Easy Lime Curd With Basil

This delicious lime curd with basil is so easy to make and tastes amazing with the extra flavour of the basil marrying perfectly with that zingy lime.

I love making fruit curds and this lime curd recipe is a real winner. While lemon curd can be bought in almost every supermarket lime curd isn’t available like that, you’ve just got to make your own.

I’ve made all sorts of curds here on larder love, from my basic lemon curd recipe to an amazing Christmas cranberry curd and even a coconut curd. You can check out more of my amazing fruit curd recipes at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients for lime and basil curd

Limes – these are obviously the star of the show in this lime curd recipe. Make sure you have good quality limes that are fresh and not either rock hard or have gone squishy.

Basil – this is purely optional but I love it as it gives an amazing depth of flavour to a simple lime curd. If you don’t have any just leave it out.

Butter – I always use unsalted butter in my recipes, though slightly salted butter would be just fine if that’s all you have.

Sugar – Caster sugar is the best when making fruit curds as it dissolves quicker than granulated sugar.

Eggs – free-range eggs please every time.

Basil – this must be fresh basil if you choose to use it in your lime curd recipe. Dried basil is a complete no-no here!

Alternative ingredients;

You could swap out the basil for mint as that goes really well with lime.

The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to make lime curd

This is an easy recipe. Making homemade fruit curds is pretty simple really just a matter of patience and stirring.

First things first though. Unless you are using unwaxed limes you will need to give the fruit a good scrub in warm soapy water with a nail brush to remove the protective wax. Then pat dry on a clean kitchen towel.

To get the most from your limes roll them on the table top to get their juices flowing then use a microplane grater to remove all the zest from the limes avoiding the bitter white pith.

Now half the limes and squeeze out all that lovely lime juice. You will be using both the lime zest and the juice to make this lime curd recipe.

I always make my lime curd in a Bain Marie. That is just a glass bowl that sits on top of a pan of boiling water. Make sure that the bubbles do not touch the base of the bowl.

Using a Bain Marie (or double boiler) is a more gentle way of cooking rather than just using a pan on direct heat. You want to make lime curd using a gentle heat so as not to scramble the eggs.

Don’t use a metal bowl as this can taint the curd giving it a metallic taste.

See my How To Make Fruit Curds post for lots more information.

Put the lime juice, lime zest, torn basil leaves (tearing the leaves releases all the essential oils which is where the flavour is and will make your lime and basil curd taste amazing), sugar and butter into the bowl and stir.

Break the eggs into a small bowl or mug (do this to check they are fresh as there is nothing worse than adding eggs to a recipe only to find one is off and all the other ingredients are now ruined. Whisk the eggs to make sure they are well mixed before adding to the bowl with the other ingredients for lime curd.

Stir all your ingredients constantly and they will start to thicken. It usually takes me about 12-15 minutes to make lime curd.

How to tell when lime curd is ready?

Your curd will stick to the back of your wooden spoon when lifted out of the pan. When you ladle the lime curd into the sterilised jars it will thicken more as it cools.

When you think your lime curd is ready spoon in into a fine mesh sieve over a jug or bowl. This will remove the used basil leaves, pieces of lime zest and any stray bits of egg white that got cooked in the mix.

Now simply spoon the sieved curd into sterilised jars.

Can you make lime curd in a microwave?

Yes you can. Melt the butter in microwave for 30 seconds. Whisk the other ingredients together then add to the butter and stir well. Heat at 1 minute blasts and stir between times till it thickens. Strain through a sieve.

Making lime curd in an Aga

Place the lime juice, zest, basil butter and sugar in a large ovenproof jug, cover and pop into the simmering oven for about 30 minutes.

Take it out of the oven and whisk in the eggs then return to the simmering oven (covered) for 1-2 hours.

How many does this recipe make?

This lime curd recipe makes approximately 450g of lime curd. So it depends entirely on what size of jars you have to put it in.

How long does lime curd keep?

Your lime curd will keep for up to 2 months in the fridge when unopened. Once opened you must use it within 2 weeks.

You can also freeze fruit curds. Just defrost thoroughly before using.

How to serve lime curd

You can use lime curd just as you would trusty old lemon curd. Slathered on to homemade scones with cream as I’ve done here for the perfect tea time treat.

Lime curd makes a delightful dessert topping with simple vanilla ice-cream.

Use your lime curd as a filling for a Victoria sponge cake or mix with cream cheese, butter and icing sugar to make a delicious cake frosting.

Add some lime and basil curd to Greek yogurt for a lovely breakfast treat instead of the usual honey.

Just spread it on toast with butter and enjoy at any time of day!

Looking for more cool curd recipes to try? Then check these out before you go

Super simple lemon curd

Strawberry curd

Lemon and ginger curd

Passion fruit and lemon curd

Rhubarb and ginger curd

Want even more inspiration? Then check out my Homemade Fruit Curds section for lots more recipes.

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.