Easy Lemon Frosting

A mason jar filled with piped light yellow lemon frosting.

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This easy lemon frosting recipe has a beautiful citrus flavor from fresh lemon juice and zest. It's easy to make and a good beginner recipe. The recipe makes 1.5 cups and can be doubled as needed.

Prep Time10

Cook Time0

Total Time10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy lemon frosting, how to make lemon frosting, lemon buttercream, lemon frosting

Servings: tablespoons

Calories: 84kcal

Ingredients

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ½ cups powdered sugar (10 ounces)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
Optional: yellow food coloring

Instructions

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer with the beater attachments to beat the softened butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth.
Turn mixer to low and gradually add the powdered sugar to the butter. Beat in each addition until combined.
Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest and beat to combine. Optional: add a drop or two of yellow food coloring for a brighter color.
The buttercream will still be quite thick, so use small amounts (up to 1-2 tablespoons total) of heavy cream or milk (adding just a little at a time) to adjust the consistency of the buttercream.
Once the frosting is smooth, bring the mixer up to medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until it’s light and fluffy.

Notes

Lemon juice and zest: One lemon will yield enough juice and zest for this recipe. However, be sure to measure. Too much lemon juice will curdle the frosting.

Yield: This recipe makes 1.5 cups of frosting. This is equivalent to 24 tablespoons. The nutrition information is per tablespoon of frosting.

Storage: Store frosting in the fridge. If you are making it ahead, plan to allow the frosting to return to room temperature (about 30 minutes) before re-whipping it with your mixer.

Curdling: It's important to avoid adding too much lemon juice as this will cause the frosting to curdle. Curdling is when the frosting separates into tiny little lumps, or curds. Measure carefully to avoid this problem!

Nutrition