Unbelievably creamy lemon pie is just like key lime pie with a lemon twist and toasty almond graham cracker crust. Made with 7 simple ingredients, you’ll appreciate the ease and simplicity of this refreshing dessert.
I wasn’t going to share my sunshine-sweet lemon pie recipe because it’s extremely similar to my key lime pie. It’s the same recipe but with lemon flavor, though I did alter it slightly to make up for the different juice. And the crust is made with toasty almonds instead of macadamia nuts. It’s pretty! And creamy! This chilled dessert will surely keep you cool. One slice certainly doesn’t compare to cooling off in actual pool—but is this a summertime sweet or what?
This is my favorite lemon pie recipe, no questions asked. It packs as much lemon flavor as lemon crinkle cookies, and you’ll love the delicious contrast between a salty sweet crunchy crust and smooth and tangy filling. Let’s dive in!
This is EASY Creamy Lemon Pie
- 7 ingredients total
- Filling is only 3 simple ingredients
- You don’t need a mixer
- From mixing bowl to oven in 20 minutes
3 Parts to Creamy Lemon Pie
- 4 ingredient toasty almond graham cracker crust
- 3 ingredient creamy lemon filling
- Fun toppings like whipped cream, meringue, almonds, and lemon slices
Graham Cracker Crust with an Upgrade
We’re not using our typical classic graham cracker crust—instead, we add almonds, which take this dessert from good to out-of-this-world delicious! We combine whole salty almonds, graham crackers, sugar, and a little melted butter to create the perfect sweet-salty base for our creamy lemon filling.
I recommend using salted almonds to pair with the sweet/tangy lemon filling. You can even toast them in the oven before incorporating for another level of flavor. The crust won’t taste overly salty because there’s sugar in there as well, but it’ll have a super faint salted flavor. I guarantee you’ll only want to make graham cracker crust this way from now on. And I love how buttery and thick it is.
Use a food processor to process the nuts and graham crackers together, then add the sugar and butter to combine. You’ll pre-bake the crust for about 8 minutes, then pour the filling right in. No need to let it cool down. It’s quick and easy!
Or you could use a Biscoff pie crust instead if you’d like.
Creamy Lemon Pie Filling
The flavor of today’s lemon filling reminds me of lemon curd and the filling for my lemon meringue pie and lemon bars, but it’s much creamier. We have the sweetened condensed milk to thank for that. It’s actually adapted from my oatmeal lemon crumble bars filling, but we also add egg yolks here for structure and fresh lemon juice for flavor. That’s it—only 3 basic ingredients that have big jobs to do. You won’t believe how silky smooth this filling is!
You’ll notice this recipe calls for 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice (as opposed to 1 cup of fresh lime juice used in key lime pie). This boggles my mind as you would think it’d be an easy swap from lime to lemon. The pie wouldn’t set up with 1 whole cup.
Made with only 7 ingredients, this pie is super quick—only 20 minutes of hands on time! The real waiting game (torture) comes afterwards when it has to cool down and then chill in the refrigerator. I like to serve this pie when it’s super cold, so I make it a day ahead of time and chill it overnight. If short on time, you can get away with only 1 hour in the refrigerator after it has completely cooled at room temperature.
Optional Garnishes
While delicious on it’s own, try garnishing your lemon pie! I used a star tip to pipe homemade whipped cream on top. Or try adding marshmallow meringue topping from my s’mores tartlets, a sprinkle of almonds, lemon zest, or slices of fresh lemons.
Other Favorite Pie Recipes
- Blueberry Pie
- Cherry Pie & Peach Pie
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie & Cheesecake Pie
- Peanut Butter Pie
Creamy Lemon Pie
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 40 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Deliciously cool and creamy lemon pie is the perfect summer dessert made with only 7 simple ingredients.
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Almond Crust
- 11 (about 160g) full-sheet graham crackers
- 1/2 cup (62g) salted almonds (I used roasted)
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted
Filling + Topping
- 2 (14-ounce) cans full-fat sweetened condensed milk
- 3/4 cup (180ml) fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
- 4 large egg yolks*
- garnish: lemon zest, lemon slices, almonds, whipped cream, or meringue topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Make the crust: Using a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and almonds together into crumbs. A few larger pieces of nuts is OK. Pour into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch pie dish. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom and up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumby/crumbly. Tips: You can use a small flat-bottomed measuring cup to help press down the bottom crust and smooth out the surface, but do not pack down too hard. And run a spoon around the bottom “corner” where the edge and bottom meet to help make a rounded crust—this helps prevent the crust from falling apart. For more shaping technique tips, see the graham cracker crust recipe page.
