Pressure Cooker Lemon Curd is sweet yet tart, delicious and silky smooth. Top cakes, cookies, yogurt, ice cream and use anywhere you want a pop of lemon.
Pressure Cooker Easy Lemon CurdInstant Pot Lemon Curd is so smooth and silky and makes a wonderful topping for so many desserts. Using your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker to cook the lemon curd is super easy.
Cast of Ingredients for Totally Fool Proof Lemon Curd
With only a few ingredients, you will make the best lemon curd of your life.
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Ingredients for Instant Pot Lemon Curd
- Fresh Lemons
- Sugar or Sugar Substitute
- Butter
Not everyone can get fresh lemons all the time.
Can Lemon Juice Be Used?
- Yes, try using a good brand of lemon juice like this Lucy’s Lemon Juice. Not only is is a family run business, their lemon juice is so fresh and pure.
This recipe is based off of my Fool Proof Lemon Curd recipe and is equally as delicious. You don’t even need a candy thermometer or have to stand over the stove and pay attention when you use this pressure cooker recipe.However, what is nice about the stove top version, is that you can easily adjust the thickness of the curd by cooking it longer and use the curd in Thumbprint cookies and other recipes, which require a very thick, jellied curd.
You will love this recipe and make it often. My Pressure Cooker Easy Key Lime Curd is so wonderful too. Get creative and use this recipe to make other flavors like lime, orange or grapefruit. I like to make Pink Grapefruit curd. The color is so pretty.
A Bakers Scale is the Most Accurate
If you are following a low carb or keto diet, you can absolutely make Instant Pot Lemon Curd.
How to Make Low Carb Keto Lemon Curd
- Use a sugar substitute like Lakanto Low Carb Sugar Substitute.
- The directions are exactly the same and you can think of Lemon Curd as a Lemon Curd Fat Bomb! This recipe is perfect for a low carb diet.
Why Use a Bakers Scale?
- A Bakers Scale is the most accurate. You don’t need to use any other measurement vessels when using a scale.
- If you don’t have a good kitchen scale, it is fine to use measuring cups. If you don’t have a food processor (I suggest every home kitchen be equipped with one), a good Electric Hand Mixer will work very well.
The texture of the Lemon Curd will Change
The process of mixing up the lemon curd goes through several stages. The mixture will look chunky, liquidy and even curdled as you are mixing up the ingredients.
Changes in Mixture
Notice the change in texture in each step. Each step, the mixture will drastically change.
The butter and sugar are going to look clumpy and weird. Don’t worry about it. It will change after all the ingredients have been added.
Once you add in the lemon it will look chunky.
Why Did my Mixture Curdle
- It’s really not curdled, so don’t worry. The lemon juice mixed with the other ingredients are going to look very weird.
- The curd will be very smooth after cooking. The clumps in the mixture is perfectly normal.
Pro Tip: Mix in the eggs very slowly and make sure not to over mix. Doing so will cause the mixture to fluff up too much and it will overflow into the cooking pot.
Food Processor or Electric Hand Mixer
For mixing up this Pressure Cooker Lemon Curd, I use my Cuisinart Large Food Processor because it is so easy to just weight all the ingredients right in the bowl and the wiz it all up.
In a pinch, try using an Immersion Hand Blender, although it is more difficult to get the mixture out of the blades.
Pour into Mason Jars
I love to use Half Pint (8 oz) Mason Jars as it cooks so beautifully. Instant Pot Lemon Curd is a wonderful hostess gift too!
The mixture will look bubbly inside the jars, but no worries, I promise you your curd will be silky and delicious.
What To Do With Curd
- Oh my gosh, there are so many possibilities.
- How about adding a dollop to your homemade Instant Pot Greek Yogurt?
- My Instant Pot New York Cheesecake is a fan favorite and people love to use this Pressure Cooker Lemon Curd as a topping. The mix of the sweet and sour is divine.
- Add a bit of lemon curd to my Instant Pot Italian Chicken Olive Garden recipe for a big pop of lemon. OMG, yum!
A Perfect Dessert with Lemon Curd – Instant Pot Bhapa Doi
- My Instant Pot Bhapa Doi is made with just two ingredients and comes together so fast. It is a perfect dessert for unexpected company as the Bhapa Doi cooks in under 30 minutes and can be enjoyed warm or cold.
- Bhapa Doi is an Indian Steamed Pudding. When it is hot, it tastes like flan. Then magic happens. Once the Bhapa Doi chills, it tastes just like a fancy cheesecake.
- A dollop lemon curd on top of your Bhapa Doil will impress your guests. I mean, come on, an incredible dessert made AFTER they drop in for a visit?
- You will be the talk of the town.
Can I Use a Bowl Instead of Mason Jars?
- Yes, no problem. I recommend using this Ekovana Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker Stackable Pans Set. It is perfect for making large batches of curd.
Will Mason Jars Leak?
- During cooking, possibly.
As the jars are just finger tight, there is a possibility that some of the curd will leak out into the water in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
Will Tall Mason Jars Work?
- Taller Wide Mouth Mason Jars will work too and will avoid the leakage, but I prefer to use the smaller jars for easy storage.
