Best Lemon Recipes and Dinner Ideas

Lemon is a sharp and zesty citrus fruit, great for perking up many recipes including salads, meats, fish and desserts. The acidic juice works wonders in marinades or as a perky replacement for vinegar. Check out these delicious lemon recipes by HelloFresh.

Discover Lemon Recipes by HelloFresh

Vegetarian Lemon Recipes

Easy Lemon Recipes

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When life gives you lemons, cook up a delicious meal!

All about the lemon and its benefits

Facts about lemons:

The lemon originates from Asia and the trees that produce it can yield a crop of up to 272kg in weight every year because they can produce fruit all year round.
The high acidity content of the fruit means it's very effective when used in cleaning products.
The most commonly found types of the fruit are the Eureka, Lisbon and Meyer varieties.

Lemons may have a strong, acidic flavour, but they are actually mostly water, with 88.98g per 100g. As a low-calorie fruit, 100g provides just 28 calories and 9g of carbohydrates. Since a small portion of these come from sugars and the majority from dietary fibre, the overall carbohydrate balance is considered quite healthy to add to your lunch and dinner menu.

Lemon tips, tricks & hacks

Featured in nearly every type of cuisine, from Mediterranean and Indian recipes to Mexican and Russian, lemons can be used in plenty of imaginative ways, both as food decoration and in dishes like this chickpea salad with a lemon yoghurt dressing recipe. It’s commonly used to enhance the flavour of food and is an excellent substitute for salt or vinegar.

This citrus fruit goes well with many other foods like vegetables, soups, sauces, cakes, custard, ice cream, sorbets, garlic, basil, coconut, honey, ricotta, goat cheese, blackberries and blueberries.

The juice from the fruit can be used in a marinade and to tenderise meat, poultry, fish and shellfish. Also, a good tip on how to use lemon is to grate the peel (sometimes called the ‘zest’) in recipes for desserts and cakes like this Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe.

Here are some tricks on how to cook lemon

Adding just a few drops of the juice will:

Prevent other fruit from going brown, e.g. avocados, apples or bananas
Stop rice from sticking when added to boiling water for cooking
Tenderise meat by breaking down its tough fibres
Make lettuce crisper if you soak the leaves in some water mixed with lemon juice, then allow them to dry
Revamp many dishes, sprucing up creamy recipes and acting as an excellent salt substitute
Ensure brown sugar stays soft if you add a slice of the fruit to your sugar jar
Help to cook the best hard-boiled eggs if you rub a little juice on the shell before adding the eggs to boiling water

Lemon Recipe FAQs

How to store lemon?

Lemons can shrivel, go soft and soggy, or become hard if not stored correctly. To prevent this, store fruit you plan to use immediately away from direct sunlight, and each lemon will usually keep for around a week.

How long do lemons last in the fridge?

Place the lemon you don't intend to use in an airtight bag in the fridge, and it will keep for around two weeks. The best fridge temperature for storage is between 4-10ºC, usually on the middle shelves or in the door of the fridge. If the fruit is sliced in half before storing, place the halves on a plate with the exposed side facing downwards.