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This No-Bake Lemon Icebox Pie is made with sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese and fresh lemons. It's a delicious, make-ahead dessert that takes less than 10 minutes to put together.
The perfect pie for lemon lovers and lazy bakers!
Lemon Icebox Pie is a classic, no-bake pie recipe that is a very popular spring and summer dessert. The graham cracker crust tastes amazing paired with a smooth and creamy filling that has the perfect amount of lemon flavor. It's super quick and easy to make and it will become one of your favorite lemon recipes!
How to make a no-bake lemon icebox pie from scratch
This is one of the quickest pies you'll ever make thanks to a pre-made 9" graham cracker crust. These crusts come in their own little tray and you can use the plastic cover to keep your pie protected while it's in the fridge.
STEP ONE: To make the lemon icebox pie filling, use an electric mixer to blend the cream cheese until smooth. This will help to ensure there are no lumps in the filling. Add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and lemon zest and continue to beat the mixture until completely smooth and creamy.
STEP TWO: Pour the filling into the pie crust and use a spatula to smooth out the top. Cover the pie with the plastic lid and place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
STEP THREE: Top the pie with dollops of cool whip or homemade whipped cream. Serve this pie ice cold right out of the fridge!
Tips for making the best lemon icebox pie
- Fat-free cream cheese or full fat cream cheese both work well in this recipe. The fat-free cream cheese gives this lemon icebox pie more of a sherbet taste and feel.
- Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature before mixing in order to get a smooth filling.
- I recommend using Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk for this recipe because I prefer the taste and consistency of these products. At room temperature, the name brand cream cheese seems to be easier to blend with less lumps versus the store-brands I've tried. (this is not a sponsored post!)
- Fresh lemon juice is best but, if you can't find fresh lemons, bottled lemon juice works just fine. I've tested this recipe with fresh lemon juice and bottled lemon juice and no one could tell the difference!
- A pre-made graham cracker crust make this even easier to put together but you can always make a homemade graham cracker crust like the one in this easy cheesecake recipe.
- Make this dessert up to 2 days ahead of time. Cover with the plastic cover that came with the crust or use plastic wrap. Leave in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
- This pie can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- A food processor or stand mixer can also be used to make the lemon pie filling.
More easy dessert recipes
No-Bake Lemon Icebox Pie
INGREDIENTS
- 1 (9") graham cracker crust
- 8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
- 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- zest of two lemons
- whipped cream
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the cream cheese into a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to blend until smooth and creamy. Add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and lemon zest and blend again until the ingredients are fully incorporated and completely smooth.
- Pour the filling into the pre-made graham cracker pie crust, smooth the top and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours to set.
- Top with whipped cream or cool whip and serve cold.
NOTES
- Fat-free cream cheese can be used in place of full-fat cream cheese. The fat-free version gives this lemon icebox pie more of a sherbet taste and feel. Using fat free cream cheese and fat free condensed milk will bring the calories down to 187 per slice.
- Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature before mixing in order to get a smooth filling.
- Bottled lemon juice can be used if you can't find fresh lemons. I tested the recipe with both options and my taste testers could NOT tell the difference.
- Make this dessert up to 2 days ahead of time. Store covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. This pie can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- This pie can be frozen for up to 3 months.
PREVIOUS
Sherryl says
Delicious! I made it for my son's birthday dessert with a dollop of whipped cream. Everyone loved it! Thank you for posting!!
Cherie says
Easy and so wonderful. Tank you for sharing.
MY FAMILY L9VED IT TOO.
Mallory says
This is absolutely scrumptious and so easy. Thank you for this!! I used 3 lemons, next time I might zest all of them. Yum!
Pat says
Delicious! And so easy to make. Mine came out a bit runny. Will it firm up the next day? What can I do so that it will hold its shape when I slice a piece?
Amy says
Hi Pat, you can freeze it before slicing to help it firm up some.
Pat says
Thank you. I will try it. Have you tried with other fruits? Wonder if I can use strawberry purée instead of lemons for those people who don’t care for lemons.
Brie says
Making this dish of omgooodness for the umpteenth time for a wonderful group of ladies whom absolutely love lemon (retirement home)! This is one of their favorite pies! Thank you for sharing this
Leslie says
Great recipe,.. better day #2. Which is great as you can make ahead.
Janet Sadler says
Very easy to throw together. I used real lemons. Since I am working in someone else’s kitchen, I couldn’t find anything to zest the lemon with. So, I used a sharp knife and scraped some of the lemon peel off.. Quick dessert when company is coming👍👍
Honey says
Easy recipe that hit the spot...thanks for sharing.
Aimeslee Winans says
Yes, we made it this week and it was fabulous! Went fast. Used a prepared gc crust, full-fat cream cheese, cool whip. Eagle brand always and fresh lemon. It's a perfect dessert in this summer heat. Thanks from Texas!
Sandy Grossich says
I haven't made it yet. I found your recipe while I was looking for one that used cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. I made a recipe yesterday that called for two cans of sweetened condensed milk and 4 large egg yolks, and it required cooking for 20 minutes, I'm assuming because of the egg yolks. My husband loved it, but it was a little too rich/heavy for me. It was better after I scraped off some of the filling. I'm hoping your recipe will be lighter, and more like cheese cake. What do you think?
Millie says
Why on earth would you rate a pie you haven't made? This is a very quick and simplr recipe. Instead of asking someone else's opinion how it would compare to a recipe they didn't make, just make it ffs.
Brie says
Millie, as you are, ffs.
Brie says
Millie, she's entitled to her opinion, as everyone else is. FFS!!
Lynn Davis says
Yes, I used lemon juice and lime zest.