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My light and tangy keto lemon curd recipe is the key to adding zest to your favorite keto treats! All for only 2 grams of net carbs.
Need more keto spreads? Try my keto jam, keto honey, almond butter, and keto mayonnaise.
My parents remember my obsession with lemon curd well as a kid. I’d always get caught with my spoon in the jar, almost even more than my healthy Nutella.
Traditional lemon curd is NOT keto-friendly due to the excess of carbs from sugar. Thankfully, with a very simple swap, you can have those same zesty and citrusy flavors for little to no carbs!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Easy to make. Most of us don’t make lemon curd on the reg, but after you learn how to make my easy keto lemon curd, I’m confident that will change.
- Light and fluffy texture. I mix egg yolks and whole eggs to keep the curd fluffy and gooey.
- Flexible. This stuff is seriously magic. It’s delicious on toast, in my keto lemon meringue pie, or dolloped on keto yogurt. There are no wrong answers!
- Customize it. Want that puckering tartness? Add more lemon juice. Prefer a milder lemon flavor? Use less. It’s that simple.
Ingredients needed
- Eggs AND egg yolks. Traditional lemon curd uses only egg yolks, but I found that to be too dense. I prefer a mix of whole eggs and yolks. Use room temperature eggs, not refrigerated ones.
- Granulated sweetener. Allulose is my preferred sugar substitute, as it melts exactly like sugar. Monk fruit sweetener can also be used, but there is a risk of it being slightly gritty.
- Butter. Unsalted and room temperature butter.
- Lemons. Which will be freshly juiced. Trust me, you want fresh lemon juice, NOT bottled lemon juice.
How to make keto lemon curd
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Combine. Add the eggs, yolks, and sweetener to a small saucepan. Whisk until combined.
Step 2- Simmer. Place the pan over low heat. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until it thickens. Once thick, remove it from the heat.
Step 3- Strain and store. Strain the curd through a sieve into a medium bowl. Let the curd cool completely before transferring to a mason jar. Refrigerate for at least two hours to chill.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Avoid metal bowls. Metal will interact with the lemon and give the curd a metallic flavor.
- Don’t use bottled lemon juice. I just mentioned this, but it bears repeating. Bottled juice often has additives that can affect the texture of the curd and dampen the flavor.
- Be patient. You want the mixture to cook slowly so the eggs don’t scramble.
- Keep it simmering. The longer it simmers, the thicker the curd.
- Know when to turn off the heat. Once your whisk starts making tracks and the curd becomes opaque, that’s your sign to remove it from the heat.
Variations
- Dairy-free lemon curd. Swap the butter for coconut oil.
- Add lemon zest. The zest adds a brighter, sweeter lemon taste. Don’t worry, it’ll get strained out.
- Switch up the citrus. Use oranges, limes, or grapefruit for a fun twist.
Storage instructions
To store: Lemon curd should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
To freeze: Place the lemon curd in a freezer-friendly jar and store it in the freezer for up to six months.
Frequently asked questions
Traditional lemon curd is quite high in carbs (about 7 grams per tablespoon), whereas sugar-free lemon curd has only 2 grams net carbs.
Yes, real lemon juice is keto-friendly because it has zero net carbs.
Desserts to use in
- As the filling in keto lemon bars
- Layered between sheets of keto lemon cake
- Atop keto pancakes
- Swirled in keto scones
Keto Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sweetener of choice I used allulose
- 1/3 cup butter unsalted
- 2 large lemons juiced
Instructions
- Add your eggs, egg yolks, and sweetener into a small saucepan. Whisk very well until combined.
- Place the saucepan over low heat. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to whisk, until it thickens. Once it has thickened nicely, remove it from the heat.
- Strain the lemon curd through a sieve into a mixing bowl. Let the lemon curd cool completely, before transferring to a jar or mason jar. Refrigerate for at least two hours, to chill.
Thank you so much for this recipe… It’s delicious! I do have one Question… The recipe doesn’t say how much a serving is. I doubled the batch because I’m gifting part of it and I want to be able to give them the nutritional information per serving. Would you say that a serving is 2 tablespoons?
Hi! It’s more like a scant 3 tablespoons 🙂
This lemon curd is lovely!! Tart, creamy and perfect to top my cheesecake! Thank you Armen!!
Hi will this recipe work with for lime curd to top on a lime cheesecake?
I don’t see why not!
I made this with coconut sugar because I mistakenly thought it was keto. It is not, but at least it has a lower glycemic index. Unfortunately, the coconut sugar made it a brown color instead of a lovely yellow color, but the flavor was pretty good and I love that the recipe is so simple and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients. I will definitely try to make this with a different, non-nutritive sweetener next time. My grocery store didn’t have allulose – I’m wondering if xylitol would be a good substitute or what else would work?? Thank you for the recipe!
I love lemon curd
lemon curd tarts and jam tarts were a weekly bake when I was young. I am now 79 Somehow lemon curd seemed much more difficult to make and bottle at home back then? Unsalted butter was much more difficult to get hold of back then. Most of it came from New Zealand, heavily salted to survive the long sea journeys.