Carefully Remove Lids from Jars
The jars of lemon curd will be hot when they are removed from the pressure cooker, so take caution.
How to Remove Lids From Mason Jars
- There are a couple of ways. Do you have an old fashion “church key”? you know a bottle opener? If so, use the round end and pop it right off. It is safer than a knife.
- If you do not have a bottle opener/church key, use a butter knife and carefully put it under the rim and lift. Be careful not to cut your fingers.
From the photos, you can see that Ed removed the lids for me as I didn’t want to take the chance of cutting myself.
Whisk in the Lemon Zest
For making lemon zest, Eureka lemons are better to use. Meyer lemons are great for the curd, but their skin is very thin and bitter.
Adding Lemon Zest
- It is easy to grab the zest using a microplane/zester. While you are scraping the lemon skin, make sure not to scrape off any of the pitch.
- The pith is the white part of the lemon, right under the skin. The pith is very bitter.
After removing the lids, the curd will look frothy. Use a good whisk and mix up the zest with the curd and the foam will disappear.
A nice and silky texture will appear and you are going to want to drink the curd.
The Instant Pot Lemon Curd will thicken and mature in the refrigerator, so give it some time before you use it. The flavors will marry and combine like a beautiful union.
Place Lids Back on Jars
Can Lemon Curd Be Frozen?
Yes it can. After mixing in the zest, the curd will still be quite hot. Let the curd sit for about 20 minutes to cool off.
You can then put it in the refrigerator or in the freezer to use at a later date.
Pressure Cooker Easy Lemon Curd
How Long Will Lemon Curd Last?
- As there are no preservatives in the lemon curd, it won’t last for a super long time.
- Try to use it up in about three weeks. Hahaha, I bet it won’t even last a week!
Here’s one of my Meyer Lemon trees. Our other one is a Dwarf Meyer Lemon tree. We also have a Eureka Lemon tree, which makes the best lemonade, and gives great zest.
More Delicious Lemon Recipes to Make:
- Lemony Middle Eastern Air Fryer Crispy Sumac Chicken
- Lemony Middle Eastern Air Fryer Crispy Sumac Chicken
- Instant Pot Greek Lemon Butter Fettuccine Pasta + Video
- Pressure Cooker Chicken Piccata Lemon Cream Sauce
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
- J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- Rösle Stainless Steel Flat Whisk
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board
- Stainless Steel Tall/Short Trivet & Egg Cooker Set
- Ekovana Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker Stackable Pans Set
- Kitchen Math Bakers Scale
- Cuisinart Large Food Processor
- Kerr Half Pint (8 oz) Mason Jars
- Microplane Stainless Steel Zester
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Pressure Cooker Lemon Curd [Instant Pot]
Print Pin Save RateIngredients
- 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 1 cup White Sugar
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- 2 large Egg Yolks room temperature
- 2/3 cups Lemon Juice from fresh lemons or Bottled Lemon Juice
- 1-2 teaspoon Lemon Zest grated
Recommended Products
Instructions
- In the bowl of food processor add butter and sugar
- Process for 2 minutes or until completely smooth. If you don't have a food processor, use an electric hand held mixer on the low setting.
- Slowly add the eggs and yolks one at a time and mix for just 1 minute.
- As you are processing, slowly add in the lemon juice. It will look curdled, but it is not.
- Set up three half pint Mason jars.
- Place the lids on the jars and turn them, just until the lid catches. This should not be super tight.
- Add 1.5 cups of water to Instant Pot pressure cooker.
- Place a trivet inside the cooking pot. Place Mason jars on top of trivet.
- Lock on lid and close the pressure valve. Cook at high pressure (most machines default to high pressure) for 10 minutes.
- When Beep is heard, wait 10 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure.
- Carefully remove jars from pressure cooker using a jar lifter and place on counter.
- Carefully open the jars with a church key or blunt knife. The curd will look frothy.
- Use a microplane to make the zest. Make sure not to zest off the pith (white part) as it is very bitter.
- Add lemon zest to the jars of curd and whisk the curd very well until it is very smooth and silky.
- Place the lids back on the jars and allow to cool on the counter for about 25 minutes.
- Tighten jars a bit and place in refrigerator. The lemon curd will thicken as it cools.
Notes
How Long Will Curd Keep?
Curd will keep in the refrigerator for three weeks or in the freezer for 2 months.Want to Make a Double Recipe?
Use one pan from this Ekovana Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker Stackable Pans Set and use the lid with the holes. You can even make four batches at once using both pans!Other Flavors of Curd to Make
- Orange Curd - use 1/4 cup less sugar
- Grapefruit Curd - use 1/8 cup more sugar
- Pressure Cooker Easy Key Lime Curd
Nutrition
PIN this Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Easy Lemon Curd!
Pressure Cooker Easy Lemon Curd
I’m making this for someone who is diabetic…do you think I could sub maple syrup for the white sugar? It won’t raise blood sugars as much.
I have my first batch of yogurt on right now! Fingers crossed!
