Instant Pot lemon cheesecake is sunny, delicious, and perfectly-sized! You just need a mini springform pan and a few great ingredients. You won’t want to stop eating!
I teach a ton of Instant Pot classes at The Chattery…I couldn’t even tell you how many I have taught. The most popular one is Instant Pot 101, where I teach the basics of using an Instant Pot. One of the most frequently asked questions that I get is, “Have you made a cheesecake in the Instant Pot?” Y’all, my husband doesn’t like cheesecake. So I basically never make them because then I’m stuck eating it by myself. However, when my brother told me that he wanted a lemon cheesecake for his birthday, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a test Instant Pot lemon cheesecake for myself. In a 7-inch pan, it seems justifiable, right? I sub in animal crackers for the usual graham cracker crust, but you can totally go with graham crackers if you prefer. Whatever your preference, please just make this!
What You Need:
- Animal crackers
- Unsalted butter
- Cream cheese
- Sugar
- Sour cream
- Eggs
- Lemons (juice and zest)
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Instant Pot Lemon Cheesecake:
- Process the animal crackers into crumbs in the food processor. Add melted butter and process to combine. Alternately, if you don’t have a food processor, you can crush the animal crackers in a bag and combine with the butter in a bowl.
- Wrap a 7-inch springform pan with aluminum foil.
- Press the cracker crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
- Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer.
- Add the eggs, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla and beat again until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the top. Pour water into the Instant Pot, place the rack in the Instant Pot, and cook the cheesecake for 25 minutes using the manual/pressure setting. Allow to release naturally for 15 minutes then manually release any remaining pressure.
- Thoroughly chill the cheesecake before removing the ring and slicing.
Yield: 8 servings
20 minPrep Time:
40 minCook Time:
1 hrTotal Time:
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Ingredients
- 6 ounces/180 grams animal crackers
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick/2 ounces/60 g), melted
- 16 ounces (2 bars or 800 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (6 ounces/180 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces/60 g) sour cream
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, process the animal crackers until finely ground into crumbs. Add the melted butter and process until the crumbs stick together when pressed between your fingers. If you do not have a food processor, place the animal crackers in a gallon-sized storage bag and crush with a rolling pin, meat mallet, or heavy skillet, then combine with the butter in a bowl.
- Wrap the outside of a 7-inch springform pan with aluminum foil.
- Press the butter and animal cracker crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream in a large bowl on medium speed until thoroughly combined and smooth.
- Add the eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla to the cream cheese mixture. Beat on medium speed until smooth.
- Pour the filling into the prepared pan. Smooth the top. Pour 2 cups of water into the inner pot of a 6 or 8-quart Instant Pot. Place the steamer rack into the pot. Fold two long pieces of foil several times lengthwise and place them crosswise across the bottom of the pan to form a sling. Lower into the Instant Pot and make sure that the foil sling is sticking out over the top of the pan. This will make the cheesecake easy to get out of the Instant Pot. Press the manual or pressure button, make sure the pot is set to high pressure, and set the time to 25 minutes.
- Once the cook time is finished, press the "keep warm/cancel" button to turn off the Instant Pot. Set a timer for 15 minutes and allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. Once the natural release has finished, manually release any remaining pressure. Remove the cheesecake from the Instant Pot using the sling and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, until completely chilled and set.
- Before serving, run a spatula or thin knife around the inside edge of the pan. Remove the foil from the outside of the pan, then remove the springform ring, slice the cheesecake, and serve.
Notes
*The cook time includes 15 minutes natural release but does not include the time that it takes to come to pressure. This will vary based on your Instant Pot but averages around 15 minutes. *This recipe is adapted from a Williams-Sonoma recipe.
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