Love lemon curd
This lemon curd is so amazing and simple to make!
I loved all your Recipes, pls send me your simple Recipes & No baking. Thanks 👍
I would really love to make your Lemon Curd recipe BUT using Stevia granules! How much do I use???Please regard this as a genuine enquiry!
Kind Regards
Carolyn Martin
Hope to hear from you ASAP! 🙂
Not sure- I don’t use stevia.
Most delicious treat! Was very surprised it’s keto! Kudos
I made this tonight, and it is amazing! So easy to make; I followed the directions exactly, and it came out perfect. I used allulose like suggested. Perfection. Thank you.
Lovely lemon curd. I did add the zested peel of the lemons to the pot and added the butter at the end, off the burner (like my Mum use to do.) I strained for stray seeds and any lumpy egg bits. Will make again.
I used 3.5 large lemons and little less than 1/2 cup erythritol and it was WAY too sweet. Next time, I would use 1/4 cup erythritol only. I also used 1/4 cup salted butter and it was not too salty.
I made this as a middle for my 19 yr old daughter’s birthday cake. Our lemons gave us 3/4 cup, but since you did not say how much juice and Canada doesn’t get very big lemons I think it turned out perfect.
My usual lemon curd recipe includes adding the zest of the lemons to the mixture. Any thoughts?
Had to go a bit above low heat, but seemed to work fine and tastes good. I don’t have a reference for consistency unfortunately. Need a better video that let’s you see the consistency while you are making it.
Allulose is expensive where I am so I did 1/2 Allulose, half Erythritol. I put the Erythritol in the Vitamix (dry container) and powdered it first. There is not even a hint of grainyness.
The grittiness comes from the recrystallization of the sugar alternative.
I use monk fruit and it almost always does this to me no matter how long I cook it. You can always try using the powdered form of the sub sweetener as in the case of monk fruit they have just ground it superfine and did not add any additional ingredients.
I made this deliciousness today. What a wonderful treat! Thank for a simple, yet tasty dessert. I’m going to use some tomorrow to stuff in my waffles.
Holidays can be difficult on keto, this sure helped. I made the curd tonight and might too a little bit with meringue tomorrow. Supper yummy with a nice bite. I usually use Splenda monk fruit mix for a sweetener, but tried erythritol, the lemon eliminated the cooling effect and there was no graininess.
Outstanding recipe – as you said, hard to believe it’s keto friendly. I use it now to layer on a keto vanilla custard.
Thank you, this is a game changer.
Thank you
What is the purpose of straining, please?
Sometimes there could be clumps or random lemon seeds 🙂
I love the flavor in this recipe! I used Swirl and wonder if there’s a way to get rid of the grittiness.
I cannot begin to say how easy and wonderful this was! I tried two recipes. One with butter, this one without. Could not tell a difference in taste, and it saved me a ton of calories.
Best lemon curd ever and so easy. Thank you!
Just made this and it’s absolutely heavenly. I used 2 tbs of canderel sugarly and it’s got the perfect amount of bite to it. Perfect on almond flour waffles… looking forward to making more of your recipes… Thanks
There’s no such thing as dairy-free butter. And I wish this gave an actual amount of lemon juice. As written, it’ll be different for everybody.
Yes there is. There is such thing as dairy free butter.
This is excellent lemon curd very tart. I had all ready squeezed a bag of lemons. I used 2 duck eggs and two small chicken eggs and 4 ounces of lemon juice to approximate juice of two lg lemons. I measured the sweetener as the recipe instructed and approximated the butter. Other that extreme tartness it turned out well and all I did was add a few drops of stevia to the prepared curd. Excellent texture and taste! Thanks for the instructions and recipe.
Another incredible recipe! I make this one at least once or twice a month. It is sooooooo good (whether using it for as a topper, OR eating right out of the bowl…it is delicious! I used your shortbread cookies as a base, cheese cake topped with your lemon curd! Also used the lemon curd atop your shortbread cookies. People who try my baked goods using your recipes that something that tastes so good are not full of sugar and flour, and are so easy to make! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Lori xx
Really awesome. Made with your lemon cheesecake. Best keto desert we’ve ever had. Can’t wait to take into work and surprise everyone. Thanks for posting!
Fabulous! 🙂
made this yesterday! so lovely, I did neglect to strain it at the end as it looked so smooth and today I think the granulated sweetner re-crystalized as there are crunchy bits in it (which I totally don’t mind). Is this why you are supposed to strain it at the end? or did I just not cook it long enough?
How much is a serving?
2-3 tablespoons!
I was really excited to see a dairy free curd recipe. How do you make it dairy free as it contains butter?
Dairy free butter.
Can I use salted butter?
I wouldn’t recommend it as it can be a little overpowering with the lemon 🙂
How much butter do you use? You forgot to put it in the ingredients. Thank you
Hi!! 1/3 cup, sorry I updated it now, thanks for letting me know!