Skip to Content

Easy No-Bake Lemon Cream Pie

Sharing is caring!

A delicious easy no-bake Icebox Lemon Cream Pie in a graham cracker crust, made with fresh lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk, cool whip, and topped off with a heavy whipping cream and fresh lemon zest.

Easy No-Bake Lemon Cream Pie with beautiful lemon garnish.

When I think of Spring, I can’t help but think of lemons! Spring and Lemon go hand-n-hand! (In my little world any way!) Lemon is so refreshing. Like the earth waking up from its long winter’s nap! We go from brown, cold, and dreary, to the vibrant warm hues of greens and pastels of Spring! It’s breathtaking, renewing, and refreshing!

Kind of like this simple, easy to make, store bought Graham Cracker Crust Lemon Pie with no-bake filling. Made from condensed milk, cream cheese, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and cool whip! It’s light and creamy, with the perfect hint of tangy lemon shinning through.

Finish it off with a wonderfully slightly sweet homemade whipped cream topping, sprinkled with lemon zest, a garnish of vibrant fresh sliced lemons and sprigs of mint! It creates a beautiful mouth-watering presentation!

If you love lemon desserts like I do, you’re sure to love my version of this classic No-Bake Lemon Pie! It’s the BEST Lemon Cream Pie and so easy to make. Let’s get in the kitchen and whip up this yummy dessert.

How To Make No-Bake Lemon Cream Pie

Before we begin, let’s talk about the ingredients you’ll need to make this easy refrigerator dessert! Like any great pie you need a crust. For this recipe I use a store bought graham cracker crust. It saves time. You can make a graham cracker crust from scratch. (It’s 100% up to you!) Next up is the creamy lemon filling followed by the whipped cream topping. Three easy components.

Ingredients for Lemon Cream Pie

  • 1 (10 inch) store bought graham cracker pie crust
  • 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 (8 oz.) Cool Whip
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 (14 oz.) can condensed sweetened milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract (for extra burst of lemon, add another 1/4 teaspoon)
  • Yellow Food Coloring (optional)
  • 1 Cup heavy whipping cream
  • 6 tablespoons powder sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon lemon zest
  • Lemon slices and mint sprigs for garnish

How To Make the Lemon Filling

In a large bowl combine softened cream cheese and condensed sweetened milk. Mix until well combined.

TIP: You can soften the cream cheese for THIS recipe by placing it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Allow it to cool for 10–15 minutes and then continue with the recipe. (Yup! I know this from experience! Lol “Someone” forgot to take the cream cheese out to let it soften. Professional here!)

Most lemon icebox pies are made with either condensed sweetened milk, or cream cheese. Not both. I wanted a creamy pie that wasn’t overly sweet, but it had to have enough sweetness to help subdue the lemon juice. The cream cheese helps balance the sweetness of the condensed milk and adds a smooth creaminess to this filling.

Cream cheese and condensed milk in a large bowl.

Add 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon extract. Stir into cream cheese mixture.

TIP: I HIGHLY recommend tasting the filling at this point! If you want the pie to have a little more “lemon kick” add another 1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract!

Lemon Juice added to the cream cheese mixture.

Mix until smooth and creamy. Cover and Chill 1–2 hours! (You can chill too if you want! I would!)

Cream Cheese filling in a large bowl ready to be chilled.

Finishing the Lemon Cream Filling

The filling will thicken as it chills. Which is the point of chilling it before adding the whipped cream.

To finish the lemon filling for the pie, add 1 (8 oz) container of Cool Whip topping and 2–3 drops of yellow food coloring, if desired.

For my lemon filling, I added 3 drops of yellow food coloring. I wanted a pretty contrasting pastel yellow color. Not too bright, but enough that you could distinguish the filling from the whipped cream topping.

Folding whipped cream into cream filling and adding yellow food coloring.

Fold the ingredients together until completely combined.

TIP: Folding ingredients keeps the filling fluffy and light rather than breaking down the whipped topping.

Folding Whipped Cream and cream cheese mixture together in large bowl.

Pour the Lemon Cream pie filling into the Prepared Graham Cracker Crust. Smooth the filling out to the edge of the crust.

Place the pie back into the refrigerator and chill 8 hours, or overnight, until firm and set.

Pouring Filling into Pie Crust and chill.

Whipped Cream Topping and Garnish

In the bowl of your mixer, add 1 cup heavy whipping cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Whip on medium high speed. As the mixture begins to thicken add powder sugar. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

TIP: You can use Cool Whip…but I really recommend using homemade whipping cream! It’s not as sweet and has a blissfully creamy texture.

Homemade whipped cream in mixing bowl whipped to stiff peaks.

Spoon ALL that whipping cream on top of the chilled lemon filling! Spread it over the top of the lemon filling about 1 inch to the edge of the lemon cream filling, allowing the contrasting colors to show.

Sprinkle Lemon zest over the top of the whipped cream. Add lemon slices and mint sprigs to the center of the top of the pie!

Chill until ready to serve!

TIP: You can make this pie 24 hours ahead of time, and it will hold for 3–4 days in the refrigerator.

Lemon Cream Ice Box Pie with lemon slices for garnish and mint sprigs.

To serve pie, when cutting into (10) slices, make sure to cut all the way through the graham cracker crust, lift the first piece out with a flexible serving utensil.

TIP: I set my store bought crust in the tin foil pan inside a regular pie plate. It makes the pie look a little fancier, and it catches any crumbs if you should accidentally cut through the aluminum pie tin.

I love the subtle layers in this pie! Almost as much as I love the creamy lemon flavor! Note I said “Almost”! I’m forever and ever a lemon lover!

This beautiful pie is a fantastic dessert and would be perfect for your Easter Dinner Dessert, or the star of the show at your Summer BBQ’s!

One slice lemon cream pie on a white plate with lemon slices and mint with the whole pie in the background.

Other Favorite “No-Bake” Desserts

Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting with me today! I hope you enjoy this Lemon Cream Pie!

Happy Nesting!

Photo of Norine from Norine's Nest and Signature.
Yield: 10 servings

Easy Lemon Cream No-Bake Pie

Lemon Cream Ice Box Pie with lemon slices for garnish and mint sprigs.

A delicious easy no-bake Icebox Lemon Cream Pie in a graham cracker crust, made with fresh lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk, cool whip, and topped off with with a heavy whipping cream and fresh lemon zest.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 (10 inch) store bought graham cracker pie crust
  • 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 (8 oz.) Cool Whip
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 (14 oz.) can condensed sweetened milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract (for extra burst of lemon, add another 1/4 teaspoon)
  • Yellow Food Coloring (optional)
  • 1 Cup heavy whipping cream
  • 6 tablespoons powder sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon lemon zest
  • Lemon slices and mint sprigs for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl combine softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add lemon juice and lemon extract. Mix until smooth and creamy. Cover and chill 1-2 hours.
  2. Remove cream cheese mixture from refrigerator. Fold in cool whip and yellow food coloring (optional) until well combined. Pour into prepared graham cracker crust. Chill 8 hours or over night.
  3. In the bowl of your mixer add 1 cup heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract and whip until whip cream thickens. Add powder sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over the top of the lemon cream pie filling about 1 inch from the edge of the filling.
  4. Garnish with lemon slices and mint. Chill until ready to serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 233Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 123mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 3g

Sharing is caring!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Audrey

Monday 10th of June 2024

Yes please! I love Lemon and this looks delicious!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe