Get 25 of the best Lemon Recipes including drinks, salads, main dishes, desserts and more. Whether you’re in the mood for something sweet or savory, there’s an amazing lemon recipe for you!
Lemon recipes are designed to capture the beauty and vibrant flavor of lemons. Lemons can satisfy a sweet tooth, but also liven up an entree or side dish. Try some of these lovely lemon recipes and learn about using lemons in your cooking.
One of my favorite things about using lemons in my cooking is that they have so much flavor! The recipes come together really quickly and taste amazing without too much effort.
The bright and zesty flavor is a sure winner in desserts. On the other hand, savory dishes also benefit from the citrus and tangy addition of lemon. Don’t forget the ever popular sweet and sour lemonade which is always a favorite!
You can even make your own Lemon Pepper Seasoning to add bright flavor to pasta, vegetables, chicken, shrimp and salmon!
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Easy Lemon Recipes
These easy lemon recipes aim to capture the flavor and beauty of the peel and flesh. The zest, or outer layer, of the lemon contains the oils and a pure lemon flavor.
The juice of lemons is acidic and sour and can easily be incorporated into sauces, batters, and icings, so the flavor is distributed throughout.
A lot of my lemon recipes are perfect for spring and summer cooking when I need them to be easy and light. They’re refreshing and perfect for family dinners and simple entertaining.
What You’ll Find in This Guide
- Tools for Cooking With Lemons
- Tips for Making Lemon Recipes
- How to Select Lemons
- Answers to All of Your Lemon Questions
- Easy Lemon Recipes to Make for Every Course and Occasion
Helpful Tools
- Zester – A small, handled kitchen tool with a row of small holes at one end. Use by pressing the holes on the lemon skin and pulling toward you. This will scrape the skin and produce little strips of lemon peel.
- Microplane Zester – Similar to a cheese grater, but with smaller openings. Gently rub the zester across the skin to produce small lemon skin shavings.
- Citrus Juicer – A small bowl that has an elevated piece in the middle, called a reamer. Cut lemon in half and place cut side down on the reamer. Move lemon around reamer to release juice. Or, in a lemon squeezer, place half of the lemon, cut side down, into the concave side of the squeezer. Press down and squeeze juice into container.
Tips for Making Lemon Recipes
Juicing and Zesting
- Zest the lemon while the lemon is whole, before you cut it in half to juice it.
- Heat the lemon in the microwave for a few seconds to get the juice flowing more easily.
- Roll the lemon on the counter to break up some of the membrane and more juice come out.
Lemon Basics
In Season – Lemon trees are in their prime fruit production season during the winter. Florida and California produce the most in the US, where lemon trees thrive in the warm weather.
What to Look For – When choosing lemons, look for a bright yellow color, and no dark spots. Also, the lemon should be heavy for its size, be just barely soft, but still have a firm touch.
How to Store Lemons – Store them on the counter for a week or in the refrigerator for 2 weeks, or until they get hard or spotted.
Lemon Substitutes
- Lemon Extract – 1:2 ratio of extract to lemon zest; 1:1 ratio of extract to lemon liquer;
- Lemon Juice – 1:1 ratio of lemon juice to lime juice;
- Lemon Zest – 1 medium size lemon yields 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Replace a teaspoon of lemon zest with a half teaspoon of lemon extract or dried lemon peel. 2 tablespoons of lemon juice can be substituted for 1 teaspoon of lemon zest.
You can find a full list of substitutions here!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can certainly make lemonade, but you can also try baking that lemon flavor into cookies, cakes, sweet breads, and other desserts. Or, take it a more savory direction and add lemon to your pasta dishes, main dishes and salads!
Yes! Wash and dry your lemons. Next, place in a freezer bag or container and keep in freezer for up to 4 months. when ready to use, zest the peel and juice the pulp as usual.
Serving Suggestions
- Garnish with a Lemon Slice or Wedge
- Make Gremolata to Garnish Pasta
- Sprinkle Zest on Top of a Dish or Dessert
- Add a Layer of Lemon Slices to the Top of a Cake
The Best Lemon Recipes
Lemon Drinks
Enjoy your favorite blush wine turned into a refreshingly easy to sip two ingredient Frosé Recipe.
It’s a pink wine Frozen Rosé slushy, perfect for any brunches, showers or parties.
Next, the simplest cocktail of all! This easy champagne cocktail is a perfect way to start the festivities and it’s also fancy enough to serve at ladies’ brunches and Mother’s Day.
A 60-second honey lemonade recipe that’s naturally refined sugar-free and made with just 2 ingredients! A perfect easy lemonade recipe for hot summer days.
This strawberry and lemon mimosa is a wonderfully light and refreshing champagne cocktail that you can make in a matter of minutes.
Made with fresh strawberries, this wonderful spring cocktail is perfect for a Mother’s Day and Easter brunch.