- Pre-bake crust for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave the oven on.
- Make the filling: Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and egg yolks together. Pour into warm crust.
- Bake the pie for 19–21 minutes or until only *slightly* jiggly in the center. You want it mostly set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, cover and chill for at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days) before serving.
- Garnish as desired. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can prepare and pre-bake the crust up to 2–3 days in advance. Cover and store at room temperature. Likewise, you can mix up the filling up to 2–3 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate, then assemble and bake. Freezes well up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowls | Pie Dish | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Graham Cracker Crust: If you purchase graham cracker crumbs, you need 1 and 1/3 cups (160g) for this recipe. Even though they are already crumbs, you can still pulse with the almonds. If you want to skip the almonds, use this graham cracker crust recipe instead and pre-bake for 8 minutes.
- Leftover Egg Whites: Here are my recipes with egg whites, or you can make a meringue topping for the pie.
- Non-US Readers: Don’t have graham crackers where you live? Use 180g ground digestive biscuits instead (about 12 biscuits), with the same amount of almonds and butter, and add an extra Tablespoon (12g) of sugar. Pre-bake for 10 minutes.
Here’s the recipe for key lime pie!
Can I skip sugar in the crust and reduce the condense milk amount in order to reduce sweetness.
Hi Peg! We don’t recommend leaving out the sugar in the crust as it plays a crucial role in helping it to solidify. Likewise with the condensed milk, we don’t recommend reducing it because the pie may not set up properly. You could try adding some lemon zest directly to the filling to help cut the sweetness a bit. Let us know if you give that a try.
Oh my gosh! I made this pie and followed the recipe exactly. I brought it to a dinner at my cousins and found out she isn’t “pie person”. Well she thought it was really good!
My sister said it was the best dessert I’ve ever made “bar none”!
Thank you for this great recipe!
Hi Sally! First off there are a number of your recipes I LOVE and I’m excited to try this one. I didn’t quite understand your make ahead instructions though. Can I blind bake the crust, add the filling, bake, and then freeze? Or does the crust and filling have to be kept separate when freezing? Thanks!
Hi Meg, you can bake and then freeze the completed pie together for up to three months. Hope this helps and that you enjoy the pie!
Hi, This recipe looks great! I would like to make this for a crowd of 20. Can I use a disposable aluminum baking tray? Also how would I adjust the ingredients and bake time?
Hi M! Though we haven’t tested it, this recipe could work as squares. We recommend 9-inch square (22cm) or 11×7 inch rectangle, but we’re uncertain of the bake time. Make sure you still pre-bake the crust for 8 minutes. You could also try our lemon bars!
Hi Sally,
In India we have limes can I use lime juice instead of lemon juice for the pie.
Thanks,
Mayanka
Hi Mayanka! Follow the recipe for key lime pie instead (you can use regular limes).
I love anything lemon as long as it’s real lemons. I made this lemon pie today to test out if it met my lemony addiction. And it does! Best tasting lemon pie and so easy to make. The crust with the almonds is an added bonus. This is a recipe keeper I’m our house.
“9 (135g) full-sheet graham crackers”
What does that mean?
Could you explain that for a person who is buying the graham crackers?
Hi Jennifer! You will need 9 graham crackers. Usually they come in a box containing about 3x that amount – so one box will be just fine. Hope this helps!
Hi,Sally! You are awsome!
I have a question though,i can’t use almonds,pecans,nuts or something related because of my kid’s allergy,can you adivse me how to make the crust? What should I add instead ? I really want to make this pie!
Thank you!
Hi Cristina! For a regular graham cracker crust without nuts, you can use this recipe instead. Enjoy!
I’ve read all of the comments and I must be stupid because no one else needed to ask this question. When using almonds in your crust, are the almonds supposed to be skinless (blanched) almonds, or with skins (natural), or does it matter?
Hi Liz! We use whole salted almonds with the skin, but you could use either here if you wanted. Enjoy!
LOVED this recipe! So easy, great to make with a toddler helper 🙂 The almonds add a lot of flavor and something extra to the crust, and we added chopped almonds on top w/ cream and lemon wedges for garnish which was really pretty. Was definitely a crowd pleaser!
simply delicious and easy to make! I even overbaked it because I didn’t hear my kitchen timer go off, and despite edges being a bit browned it tasted fantastic.
next time I would pulse the almonds first in the food processor as they stayed very large while my Graham crackers were about to turn to dust, maybe my processor bowl is too large.
thank you for another fantastic recipe!
How do you cover this pie once it’s baked and cooled?
Hi Patti, you can cover with plastic wrap or foil after it’s baked and cooled. We love to use Press N Seal.
