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Do you like lemons? I sure do! If you have never had Instant Pot Lemon Curd, you are in for a treat This is an easy pressure cooker lemon curd recipe, and the results are amazing! Lemon curd is a tart-sweet custard type confection, and is a wonderful topping on yogurt, cheesecake, toast, pastry, and much more.

Lemon Curd in a small glass jar and white bowl surrounded by whole and sliced lemons

Instant Pot Lemon Curd

I think lemons are the best citrus fruit! Their bright scent and pretty yellow color makes me happy! You can do so much with lemons, like make cleaners, essential oil, wood polish, and of course, there are a ton of food recipes that lemons are the star of!

Instant Pot Lemon Curd is one of those recipes, and it’s delicious and super easy to make.

Here’s how to make it:
Four process images showing the addition of zest, sugar, and butter int a mxing bowl before being mixed and the addition of eggs
four process images showing the addition of lemon juice,before putting the mixture into  the small glass jars and placing them on a trivet in a pressure cooker and setting the cook time
two process images showing the lemon curd being stirred with a metal fork inside of the glass jars

My favorite cake filling is lemon curd. And on yogurt, lemon curd is divine! Many people don’t know how easy it is to make. You can make it on the stove, in the microwave, and in your Instant Pot!

Top view of a small jar of Lemon Curd surrounded by cut lemons

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Lemon Curd in a small glass jar and white bowl, all surrounded by cut lemons
5 from 13 votes

Instant Pot Lemon Curd

By Sandy Clifton
Instant Pot Lemon Curd is a delicious confection made with lemons , eggs, and butter. It is so delicious, and is great on cheesecakes, pastries, yogurt, toast, and as filling for cakes, pies, etc.
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 9 minutes
10 minutes
Total: 44 minutes
Servings: 3 - 4 cups
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Ingredients 

  • 2 tsp Lemon Zest
  • 1 cup Lemon Juice (about 4-5 lemons)
  • 1 ¼ cups Sugar (reduce to 1 cup if you like it tart)
  • 5 Tbsp Butter, softened
  • 3 Eggs
  • 2 Egg Yolks

Instructions 

Prepare the Pressure Cooker

  • Pour 2 cups of water into the inner liner stainless pot. Place the trivet/rack in the pot.

Mix Up the Curd

  • Add the Zest of the lemons (careful not to get any of the white pith, you just want the yellow part) and put zest in a mixing bowl.
  • Juice as many of the lemons as you need to get 1 cup of lemon juice. Set juice aside.
  • Add the sugar and butter to the mixing bowl with the zest, and cream together, using a hand mixer, until light and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs, egg yolks, and lemon juice to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined (it will be lumpy from the butter).
  • Pour into 1 cup or pint  mason canning jars and put the lids on finger tight. Don't fill more than 3/4 full as the mixture will "rise" as it cooks (it does come back down when you stir it).
  • Place the jars on the trivet in the pot. Place the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the sealing position.
  • Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the + or - button or dial to select 9 minutes.
  • After the cook time has finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 10 minutes (10 minute Natural Release). Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position and release any remaining steam/pressure.
  • When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid and very carefully remove the hot jars of curd. Use an oven mitt, or a canning jar retriever. Be very careful! Set the jars on a surface that can withstand the heat.
  • Carefully open one of the jars and stir the lemon curd with a fork or very small whisk until it comes together and is creamy. Repeat with remaining jars of lemon curd.
  • If there are any small lumps that you don't want in there, you can strain it into a bowl and refill the jars, or transfer to a container of your choice (though this has never happened to me). Let cool for about 15 more minutes, then put in the fridge for a few hours to chill and firm up.
  • Serve this delicious lemon curd on yogurt, toast, cheesecake, pastry, cakes, muffins, or just eat it by the spoonful!

Notes

If you are going to use this lemon curd as a cake filling, add 1 1/2 Tbsp of corn starch to the mixture when you add the eggs. This will help it stay on the cake layer.

Nutrition

Calories: 65kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @simply_happy_foodie

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Hi, I’m Sandy!

My style of cooking is casual, uncomplicated, and everything is made from my heart. I hope my recipes will help you get the meal on the table a little easier

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50 Comments

  1. sewqueen says:

    This is great! Nobody wants to stand at the stove stirring forever lol. Thanks!

  2. Kelly says:

    I’ve been making lemon curd for years and after finding this recipe, will never make it any other way. Pure perfection. I used my stainless steel pan insert with the lid and it was amazing. Thank you! 5 stars!

  3. Cher says:

    I don’t have small canning jars but I have the big ones ! Can I use big ones and do I have to adjust cooking time ?

    1. Sandy says:

      I think so. Don’t fill them all the way. You only want about a cup to a cup and a half in each jar.

  4. Helen says:

    I made mine last night, tastes good but has a gritty chew. Did the sugar not desolve? What else could cause this?

    1. Sandy says:

      I’ve never heard of that happening with this recipe. You can try blending it in the blender to smooth it out. Then slowly reheat it using a double boiler, stirring.

  5. Jen says:

    If you use a smaller jar does the cook time need to be adjusted? Or do I need the pint size jar?

    1. Sandy says:

      If you use a jar smaller than 1 cup (half pint) then yes, reduce the time by 2 or 3 minutes.

  6. Megan says:

    Does anyone know, if after you take out and stir you can then take these to a water bath to seal the jars for a shelf stable gift?

    1. Sandy says:

      I believe so. I would check the Ball Canning website for instructions.

  7. HELEN says:

    Hi
    If you haven’t got a pressure cooker what can I use to make the Lemon Curd ?

    1. Sandy says:

      Hi Helen, you can cook it on the stove. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine lemon juice, zest & sugar. Bring just to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir the mixture until it has melted and combined. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

  8. Cindy says:

    This is lemon curd perfection !!! Absolutely delicious and oh so easy to make. The hardest part is trying not to eat it all by myself . Thank you sooo much for sharing

    1. Sandy says:

      Thank you, Cindy! I feel the same way about this lemon curd!

  9. Jennifer says:

    OMG! I just made this lemon curd and its so good! Just the right amount of sweet and tart. The hardest part of the recipe was trying to get the bag of sugar open without spilling it everywhere, LOL! I will definitely be making this again!

    1. Sandy says:

      That’s great! Thank you!

  10. Melissa says:

    Do you mind telling me which zester you own. I tried making orange curd yesterday, different recipe and on the stove and it still had bits of zest in it even after staining.

    I could buy a finer strainer but I’d like for add cornstarch to make it firmer so I’d probably not be able to strain it.

    I’d like a small enough zest that it would completely cook up. My zester/peeler gives me tiny shreds. They probably would have strained better if I hadn’t tried to chop them up into smaller pieces. But straining is not an option if I use cornstarch.

    So which one do you suggest? I browsed Amazon but I couldn’t tell which ones give the finest zest.

    Thanks.