Lemon Salads and Sides
Arugula Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Next up, this is an easy and refreshing recipe for an arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette. This simple salad is so perfect for the warmer weather, and is perfect to serve as a simple side or appetizer.
This pasta salad with lemon and basil is a light and refreshing alternative to classic pasta salads.
It’s full of fresh flavor and is made in minutes with a few simple ingredients.
Entrées with Lemon
Use this recipe for lemon pepper shrimp on pasta, alongside a fresh green salad, or with a side of roasted veggies.
It’s a fresh, healthy take on a classic favorite that works on the grill or stovetop!
This Lemon Pepper Salmon recipe is absolutely foolproof. In fact, it’s the most delicious and easiest way to add all the goodness that salmon offers into your dinner rotation.
Lemon Pepper Chicken is juicy and loaded with flavor. It’s high in protein and low in fat and calories, and ready to serve in less than 30 minutes.
Make it in the oven, stovetop or on the grill!
Easy Piccata Milanese with Piccata Sauce
Piccata Milanese is such a simple, flavorful chicken dish. The easy and amazing Piccata Sauce is made with olive oil, butter, lemon juice, wine and capers.
They’re so easy to throw together for the grill, and your hands-on prep and grilling time is under 15 minutes with the easiest shrimp kabob marinade.
This Lemon Chicken Recipe is naturally low carb, gluten free, keto friendly and also fits a low fat low calorie diet!
But diet or not you’re going to love this amazing lemon sauce for chicken and make it again and again!
Lemon Pasta Dishes
Next on this list, don’t skip this is a white wine lemon caper sauce that’s ready in 10 minutes and works with a variety of protein and pasta dishes.
Crisp, citrusy, creamy and fragrant, you’ll want to serve it all summer long!
This sauce creates a fast and easy lemon pepper pasta that is truly unforgettable- filled with perfectly balanced soft essence of lemon flavor.
This easy Lemon Basil Pasta recipe is quick enough for a weeknight dinner, but tastes special for date night!
Lemon Spaghetti with Artichokes
This easy vegetarian weeknight meal comes together in 20 minutes using a handful of simple ingredients.
The creamy lemon pasta sauce is light and fresh and the fried artichokes are to die for!
Baked Lemon Desserts
This easy Lemon Bread Recipe takes just 5 minutes hands on time and makes a beautiful breakfast or gift!
A delightfully sweet Honey Lemon Cake with a tender crumb topped in a delicious glaze. Make into adorable beehive cakes or in a muffin tin!
Lemon Poppy Seed Bread is a delightfully moist bread with a touch of tart lemon flavor, bursting with delicate, nutty poppy seeds!
It takes just five minutes hands on time and a few simple ingredients to make 6 miniature loaves for gifting or two large loaves.
A pound cake is a simple cake recipe originally made with 4 staple ingredients – a pound of butter, pound of sugar, pound of eggs and a pound of flour.
No Bake Lemon Recipes
You can whip up this amazing Lemon Glaze recipe with three ingredients in just five minutes.
Lemon Glaze Icing is perfect for breads, pound cakes, angel food cakes and so much more!
This is a light and flavorful easy no bake lemon pie. However effortless it might be, it’s a gorgeous dessert that is loaded with beautiful berries.
Lemon Ice Cream is a rich, creamy taste of spring. Make this refreshing no-churn Lemon Ice Cream Recipe for a memorable sweet and tart treat you’ll love!
Refreshing Lemon Berry Tart – this delightful dessert is on a sugar cookie crust! It’s the best fruit tart to add a touch of sweetness to any day or night.
These make ahead desserts come together quickly and are wonderfully sweet with just the right amount of tang. This will be your new favorite treat!
Lemon Cookies
These frosted lemon cookies are bursting with fresh citrus flavor! Easy and quick to make, they are the perfect Springtime treat that the whole family will love.
This is the simplest frozen lemon dessert – it’s so easy and refreshing! Serve refrigerated or frozen to make it one of the summer dessert recipes you’ll want on any hot summer night.
With a simple graham cracker crust, this frozen lemon pie recipe can be served individually as shown or in a traditional pie pan.
Finally, we have these easy, light and refreshing Lemon Shortbread Cookies offer a little crunch, a hint of lemon and that buttery flavor we all love!
They’re made with just five ingredients and are so simple to make!
I can’t wait to hear which lemon recipe is your favorite!
Julie, Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. The instructions are so easy to follow and I have tried ‘Lemon Chicken’ which was so delicious. All the best to you!
Thank you, Sharon! I work hard to develop easy recipes and write them so they’re simple to follow. It means the world to me to hear your feedback!
Julie, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your blog. I love anything โlemonโ and Iโm looking forward to trying some of your recipes.
Thank you!
Thank you, Helena! I appreciate your kindness! I cannot get enough of lemon anything! Enjoy!