How to Make Sugar-free Lemon Curd

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Learn how to make the best Low Carb & Sugar-free Lemon Curd within minutes! This easy foolproof recipe features instructions for the Instant Pot and tips on calorie-free sweeteners. 

Learn how to make the best Lemon Curd – Sugar-free and Low Carb! 

I freaking love lemon curd. I could eat it out of the jar straight from the fridge.  Velvety smooth, not to mention both tangy and sweet! The sweetest and most addictive sensation! Like a ray of sunshine on your tongue – we all need some more of that in winter! 

Lemon curd is a tart-sweet custard type spread, that makes for a wonderful topping on scones, yogurt, cheesecake, homemade bread, brioche, pastry, and much more.

 I always look for healthier ways to recreate classics, and sugar-free is always on my mind. I don’t have any issues eating eggs but we do buy from a small local organic farm that treats their animals well. If you’re looking for a healthy vegan lemon curd, try this one! 

I have been experimenting with sugar-free lemon curd recipes for quite some time. This is my favorite! It is thick, rich and tastes exactly like lemon curd made with real sugar. You seriously cannot taste the difference.

This recipe for sugar-free lemon curd is crazy easy,  and super delicious and bright! The perfect accompaniment for meringues. My favorite way of eating it, however, is swirled into Greek yogurt. It tastes like having lemon meringue pie for breakfast! With no guilty feeling, plus I have plenty of delicious curd for more treats later.

Which sweetener shall I use for making low carb lemon curd? 

For this lemon curd recipe, I recommend xylitol as a sweetener. I have made this with Confectioner’s Swerve and Erythritol and while it was fine at the beginning, it crystalized quite badly once refrigerated.

I have just started working with allulose, which DOES NOT re-crystallize and should also work fine here. You could try that. Another option would be to try liquid stevia, however, you’ll get that metallic stevia taste some people are not crazy about.

How to make Sugar-free Lemon Curd: 

Measure out your ingredients.

Use organic lemons or follow these easy steps to remove pesticides and wax! 

When making lemon curd, I try and use organic lemons as we are using both juice and zest!  You can wash your lemons with a vinegar-water-mix to get rid of the nasties!  Mix water with vinegar, so that the ratio is 3: 1, so for example, put one cup of vinegar in three cups of water. You can leave the fruit to soak in the mixture for 10-20 minutes and then rinse them off with water. This is a great way to remove bacteria, chemicals, and wax from the lemons.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan on medium-low heat. Add cardamom, if you want. Have egg yolks ready in a medium-sized bowl with lots of room to spare.

Remove the pot from heat and whisk in sweetener, salt, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest until dissolved.  Heat up until almost boiling. Have your egg yolks ready in a little bowl. Whisk some of the hot butter mixture into the egg yolks, whisking, This step helps to bring the yolks to temperature and prevents curdling!  Pour tempered yolks back into the pot.

Whisk and return to the stove over low heat. Whisk continually until the curd starts to thicken noticeably. Do not let your lemon curd boil or it will curdle! Remove the pot from the heat and strain the lemon curd into a small bowl.  Done! 

Can I make Sugar-free Lemon Curd in an Instant Pot? 

Yes, you can!  Just pour a cup of water in the bottom of the IP, put the trivet in, put all the lemon curd ingredients in a pyrex bowl. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil tightly and lower it into the middle of the IP trivet. Set the IP to manual pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Leave it in for another 10 to cool down after the timer goes off, then release the steam. Voila!

Remove pyrex dish carefully from the Instant Pot, take off the foil and whisk lemon curd. The butter might separate but will incorporate after whisking. Transfer to containers and put in the refrigerator. 

How to Use Sugar-free Lemon Curd: 

• Spread it on low carb cloud bread or brioche. 
• Serve it with homemade dairy-free almond milk pancakes.
• You can use this sugar-free citrus curd to make a healthier version of my lemon curd mousse pie. 
• Drizzle it on top of your favorite Overnight Oats or Porridge 
• Spread it on homemade scones – try these refined sugar-free honey scones 
• Use it to make mini fruit curd tarts 
• Add it to your favorite layer cakes
• I love it paired with my coconut ice cream 
• Fold it under some whipped cream and pour this mix into popsicle molds to make healthy lemon curd popsicles!

How long does lemon curd last in the fridge? 

Mine was fine in the fridge for 2 weeks. The acid in the lemon curd preserves it quite well.

Tips and Variations: 

• You can use lime zest and lime juice to make sugar-free lime curd or a mix of lemon and tangerine. Grapefruit also works, but I do find grapefruit zest to be a little bitter. 
• Don’t skip the salt, I feel it makes all the difference. 
• Some lemon curd recipes call for the addition of lemon extract but I personally find it does not add anything but makes it taste rather artificial.
• This curd should be stored in a jar in the fridge. 
• It’s best to use sterilized jars for storing. Glass jars should be washed in the dishwasher or with soapy water. Rinse them with boiling hot water. Then place them in the oven on a baking sheet at 140 Celsius / 280 Fahrenheit to dry them out completely.

★ Did you make and love this easy Sugar-free Lemon Curd recipe? Give it your review below! And make sure to share your creations by tagging me on Instagram!

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How to Make Sugar-free Lemon Curd

Learn how to make the best Low Carb & Sugar-free Lemon Curd within minutes! This easy foolproof recipe features instructions for the Instant Pot and tips on calorie-free sweeteners. 

Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword healthy lemon curd, lemon curd without sugar, sugar-free lemon curd

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 1 cups

Calories 40 kcal

Author Kiki Johnson

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter - 125 g
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice - 125 ml about 4 lemons
• 3 tbsps lemon zest
• 3/4 cup xylitol sweetener or another zero-calorie sweetener equivalent to 1/2 cup - please consult my notes in the post about substitutions
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 free-range egg yolks
• optional: 1 cardamom pod

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan on medium-low heat. Add cardamom, if you want.

2. Remove the pot from heat and whisk in sweetener, salt, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest until dissolved.  Heat up until almost boiling. Have your egg yolks ready in a little bowl. Whisk some of the hot butter mixture into the egg yolks, whisking, to bring them to temperature and pour yolks into the pot. Whisk and return to the stove over low heat. Whisk continually until the curd starts to thicken noticeably. Do not let boil! Remove from the heat and strain the sugar-free lemon curd into a small bowl. Cover with cling film, pressing it onto the surface so that no skin forms.

3. Let your lemon curd cool down to room temperature, then cover it with cling film and store in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Recipe Notes

• You can use lime zest and lime juice to make sugar-free lime curd, or a mix of lemon and tangerine. Grapefruit also works, but I do find grapefruit zest to be a little bitter. 
• Don't skip the salt, I feel it makes all the difference. 
• Some lemon curd recipes call for the addition of lemon extract but I personally find it does not add anything but makes it taste rather artificial.
• This curd should be stored in a jar in the fridge. 
• It’s best to use sterilized jars for storing. Glass jars should be washed in the dishwasher or with soapy water. Rinse them with boiling hot water. Then place them in the oven on a baking sheet at 140 Celsius / 280 Fahrenheit to dry them out completely.