Homemade lemon pudding is perfectly sweet, lemony, and absolutely heavenly with a rich cream cheese frosting spooned on top.
Homemade lemon pudding is in the house and you’re about to absolutely fall in love with this lemony dessert.
As if the homemade pudding wasn’t enough we’re taking things a step further and throwing some cream cheese frosting into the party. Nothing could ever go wrong with that.
If you’ve never tried making pudding from scratch, you’re in for a real treat today! We’re loading up this creamy pudding with SO much fresh lemon flavor making it way better than boxed mix.
While simultaneously making it a bit harder to stop eating. Sorry in advance.
This Lemon Pudding features…
- Lots of fresh lemon flavor
- A perfectly smooth and creamy texture
- Rich and silky cream cheese frosting
- Minutes to make with only a handful of ingredients
Making the Pudding
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Egg yolks
- Granulated sugar
- 2% or skim milk
- Cornstarch
- Lemon
- Unsalted butter
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
Tips for Perfect Pudding
- Use fresh lemon – fresh lemon juice and zest make a world of difference flavor-wise.
- Temper egg yolks – slowly whisk a small amount of hot milk into egg yolks to temper them and prevent scrambling before adding all back to saucepan.
- Add lemon to pudding offheat – wait until the pudding is finished cooking to add the lemon juice and zest so the lemon keeps its bright flavor.
- Chill pudding before serving – we recommend chilling pudding 2 hours before serving so it can set up a bit.
- Press plastic wrap directly on pudding for chilling – this will prevent a skin from forming on top.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this pudding.
- Use a different citrus – try grapefruit, orange, or lime in place of the lemon.
- Skip the frosting – we love the extra richness the cream cheese frosting gives this pudding, but you can easily leave it off for a more classic pudding.
- Garnish pudding with fruit – try fresh raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries.
Storing Pudding
This pudding stores well in refrigerator up to 4 days. We recommend spooning it into serving dishes for chilling so it makes for easy serving later.
You can also make the cream cheese frosting ahead of time and store in refrigerator up to 1 week. For best results, we recommend topping pudding with cream cheese frosting just before serving.
The punch of fresh lemon juice and zest really works its magic in this smooth and creamy pudding! Paired with the sweet tanginess of the cream cheese frosting and we’ve got an absolute dessert queen.
Dare I say, you’ll never go back to the boxed pudding mix after one taste of this??
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Watch this pudding made step-by-step on Google web stories.
More lemony delights to make next!
Lemon Pudding With Cream Cheese Frosting
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Ingredients
Lemon Pudding
- 3 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups 2% or skim milk
- 1/4 cup cornstarch, mixed with 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- Lemon zest for garnish, optional
Instructions
Lemon Pudding
- Place eggs yolks in a small bowl and lightly beat until smooth. Set aside.
- Combine sugar and milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until steaming. Slowly drizzle in 1 cup warm milk mixture into egg yolks, beating constantly until smooth.
- Add egg yolk mixture and cornstarch-water mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally until bubbly and thickened.
- Remove pudding from heat and whisk in lemon juice, zest, and butter. Allow pudding to cool slightly then spoon into serving glasses, press plastic wrap directly to surface of pudding, and chill 2 hours.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place cream cheese and butter in a large bowl (or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment) and use an electric mixer to beat on medium speed until 2-3 minutes until creamy.
- Add vanilla and powdered sugar to cream cheese mixture and beat an additional 2-3 minutes until frosting is completely smooth and creamy. Beat in 1 tablespoon milk and more as needed to thin frosting. Refrigerate frosting until ready to serve pudding.
- When ready to serve pudding, remove plastic wrap from glasses and spoon cream cheese frosting over top. Top with freshly grated lemon zest if desired and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe tips and photos on 2/29/24.
Gloria // Simply Gloria says
Sarah, I’m seriously salivating right now! I LOVE homemade pudding.. and the lemon action! I can’t wait for those crepes you’re talking about!! Super pictures… looks straight from a magazine. 🙂
Sarah says
You are too sweet, Gloria. Thanks for the sweet comment and for the share on FB and Pinterest! 😀
Renee @ Two in the Kitchen says
Sarah, you are SO speaking my language with this beautiful lemon pudding!! I have to admit, (embarrassingly) that I have never made homemade pudding before! I am going to have to try with this great recipe!! 🙂
Sarah says
Oh, you have SO got to try homemade pudding, Renee! You will fall in love with it, I guarantee. 🙂
Kathy@ Olives & Garlic says
I made your no bake cheesecakes yesterday. Everyone loved it. Thanks.
Sarah says
I’m so glad the cheesecake was a hit, Kathy! 🙂
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
I’m actually glad your crepe recipe didn’t turn out, because these lemon puddings sound delicious! Lemon is my favorite dessert flavor in the spring. So bright and refreshing!
Sarah says
Lemon is my favorite dessert flavor pretty much all the time. LOL Thanks, Natalie! 😉
Anna says
I just made lemon pudding but due to milk allergies substituted milk and cream for almond milk – other than that followed recipe to the letter and it turned out amazing!! Thank you for this great treat!!!
Sarah says
So cool that you were able to make this pudding dairy-free, Anna! I’m glad to hear that you loved it!