My lemons underperformed. To make up the shortage I added limoncello liqueur. One of those wonderful discoveries. It was amazing.
Wow, delicious and decadent, and so quick and simple to put together. I made a meringue topping with the egg whites and it just enhanced the perfection! Loved it and want to make it again straight away.
If I want to make this recipe using individual pie plates, could you tell me how to adjust the baking time?
Hi Lisa, We’re unsure of a smaller pie bake time and crust bake time without knowing the measurement or testing ourselves, so sorry!
Hi Sally,
I am trying to cut sugar from my family’s diet. would it be possible to substitute the sweetened condensed milk for the unsweetened milk (evaporated milk)? thanks !
Hi Joelma, we haven’t tested the recipe that way and we fear the filling wouldn’t set up properly. Best to stick with sweetened condensed milk here!
Can you say Yummy? This was a great pie. My husband is a pie guy and he loved it. I made it exactly like the recipe.
I bet it would have tasted good if I had made it with dairy but I used coconut condensed milk and it just soaked into the graham cracker crust 🙁
Made this yesterday after dinner to bring to work today for Pi Day, and it came out absolutely perfect. I couldn’t find any salted almonds, so I just used salted butter in the crust to balance it, and it’s absolutely divine! I got four lemons and just squeezed out enough lemon juice for the recipe with my juicer, so err on the side on caution and make sure you have enough!
Wow! So good! Took a little more cooking time than the recipe said (and I used her meringue topping recipe as well) and it was just fantastic!! 10/10
I am making mini tarts – I have 4 tart tins, 4″ diameter. Any thoughts on whether to make a full recipe or a half? Thank you!!
Hi Robin, I would halve this recipe for 4 4-inch tart pans. (Tart pans are pretty thin and 4 inches is quite small.) I’m unsure of the best bake time.
I love all your recipes! Can this be made with your all butter pie crust?
Hi Zehava, we haven’t tested it. You would need to partially blind bake the crust. You may also love this recipe for classic lemon meringue pie!
Sweet, tart cool pie everyone enjoyed. Making again this weekend. Thank you for the recipe
I have a family member who dislikes the flavor of egg yolk. Can I substitute whipped cream for the eggs or use a thickening agent?
Hi Katie, that would require additional testing. The pie doesn’t taste like eggs though– enough sweetness and flavor from lemon. Perhaps try it how it’s written first?
Hi Sally, if I decide to use the egg whites as a meringue topping do I bake the pie, and then put the meringue topping on top and bake for another 10 minutes to Brown the meringue, or do I leave the meringue on the pie during the whole cooking time?
Hi Michael, For the meringue topping linked above you can spread or pipe it onto your baked and cooled pie and then if you wish you can toast it lightly with a kitchen torch.
Made this last week, everyone loved it. Easy to make. Making two fof Thanksgiving! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Sally!
This is the first recipe of yours that I tried! In love with this pie! I’ve made it close to 4 times already!!! There’s no one who doesn’t love it! Such simple ingredients and what an end product!
FellowBaker,
Han
A bit on the sweet side and I can’t really even taste the lemon at all because the sweetened condensed milk is so over powering. I even added extra lemon juice because I like lemons so much but it is barely an after thought in the pie. I’m disappointed
Hi Sally, I made this pie last night and it was delicious! A total hit! And I just adored the crust and want to make it with everything. Two questions for you:
1) is there way to translate this into bars on a 9×13 pan? Would it work to double and reduce baking time?
2) if I make this crust for a no bake pie, how long should I bake the crust?
Thanks!
Hi Julie, So glad to read how much you love this lemon pie. Though we haven’t tested it, this recipe could work as squares. I recommend 9-inch square (22cm) or 11×7 inch rectangle, but I’m uncertain of the bake time. Make sure you still pre-bake the crust for 8 minutes.
For a no-bake pie/dessert you can chill this pie crust for at least 2 hours before filling it. Chilling the crust before adding your no-bake filling solidifies the melted butter/sugar mixture, ensuring a compact crust. Although if you love the toasty flavor you can still pre-pake for 8-10 minutes before chilling 🙂
Hi Sally,
Made this pie for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! So delicious!
I want to make it again but instead as squares, do you think making it in a Pyrex rectangular 25x15x4cm dish will work, Will it be too big or small? Or will the pie not work when cut into squares and fall a part?
Thanks!
Hi Julia! So glad to read how much you love this lemon pie. Though I haven’t tested it, this recipe could work as squares. That size baking pan will be too small. I recommend 9-inch square (22cm) or 11×7 inch rectangle, but I’m uncertain of the bake time. Make sure you still pre-bake the crust for 8 minutes.