s best to stick with organic when using the zest. I also recommend using high quality local and/or organic eggs, for the best flavor and nutrition profile.
Make it dairy free/paleo: I’m pretty sure you can use coconut oil in place of the butter here. I’m not sure that it matters whether the coconut oil is melted or solid when you measure and whip it. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Change it up: You can use any variety of citrus you enjoy here, as long as you can get enough juice and zest out of them. I have enjoyed Meyer lemon curd and blood orange curd. Lime or key lime would be great, too, I’m sure.
What to do with leftover egg whites: You could make scrambled eggs or an omelet (I like to add at least one whole egg for best flavor) or use three of the egg whites for these amazing macaroons.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I made a Lime Curd and some of the egg white didn’t mix well. I had ribbons of lime flavored egg white left in my strainer. I tasted them and they were yummy.
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So creamy and delicious; this is my new go-to recipe for lemon curd. However, I added just 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar to take the edge off the bitterness of the zest and the tartness of the lemon juice.
Thanks!
Your recipe sucks! Honey are you kidding. No sugar you need sugar or it tastes funny. And where is the cornstarch. Your recipe doesn’t work right.
Fantastic recipe.Thanks for sharing it.It is very easy to make and the texture is like custard yum.
Doris.
Amazing recipe, great to find a refined sugar free version that works so well :)
Best lemon curd recipe! I normally chop and change recipes but this one was perfect! I used a whisk at the end to bring it all together. Sets nice and thick and I used it in lemon meringue pie, on top of yoghurt, toast, and in bliss balls. Nice work!
Done it! Loved it! It’s creamy, very lemony, delicious!
Wonderful!
This is so good!! It was surprisingly easy and has just enough sweetness without the high sugar content I’ve seen with other lemon curd recipes. I will definitely make this again!
Wonderful, Deanna!
Love that you substitute honey for white sugar!
Do you think it would be possible to sub the butter for coconut oil? I would like to make this for someone who cannot have dairy.
Hi, See my note on dairy free below the instructions!
Kate,
I just love your recipes.
I am so happy that you now have Christmas recipes up and going.
Using them for the holiday season.
Good for you to be going to India for yoga teacher training.
I am currently in yoga teacher training program here in Iceland. I am 67 years old and love what I do.
Happy Christmas.
Svala
Can I substitute solid coconut oil for the butter in this recipe? I’m trying to make this completely healthy. Thanks!
Hi Gracie, I recommend this best as is. Let me know if you try it!
This was absolutely delicious and worked beautifully as the lemon curd layer in my mom’s birthday cake. I used coconut oil and refrigerated in a clean jar for 2 days before using it. 10/10 recommend!
Thank you for sharing, Mimi! I appreciate your review.
Wondering about the texture and if it would hold up as filling between layers of cake- im thinking top layer for a 3 layer cake so it has less weight on top… making a wedding cake for my friend
This is the best curd I’ve ever tasted! The honey and lemon are such a beautiful pairing, much better than sugar. It was easy to make and came out perfect. I then made choux pastry and piped this yummy curd into an eclair. Heaven! Thank you so much Kate!
This is truly a perfect recipe. I’ve been making it for years now (has it been available for a decade by now?), and it has never failed me. My best friend’s parents have a Meyer lemon tree in their backyard in Southern California. They came up to Seattle this week for a visit, and specifically requested another of the lemon curd tart I’d made during their last visit. They even brought freshly picked lemons from their tree. I made a double batch of this recipe and put it in the sweet almond tart crust from Alanna Taylor-Tobin this time, and again, a home run! Thank you, Kate!
Hi Kate
This looks great – we have a LOT of lemons on our tree at the moment!
I have trouble finding coconut oil where I live. Do you think a light olive oil would work (if I want to keep this dairy-free)?
You could try it, although I’m not sure. Let me know if you do!
Hi there,
I’ve just made a double batch of this, it’s super delicious!
I’m unsure though, is the first whipping stage necessary? It seems like I could get the same result by melting the butter and honey together then stirring in the eggs and juice. Just wondering if I can cut some time and dishes by doing it the way I do with my traditional (sugar-filled) lemon curd recipe.
Thanks!
I’ve made this recipe many times and done many things with it, but I haven’t used it as a pie filling. That’s my plan today…do you think it thickens enough for pie or maybe I need to add a bit of gelatin?
I’m not sure without trying it, sorry!
This was delicious and so easy for my 11 year old to do by herself for a pie contest. We chose to have her strain it and I’m glad we did.
Sadly, the filling did not get firm enough to be pie filling. It was a gloopy mess. Maybe if it had been refrigerated overnight? I wish we’d added something to thicken.