Thanks
Hi Kim~
I don’t know the answer to this, Kim. Jill
I wondered the same thing, so I did a Google search and found this:
“In baking, replace 1 cup of white sugar with 3/4 cup of maple syrup and reduce by 3 tablespoons the other liquid content in the recipe for every cup of maple syrup used. Because maple syrup is brown and granulated sugar is white, this replacement will darken your baked goods and cause them to brown quicker.”
UPDATE: I just made the lemon curd this morning and I use deodorant maple syrup in place of the sugar. After my google search, I decided to reduce the syrup rather than other liquids in the recipe, so I measured out my 3/4 cup of maple syrup and removed 3 Tbsp. I only let it set about two hours and couldn’t wait to try it….it was amazing!
Ok, gore the word deodorant…..auto correct hates me!
Jill, You did not specify what type of lemons that you used for this recipe. Would this recipe work with Meyer lemons and zest from a Eureka lemon? I have a bag of Meyer lemons left over from your cheesecake recipe last week that I would like to put to good use. I love a little lemon curd mixed with my Greek style yogurt and granola in the morning. TIA
Hi Tamara~
Any lemons you like is fine. Meyer juice plus Eureka zest is great. All Eureka is great too.
Jill
About how many lemons do you need?
I needed not quite three large lemons to get 3/4 cup of juice.
I love this curd so much!! It’s so easy! I’ve been making it to put on my homemade yogurt and my oh my…. we are addicted!
I just made your yogurt recipe for the first time. It’s amazing!
This lemon curd sounds amazing too but I’m wondering if I can use a sugar substitute with the same results? Or is the magic because of the sugar?
How can you open the jars without burning yourself?
How long will this last in the fridge? Thanks!
i’m wondering this too..and looking thru all the comments to see if someone answered! trying to get a head start on my Easter Brunch!
To do orange curd is it a direct substitution for the lemon juice and zest? Or are the measurements different?
Kylie, oranges are not sour like lemons, so the sugar would be must less.
Jill
Very flavorful curd. My food processor wasn’t working so I used a mixer. Still came out great.very easy.
I have had this at a friend’s house and it’s delicious…especially on cheesecake!! I want to make some myself but I do not have wide mouth jars, only regular mouth 8 oz jelly jars. Are there any changes that need made?
Hi Heidi~
Keep the time the same and allow a longer natural pressure release.
Jill
Thanks! Also, can I do a half-batch, which may mean filling 2 jars 3/4 full?
If I want to make half of this recipe, do I do half the time or still 10 minutes?
Hi Kelley~
It depends on the size and depth of your cooking vessel.
Jill
I love your recipes. I made the lemon curd and it turned out great. Hubby loves it. I found it a little too eggy for my taste (except if I use it with yogurt.) I am using Eggland brand large eggs. If I reduced the extra yolks to one would it still turn out?
Thanks for all your great recipes.
I’m making this next weekend. A handy hint: to take the lids off, use the rounded end (bottle opener) of an old fashioned “church key.” Pops right off, doesn’t bend the lid, and no sharp knives.
Amy S~
Terrific idea. Thanks.
Jill
Will the lids pop and seal up or does that not happen with this? I think it would be a tasty addition to the yogurt.
Aimee~
You cannot can in the pressure cooker. The lids are put on loosely.
Jill
I made this last week, my first lemon curd! As the jars sat and cooled after stirring, all of hte lids popped down and sealed. I still am keeping them in the icebox, but I t seems that sealed is sealed, is it not?
Hi, I have a question about the New York Cheesecake recipe which I made for the first time tonight.
It looks great but still has to cool before I try it.
I have a question about the recipe. It says 7 Graham Crackers and has 1/2 cup in brackets.
I had a box of crumbs here so that is what I was going to use. It doesn’t seem possible though that 7 crackers only make 1/2 cup crumbs.
I googled it and it says 7 crackers makes 1 to 1 1/2 cups crumbs.
I was confused so used 2/3 of a cup.
What is the true amount suppose to be?
I love your recipes.
I am interested in trying this…sounds wonderful. I do live at above sea level (4500 ft) and am wondering if I need to adjust for that. If so, any idea how much time to add?
I will rate the recipe once I have tried it. Thanks!
Hi Sheri~
For the curd, I think you are fine with the written instructions.
Jill
Could I just use a pyrex glass dish (oven safe) and top it with aluminium foil? I don’t have any mason jars but really want to make this 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Michelle~
Glass dish is fine. If it is one big one, rather than several small ones, add a minute to the cook time.
Jill
Can you use the plastic Ball lids on the jars, or do you need to use the traditional canning lids on the tutorial?
Brandy~
I would not put the plastic lids on the jars while inside of the Pressure Cooker. If you don’t have the caning lids, try covering the jars with tin foil.
Jill
I’m dairy free. Could I make this with coconut oil instead of butter?
Hi Sara~
I don’t know the answer to this question, but I would guess, probably not.
Jill
Actually, you can! I have done it many times! You might get a small layer of hard coconut oil on top, but after it’s been in fridge you can break it off no problem.
I’m DF and I made this with Earth Balance DF butter sticks. It worked great and tastes amazing!
Love your Lemon Curd recipe for the IP.
Hi Ezzie~
Thank you so much. Glad you loved the curd.
Jill