This dairy-free lemon curd is a lighter version of the classic. It’s still packed with irresistible sweet citrus flavor!
My dad and sister came over for dinner this weekend. It was so much fun–my sister just turned 15, and she had never been to my apartment before! I cooked them a belated birthday/father’s day celebratory dinner.
We had thai shrimp curry with vegetables and coconut milk (so good–recipe coming soon), a salad my dad brought with a delicious dressing (I’ll try to score the recipe and post it–it involves hazelnut oil!) and a berry tart with coconut cream and dairy-free lemon curd. My sister can’t eat any dairy, so I had to make lemon curd without the butter. Good news–it’s just as delicious as the original, and even more lemony.
I wanted to share the whole tart recipe with you, but the crust still needs some work. Anyone have a good dairy-free tart crust recipe? I’m going to work on getting one ready for the Fourth, because this tart happens to be very patriotic. For the topping, we just whipped up some coconut cream with powdered sugar and vanilla, then folded it in to the lemon curd.
Anyway, I couldn’t wait to share this delicious lightened-up lemon curd with you. It’s a healthier way to enjoy my favorite spread! Try it on pancakes or a dutch baby, swirl it with some greek yogurt, or pipe it inside some cupcakes.
If you’re looking for the original buttery version, it’s here.
Dairy-Free Lemon Curd
Yield:
1 1/2 cups
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
15 minutes
Total Time:
25 minutes
This dairy-free lemon curd is a lighter version of the classic. It's still packed with irresistible sweet citrus flavor!
Ingredients
- 4-6 organic lemons
- 1/2-3/4 cup sugar, to taste
- Pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Wash your lemons really well, and zest two of them. Mix the zest with the sugar in a small bowl, rubbing the mixture between your fingers to bring out the flavors of the zest (use 1/2 cup of sugar for a very puckery curd, and more if you want things a little sweeter). Set the lemon sugar aside (if you want to make extra lemon sugar, it's also delicious as a topping for muffins or cookies).
- Roll the lemons firmly under the palm of your hand to prime them to release the most juice. Juice lemons until you have 3/4 cup of lemon juice. Strain out any seeds. Add the juice, lemon sugar, and salt to a saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until all the sugar is dissolved.
- Beat the eggs and egg yolk together in a medium bowl. While whisking constantly, slowly pour the warm lemon mixture into the eggs. Continue to beat for a minute or so.
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla (the vanilla is optional--you won't really taste it, but it rounds out the flavor).
- Let the curd cool to room temperature, then transfer to a glass jar or another airtight container. Store in the refrigerator. Lemon curd will keep, refrigerated, for up to two weeks.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Genius Kitchen
Sarah says
I love this recipe. I don’t get lemons where I live but it worked well with limes. I have some home grown passion fruit so going to try it with those this weekend, I hope it works! Thank you for sharing
Becky says
So glad you like it! Jealous of your passion fruit. I’m working on a dragonfruit curd right now but using frozen dragonfruit!
BARBARA says
Love this, thank you. I must eat gf, df, so this site helps. Suggestion for crust….gf sugar cones, crumbled and mixed with coconut oil? I’ve just scooped chilled limecurd into them, too, but eat quickly.
Becky says
I haven’t tried a sugar cone crust but it sounds great! I often use a sugar cookie type crust like the one in this recipe: http://acalculatedwhisk.com/mocha-ricotta-pie-with-strawberries/. I also have a cassava flour pie crust that I love–I usually use butter but I bet vegan butter or maybe even coconut oil would work: http://acalculatedwhisk.com/cranberry-galette/ Both of those would need to be baked first, though.
Bornil says
You can try substituting the butter with olive oil.Since i didn’t use a specific amount,you might want to try adding a little at a time until you get the required consistency.It works fine.you won’t need to make any alterations to your standard crust recipe.
Becky says
Thank you for this tip!!
Michelle says
I just finished making this recipe and it is excellent. This is the first time I ever made a lemon curd. Followed the directions but made a 1.5 batch so it needed to cook a bit longer than 15 minutes. Dipped a wood spoon into the hot curd and ran my finger across the back of the spoon. When a clear path remained in the curd on the back of the spoon, I pulled it off the heat. Taste and texture is fabulous. Will be using to make a lemon cake for my daughter. Thank you!!!
Becky says
So glad it worked out for you! Hope your daughter loves the cake!
Dee Mattern says
I’ve recently found out that I have a ton of food allergies (actually was tested). My big ones are wheat, dairy, oats, corn…eggs I can do safely once a week. I love using King Arthur’s GF muffin mix and trying different combinations. I’m going to use this lemon curd over to like a poke cake or maybe just as a filling for the blueberry muffins I make. Can’t wait!!!!
Becky says
Great! It would be fabulous with blueberry muffins. Let me know how it goes!
Ian says
Wow Wow Wow . . .
Just made this and all I can say is wow. It is going to be used between 2 layers of blueberry cake for my daughter’s birthday. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. We used 3/4 a cup of sugar since we needed to sweeten the overall cake and icing.
Becky says
I’m so glad you liked it, Ian! Bet it goes really well with blueberry cake–what a great idea!
Elaine S Robinson says
This is delicious. I had tried making curd with milk free margarine but couldn’t find any that is unsalted so the curd tasted too salty.
QUESTION: Can you double the recipe or do you need to make two batches?
Becky says
Hi Elaine! So glad you like it. I haven’t tried doubling the recipe (I never have the energy to juice and zest more lemons than this!), but my guess is that it will work. Be sure to pour very slowly when you add the lemon mixture to the eggs. The curd will probably also take longer to thicken with a bigger batch.
If you do try it and have a chance, come back and let me know how it went!
Elaine S Robinson says
Hi Becky, doubling the recipe worked fine but I did have to strain the curd, maybe the egg cooked a little because it was cooking longer. It is fabulous, a perfect curd for my dairy free rendition of Tartine Bakery’s Lemon Meringue Cake. A perfect curd for anything.
Thank you.
PS. An electric juicer is a lifesaver!!
Becky says
Hi Elaine, I’m so glad it worked out! I bet you’re right that the longer cooking time is why it ended up needed to be strained. Now I am really craving a lemon meringue cake–that sounds amazing. Thank you for the electric juicer tip–hopefully when we move to a bigger place I’ll have room for one! 🙂
Julia says
This looks awesome! I'm going to try to make lemon curd this way next time. I just made a batch using coconut oil instead of butter, but I'm intrigued by omitting it altogether. I made a lemon tart with a vegan crust I was pretty happy with, so maybe it could be adapted to Paleo…here's the recipe: http://www.nomilkywhey.com/dairy-free-lemon-tart/ 🙂
Becky says
Thanks, Julia!
Chris Coyle says
I was just thinking about making some little tartlets with lemon curd, so I'm glad I saw this. Love the idea of a lighter/brighter version.
Rebecca Winkler says
Tartlets with lemon curd sound amazing!
Amanda R says
Im interested in making this. I already have a go-to lemon curd recipe, but it's for when I give myself permission to really indulge! This would be a little better for my health 😉
Rebecca Winkler says
Great! Come back and tell what you think once you've tried it!
maidmagenta says
oh my god, I have missed lemon curd since giving up dairy! Will give this a go, thank you!!
Rebecca Winkler says
Let me know how you like it! It's tangier than the original, but I still love it. Thanks for reading!