There is just something about a refreshing lemon dessert, am I right?? This super easy to make Lemon Pie recipe is always a crowd-pleaser! Plus, this pie is ready to enjoy, nice and cold just a couple hours after you make it.
Why you’ll love this Easy Lemon Pie recipe
This recipe takes just a handful of ingredients to make, you really cant mess it up! People seem to gravitate towards lemon desserts, especially on holidays and in the warmer months.
This recipe is so easy to make, you can let your kids take the lead. If you enjoy Key Lime Pie, you will enjoy this creamy lemon pie. This pie also holds up well, so you can make it a day or two ahead of time.
Ingredients for Creamy Lemon Pie
- Graham crackers, butter & sugar OR a store-bought graham cracker crust
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Fresh lemon juice
- 2 egg yolks
- Sour cream
- Optional: lemon zest
- Whipped cream (homemade preferably literally takes 2 minutes to make.)
Equipment
- Mixer
- Oven
Instructions
First make the graham cracker crust by crushing the graham crackers (a food processer makes that easy), then adding in the sugar and melted butter.
Partially bake the crust, then let it cool a bit.
In a mixer combine the sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, fresh lemon juice and sour cream and mix on medium for 2 minutes until nice and creamy.
You can choose to add in lemon zest as well for even more lemon flavor.
Storage
You can make this lemon pie recipe 2 days in advance. I suggest topping it with whipped cream the day you plan to serve it. The whipped cream WILL hold up for a day or so very well however it often gets damaged trying to store it.
Tips
- Only use FRESH lemon juice for this recipe.
- TRUST ME and bake this pie ON a baking sheet. You can NOT believe how many times I have put a thumb in it otherwise, lol!
- You can use a store-bought crust if you are short on time.
- If your pie dish is small, you can easily use any overflow batter and make a small ramekin or two, placing some graham crackers on bottom.
- No need to spray your pie plate, this always comes out easily.
- Make homemade whipped cream, trust me. It only takes 2 minutes.
- If you want to get fancy, you can make candied lemon peel or slices to accent the dessert.
- BEFORE placing in fridge, allow pie to cool for 1 hour at room temperature.
- For the fastest chill, place pie on the lowest shelf in your refrigerator (cold falls).
- Pie will be ready to enjoy after 2 hours of chilling.
- For whipped cream topping, either make a pattern or decoration on top of the pie, serve alongside or even spread over the top.
Variations
Swap out the fresh lemon for another citrus fruit for a different flavor.
Similar recipes
Key Lime Pie is the favorite of many or try this holiday favorite of Cranberry Pie. If cheesecake is your thing, I have been making this Turtle Cheesecake (caramel, chocolate and optional pecans for topping) since I was a teenager. Everyone loves it!
Lemon Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 9 whole graham crackers 1 sleeve 8-9 crackers
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 5 TBS melted butter
- 28 oz sweetened condensed milk 2 cans
- 2 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- lemon zest optional topping
For Homemade Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream or more if you want extra
- 3 TBS powdered sugar more or less to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Turn crackers into crumbs in your food processor or smash them with a rolling pin (or other method) in a zip baggie.
- Add in sugar and melted butter and pulse or mix until combined.
- Place crumbs in your pie dish, patting them down on the bottom at partially up the side of the dish.
- Bake for 10 minutes, remover from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
- In your mixing bowl, combine condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon juice and sour cream and mix on med-low for 2 minutes.
- Scrape batter onto cooled crust and place pie dish on a baking sheet (trust me) and bake for 16-20 minutes or until pie is hardly jiggly in very center when you wiggle tray.
- Allow pie to cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Then place in your refrigerator (the lower shelf, the colder and quicker the pie will be).
- When ready to place whipped cream on pie, whip cream on high for 45 seconds or until cream is stiff, add powdered sugar and beat another 5-10 seconds. Spread or pipe on pie and enjoy!
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